Was at dealer this morning building a 2016 C450 for a possible order. There was no mention of the Burmester sound system in the configurations. There was an option to upgrade to Harmon Kardon, which was included in a package. Will the Burmeister no longer be offered in the 2016? Or is it standard with the Harmon Kardon being the upgrade? I very much like the design of the Burmester speakers on the doors and wonder what the Harmon Kardon speakers would look like. Thanks in advance for any input.

 

Very strange. The Burmester is still on the UK Configurator - mind you, the C 450 isn't available over here yet, but tried several models ans all is the the same.

 

Since its the design aspect you're questioning I doubt Mercedes would change it drastically as it would mean engineering changes to panels and wiring looms.

 

Hello, hope the Burmeister is still available. It was standard on the C400 & the integration into the wood & it's looks are really quite stylish! Perhaps the Harmon Kardon is an upgrade?

 

I will confirm this tomorrow when I am in at work.

 

this sounds like positive news that Mercedes has finally accepted the fact that there are major issues with the Burmester in the C class. The buzzing and vibration of the speaker grilles and seat buttons is a mark of poor workmanship or design. Now hope they come out with a fix for all the C Class drivers who have to suffer with the current system.

 

As I don't have any issue with the Burmester, I can't agree with any of that.

 

I have nothing but praise for the Burmester system. It's powerful, clear, and no rattles or distortions.

 

I'd be interested to hear if it is being discontinued or not.

I am one of the folks who is suffering from rattling / farting speakers. I can see both sides here - from the perspective of someone in a 205 who is getting no sound issues it must seem nuts..... If I've slammed the doors just right and hold down the centre speaker whilst listening, it is indeed an utterly awesome system that makes me smile. It's just when I let go of that centre speaker or a passenger has got in so as the bloody thing starts acting up again..... Well, at those times I would consider any option to get it to work without distortion. It really does take an incredible system in the direction of a set of 9.99 computer speakers

IMO, though, it's not the speakers themselves - it's the surrounding bits they've put them in so for those getting issues, it makes more sense to simply alter the designs of the door panel mounts. That's something that MB could do irrespective of the manufacturer of the sound system. If they're changing manufacturers, they'd have to tweak the design of the surrounds anyway so I'd have thought sticking with Burmeister and then tweaking what they've got would be the way to go.... That way, they'd then be able to help those of us out here who do have issues with it and prevent any more problem sound systems hitting the market.

 

Thanks!

 

I have zero issues with the Burmester at all

 

Me to not issues what so ever, in fact Burmeister is one of the best sound systems i've had in my cars.

 

There is no reason why Mercedes should "accept" that Burmester has inherent issues and it needs replacement, that too, to a Harman Kardon !! There is nothing wrong with the ones I have and it is one of the best available in this segment right now. The HK Logic7 that came with the 2014 C-Class sounds blunt after listening to the Burmester now. There is one problem with Burmester though; you tend to listen to it at really high volumes because it is distortion free and this "might" eventually make the door panels vibrate after a long period of time. I have no vibrations of any kind, but I am just saying. If at all this happens, I believe Mercedes is wise enough to fix the rattling panels rather than changing those lovely speakers.

 

^ +1

 

I had no issues with the Burmester on either of the two C300's I've owned. It's a good OEM sound system.

One member of this board had his vibration issues fixed with a change of the speaker mounts ... that was the cause of all of the buzzing.

Saying that ALL W205 owners have, or will have, problems with their Burmester audio systems is both misleading and inaccurate. That's like saying, and it has been said, that all W205 owners who claim they have no wind noise problems suffer from some sort of hearing loss.

 

I read Rex's email as saying 'a fix for all the Merc Burmeister owners who have problems' as opposed to 'a fix for all Mercs'. And for my part I fully appreciate that this isn't an issue for everyone by any stretch of the imagination. That's a good thing - it shows that it is possible to build a C-Class with an awesome sound system that does not fart. It's also possible to build a C-Class with an awesome sound system that comes with a side of BBQ beans Unfortunately, that's the one I got....

As of now, no-one seems to have a cast iron reason why you get one car or the other. My theory of wood trim / leather (artificial) on the dash being less likely to give the issue than aluminium panels is unproven but I'm hopeful there's something in it.

I appreciate that this may be happening in a minority of cars and I'd be delighted if MB came up with a sensible answer to help out those of us who do have problems. What is the build difference in some cars that is causing this? It's not the speakers - I'm 99.9% sure of that.

I should point out that the issues I have are not because I play things at ear-splitting volumes - that's not the case. I have problems with phone calls at regular speaking volume and audio books at regular speech volume. For music, if I only ever played busy rock music at high volume or busy dance tracks at high volume I'd never notice it because the buzzing would be masked. It's the more intimate stuff that brings out the worst in it unfortunately. When you're busy listening to the gaps between the notes (as Lisa Simpson put it)? That's when you hear it.

On one of the other threads about this, one of the posters said that his dealer had fixed it by 'modifying the mounts' but he didn't know how they did it. I think it's why it's good to share experience here - I'm not trying to be down on MB or to call for the system to be removed for the good of everyone - that's crazy but this issue is real for some of its customers and I'd be over the moon if a simple fix could be found. And ultimately if MB are building loads of cars *without* this problem? Well, they should be able to work out whatever it is that's causing the problem for the unlucky ones.

Quite how widespread the problem is? Who knows. The handful of people complaining on here may be the sum total for the world or may be the tip of the iceberg but for those of us it affects it is for sure repeatable and real. A way forward is needed because the artefact caused is totally unacceptable in a car of this perceived quality, especially when the brochure promised a 'spectacular audio experience' if I splashed the cash for the upgraded sound system. It would never occur to me that I would have had 5 new speakers and half the panels in my car removed as of today and still no fix in sight. It seems like they CAN make an aluminium panel with no issues because the rear passenger door Burmeister speakers in mine are perfect. As are those on the rear parcel shelf and I'm happy with the bass units. It's just the driver and passenger door plus the centre speaker in the dash. My dealer can hear it and agrees it's awful; if they couldn't hear it, they wouldn't have pulled my car to bits so many times with no help from MB on a suitable way to fit the speakers to reliably ensure they don't do it. The guys there are following the manufacturer's instructions on the fitting and, for reasons unknown, in my car this does not work.

Apologies for the rant - I am just soooooo cheesed off with the lack of light at the end of the tunnel.