Hello,

I bought a used S63 AMG by MB and it has a "high-end" Burmester system. It sounds pretty good, and I now have the desire to do better it.

The biggest problem I see with this car is that the source of the audio is bluetooth (my phone).
Obviously the car's original audio system doesn't support LDAC or anything like that.

Another problem is that it doesn't have AUX, although it does have RCA.
Local car shops say they can "create" the physical AUX port in the main computer and code it into the menu for $150. Is this necessary?

People are talking about DAC, DAP, but I don't know which type of product and/or service I need to buy, I can look in to the specific details.
Help would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks so much!

*I have an iPhone & Android phone, planning to use TIdal or Apple Music to stream high quality audio.

 

As a pretty hard-core audiophile I salute your efforts here. I have the same system in my 2014 S63 and impressive as it is, I think the failure to include DVD-AUDIO was a huge miss by MB and Burmester. I stream both Spotify and Qobuz to the system via BT and I play some actual CDs as well. While I can hear the difference between uncompressed CD and BT/Qobuz (CD quality) when parked it's much harder to hear on the move unless I really crank it up.

Please let us know what BT receiver you pick and how it works out. I may follow you down the rabbit hole. Should be easy to put one in the center Armrest console ...there is usb power and 1/8" audio input in there.

 

The problem with the Burmester 3D HE system is that it is a pretty closed off system with a few nannies that don't really leave you many upgrade options. The issue is that the command unit (Head Unit) sends all audio signal via a fiber optic cable to the main and sub amp in the trunk area. This in itself is not a problem as there are boxes like the NAVTV unit that can grab this fiber optic cable and convert the audio into analog RCA's or TOSLINK. The only snag is that the HE set up also has microphones in the headliner that constantly monitor the sound and create a feedback loop for the amps to adjust to. This results in very weird behaviors on the overall system. I wanted to upgrade the factory sub box with a nicer Morel sub and JL Audio VXi 1000.1 sub amp with remote. Installed all the gear and it did in fact sound much much better and I could adjust the bass on the fly. After buttoning up the install I took the car for a drive and the sub behaved very erratically. With the windows closed, the sub made a subtle humming noise that sounded like the exhaust was in sport + mode when the car was clearly in comfort mode, but when I rolled a window down, the sub stopped doing this. Never seen anything like this and I have been doing aftermarket car audio as a hobby for over 30 years. Since I was only doing a sub amp and sub speaker enhancement I just grabbed the speaker pair going to the sub and ran that into a line out converter and then into the JL amp. After that I gave up and just ripped it all back out. I did do one thing that I do think helped, I wrapped the plastic factory subwoofer shell in sound deadening and left the Morel sub in as the Ohm and efficiency stats were close to the factory sub. I think that helped a tiny bit. The factory sub amp is a joke though, it is about the size of a pack of cigarettes.

 

Thanks for an amazing comment. I hope your comment will help anyone in the future to decide whether to f with W222 audio system or not. I have no intentions to get in as deep as you, and I see that there could be so many problems with every upgrade. I think I MIGHT upgrade the 3-4 front speakers (as recommended by my local audio shop) for about 2K. The audio shop owner says that there is no need to change the AMP or anything as high-end Burmester system already has an amp that is better than aftermarket amps worth 3k.

Thanks for your detailed reply regardless. Helped me decide not to f with the system haha.