Mandingo

The S550 is a great automobile but its electronics were designed over a decade ago and smartphone integration wasn’t even considered as an entertainment option back then.

Bluetooth for hands-free calling came by way of a puck but Bluetooth audio streaming was nowhere to be found.

An iPod integration kit became available to physically connect an Apple 30-pin device through what was the Auxiliary input in the glove box and for several years I connected a dedicated iPod to the kit and enjoyed my music from there.

However there were several shortcomings to this set up:-

1) The content on the iPod was never refreshed unless I took the iPod in to the house and synced it with iTunes
2) None of the other audio related apps I was enjoying on my iPhone could get channeled through the system – connecting and disconnecting my iPhone in the glovebox for each trip really wasn’t feasible

Having searched for many months (years) for a Bluetooth dongle that would allow me to stream my audio from my iPhone to the built in Mercedes system, I tested and returned several devices that either wouldn’t power up, wouldn’t pair or would power and pair but no audio came through.

Towards the end of 2012 I finally discovered the MusicLink ML-D100. It required ordering from Korea, cost approximately $40 (eBay) and took a few weeks to arrive but it actually worked – it powered up (although it required the engine to be running), paired (and re-paired automatically) and audio played!

For the last year and a half I have been using this and have been generally satisfied. Audio quality was ok (nothing to write home about but decent for Bluetooth), and the steering wheel controls could skip tracks forward and back. Pandora, This American Life, RadioLab apps all streamed audio without a hitch.

However it had a few shortcomings of its own:

1) Dashboard display couldn’t tell what track was playing (just displays “Bluetooth Clipcomm ML-D100”)
2) There was no menu navigation for direct iPod control to change artists, playlists etc.
3) Track skip forward and back could be a little temperamental

A couple of weeks ago I found out about the ViseeO Tune2air WMA1000 and saw that it claimed to work with the Mercedes iPod kit and offered greater compatibility. So I ordered one of these ($89, Amazon) to test out. It arrived today and after a few hours of testing I have to say it works amazingly well. Audio quality appears similar to the MusicLink (perhaps a little more bass?) but the functionality is significantly better.

In one sentence, the ViseeO performs EXACTLY the same as when a physical iPod is connected to the connector. Artist, song, playlist navigation menus now work, fast forward/rewind work if you hold the steering wheel buttons and it displays all the same track information that my old iPod would do. It also resumes the playback when starting the car in a way the MusicLink would not.

The ViseeO is as functional as the original iPod kit with the added advantages of working completely wirelessly with the phone in my pocket and channeling all the other iPhone audio sources (Pandora, Tunes Radio, Apple Maps navigation etc.) through the Harmon Kardon system.

Is the ViseeO worth the extra cost (basically double the price) versus the MusicLink? I would say yes – it provides full functionality as a Bluetooth audio streaming system for a car that was never designed to support this. The MusicLink is still a great little device, especially for the price, but for an extra $50 you can get the ViseeO and not have to compromise.

For $89 it’s one of the best upgrades you can add to a W221 to provide a wealth of new entertainment options and greater phone integration.

My Setup:

2009 S550 with iPod Kit, iPhone 5. Your mileage may vary with other configurations.

Mike5215

Good stuff. We really need an audio mod sticky to consolidate the threads on the BT Audio adapters, and the other upgrade stuff (Focal speaker upgrade, etc.) I'm gonna work on that.

kiddkynetik

Agreed!! Totally worth the money!

BenzV12

We have a forum for that under the Technical Assistance Forum ( Audio & Electronics ) but it's surely easier to follow such topics for W221 Owners in the W221 Forum

Mandingo

Some observations having used the ViseeO for a few days:-

Good news is after listening to a variety of different music tracks audio quality appears better than the MusicLink. Might be my imagination - anyone else have an opinion?

Bad news is that Siri doesn't work properly with the ViseeO. Problem is that the ViseeO "steals" the connection aggressively and just as Siri tries to start the iPhone goes back to playing music again. Even selecting "iPhone" from the little Bluetooth menu on Siri doesn't return Siri output to the phone.

The workaround is to actually hit the ON/OFF button for COMAND and the iPhone drops the ViseeO BT connection and then Siri works through the phone. Hit ON again and ViseeO reconnects.

A little kludgy but it works.

njsdavis

So this is an example of the iphone integration but what about an Android device. i.e. Samsung Galaxxy S4 or a Samsung Note 3??

Can you test and take some pictures of the display with one of those devices. maybe use a friends phone to test?

larryCL

I received my tune2air today but my phone wont discover the tune2air module but connects to mb phone system just fine....Any suggestions?

Mike5215

Is the Tune2Air lighting up?

larryCL

The LED blinks, got it to pair but my iPhone shows playing music but nothing comes out from speakers. The LED is now solid blue.

Mike5215

You're paired. Did you select Media Interface as the source in COMAND? If it says "no device" start a song playing and it should pick it up.

Dtgl1

I got mine yesterday , pairs up very easy. When listening to Pandora from my iphone it picks up the song title and displays the first song, but does not change when the next song comes on. Anyone got a fix?

Mike5215

Pandora will be buggy. I switched to ITunes Radio. Higher quality stream and it's integrated within the music player app.

Mike5215

I'm not sure the Visseo works on 07 09. Music link ML100 does. Visseo works on 10 13.

larryCL

I got it to link up but it says error on the display, I think I need a new ipod cable because mine is in pretty bad shape. Does anyone know off hand the part number I need and cheapest place to purchase? The only iPod cables I fond are the ones that plug in to the glove box or console and not the one that runs through hole in glove box. I took a few pics but my phone wont let me upload them to my computer for some reason.

Mandingo

ViseeO works fine on my 2009.

Max Gothenburg

As did on my 2006 CLS.

Mike5215

I know the MusicLink won't work with the 10+ MY, wasn't sure if it was the other way around with the Visseo.

Mandingo

I only just noticed that iTunes radio stations appear in the Playlists section too. Unexpected bonus.

Jason B

Isn't the sound of Bluetooth much worse than using the aux cable?

Mike5215

The confusion here comes from the fact that both of the extremely short range radio protocols for cell phone and for audio transmission are called "Bluetooth", but they are completely different systems. BT phones of course have lousy audio quality.

AD2P (Bluetooth Audio) on the other hand is capable of clean, full bandwidth audio transmission, however not all transmitters and receivers are created equal. Apple devices seem to have excellent BT audio circuits. I've heard the Visseo in the car paired to an Apple device and I couldn't tell the difference between it and a hard dock.

Generally, a hard dock using the device's 30 pin or new Lightning output sounds better than the Aux In jack, since it bypasses the device's internal headphone amp, so a BT audio connection to the car's Ipod input can sound a little cleaner than the Aux In.

I currently don't use the Visseo because I love the output of my outboard DAC too much to give it up for the convenience of AD2P.

CSIKTY3

I just picked up my 2009 C63... and also want to get the VisseO WMA1000 as I have the Ipod Kit. But... cant your phone only pair to one Bluetooth at a time? if your paired to talk hands free then you loss that feature correct? So maybe need to buy an I touch just for this as if I connect my phone to the VisseO WMA1000 then I loss hand free right?

Mike5215

Not at all. Two totally independent systems. Your phone has one BT phone transmitter/receiver and one BT audio transmitter. Likewise, the car has one BT phone transmitter/receiver and with the Visseo it also has one BT audio receiver. In fact, when a call comes into the phone, it will auto-mute the audio until the call ends.

Mike5215

They're also searchable by Siri. Say "Play [name of station] radio" and it'll start that stream just like it will for an Artist, Album or Track.

larryCL

I think I need a new iPod cable, now even if I plug in directly to my phone it wont play anything.

ixotuckeroxi

Are droid guys sol?