roybenz

I am not very pleased in general with the HK radio in this car ( 04 e500 4matic) . Unless it is cranked, the fidelity is modest at very best. But in particular the Sirus ( Benz install) Sat. - for the most part sounds- like a cheap clock radio. My Lexus (basic not Mark Levinson) radio is a quantum leap better in every mode. Is this common - or is mine not functioning properly.

DWP

Most people here would say that good sound from the HK audio is "normal", and that bad sound is not "normal." Your standards may be higher. If satellite radio momentarily sounds like it's coming from down a drainpipe, that means it's on the edge of losing signal from the bird. It shouldn't sound significantly worse than other audio sources over the long term. I don't know from Sirius, but XM radio is somewhere between FM and CD in audio quality. If your Sirius really sounds worse than, say, FM, then something might be wrong with the installation.

ATS

Sat radio is FM quality but different. I find the compression ratio they use is not that great and causes listener fatigue - although I LOVE sat radio. I really can't stand FM and have both XM and Sirius (and prefer Sirius).

konigstiger

Together with your dealer compare your system with another vehicle that also has SIRIUS.

For the 2004 to present E-Class if you experience improper SIRIUS operation and your SDARS control unit is part # A220 820 17 97 Q05 or lower (obtainable through STAR) replacement to B6 783 0085 Satellite Radio Control Unit (USA) is recommended.

ATS

Do you have the details of this TSB? What do they call "improper operation"? Drop outs, sound problems?

Thanks..

Barry45RPM

I heard all satellite radio supplies are on a 3 month backorder at my dealership today. I was asking about changing my black hockey puck antenna to the new color matched square ones & that's what I was told... see him in 3 months! Thanks Howard!

jimbo1mcm

Make sure you go into your radio manual and enhance the settings. Most of the time, the bass and treble are set to 0. Also, you can change the setting for the Logic 7. My Sirius is quite good.

roybenz

This was my first post and the response was terrific. Thank you!

Bundy

While I love my Sirius radio programming, it is a technological fact that the audio quality is not as high as FM or CD. Most people just assume that if it's digital is better. These same people also incorrectly think that Dolby Digital sound (used on movies) is better than CD. Check out the numbers. CD digital is only bested by the SACD and DVD-A formats, both of which are struggling to survive because most people don't know about them and don't really care about better fidelity sound. They download their compressed mpg files and listen to them on cheap headphones with tiny little amps.

Sirius and XM both send compressed signals that vary by channel but none are as high of fidelity as FM.

Matt230K

That's just the control module, and it's not really a backorder. It's blocked from ordering because they are using them all for factory installs. I think it's been over 3 months already like this and no word on when they will be available.

The parts you need are available for ordering. They are 6-7-83-0058 splitter and 6-7-83-0081 pewter antenna.

konigstiger

P-B-82.85/444 APR05– Satellite Radio Improper Operation (2004 to present). “Acquiring Signal” is displayed for the entire ignition cycle after starting the vehicle and/or bleed through of satellite radio audio into phone call while using the in-vehicle hands free phone system. Determine part number of SDARS control unit and if A220 820 17 97 Q05 or lower, replace with B6 783 0085 (USA).

As Matt230K mentioned, this part is in a critical supply situation. All new installs call for this control module.

It is my suggestion that even if you're not experiencing these exact symptoms you may be entitled to a new control unit offering better performance.

konigstiger

Like I said, if it is found that your reception differs in any way from that of another car on your dealer’s lot I would also mention this DTB which may entitle you to a new control unit offering better performance whether or not you’re experiencing these exact symptoms.

konigstiger

For those who may also want to switch to the smaller SIRIUS antenna the following colors are readily available (other colors would have to be matched for which Primer B6 783 0084 is available):

Black (040) B6 783 0080
Pewter (723) B6 783 0081
Iridium Silver (775) B6 783 0082
Alabaster White (960) B6 783 0083

ctemkin

Let me pass along advice which I came across on this forum some time ago and which I found very helpful regarding sound quality. Instead of centering the sound in the middle of the car, i.e., equally between front and back, try moving it towards the back of the car. This de-emphasizes the front speakers and boosts the back ones, which seem to sound a lot better. I also tweaked the treble a bit.

ATS

..and I turn the treble down and 1/4 and boost the bass 1/4 on Logic this sounds the best.

roybenz

Dealer found that there was an issue with the nav and the radio. It seems that when in surround 7 mode it - for whatever reason- routed the sound in the front to the center speaker only .It was in Nav mode rather than full radio mode. In effect the centerdash speaker was the only speaker being fed info. It was corrected and sound much better.

jimbo1mcm

It seems that a lot of any problems that come up with these newer cars are electronic, but also software issues. The common thread seems to be lack of dealership knowledge about software. If something isn't working they do the old mechanic trick of just replacing a component.

I am not sure if they lack the equipment to diagnose, or the personnel. I had a cell phone install that never worked properly until the only guy in the dealership that knew electronics traced it to a software issue. One of the boxes thought it was in Germany on their cell phone(different) system. When you hear about transmission problems, the first thing, should be an analysis of the software.

In general, if you find a dealership that has someone that is a techie, you are in luck.