Got a w205 without multimedia package but with Burmeister. We don't care about bigger screen or navigation (wifes car. I would care if it was my DD). She loves the car.

HOWEVER

Didn't do my homework enough on the base Audio 20. It doesn't have what Mercedes call "music register". This was her FAVORITE audio feature in older cars. Even our 6 year Honda's non-navigation base stereo's have a store to memory function from CD's. I assumed a Mercedes would have a small amount of local storage considering it had all the USB port and other connectivity options. Can't even rip CD to a local USB or SD Card.

She's not a techy so now I'm down to this solution:

- Get an recently updated with wifi ipod touch or old iphone.
- Rip and transfer all her CD's into it (a while back bough a cheap xbox external HD-DVD drive as all our laptops don't have CD players anymore)
- Only buy new music through Itunes (no more CD's)
- Turn on auto download on IPOD so when parked in garage the wifi connection would auto download purchased music.

Technology wise in her old Acura the processes was to buy CD, Insert to car (it would auto rip) and she'd throw the CD back into case and never need the CD again.

Are there any problems or considerations I have not thought of with my solution?

 

Doesn't your car have a USB or SD Card reader? Rip all the CDs to a SD card or USB stick as you mentioned and play them from there. You'd need a PC and you use iTunes software (just make sure you set the settings to rip to MP3 instead of the Apple proprietary formats).

 

As much as I love my wife, I don't wan to be bothered each time she buys new music in the future. She'd have to do some manual file transfer on SD or USB stick. She's and Android user and if she had an Iphone she'd fill up the internal storage quickly with pictures and videos, so I want something dedicated to music.

 

Hehe, copying to the hard drive is minor....

Why the F havent they made the songs remember where you were on the list when u open folder or tracklist again

i have 1000s of songs on my usb, its like pure torture having to navigate my music.... Why did they not allow it to memorize your last place on the list and return to that when u try to pick a new song.....

 

If she has an iPhone, turn on Music Match in iCloud and it will make the entire iTunes library available via streaming without storing any files on the phone itself, so the device's internal memory limitations aren't an issue. Music Match is free. It works for purchased music as well as CD rips to iTunes.

 

sounds like a good idea. Can you navigate the music library using the Audio 20 User Interface as if it was on the device?

Funny thing is she just switched to Iphone today after I started this thread. Now I can experiment with it and the Music Match.

 

This is another reason I'm going the Apple device route. On my 5series the usb device is similar where it not as nice to navigate compared to apple devices.

 

This is something informative to know.

 

Yes. Also, for $10 a month you can create unlimited custom streaming radio stations (they show up in your playlists on the A20) in Apple Music, and as long as your subscription is active you can add unlimited tracks to your device (although they aren't stored on your device unless you download them for offline listening)

If you use Apple Music don't bother ripping CDs. Just add the tracks right from the phone.

 

+1 I think this is the perfect time to go digital. New iPhone and new car so the idea of learning something new is already there and not being "forced". I've been using Apple Music since it came out and have been satisfied with the quality, features and selection. It's $10 a month, $15 for families and they usually have a free trial. I don't use the Pandora-like streaming radio that much but it's good to have the option.

Like Mike said she can use the iCloud Music Library along with iTunes on her computer to stream those CDs you rip to the computer. You can find the option in Settings > Music



Also even if you have a Windows PC you can import your photos and videos in one click anytime she plugs in her iPhone. If you have a Windows PC when you plug the iPhone in via USB an import photos and videos pop up will appear and it will import your lastest photos and ignore any duplicates. This can help her to manage storage on her phone as the photos and videos are what usually take up the most storage.

If she's ever in areas with little to no signal coverage she can also download a song either from Apple Music or her iCloud Music library locally to her phone while on wifi, this also saves cellular data if you're on a limited data plan.

 

On the A20, set Treble to +10, Mid -10, Bass +10. On the IPhone, go to Settings>Music>EQ>Rock.

 

Very interesting prescription there Mr mike; i enjoyed your write ups on burmester. Great read. I take it into consideration when choosing eq and volume settings for different artists/years of production.

So why on a20 would u want to negative the midrange all the way down, and maximize bass and treble? From your expose, all of the speakers are 4 and 6 " midrange ones.

Is that only when using the apple music setup? and still, only for rock setups?

foo fighters vs bad religion tho, i cant use just one eq setting for them. I find mself having to adjust it each song

 

Since the 4" tend to be all midrange no matter what signal they get, the mids get overemphasized at the expense of the lows and highs. Cutting the midrange EQ deemphasizes them and brings the overall sound in balance. The full on treble is necessary to compensate for the lack of tweeters. Full on bass obviously to compensate for the lack of any real woofers.

If you use your iTunes library for playback, you can assign EQ track by track. On the PC, select the tracks. Right click and select Get Info. On the Options section select the curve you want for those tracks. Sync the device. Now when those tracks play, the device will switch to the assigned EQ. I usually do a Select All and apply one curve globally to the whole library then go into albums that need something different.










Rock emphasizes the lows and keeps the mids from getting too bright. R&B is similar but less mid suppression. Bass Boost fattens up the low end nicely but the mids and highs might seem muffled. Dialing in more Mid on the car's EQ helps.

Unfortunately you can't create custom curves that will transfer to the device. You can have them on your PC but on the iPhone you're stuck with the presets.

For the brief time I had the A20 I was able to get very listenable results from the EQu app, which lets you create and save custom curves. But it only works for tracks that are local on the device and non DRM. Really pin point precise control and no obvious colorization or artifacts.

Lately my favorite way to listen by far is the Aphex Audio Xciter app. It's a bit buggy and outdated visually but the difference in presence and punch is remarkable. It's not an EQ, more like a digital signal processor that invigorates compressed digital music and gives it a more open, analog feel.

EQu:

 

Took your advice and set my bluetooth eq to Volume: standard, Surround: on, Treble +3, Midrange -5, and Bass +1 and its fairly universally good sounding so far.

How were you playing the apple music through the car? bluetooth or cable plug?

 

No. Unfortunately there's no CarPlay in the 205. But you'll get a little better sound (more open, wider soundstage) with a direct USB-Lightning cable connection to the car. In the Burmester system there are two USB ports in the center console for this purpose. (You can put any USB device in the port, but if the system senses an Iphone it switches to the Apple default for file navigation etc.) Not sure on the A20.

Bluetooth tends to tighten up the lows (which is good) but the highs can sound a little phasey. Also with a direct connection you'll get cover art on the car's screen.

 

Same on A20. It goes into iPod mode.