It appears that Mercedes has removed the Burmester 3D sound from the 2023 C300 car trim options (Pinnacle)....curious if anyone knows whether the GLE350 (Premium Package) is also being affected.
The option was removed from my 2023 GLE 63 order, so yea seems like no GLEs will be getting it.
Interestingly enough, I was watching a couple reviews of the 2023 on YouTube (most by dealers) and they all are showing the Burmester. Will be taking delivery in a couple of weeks, so will know for sure then!
Unless I'm mistaken, the 350 and 450 can only get the regular Burmester system and not the higher end 3d version.
It is a bit confusing.
My understanding (which may not be accurate) is that the regular Burmester does NOT have the alumninum/silver looking speaker grills and the logo "Burmester" engraved on them, but rather the speakers match the interior color. It is still a Burmester, but not 3D. The cars that I saw on the YouTube videos (which the blogger claims are 2023's) all have the silver grill (but didn't get a close look on what's engraved on them). My 2020 GLE has the silver grills and the logo on them say 3D.
I picked up a '23 C300 Pinnacle Trim car last week for my wife, but though it should be the 3D it's not. The Window Sticker doesn't list Burmester anywhere...the only mention around the sound system is "FrontBass" which I have no idea what it means. It was explained to me that it is still a Burmester, but not the higher end one. Honestly, it still sounds good, but it's a smaller cabin.
Would love to hear from anyone who has a better understanding.
My understanding (which may not be accurate) is that the regular Burmester does NOT have the alumninum/silver looking speaker grills and the logo "Burmester" engraved on them, but rather the speakers match the interior color. It is still a Burmester, but not 3D. The cars that I saw on the YouTube videos (which the blogger claims are 2023's) all have the silver grill (but didn't get a close look on what's engraved on them). My 2020 GLE has the silver grills and the logo on them say 3D.
I picked up a '23 C300 Pinnacle Trim car last week for my wife, but though it should be the 3D it's not. The Window Sticker doesn't list Burmester anywhere...the only mention around the sound system is "FrontBass" which I have no idea what it means. It was explained to me that it is still a Burmester, but not the higher end one. Honestly, it still sounds good, but it's a smaller cabin.
Would love to hear from anyone who has a better understanding.
The regular Burmester has the aluminum “brumester covers on the doors — the standard non-Burmester does not. The 3D Burmester has LED lights in the covers and speaker in the ceiling behind the driver.
My understanding (which may not be accurate) is that the regular Burmester does NOT have the alumninum/silver looking speaker grills and the logo "Burmester" engraved on them, but rather the speakers match the interior color. It is still a Burmester, but not 3D. The cars that I saw on the YouTube videos (which the blogger claims are 2023's) all have the silver grill (but didn't get a close look on what's engraved on them). My 2020 GLE has the silver grills and the logo on them say 3D.
I picked up a '23 C300 Pinnacle Trim car last week for my wife, but though it should be the 3D it's not. The Window Sticker doesn't list Burmester anywhere...the only mention around the sound system is "FrontBass" which I have no idea what it means. It was explained to me that it is still a Burmester, but not the higher end one. Honestly, it still sounds good, but it's a smaller cabin.
Would love to hear from anyone who has a better understanding.
No the regular Burmester has the silver aluminum grilles on the doors. It just has fewer speakers than the 3D system.
The 3D system gives the 2nd speaker on the door a silver aluminum grille as well, while adding additional speakers in the roof and other places. The 2nd door speaker and all the roof speakers also get tied into the ambient lighting system.
So the 2023 videos you see with the Burmester grilles on the doors is the regular Burmester system that comes standard with the higher trims (like the 53 and 63).
This picture shows the difference I'm talking about on the 2nd door speaker:
The MBUSA website lists the "Burmester Surround" (non-3D) as standard on the 580 and optional on the lower trims.
I know its also standard on the AMG trims.
If you're looking to buy a 350 its probably best to ask your local dealer to confirm whether or not the option can actually be added to your build.
Or look for in-stock listings of a 2023 GLE 350 and check the pics. I think some dealers already have MY2023 on the showroom floor.
The shortage of burmester audio systems has only afftected C Class and A/CLA/GLA/GLB. The GLE350 and 450 come with the Burmester sound system (I don't know if they technically call it 3D or not) code 810 in the premium package, and there have been no issues with that. All have them. That is also standard on the 580, 53, and 63. 350 and 450 models have a lower end audio system standard, for cars without premium package, that is not branded as Burmester (used to be called Audio 20), that's the one with plastic black speakers on the door panels, but that's very rare as 99% of GLEs have the premium package, but no GLEs I've seen that should have the burmester system as part of the premium package don't. They all have it.
There's the high end surround sound system that was available as a $5,400 option, but that was dropped for 350, 450, and 580 models after the 2020 MY and dropped for the 53 and 63 after the 2022 model year. Very rare.
The C300 meanwhile does have a big shortage of premium audio, so for most of the 2022 model year aside from the beginning and for the 2023 model year up until recently, no cars have the DA6 sound package with the 810 Burmester Audio even exclusive and premium trims where it should be a part of it. It just doesn't show up on build sheets or window stickers of cars that technically should have it.
The shortage of burmester audio systems has only afftected C Class and A/CLA/GLA/GLB. The GLE350 and 450 come with the Burmester sound system (I don't know if they technically call it 3D or not) code 810 in the premium package, and there have been no issues with that. All have them. That is also standard on the 580, 53, and 63. 350 and 450 models have a lower end audio system standard, for cars without premium package, that is not branded as Burmester (used to be called Audio 20), that's the one with plastic black speakers on the door panels, but that's very rare as 99% of GLEs have the premium package, but no GLEs I've seen that should have the burmester system as part of the premium package don't. They all have it.
There's the high end surround sound system that was available as a $5,400 option, but that was dropped for 350, 450, and 580 models after the 2020 MY and dropped for the 53 and 63 after the 2022 model year. Very rare.
The C300 meanwhile does have a big shortage of premium audio, so for most of the 2022 model year aside from the beginning and for the 2023 model year up until recently, no cars have the DA6 sound package with the 810 Burmester Audio even exclusive and premium trims where it should be a part of it. It just doesn't show up on build sheets or window stickers of cars that technically should have it.
Perfect! That explains why I've seen 2023 GLE's (Premium) with Burmester sound, but 2023 C300's (like my wife's Pinnacle Trim) without it!
Our 23 GLE350 has the Burmester and I find the sub placement odd. It's right where your left foot rests while driving and I can definitely feel it on my leg/foot during heavy bass.
Maybe I need a little more time with it, but haven't been super impressed with the Burmester.
Our 23 GLE350 has the Burmester and I find the sub placement odd. It's right where your left foot rests while driving and I can definitely feel it on my leg/foot during heavy bass.
Maybe I need a little more time with it, but haven't been super impressed with the Burmester.
Not only is it on the left side, it is also on the passenger side. The Burmester is definitely one of the weaker premium systems I have had. I added the Cerwin Vega spare tire sub and that helped out a lot but it shouldn't have had to add it in the first place.
Our 23 GLE350 has the Burmester and I find the sub placement odd. It's right where your left foot rests while driving and I can definitely feel it on my leg/foot during heavy bass.
Maybe I need a little more time with it, but haven't been super impressed with the Burmester.
Interestingly enough, now that I have the non-Burmester in the C300 and the Burmester in my 350, I've had the chance to compare the two pretty closely. My sense is that there is a bit more clarity and air-iness (if that's a word) with the Burmester, but shy of that, I'm not unhappy at all with the C300 sound system. The bass in the C300 is not bad, relatively tight and punchy. The mid-range and treble is a bit more "tinny" in the C300.
Now a couple of caveats:
- First, the C300 is a much smaller cabin with a lot less air to move and which helps the tuning.
- We only listen to Sirius XM and limited HD Radio sources, which are already highly compressed to begin with. Mileage (pun intended) may and probably does vary with higher resolution sources.
Given that my wife listens to music (Sirius) more and I listen more to news channels, I'm not disappointed (and don't miss) that we didn't pay extra for the Burmester in the C300. Though I'm still happy that my GLE has the Burmester.
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