reign3579

Hello fello benz fans,

I just recently purchased a 2010 S550 and I'm officially in love. The only complaint I have is that there is no Bluetooth audio option on my radio. I can connect BT to make and rec phone calls but I cannot stream music. Its kind of a pain since the iphone connector is on the glove box.

I read some forums for the 2010 E550 that a command update was performed and the BT audio worked. I just couldn't tell if he already had BT audio and it just wasn't working or not.

Does anyone know if such update exist for the S550 or offer any suggestions I would appreciate it!!

Jason B

Bump??

ImInPA

Not sure what you read, but, BT Audio is not available in the W221. There are third party products that can give you this capability. I was surprised that my 2011 E had BT Audio but it is not available on my 2012 S-Class. Go figure.

Jason B

So what products are their avail to do this, that just plug in? I've read about some on mono price 6 months ago, but many said the sound quality wasn't as good as being "plugged" in.

Bernster

Have ordered this ViseeO Tune2air WMA1000 from Amazon
Company claims it will work

Will post back when I get it. I have my fingers crossed because nothing works yet with 2013 S550.

Mike5215

That ViseeO product looks promising, especially for the price.

I believe Mercedes also sells a device called "Media Interface Plus" that also plugs into the existing glovebox port and adds streaming BT audio. MB reportedly intentionally omitted BT audio from the S despite having it available on the C and E cars and derivatives, because they were concerned about interference with the S's other systems.

These devices work by tricking the car's system into thinking the device itself is a connected iPod. It then communicates with the iPod to get its operating instructions. Ideally all of the communication works as it should, the car is none the wiser and you have the convenience of BT audio. Since that communication can get clunky even when the car actually is connected directly to the IPod, it's a challenge for aftermarket designers to get the pieces talking together correctly.

The MB part runs around $300 new but I've seen them on EBay for a little less. In terms of quality, BT audio A2DP is capable of full range, lossless playback and should be indistinguishable from a wired connection. The quality of the BT audio circuitry on the device itself has a bigger impact. I had an older Android phone that sounded strange over BT, but fine wired. The best sounding units seem to be Apples in my experience.

The only other issue you may experience is that the BT connection can be less "hot" than a wired connection, requiring you to push the system's volume up higher on the BT source than you would on your other sources.

Jason B

Thanks again Mike. It's great to find someone that's knows this stuff. The people at the dealer don't

Ok, so I have the car now and plugged in my Iphone 5. The cable in the glovebox is the old style connector, so I have it just plugged in with headphone cable only. Now, on my friends 2010 C class, you had to option to go to "aux" on the menu, and there was an option "aux boost", which would boost the volume up for aux, pretty cool. I don't see this option on this car? Was wondering if this was avail on a command update or if all 2010-2013's don't have the "boost". You would think if the C class had this, the S would, since the volume gets cut down....

Mike5215

Yeah, there's an impedance mismatch on the headphone output of the IPhone versus the internal sources that creates a lower volume level. You can add an inexpensive portable amp designed to boost headphone volume between the iPhone and the Aux In.

http://www.parts-express.com/fiio-e5...black--230-102

That one's $24 and has a Bass Boost function that I like. Draw power for it from the 12v receptacle in the glovebox. (Get a three-way adapter so you still have open receptacles.)

Also, the AudioForge App has a pre-amp gain function that will let you increase the boost. If your music library is local on the iPhone, a free app called "MP3 Gain" can be used to boost the volume of the entire library. You need to run it on a PC, process your ITunes library, then re-sync with your phone.

For whatever reason, less expensive MB's have all kinds of cool stuff...BT Audio, cover art display on the COMAND...that we don't get.

Bernster

ViseeO Tune2air WMA1000 from Amazon works well

evktx

Folks picked up this thing today. Works in both s550 2007 and ML550 2009. It plays fine but nothing on command screen and on speedometer it shows error when audio is set. But has no impact on sound quality. Volume controls work well. Track skip works only in S550 not in ML. Link and photos attached. http://m.bestbuy.com/m/e/product/det...=1218987691917

Enjoy and feel free to ask any questions.

evktx

One more thing. My iPhone 5 is also connected to phone module and escort live radar service. All connections are at the same time. No issues so far.

ellem09

Get tune2air WMA1000 it will solve your BT audio problem. A friend of mine bought one for me from viseeousa.com. It has bluetooth streaming with very good sound quality and steering wheel controls.

Mike5215

You realize his post was three years old right?

DaveW68

It's just people helping people who probably now drive BMW's.