2017 S Class order - Burmester question
Junior Member
Joined: May 2016
Posts: 58
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From: Wis Rapids WI
2014 S550
I understand and expected that argument. If I totally disagreed I would not have an S class either. I run an accounting business in real life but rebel at the thought of a gray Camry too. My " Stupid expensive " cars have come after I had no debt, enough retirement to never spend principal, and a safety net left for the kids. The mind set that accumulates wealth while still spending some dumb stuff money still has me drawing lines as to how far to go. I admit I'm not much of a sound guy and the Magic Body Control tempts me more, but hoping everyone balances their hobby spending with saving enough to be self sufficient as I don't believe society will have money to subsidize those who don't much longer. I digress. Dave
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Joined: Feb 2010
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'25 S63 AMG E Performance, '26 CLE 53 AMG
I understand and expected that argument. If I totally disagreed I would not have an S class either. I run an accounting business in real life but rebel at the thought of a gray Camry too. My " Stupid expensive " cars have come after I had no debt, enough retirement to never spend principal, and a safety net left for the kids. The mind set that accumulates wealth while still spending some dumb stuff money still has me drawing lines as to how far to go. I admit I'm not much of a sound guy and the Magic Body Control tempts me more, but hoping everyone balances their hobby spending with saving enough to be self sufficient as I don't believe society will have money to subsidize those who don't much longer. I digress. Dave
I hear you.
I am a CPA with a law degree and have a financial planning practice so it sounds like we may have similar occupations. I deal with these types of decisions everyday in helping clients make good decisions. That is why (IMHO) it is important to know how much one can "waste" on cars--because cars are a black hole and when you dump money down a black hole one needs to make sure first their other short and long term financial goals are met.
Junior Member
Joined: May 2016
Posts: 58
Likes: 6
From: Wis Rapids WI
2014 S550
Agreed, when I tell people to plug in 4-5% return rather than 7-8% it gets interesting. For the first time in my 40+ year career I'm seeing people run out of money. Mainly the ones who retired around 2000. Dave
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Joined: Apr 2016
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2014 S550 AMG, 2017 XT5
You are factually correct.
But let's be real
If we look at automobiles this way, I would be driving the car my son drives--a 2000 e320 4matic with 123,000 mile on it that I might be able to sell for a couple of thousand on a good day. Point is I am a numbers guy but when I buy an S Class I am less worried about the depreciation/resale than simply just buying the car I want. I ordered everything on my '16 S550 4matic except the 3D Burmester and the refrigerator. To say I never thought about the $6400 disappearing in "thin air" would not be correct. But with spending the kind of money one spends on an S class I simply listened to both sound systems and the difference in sound was just not worth it to me since if it was I would have spent the extra $6400 and jumped my MSRP from $137k to $143k. Bottom line--all cars are a waste of money. One just needs to decide how much they are going to throw away on cars based on ones financial circumstances.
But let's be real
If we look at automobiles this way, I would be driving the car my son drives--a 2000 e320 4matic with 123,000 mile on it that I might be able to sell for a couple of thousand on a good day. Point is I am a numbers guy but when I buy an S Class I am less worried about the depreciation/resale than simply just buying the car I want. I ordered everything on my '16 S550 4matic except the 3D Burmester and the refrigerator. To say I never thought about the $6400 disappearing in "thin air" would not be correct. But with spending the kind of money one spends on an S class I simply listened to both sound systems and the difference in sound was just not worth it to me since if it was I would have spent the extra $6400 and jumped my MSRP from $137k to $143k. Bottom line--all cars are a waste of money. One just needs to decide how much they are going to throw away on cars based on ones financial circumstances.
Newbie
Joined: Feb 2020
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
2017 S550 v4
2017S550 sound system
Greetings all,
Long time lurker here from San Francisco. I'm about to order a 2017 S550 with my dealer and I've got a question. Well, a few.
I've read online reviews of the Burmester system, I'd like to hear from the community about your real-life experience. Is it worth it? I'm hoping some of you are also audiophiles, and if so how does the Burmester system compare with say Meridian, Dali, Dynaudio, etc? Another reason is .... what better venue to ask this question, because we S/7 owners tend to have similar tastes when it comes to many things in life
Or is the standard sound good enough from your perspective? Your input would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers
Ronnie
Long time lurker here from San Francisco. I'm about to order a 2017 S550 with my dealer and I've got a question. Well, a few.
I've read online reviews of the Burmester system, I'd like to hear from the community about your real-life experience. Is it worth it? I'm hoping some of you are also audiophiles, and if so how does the Burmester system compare with say Meridian, Dali, Dynaudio, etc? Another reason is .... what better venue to ask this question, because we S/7 owners tend to have similar tastes when it comes to many things in life
Or is the standard sound good enough from your perspective? Your input would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers
Ronnie
Junior Member
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 69
Likes: 36
2020 S560 4MATIC
The entire argument between people who want the best factory option vs. those who want to tinker and build their own "even better" system is a bit ridiculous. You folks need to realize you're on different ends of the spectrum, and you're not going to convince the other.
I liken it to computers. I am squarely in the "build your own" camp, and when it comes to desktop computers, I ALWAYS build my own. I would never buy an off-the-shelf model because they will always be inferior to what I can build, and I can always do it for a much better cost (for what I get). However, I'm not delusional enough to think that everyone should build their own. In fact, most people shouldn't because they don't want to understand how it all fits together, they don't have the time to spend doing it, and frankly if they did it would probably be a disaster because if one thing goes wrong they don't have the knowledge to properly fix it.
So the advice for those people is to buy the highest-end computer that their budget can allow. That tends to always be the best generic advice when it comes to electronic devices.
The same goes for this discussion. Buy what your budget allows. If it allows for the 3D system, my guess is that you'll be happier. (I'll be able to confirm this when my S560 with 3D sound arrives in a month or so.)
I liken it to computers. I am squarely in the "build your own" camp, and when it comes to desktop computers, I ALWAYS build my own. I would never buy an off-the-shelf model because they will always be inferior to what I can build, and I can always do it for a much better cost (for what I get). However, I'm not delusional enough to think that everyone should build their own. In fact, most people shouldn't because they don't want to understand how it all fits together, they don't have the time to spend doing it, and frankly if they did it would probably be a disaster because if one thing goes wrong they don't have the knowledge to properly fix it.
So the advice for those people is to buy the highest-end computer that their budget can allow. That tends to always be the best generic advice when it comes to electronic devices.
The same goes for this discussion. Buy what your budget allows. If it allows for the 3D system, my guess is that you'll be happier. (I'll be able to confirm this when my S560 with 3D sound arrives in a month or so.)
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 1,073
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From: Florida
18 AMG GTC and 22 F150 Limited. Past owner 16 Maybach, 17 Brabus Smartcar, 06 Ford E150, and 22 G70
Worth every penny. Love it so much that I made sure my GTC also had the Burmeister upgrade even though it is not the 3d system that my Maybach has.
The 3d system is just the best sounding system I have ever herd!! 6000 dollars no problem its worth it.
The 3d system is just the best sounding system I have ever herd!! 6000 dollars no problem its worth it.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 2,445
Likes: 282
From: Canada
A car
To me, the best sound system on any flagship sedan is the Mark Levinson (high end - I forget the name) option on the LS500. It's...surreal, but the real 'pop' of the system can only truly be appreciated with the car off, otherwise the amazing quality is lost due to the loudness of the engine/cabin.
Next, I'd say, is the Burmester 3D sound option on the W222. It eeks out my next favorite, which is the:
Audi A8L's Bang and Olufsen Advanced 3D sound system (a $6500 option which is worth every penny. I love mine!)
Then, the A8L's B&O Premium 3D sound system (standard in Canada), which is very good, but still a minor 'drop' in quality in the front seats versus the $6500 option.
Then....
Your usual Infiniti Q60s with the Bose systems...
...
Then, right above a Honda Civic one finds the:
W222's Burmester 'option' (the non Advanced one). I swear on my parents future graves that I am NOT trolling here, but it truly is awful. Mercedes had quite the ***** to put a sound system with the Burmester name on it without a subwoofer and with sound quality that is worse than the Harmon Kardon system in the W221. Seriously, what the F were they thinking? This topic still pisses me off so badly because it ruins a car that I absolutely respect - and I do so with the W222. Highs are mediocre, mediums are OK, and the bass is just pathetic. I get that there's a section of the population which buys the W222 just to show off, but come on. I don't even consider myself an audiophile but the 'standard' Burmester system in the W222 is just, ridiculously sad.
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