Mike5215

It's been a long, strange trip but my S550 is no more and my brand new custom order Palladium C300 is in the garage. It's got the AMG Kit, rear spoiler, light package, pano roof. Crystal leather and the resulting interior package, black open pore, multi media, AirMatic, Drivers Assist, Park Assist, air balance, HUD. MSRP was $60k and I got 10% off.

I have to say the AirMatic was worth waiting for. I'm on the stock 18" and while the run flats are a bit firm (and loud) the Air does a nice job of keeping things smooth and comfortable in most conditions.

Not planning much in mods, other than replacing the run flats with Michelin Pilot Supersports. They're my go-to ultra high performance tire. Great ride and very quiet. (I'll get a seal and fill kit).

That and I'll get my Audison Prima DSP Amp and Focal KRS 100 speakers installed in the existing Burmester system. Nothing wrong really with the stock system but the Audison can take things up a level or two. The Focals cost me $750 so they're going in the front doors. I'll do a separate write up on the audio upgrade.

That should keep me busy. Meanwhile I'm finding every excuse to take it out. Just such a blast to drive, especially with all the toys on it.

Takymoto

Congrats! Love the interior!

Mike5215

Thanks. It sucks when you're ordering and you have a bunch of great choices, but I'm glad I settled on the grey/black ash.

bukusuma

Congrats on the new car! My white C250 have the same exact options as yours with the exception of the Airmatic which is not available in my country.

I'm interested to learn more of your audio upgrades. Which Audison Prima DSP Amp will you be installing? Also, the Focals are going into the front doors only? The other speakers are unchanged?

Thanks for your time, and congrats again on the car.

Bram

Mike5215

I have a Prima 8.9 that was installed in my S Class. It'll be set up as 3 way active speakers front (footwell woofer, 4" door midrange, 2" tweeter) and passive 2 ways in the rear doors. The Focals will replace the front door mid and tweets.

That'll eat up the eight powered channels. The unpowered 9th will go to a small JL sub amp and a 10" JL sealed box enclosure in the trunk.

(The small center surround and rear deck surrounds remain on the factory amp. I'll use the Prima's time correction, equalization and level controls to blend the orphaned speakers in seamlessly.)

That will allow me to treat the footwell subwoofers more like traditional woofers and using the new sub to handle the really low material. The lack of any conventional mid bass drivers, like a pair of 6" anywhere in the car creates a gap.

Four 4" midrange drivers makes the mids over represented. The lack of any mid bass drivers means the footwell subs have to play extra high into midbass territory to cover the gap. When they do so, the low bass gets boomy and loose.

I had similar issues with the S's Harman/Kardon. The Prima's digital signal processing capability can work wonders, even on a system that's already pretty decent to start out with.

bukusuma

Ah ok... Thank you for the in depth reply. For me any amps or speakers will be new, so I need to know what and how much I have to invest before committing.

Looks like your C300 will have a well thought out sound set up.

Thanks a lot and enjoy your new car!

Bram

Mike5215

If I hadn't had the gear already sitting in my garage I wouldn't spend the money to upgrade the Burmester. If the system isn't quite cutting it for you, a $2 iPhone EQ app (EQu by Elephant Candy) can get you much better sound all by itself, although it's limited to local files on your device (no cloud or streaming files).

bukusuma

Yup... after googling their prices, I don't think I can really bring myself to spend that much additional money on the car's sound system.

I'll stay with the Burmeister. And thank you for suggesting the EQu. This is the second time someone mentioned it. I'll give it a try.

Thank you and have a great Sunday,

Bram

RixC300

Looking forward to how the DSP works out. I have the PS8 setting in my closet along with the Focal KX33, beryllium tweeters and some Brax amps I've been wanting to install.

Mike5215

Yeah, I'll do a full write up once it's in and I'll post the tuning map file as well. The Burmester is a good system out of the box, so I'm expecting some amazing stuff out of the Prima. It totally transformed the Harman/Kardon in my old 221 and that system wasn't as good as the Burmester in the C to start with.

I don't think the issues with the Burmester have to do much with speaker quality. More the physics of trying to tune a set of subwoofers so that they play up into the mid bass range without getting sloppy, overloading the cabin with seven 4" midrange (one in each door plus three surrounds) speakers and no proper woofers anywhere.

rbrylaw

Mike, she's a beauty! Congrats and may you drive in nothing but happiness and the greatest of health. I've had mine for 5 months now and it's simply been flawless in every way. Not a single issue at all.

I hope yours is trouble free too!

DapperStyle

Nice and congrats! I'd love for you to do a comparison review after a couple of months compared to your S Class.

Mike5215

My initial thoughts are that the C has a huge design advantage over the interior of the 221, and a huge tech advantage. I can just sit in the C and marvel at all of the beautiful textures, finishes and contours. I think the exterior 221 in full AMG trim has more presence.

For local driving the C is much more fun and engaging behind the wheel. It's like an eager puppy where the S was an old lumbering Basset Hound. I love the different drive modes. The AirMatic was definitely worth waiting for. No regrets there at all. My Individual drive mode is basically Comfort across the board with the engine on Sport, but I'm still playing with it.

Ironically the C is the most expensive car I've owned. All three S Class were CPO and cost less up front, although the ownership costs on an S are brutal even with CPO.

On the highway at 80+ the C produces a lot more road noise. I think it's a function of the C being lighter, with less sound deadening, and maybe the run-flat tires. The Burmester really could not get on top of it without getting brassy and loose either. Granted my wife and I were both exhausted from two days straight of driving so fatigue may account for a lot of that highway driving impression.

The seat bottoms felt a good deal stiffer and my butt had two dead spots on it by the time we got home. But despite my gripes from me just being too old and soft for a sport sedan I do really like the car and I think we're going to get along fine. Next Tuesday I'll get the audio sorted out and I think I'll get a set of Michelin Pilot Super Sports and a flat kit.

So me and the C are off to a good start.

Mike5215

Well it took a total of three days for me to fall in love. I know it's serious when I can't stop taking pictures...

cleankutazn

Very nice!!! The wheels match the car. Can't wait to see the stereo install.

Mike5215

Thanks! If the Prima/JL/Focal install goes well there won't be much to see (except the sub box) but I'll post some pics along the way.

MASSC450

Congrats...I envy you having remote start!


Nothing like a custom ordered car...I had to wait 3 months for mine.

Mike5215

Well, remote start via MBrace is kind of a joke. It takes forever as it goes through its various "security checks", any one of which cancels the start sequence. I've had two successful starts in a dozen attempts. It was probably faster and easier to get a space shuttle launched.

The real deal is the MidCity Engineering SmartKey Starter paired with a Drone Mobile unit. Start up is a matter of seconds whether the doors are locked or not, and I had a zero failed start rate with mine. It's available for the 205, install is simple since it's just plugging into the car's CAN bus. Around $800 for the pair and the Drone premium plan is $50 for a year. Your car has to have Keyless Go though.

MASSC450

My car DOES have Keyless GO...and I have keyless start as well.

I'll have to look into this, thanks!

Mike5215

There's a guy on the 221 forum, Jason Burtman, who owns a MidCity distributorship. PM him and he'll probably cut you a deal on the stuff.

Mike5215

So as the last few S Class cobwebs are being cleared from my brain, I'm starting to "get" the C more. It wants to be Driven, capital D. The S, while very quiet and smooth, is not a driver's car (unless you get into an ABC car or the AMG variants. Even those aren't really "fun" to toss around).

inhartwetrust

Congrats dude!

How long til this one goes back and you're back into pondering mode?

Mike5215

Oh crap don't even remind me. It's a 36 month lease so if history is any indication, about 24 months.

*Knowledge*

lol, congrats. Enjoy it while you got it!

SteveE400

Nice car, Mike. I'll bet it is a refreshing change from the S.


I've always respected the C and its ancestors, since having a W201 from 1988-1996. That was a fun car, and was very solid.


I've driven a new C300 as a loaner, and at first I was underwhelmed. After a day or so, though, the little guy kind of grew on me -- to the point where I'd consider one once my E400 is "consumed." The tough choice would be which C variant I'd want at that time. I can only imagine how the C450 would feel, being the "little brother" to my E400 in stature, but having more power and torque. Could be dangerous. . .