lpolo

I feel that HK in my car doesn't kick... get into my friend's s-class with bose system.. it sounds a lot better. is it my ear or because i get used to HK? please post your comments.

HK vs Bose

MB Fanatic

The HK system for many listeners lacks Bass. Bose seems to emphasize Bass way too much, and not care much for the total sound quality.

The best Bose system to this date has been introduced on the Acura RL. Many say it sounds better than the Mark Levinson systems in Lexus. I did drive and test the RL and it is way better than the ELS/Panasonic DVD-A system in my TL.

hoffyvortex

In my opinion, the HK system is one of the better OEM systems available. Although the speakers in the E class are not superb, the overall sound and balance of the system is good, and the Logic 7 processing is first rate. Much better than any OEM Bose system i have heard. The Bose system in my previous Audi A6 was very dissapointing. You will find the bass in most Bose systems to be tuned to one specific frequency, so although there is a lot of bass, it is of poor quality, muddy, and inaccurate. The subwoofer in the E class is a pretty impressive unit, some significant tooling went into making it very shallow to preserve trunk space. The HK audio system my E500 sounds pretty decent as long as it isnt pushed too hard. The one feature that I wish they would have included is a way to manually balance the speaker levels in Logic 7 mode. I find that my center channel is 1-2 dB too hot for my taste, but i think they did that as a comprimise given that neither front seat is ideally located for good imaging. The balance/fader control does not give quite enough control to get it right. I have not conducted any measurements, so i am simply stating my opinion, but I have a strong background in this area as an Electrical Engineer with an emphasis in audio, and my company designs and installs high end AV systems in homes. (www.avisions.com).

As a side note, I am also impressed with the mp3 capability of the CD changer and DVD slot. between the two, you can keep about 7.5 gigs of music in your car, with easy access and track and title info on both the Comand display and in dash display! Consider the AUX input (that works very well (with impressive signal to noise ratio - much better than could be achieved with a cassete or FM adapter or other kludge) or the new iPod integration kit soon to be available and I think it all adds up to one of the best OEM systems available. Granted, you could spend $2,000 and significantly improve the sound, but I am pretty happy with it just the way it is.

Brian_I.

I can only compare it to the 8-speaker BOSE system in my CLK and this is so much better.

ATS

I totally agree with you. I think it sounds great although the tweeters in the door give me a headache sometimes. I would love to turn them down or even unplug them.. My treble setting is almost all the way down and the bass about 3/4 up. In the manual it kinda' states that the Logic 7 is great for background music.. So somtimes I stick it in Stereo mode and turn it up.

The CD Changer and DVD slot will give you 640MB X 6 = 4GB and the changer >if< dual layer will give you 8GB a total of 12GB.. If the player is single layer only it will give you 8GB as you said.. Which is great. Have you tried a dual layer disk in there?

CASL55

I had a 2002 745 with an excellent (by OEM auto standards) HK system. I have a 2004 SL55 with a truly awful Bose system. I have a 2005 E500 wagon with an acceptable, but not great, HK system. The Mercedes HK system doesn't image as well as the BMW HK system did, and the Mercedes HK system is lacking an equalizer, which the BMW had and which was essential for good results in that car.

The Bose system in the SL55 has no bass below 60 Hz or so, and a huge mid-bass hump that you can't tune out with the tone controls. The treble is spitty and has lots of intermodulation distortion, even at middling volume levels. There is no image at all. Bose home systems are known for fuzzy imaging, a tradition that goes all the way back to 1968 and the Bose 901, which aimed one driver at the listener, and 8 at the back wall.

I suspect quite a negotiation between the auto manufacturer and the sound system manufacturer takes place, with the auto manufacturer holding the high hand in that they get to specify how much they'll pay, resulting in different quality of sound in different vehicles.

Jim

hoffyvortex

I have not tried a dual layer disc...knowing that the ipod kit is just around the corner i havent been compelled to get more storage, but it is certainly worth trying! If you get to it first, please let us know.

lorinserbenz

No Highs No Lows.. it must BOSE.

Both systems are lacking on various areas.. Bose is muddy , the HK is tinny to me.
The alternative is to let someone rip your 50K car and install a nice system for $1500-$2000 which would blow the stock system away.
Having been in the car audio business I prefer to leave my car alone. These cars are too quirky, adding aftermarket audio is a problem waiting to happen.
I just play my HK system at a decent volume and deal with it.

SAguirre

Depending on the application, some BOSE products are very good. But that is another can of worms.

When I first heard that HK was doing the W211 I was not wield about it. The HK BMW systems of the middle and late 90s was TRUE garbage. They sounded awful! They had all these little features and sound options, but they all were impure.

Bose, like stated before, tends to have problems with base, but when the systems came out they were much better than the regular stock systems. When I listened to my HK system I was very impressed. I was expecting something like the older BMW HK systems.

I actually own Bose speakers for my house (strictly due to decor issues and space constraints). But, I think that the HK sound system is acceptable (at least, and sounds better than the W210's Bose system.

Just remember, it is a stock system, as far as they go, I think that the HK is fine.

Steve

SAguirre

"BE A" should be added to make it sound better

Steve

alewifebp

I don't like the HK in the E too much. As has been mentioned, the bass is the worst problem. It is very dependent on the type of music, though. Some musc that I've listened to on the HK I noticed stuff in the songs that I had not heard before. But whenever you try to crank it a little bit too much, or if your music is very rich in bass, it falls apart, and I need to keep the bass very low in order to make it pleasing to hear.

I've heard the Blose system in the S and SL. While to the casual observer they sound good and loud, a more thorough investigation reveals that the sound is not all that good. Sounds like the entire Blose marketing plan. It sounds very artificial.

The stock Pioneer unit in my Lexus was very good, and overall much better than the HK. You couldn't crank it too loud either, but it did sound good all the way through the db range. In that case, I think the speakers make a huge difference.

benzboy

I've had a number of Es over the years and all were BOSE equipped. The HK in my 211 is far superior IMHO

SL BRABUS

I hate to say this "none"........They both suck........

Brav

I agree, maybe not suck, but far from superior. None of the actual car systems are anything like the home systems. they skimp big time. business is business... you think HK is a joke for MB, drive a BMW.. pathetic.