Mike5215

(Spoiler alert: It's not a blow out)

I had a chance to enjoy a lengthy audition of the W222 standard Burmester audio system and updated COMAND. I wanted to hear how good it actually sounded (aside from the slick presentation) both on its own and in reference to the modded Harman Kardon system in my W221. The Burmester has some clear advantages going in, starting with a cool, vaguely recognizable and exotic sounding German name, a 3 band equalizer (Treble/Mid/Bass) on the software side, and the new “Frontbass” feature in the 222 that puts the subwoofer system in a special cavity in the car’s floor pan. The result is nice, tight, punchy bass. The 222 puts the midrange speakers high on the door panel which improves presence but also can make the sound seem a little too localized. I also was able to find that one specific surround setting sounded measurably better than all the others.


The 3 Band EQ.


This surround setting sounded best by far.

I loaded up a familiar Fleetwood Mac track (256kb AAC) on my Ipod Touch as a reference cut and after a little tweaking of the Burmester equalization app on COMAND it sounded really good. The Burmester drivers are very smooth in the mids and highs. There’s excellent clarity without harshness or brassiness. Power is more than sufficient and the bass stayed nice and tight even when pushed. If I had a complaint (and I’m stretching) the soundstage in surround mode is a bit overly focused up front due to the location of the midrange speakers (behind those ornate metal grilles) but overall it’s a really nice sounding system and a massive step up from the stock Harman Kardon in the W221. I would happily have the standard Burmester without any mods whatsoever, and I'm afraid to hear the $6400 upgraded 3D surround option for fear they'd have to pry me out of the car.

As modded, with the Focal KRC 100 midrange speakers in the doors, the Hushmat deadening treatment and the Bose W220 tweeters, the modded W221 easily holds its own. I still have some work to do but for the average listener it would be hard to discern between the two cars in terms of sound quality. So if you’re suffering from audio lust over the 222’s stock Burmester system, I can get you there in your 221 for under $1,500. (If you can live with the Aux In as your only source, I can get you pretty close for under $350.)

Issues remaining in my W221 include bass that tends to get a bit looser than the W222, especially mid-bass, and slightly less smooth mids and highs, mostly from the remaining stock H&K speakers in the rear doors and parcel shelf. I’m splitting hairs really…the mods put the 221 within 95% of the 222, and I can get to that last 5%. The parts are already on their way.

Note: These were each recorded on an iPhone using the same device and track with no post processing whatsoever. Overall quality isn't great, but listen to them relative to one another. For best results listen with headphones and set volume at 1/2. Bass response is not fully represented in either sample

W222 Burmester (Stock)
W221: Harman Kardon (Modded)
Once the rear door speakers and rear surround speakers are upgraded (ordered and enroute) in the 221 I’ll go back for another match up.

I don't have an apples to apples clip of the unmodded W221, but here's an audio-only reference track I made before I started the upgrades, but this will give you a baseline for the stock sound recorded on a cell phone and posted on YouTube:

Audio:
From a nuts-and-bolts, purely audio standpoint, the systems are comparable after some mods to the 221. In terms of presentation and integration, the W222 is beautiful. It's like the W221's COMAND got boned by an Awesome Monster and the 222 was born. Pretty much everything on the new COMAND screen is gorgeously detailed and there’s a vast expanse of real estate on the big screen. From an integration standpoint the 222 is a huge step forward, with streaming BT audio and cover art display, and seemingly dozens of way to access, manage and play your music.

Seats:
The intricacy of the surface designs in the 222 do not give its seats any tactile advantage over the 221’s that I could perceive. Both are very comfortable, feel nice to the to touch and are infinitely configurable. (These had the Nappa leather upgrade, the middle level below Premium Nappa and above standard leather.) The massage function is more intricate in the 222, which seems to have little physical nodes as opposed to just the synchronized air bladder inflation/deflation sequences in the 221. The 221’s seats are a bit more substantial and I felt like the thigh extension on the 222 stops short versus the 221. The heating in the 222’s seats can be adjusted and balanced among zones, and on COMAND as you move around the seat adjustments the animated seat rotates. There are several more massage variations as well. Again, a beautiful and impressive presentation overall but almost identical nuts and bolts.

Bottom line:
As for the rest of the W222’s interior appointments and amenities, overall the presentation is much more lavish and impressive than the W221. But I know from experience that the novelty of that stuff eventually fades and becomes your new normal, and then you’re left with the real nuts and bolts of the car. What matters to me is a smooth, quiet ride, comfortable seats, and good audio. I did not take the 222 on the road, because I’m not in the market, my local dealer has two in stock and I didn’t want to run up the mileage for no reason. I’ll presume it rides well and is somewhat more powerful than my 2010. My impressions are only of the interiors, seats and sound systems.

Your butt and ears will not be measurably happier in the 222, but your ego certainly will. Is it worthy of consideration when its time to trade the W221? Absolutely. Are you missing out if you don’t buy one today? For me, nah. When it’s a $50,000 CPO car in 2018, probably. Meanwhile, if you'd like the Burmester sound in your 221, check out my previous threads on the glovebox EQ mod, the HRT IStreamer DAC, Fiio E5 headphone amp, and Focal speaker upgrade.

marthyh

Mike,as always great write-up !! Thank you!

BenzV12

That's a very informative thread illustrated with the pics
Thank you

Speaking of remarkable German name Burmester ,I had watched a video on Youtube some guy mentioned you could mix it up with Budweiser lol

Mike5215

Thanks. I was dreading auditioning the Burmester because there was a good chance it would blow my system away and then it would only be a matter of time before I was getting into a 222. I have a great deal of admiration for the 222, but it did not inspire that "got to have it" feeling for me. If anything, I gained a new appreciation for my car.

Jason B

Very cool!

P.S the video link for stock 221 system says "private" and can't be played.

Mike5215

Damn. Well, trust me...it sucks

Listening back to back to those two Fleetwood Mac clips, the vocals are more prominent in the 222, mainly because of where the 222 puts the midrange speaker at the top of the door (and on the same axis as where I was holding the IPhone), the Focals in the 221 are down at the bottom of the door in the factory Harman Kardon enclosure. The effect is less noticeable live but I still need to bring the vocals forward in the mix. I still have the mids attenuated by EQ to compensate for the stock rear door speakers but once those are replaced I should be able to open those up more.

vantage78

Very cool, thanks for taking the time to share the results!

Surge

Thanks for posting.
Have you tried with a direct digital input into the Burmester (and your) system?
Relying on the iPod/iPhone to convert from analog to digital is going to produce far less superior sound than playing through a CD or uploading the digital files to the car's HD.

Mike5215

In my car I use an outboard DAC (HRT Istreamer) to bypass the IPod's internal DAC as well as the internal headphone amp. That's the best sounding source in the car so that's really all I ever listen to, and I like being able to use the IPod's internal EQ both for the local files and streaming.

I didn't spend enough time in the 222 to try all of the sources, but I expect everything to sound pretty good on that system.

mihaelb

One day my B class/Inifiniti Kappa/Pioneer setup will turn into this...gotta get the kids to university first, or my wife will kill me, though

Nuru

Thanks Mike! Currently the only upgrade on my sound I plan is to replace my mid-ranges in the doors with better ones.

Mike5215

That's where I'd start. Most bang for the buck. You're looking for a 4" woofer (4ohm) and 2" tweeter component set for the front door mids. Nothing else really needs to be changed. Next though would be the rear doors. Those are 6" components, also a 1" tweeter.

Nuru

Thanks Mike, any recommendations on what brands to review and select?

mercedesaudio

There are only a select few sets of componet speaker sets available in a 4 inch
Focal makes great speakers and luckily i am an authorized dealer .
I also carry Helix which is a german brand made by Audiotec Fischer
both companies offer a 4 inch component set as well as a 6.5" component set . feel free to pm me or call me for prices
310-844-2931
thanks,Paul

I personally believe most S class cars can use an upgraded subwoofer to improve overall sound.

MBZSW221

Mike, do W221s have surround sound? I remember Jeremy Clarkson mentioned it in his review on TG.

Mike5215

Yes, the Focals are very nice speakers. I believe the KRS100 set was $649. Focal also makes drop in replacements for Harmon/Kardon systems in BMWs that use the same speakers in the front doors of the W221, including an 8" shallow mount subwoofer to replace the H/K 8" subs in the doors, and a drop in 4" mid. The subs (around $500 ea) were out of stock when I did my system and I didn't feel like waiting so I still have the stock H/K door subs. Between those two and the sub in the parcel shelf I'm happy with the amount of bass, and the punch.

The drop in 4" component set is the Focal IFBMW-S, and the subs are the Focal IFBMW-SUB. The mounts and form factor are identical to the stock H/K door speakers, however the connectors would need to be reworked since the MB connectors are different than BMW's.

Nuru

Thanks Paul!

Nuru

Thank you Mike, I was thinking on just replacing the mid-ranges and maybe the tweeters.

Mike5215

Yes, Logic 7 "on" is a surround sound mode. The surround speakers consist of a 4" midrange speaker in the center dash, and two more 4" midrange speakers on either side of the main sub in the rear parcel shelf. These are the same 4" speakers that are used in the front doors (not great) but in a surround application they're okay.

In Logic 7 mode the rear door speakers get a delayed signal to help create the sense of ambiance and space. With Logic 7 "off" they get a straight stereo signal.

When you're playing a stereo source, like music, the Logic 7 synthesizes a surround sound by interpreting and manipulating the two channel signal to be apportioned into a multichannel surround effect.

When you play a multichannel source like a DVD with Dolby Digital encoding, the signal is already broken up and directed to the appropriate channels on the disc itself. As a result, DVD audio tends to sound a little better in surround mode than audio synthesized from 2 channel stereo.

You can buy a few DVD Audio discs titles retail, but I also use a program called "DVD Audio Creator" that lets you create your own Dolby Digital multichannel mixes from your CDs or your digital music collection. Since the 221 holds up to 6 DVDs, you can get a pretty sizable library on DVD in the car.

Mike5215

Sure. You'll get both with the Focal components. the KRS100 also includes a crossover and has a better tweeter than the IFBMWS model. Sounds like Paul could hook you up!

Nuru

Yep, I did send him a PM

Mike5215

If you go with the KRS100 set, there's a toggle on the crossover that has a "HI" position. Originally we thought that was midrange boost which is the opposite of what the car needs, so we chose the other setting. We later learned that in the "HI" setting (which refers to the position in the doors) presumes the speakers are positioned high and there is no boost. On the other setting, it assumes they're low in the doors and boost is added to cut through the seat and carpet upholstery. The correct setting in the 221 is 'HI" even though the speakers are positioned low physically.

Also, the tweeters are very aggressive, the woofers are stiff and the whole system sounds very bright out of the box. It takes a few weeks for them to break in and then they'll warm up quite a bit. You'll be very happy once they've broken in.

Nuru

Thanks for the info Mike!