UrBusted

I've got a C Class W206 Premium Plus coming next week but it doesn't have Burmester. They told me it has the 225w 9 speaker Advanced Sound System; my question is does anyone know if this system has an amplifier or if it's being powered by the MBUX? I've seen some threads of upgrades and will probably be following a similar route. If anyone can share what upgrades they did and if they think the components they used were worth it I would appreciate you sharing.
Thanks

818benz

Unfortunately, there are no upgrades. This “advanced system” is just a new name for the basic speakers that replaced the old ones at the start of the supply chain shortage.

I have a 2022 with no Burmester and a 2023 with the Burmester. The base 9 speak advanced sounds like absolute trash compared to the Burmester. The difference is day and night, and I will never get a non Burmester MB again. This was a major issue for many users on the forum in 2022 when the Burmester was getting dropped from the majority of builds.

The base “advanced system” is missing tweeters (pop off the covers on the windshield column if you don’t believe me). It is also missing a dedicated amp, a second speaker in the footwell, and more on top of the noticeably worse speakers everywhere). Furthermore, there are no 3D, surround, or atmos options/support with the standard non-Burmester.

I used to not care, but if you are coming from a Burmester, you can expect to lose a lot of fidelity and all of the physical feeling of sound in the cabin.

TLDR: If it doesn’t cost extra on the sticker, you have the base speakers and no upgrades.

EDIT: Thanks to @BenjaminKohl for new info on the advanced option

schizophonic

Interesting if there are any way to increase the sound in an non Burmester car.
I;ve seen on website such as Aliexpress, to get '4d tweeter' similar to the S Class. and it looks like a straight fit. Is it more style over substance?
And also on the same website, they sold bass (footwell) speakers for the w205, so again wondered if theyre will be w206 versions? Can the w205 fit over to the w206?

Whatabout, if getting hold of Burmester speakers for the car and if its a direct replacement will it work. I know there is some sort of amplifier powering it but would it be better than the 'advance' or is it not worth the money to buy the parts?

UrBusted

So where are the 9 speakers in the car? I was assuming it was centre speaker, front two are component so count as 4, rear 2 coaxial and 2 subs in the footwells. Sounds like I have to go for a custom build, will probably end up with a Focal system. Can you also confirm that it doesn't have a dedicated amp? The people I've spoken to have said that the advanced system has a 225w amp, I'll be getting a wiring diagram later on in the week.

There are companies offering direct replacements including STEG and Gladen Soundup. I know Focal do the kit for the 205 which just needs custom mounts to fit in the 206. I believe the 4d tweeters do work but are not worth the price for the substance, I'll be buying the speaker cover for the style and replacing the tweeter though.

schizophonic

Keen to know what route you take or find out. in the coming weeks / months.
I'm also based in the UK and on my old A3 I went for the custom route with a DSP, sub amd amp setup. Really do like my music so getting a better experience uplifts the car so much more when driving it.

karimdxb

the Basic system doesnt have a good performance !

BenjaminKohl

There is actually this "advanced" sound system, code 853, available in other markets, midway between the base sound system and the burmester. But as it's not available in the US, almost no one on this forum has experience with it.

UrBusted

This is the one that's on my car ^^, I'll post a review next week using Burmester 3D in the S Class and Burmester in the E Class as comparisons

818benz

How interesting!!! Thank you for the new info OP please follow up, especially if 3D, surround, and music profiles are available in MBUX.

Did equipment code 853 add to the price?

BenjaminKohl

For the US market, I've seen three very very early trial production cars with it for sale and I've also seen it on a few X253 GLCs built during the height of the chip shortage when burmester wasn't available there either, and it cost $390 compared to $850 for burmester on the GLC and $650 on the new C.

It's also (different system) available on the US market EQB and facelift verisons of the CLA, GLB, and GLA. For the EQB, it's part of the mid exclusive trim while the burmester is part of the top pinnacle trim so that tells us nothing specific on pricing, but on the gas FWD cars it appears that advanced sound system is part of the exclusive and pinnacle trims and burmester is a standalone option on any trim, costing $1,020 on base cars and $620 on exclusive and pinnacle cars, so it would appear to be $400 for the advanced sound system if it were taken on it's own, plus on cars with 853 there's also a $50 charge for 22U online music streaming which is free on Burmester, so call it $570 to upgrade to burmester on an exclusive/pinnacle car meaning the standalone price would be $450.

Holo

It’s definitely an awful system but there are a couple ways to upgrade it. If you want better overall sound quality then you will need to shell out a couple thousand for a good dsp/amp and speakers + shop labor. Or if you’re just looking to get some more bass then a subwoofer install is pretty straightforward and IMO the best bang for your buck. But it all depends on what type of music you listen to and other expectations. I also think the base system is not loud whatsoever and see myself cranking up the volume to no avail.

UrBusted

It came with the car as it was Premium Plus. Interestingly, I don't have 853 on my vdok from what my audio installer could see. The sound system is alright but it's missing mid/low bass. Music profiles aren't available so I'll be setting it up on my new amplifier.

I agree with your thoughts 100%. I've gone for a full install, parts are coming home today and then I'll get a shop to fit it in a week or two. Subwoofer is 100% the best bang for the buck, the treble's okay but the woofers are horrible.

I went for a Match UP8 Amplifier/DSP, Match components for the front, Match coaxial for the rear, Match centre speaker and Focal Front Subwoofers; will update you when it gets installed. I'm based in Essex if you want to see it in the future.

Holo

I hate to break it to you but those match speakers won’t fit unless you got the w206 specific ones. They made some recently but not for the rear doors which means you’ll have to modify them. The focal front sub also needs modification as well but it’s not difficult.

UrBusted

Yes, it's the FRT.3s for the front component ones and for the focal subs Pete said it's quite easy. Do you know what modification would need to be done to the rear and the centre speaker for them to fit? I'm assuming custom speaker adapters. Thank you!

Holo

Yeah Pete said the modification is pretty easy which is nice. For the rears I’m unsure but what I would say to do is return the rears if you can and get some non plug and plays. You’re spending the extra money for plug and play just for them to not fit. The center I believe has the same mount but you can pry the grill open to double check.

UrBusted

I've returned the rear coaxials and have FRT.3s for the rears arriving tomorrow. I will put the tweeter in the hole either where the Burmester tweeter goes around the door handle or in the roof liner; will share pics when it's done next week.

UrBusted

Modification wasn't easy for my shop so I exchanged the subs. I got the Match front components, Match centre speaker, Audison APX 4s on the rear installed; my Gladden plug and play subwoofers came yesterday so I'll get that installed this week along with the Match UP8. Here's pics of the speakers in the doors. The Gladden woofers seem like very high quality, will leave a review of the whole system when everything's installed in the next week or two.

0Cool

Coulnd't agree more on the c300. Interesting part is I got a loaner care and it was a GLB and didn't have Burmester speakers, but when you turned up the bass on the car, it hit REALLY HARD. I am shocked that a fully loaded 2023 C300 that I have with the premium system has almost no bass at all. It is the dumbest thing I have EVER heard of in my life. I am extremely dissapointed in Mercedes with this new revamp of the car. It seems like they cut a lot of corners and I have been having a ton of issues with the car since i bought it brand new (Had to order it).

BobZEQEC300

I have the Burmester on my EQE 350+ and my C300 doesn't have it. Granted the EQE cabin is larger and maybe the acoustics are different. But can't really tell the difference between the two. I don't think you are missing anything to wow you. I'm certainly not wowed.

UrBusted

The Burmester on my S Class was brilliant. I just tried a CLE and C Class with Burmester and I agree with you, they are HORRIBLE.

In terms of the audio build I just finished it now. It sounds good and 10x more powerful than stock; might install a rear subwoofer soon though. The components used:
MatchUP8 DSP 1420w with Harness, it was plug and play but I would highly suggest custom dsp tuning
Gladen Mosconi Woofers which were plug and play (focals and the rest can potentially be modified but it's not the easiest job)
MatchUP S4MB-CTR Centre Speaker which comes with an extra cable that needs to be run to the amplifier
MatchUP C42MB-FRT.3 Front Component speakers which are plug and play for the 206
Audison APX 4 Rear Coaxial speakers which needed an adapter that any competent audio shop can create for you

No wire modification needed except to power the amplifier and another cable to run to the centre speaker so that it changes from just an SOS speaker to a speaker that can play audio too. It's fairly easy to disassemble the car, there's a video by Gladen which shows how to do it.

schizophonic

Did you had to splice into any existing cables?
I want to upgrade mine in due course but I also want to move it back to stock when i come to sell it.
How much did you end up spending if you dont mind me asking?

UrBusted

For the Match centre speaker, front component C42MB.FRT3s and Gladen subs you don't have to splice any cables, it's complete plug and play. For the amplifier the mbux harness that Match offers makes it plug and play. You do have to splice the rear because no plug and play speakers exist but I believe there are some under works.
I have an account with my audio shop as most of the cars have trackers/audio builds so I don't remember precisely how much I paid. The gladen RHD subs were on sale for £375, I think the amp, front component, centre and rear speakers came out to £1000-1200. Professional fitting will be £250-500. Whilst you're at it I'd suggest installing a stealth Dashcam like the fitcamx.
If you speak to allwoods audio he'll help you in creating a full plug and play system at a good price with DSP settings. He sells every brand, is very knowledgable about Mercs and has won some OEM installation prizes across the UK. He sold me the Gladen subs. My son's getting his DSP tuned in 2 weeks by the Match technicians, if you're ever around Essex drop me a message and you can meet him and hear how it sounds for a few minutes.

schizophonic

Thanks for the reply. Is the Allwoods Audio based in Newcastle? If so it seems a bit far to travel if your based in Essex?

UrBusted

Yes Allwoods is based in Newcastle. I only got my woofers from him since my audio shop doesn't have a relationship with Gladen and the Gladen sub is the only one that's plug and play for RHD W206s. He's highly reputed on the BMW forums to the extent that people from America buy from him. He sells hundreds of full audio kits a year. My local audio shop sold me the rest of the equipment and they're the ones who will have a match technician down for training or something and then they will be tuning it.

schizophonic

Thank you for clarifying. Who are your installers? I'm based in the midlands and had one of my old car's sound system by Caraudiosecurity in outskirts in London. I have seen Cambridge Car Audio work on Mercedes. Was thinking of approaching them to get discussion going on.