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I swear I'm not imagining this, but when I first got my car, I felt like the Burmeister was way louder than it is now. I played my music at a very high volume back then, and now it seems like it doesnt get as loud.
Also, has anyone else noticed that when controlling the volume with the knob next to the touchpad that the system is VERY finicky in terms of the bass response? For instance you could have a lot of bass at one particular volume, but move the knob one tick down, and the bass drops substantially? Then move it 1 more tick down and the bass is back close to where it was before?
Finally, what are the optimal settings for mid, treble, and bass settings that you guys have found?
Last edited by ItchyTasty; Jan 4, 2016 at 09:19 PM.
Bass 10, Mid 2, Treble 8. But that was optimized for my source material. Surround on and front optimized. What source do you typically listen to? I can point you in the right direction.
Bass 10, Mid 2, Treble 8. But that was optimized for my source material. Surround on and front optimized. What source do you typically listen to? I can point you in the right direction.
Yeah, is that b/c the quality is better via BT? I just don't want the battery drain.
There are some 3rd party apps that can have a dramatic impact on performance, but you'd need to run them on a smartphone or a dedicated IPod Touch. If you put that USB library on an IPod, you could leave it hard wired in and charging all the time, and then use an EQ app like EQu to get the bass and overall volume where you like it. Best $2.99 you'll ever spend on audio.
To ItchyTasty: Can you edit the name of the thread you established? If not, perhaps you can somehow ask a moderator to do so. The reason for the edit would be to correct the name of the audio firm to Burmester (not Burmeister). The firm is named after its late founder, Dieter Burmester, 1946 - Aug. 15, 2015. The company website's announcement of Herr Burmester's death gives some appreciation of his contributions to the audio community: http://www.burmester.de/en/News/ All of the major audio magazines published appreciations. The appreciation of the most eminent of these, The Absolute Sound, may be found at Dieter Burmester (1946–2015).
To ItchyTasty: Can you edit the name of the thread you established? If not, perhaps you can somehow ask a moderator to do so. The reason for the edit would be to correct the name of the audio firm to Burmester (not Burmeister). The firm is named after its late founder, Dieter Burmester, 1946 - Aug. 15, 2015. The company website's announcement of Herr Burmester's death gives some appreciation of his contributions to the audio community: http://www.burmester.de/en/News/ All of the major audio magazines published appreciations. The appreciation of the most eminent of these, The Absolute Sound, may be found at Dieter Burmester (1946–2015).
Yeah. Maybe, if the OP had a full understanding of Dieter Burmester's biography, the radio in his C Class would sound better. Little known fact: Dieter was lactose intolerant!
Not to take anything away from Mr. B, but the fact he licensed his name to MB isn't especially relevant. An entry level Burmester home audio system starts around $20k. An entry level C Class starts at $38k. The system in the C is Burmester's most modest effort at mobile audio, or audio of any kind irrespective of the number of adjectives in his C Class audio philosophy. He was on a tight budget.
It is, as OEM audio goes, a very good sounding system, but if the OP finds it lacking I'd like to help him optimize it.
i feel the exact same way.. my harmon kardon sound system in my 3series was hands down better, sound and loudness... i could virtually go loud enough where my ears couldn't take it and quality was still perfect (not implying i want to damage my ears just for ex).
the burn system doesn't go nearly loud enough for me also preferred the advanced eq settings in the harmon kardon you could go through each frequency and adjust.
BMW e89 Z4 sDrive 35i & MB S205 C200 AMG Premium Plus
Originally Posted by blackedbenzo
i feel the exact same way.. my harmon kardon sound system in my 3series was hands down better, sound and loudness... i could virtually go loud enough where my ears couldn't take it and quality was still perfect (not implying i want to damage my ears just for ex).
the burn system doesn't go nearly loud enough for me also preferred the advanced eq settings in the harmon kardon you could go through each frequency and adjust.
i don't even know what i paid in the benz? i upgraded automatically because the bmw upgraded system was so impressive i expected the same for the benz. the bmw was a $800 for their upgraded harmon kardon system, benz I'm assuming was the same or very close.
regardless for a roughly equal price car i would expect near the same quality.
Bass 10, Mid 2, Treble 8. But that was optimized for my source material. Surround on and front optimized. What source do you typically listen to? I can point you in the right direction.
I have played around with this extensively and my bass is so over boosted its ridiculous (and I love bass)
for media 1 (iphone in)
Treble 7, Mid 5, Bass 3
Sat radio
3,2,1 (sirius quality is terrible anyways so the less bass the better)
HD FM
5,3,1
For a while I had media 1 at 8, 8, 8 and it sounded pretty good, but i noticed if i wasn't listening to a song really loud (which i normally do) it sounded wayyyy over boosted. I have noticed posts here of people saying that their bass has zero punch, but mine is the complete opposite. Compared to my dad's E350 with Premium HK, his virtually has negative bass compared to the Burmester in my car. Also, in one of my old GTI's i had a 12" JL sub in the trunk and the bass in my C class really is comparable
also, idk if its just me but my stereo seems a lot bass-ier when the temp is cold out..
I have played around with this extensively and my bass is so over boosted its ridiculous (and I love bass)
for media 1 (iphone in)
Treble 7, Mid 5, Bass 3
Sat radio
3,2,1 (sirius quality is terrible anyways so the less bass the better)
HD FM
5,3,1
For a while I had media 1 at 8, 8, 8 and it sounded pretty good, but i noticed if i wasn't listening to a song really loud (which i normally do) it sounded wayyyy over boosted. I have noticed posts here of people saying that their bass has zero punch, but mine is the complete opposite. Compared to my dad's E350 with Premium HK, his virtually has negative bass compared to the Burmester in my car. Also, in one of my old GTI's i had a 12" JL sub in the trunk and the bass in my C class really is comparable
also, idk if its just me but my stereo seems a lot bass-ier when the temp is cold out..
the bass isn't really the issue, i agree the bass is good, even has more depth at times then the HK system. i meant the overall loudness crispness at higher volume, which isn't high enough for me
the bass isn't really the issue, i agree the bass is good, even has more depth at times then the HK system. i meant the overall loudness crispness at higher volume, which isn't high enough for me
Maybe a good ENT could see if there's some crud stuck in them there ears. The Burmester is beyond loud if I want to push the volume and the crispness is amazing. At least to me it is. I had the Premium HK Logic 7 in my previous car. The Burmester simply blows it away in naturalness hands down.
Maybe a good ENT could see if there's some crud stuck in them there ears. The Burmester is beyond loud if I want to push the volume and the crispness is amazing. At least to me it is. I had the Premium HK Logic 7 in my previous car. The Burmester simply blows it away in naturalness hands down.
lol i expected nothing less then to receive feedback like that... my hearing is perfect, often can hear things most people cannot. which is why i can tell a difference in frequency adjustment in all the eq settings that the 2013 3 series HK system offers (not sure about the HK in your car, it very may well suck. I'm referring to a car that is a direct comparison our w205). most people do not listen to music the same way. and often times i desire it to be louder thats all, just wish it would.
people that have been in m bmw even mention the sight difference not just myself.
I just installed this guy in my W221 (Harman Kardon Logic 7) and it's the answer to all your prayers. Each individual speaker gets its own independent processing for band pass (crossover point), level, EQ and time correction. You configure it by connecting via USB to a Windows PC. Point and click. Not cheap (around $1k) plus install but you'll love your system.
Don't let the relatively modest power output concern you. I bypassed the HK 650 watt amp in my S and this set up is easily twice as loud.
This is the config screen for a single speaker (in this case the left front door woofer)
On mine, I don't need the source-dependent factory EQ settings. One size fits all sources. Burmester himself said when a system is right you never have to touch it.
Now I concede this is a fairly expensive and extreme solution, but it does work. But if you'd rather not go this deep, play your music through your IPhone or Android using a 3rd party EQ app. EQu by Elephant Candy is a nice, very neutral and natural sounding EQ that lets you build custom curves with very precise control. Limitations are that it only plays local files on your device (not Pandora, etc).
lol i expected nothing less then to receive feedback like that... my hearing is perfect, often can hear things most people cannot. which is why i can tell a difference in frequency adjustment in all the eq settings that the 2013 3 series HK system offers (not sure about the HK in your car, it very may well suck. I'm referring to a car that is a direct comparison our w205). most people do not listen to music the same way. and often times i desire it to be louder thats all, just wish it would.
people that have been in m bmw even mention the sight difference not just myself.
My HK experience most recently was from my 2012 E350 Coupe. I had a 2007 BMW 335i Hardtop Convertible, which also had a Premium system, but I can't remember if it was HK or something else at that time. I hope you didn't take offense at my have your ears cleaned out comment. It was truly meant in jest. We all hear things differently. For me, the Burmester is wonderful. I'm sorry it's not meeting your expectations. Maybe the option Mike suggested will increase your listening pleasure.
I just installed this guy in my W221 (Harman Kardon Logic 7) and it's the answer to all your prayers. Each individual speaker gets its own independent processing for band pass (crossover point), level, EQ and time correction. You configure it by connecting via USB to a Windows PC. Point and click. Not cheap (around $1k) plus install but you'll love your system.
Don't let the relatively modest power output concern you. I bypassed the HK 650 watt amp in my S and this set up is easily twice as loud.
This is the config screen for a single speaker (in this case the left front door woofer)
On mine, I don't need the source-dependent factory EQ settings. One size fits all sources. Burmester himself said when a system is right you never have to touch it.
Now I concede this is a fairly expensive and extreme solution, but it does work. But if you'd rather not go this deep, play your music through your IPhone or Android using a 3rd party EQ app. EQu by Elephant Candy is a nice, very neutral and natural sounding EQ that lets you build custom curves with very precise control. Limitations are that it only plays local files on your device (not Pandora, etc).
If you use an IDevice and Apple Music streaming service, you can try any of the EQ Presets for a good fit. (Settings>Music>EQ).
I have experimented with the Android EQ apps but the coloration was terrible. I didn't try them all though.
just downloaded the elephant candy eq... haven't tried the car yet but already in headphones it sounds so much better. being able to customize these frequencies makes a hell of a difference. hoping for positive feedback from the car as well.
I find the burmester muddy and harsh at high volume. Perfectly acceptable as a car hifi for normal listening however. Certainly not HiFi however.
Yeah, it's an equalization issue. They bake a sort of generic "sounds pretty good in most cases" EQ in the system, give you three tone controls and send you on your way. Most casual listeners perceive exaggerated bass as "power" and overly bright mids and highs as "clarity".
Using just that Iphone app I was able to get an Audio 20 system sounding half way decent. The bones are there in the Burmester. It just needs some fine tuning.
I just installed this guy in my W221 (Harman Kardon Logic 7) and it's the answer to all your prayers. Each individual speaker gets its own independent processing for band pass (crossover point), level, EQ and time correction. You configure it by connecting via USB to a Windows PC. Point and click. Not cheap (around $1k) plus install but you'll love your system.
Don't let the relatively modest power output concern you. I bypassed the HK 650 watt amp in my S and this set up is easily twice as loud.
This is the config screen for a single speaker (in this case the left front door woofer)
On mine, I don't need the source-dependent factory EQ settings. One size fits all sources. Burmester himself said when a system is right you never have to touch it.
Now I concede this is a fairly expensive and extreme solution, but it does work. But if you'd rather not go this deep, play your music through your IPhone or Android using a 3rd party EQ app. EQu by Elephant Candy is a nice, very neutral and natural sounding EQ that lets you build custom curves with very precise control. Limitations are that it only plays local files on your device (not Pandora, etc).
just downloaded the elephant candy eq... haven't tried the car yet but already in headphones it sounds so much better. being able to customize these frequencies makes a hell of a difference. hoping for positive feedback from the car as well.
You can also bump up the gain for extra volume. If you swipe up on the entire curve it will increase gain and keep the same EQ. Also, in Settings (gear icon) you can choose "safe" dynamic compression which automatically suppresses clipping, or "loud" which runs wide open.
You'll see flashes of red on the display when you're clipping (overdriving the IPhone's internal amp).
Name and save your curves as you fine tune so you can recall one if you go to far.
Looks like a great tool, wish I had the knowledge to properly set it up
There are preloaded optimized presets onboard, based on how your installer configured the outputs. Those are a good place to start, and may be all you need. Since the tunings are stored as a computer file, like any computer file you can use "Save As...", give the new tune a new name and save it. Then if you wander too far off into the woods experimenting, just re-load the old file and start over.
Since you're listening to the system as you monkey with stuff, it's pretty intuitive to see what exactly controls what and how each change affects the system overall. You can also "solo" individual speakers or sets of speakers...the tweeters and mids for instance...and just hear those playing, so you can experiment with some EQ, or whatever, and then un-solo everything and see how the performance changes.
I usually start by soloing mids and highs, getting the harshness out, then soloing the bass and midbass, getting the looseness out and tightening the kick drum sound, then I start holistically tweaking the whole system, using several "reference tracks" that I know really well.
Or email me your config file as an attachment and tell me what's bugging you and I'll send you back the revision. It won't be perfect since I can't hear your car, but it will get you close.
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