Jinzen

So, there are a couple of threads of speaker issues, but I wanted to see how many have a buzzing from their speakers. Mine is a rattle/buzz coming from the right passenger side.

It got really bad the other night and so I grabbed my phone, turned to the radio, and started recording. You can hear a lot of it right around 0:25. It sounds 10x worse in person.

https://vimeo.com/121733251

The speakers were already replaced once, but clearly, the speakers were never defective, it's something in the door or the way the speakers are held into place that causes the buzzing. I can eliminate the buzzing if I just hold the passenger side door handle tightly with my hand.

mihaelb

not sure what we're listening to in the video...sounds like road noise?

will the buzzing go away if you mute the radio? how about if you put your cellphone in airplane mode?

PeterUbers

Sounds like they need to dynamat the door or apply felt strips

ManiacGT

I can hear what sounds like distortion around some of the audio/vocals? Is this what you mean?

To me that doesn't sound like a mount issue, it sounds like clipping, distortion due to volume or gain being too high. As you don't have it particularly loud, its my guess there may be an amp fault, over driving the speakers, rather than a speaker issue.

Just a guess, I can't really tell without being there.

Jinzen

Ignore the road noise and listen to the voice. The buzzing is akin to if your speakers were moving around on the table or something and vibrating against something.

The iPhone was only able to pick up 10% of what you can hear, it makes the car sound like a tin can sometimes.

Jinzen

It's not an Amp fault, if I hold the passenger door handle (solidifying the door) the buzzing goes away.

ManiacGT

Oh well, back to the dealer you go then.

RealCasually

I am picking up my car from the dealership today for this issue. I created a 300hz test track which reproduces the issue clearly.

Their answer: not fixable currently.

They involved the head foreman and narrowed down the issue to the seat adjustment switches in the door. Around 300hz they start to resonate. They tested my test track on every C class on the lot, and they all have it. When I get home, I'll upload my track for others to try.

We should all be reaching out to MB to try to get a fix started on this.

dopplr

Hey I had this problem on my car - speakers replaced twice before they figured out it was the speaker holder that was causing the buzz/rattle. Foreman of the shop fixed it by himself and now they're about almost perfect. The system sounds incredible now - whereas before I was regretting dropping the cash on these speakers.

RealCasually

Could you post a screengrab of what they said they did? It would be great to share this with my dealer to see if they can do the same.

RealCasually

Here is the test track I used, which reproduced the buzzing issue in every C class on the lot:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ugqfqpc4yk...Track.mp3?dl=0

You can play this over Bluetooth from your phone, or load it on your SD card and play back through the Media player.

dopplr

Don't really have anything to share regarding what they did - The shop foreman took about a week to retrofit the speaker holders himself. He was as annoyed as I was regarding the issue. But it is fixable! Just make sure your dealer doesn't waste your time ordering new speakers/trim pieces(they did both, twice for me!), they have to adjust the speaker holder themselves to get it to stop rattling.

RealCasually

I really appreciate you sharing your story. I'm afraid after just having it in the shop for 2 days and sharing that, they aren't able to do more. They added some padding but it didn't fix the issue, and they encouraged me to contact MBUSA. Can you try my test track posted above and see if your issue is indeed fully fixed?

dopplr

Sure man, I'll check it out later today and give you an update .

rustycruiser

Nice job! Will give this a try tomorrow.

Mjollnir1983

Thanks for the rattle test mp3! Mine definitely buzz quite a bit at a particular harmonic, very evident. Explains on certain radio stations (mostly chat shows), I get buzz noise.

Does seem to be coming from the interior lighting in the door handle. Anyone had any before and after experiences?

Not a big thing for me to take it back, but definitely let MB know to fix it @ the A service.

trustoryson

I have the same issue. It seems to only happen on Sirius talk stations (BBC, CNN, Fox) or podcasts. Sirius uses a lower bit rate on these channels in order to boost the bit rate on popular stations (like BPM). I might take my car back for this but mine seems to be coming from the speaker behind the screen, because when I push down on it the issue goes away. It's ironic because I don't get the slightest bit of rattle with full music, and overall the burmeister system has been impressing guests in my car, and me. I came from the HK in a 2013 C class, which I already thought was pretty good

rapalax

This is also happening on my non-bermeister c300.

I haven't tried the 300hz mp3, but since the issue happens only when I am listening to a particular audio book, I knew it had to be something like this.

Please update this thread when MB has come up with an official fix.

CO2010

Vocals sound horrible on this system! MB needs to give us their definition of "Premium" sound.

mihaelb

Do you have the ambient lighting?

RealCasually

I do.

mihaelb

Several users reported that it's the ambient light strip in the doors that's vibrating (rather than speakers)...try to hold it down with your finger, see if vibration goes away...

ManiacGT

So Burmester have contacted me to discuss this issue further. I contacted them hoping they'd help people here alongside any Merc help.

Here's their email, I'd appreciate any detail, laid out as they ask it inline so I can respond to them to help anyone in need of assistance;

>>>>>>>>>>

First of all, you are absolutely right, in the first line this is something that Mercedes is responsible for. However, we are for sure interested in having satisfied customers, so we talked to Mercedes.

After discussion with Mercedes in Germany we have been asked to describe these issues more technically. So it would be fine to have an error description that is more detailed. One member of the forum wrote that he would be able to reproduce this sound issue every time. So it would be helpful to get a more detailed description such as:

* what exactly does crackling noise mean, is it more like buzz or vibrating noise
* what sound set is active or is the issue independent from the sound setting
* is the automatic volume function enabled or disabled
* is the crackling noise coming from all speakers or just a few
* seems this issue to be related to temperature (e.g. is the amp at low temperature or did it play for a while)
* are there particular music files that demonstrate the issue clearly
* is the crackling sound noticeable from any sound source (CD, USB, Bluetooth, Radio, Hard disc drive and so on)

These points might sound strange to you, but since we have not been aware of such issues so far, we are wondering if these issues are systematic or not.

RealCasually

Please feel free to share my MP3 file from above. It is 100% repro.

I find it is totally independent of sound set, automatic volume, temperature, or any other settings. I would describe the sound as a clear rattle.

Let me know if I can help any other way, and please share updates here!

ManiacGT

I've sent them your response/link etc. We'll see what they say but my guess will be they'll insist its chased with MB if its a build quality/door/trim reverberation. I'm impressed they're actively looking at it anyhow.