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Interesting, since there is no difference between a "Burmester" door speaker and an "Audio 20" door speaker, other than the A20 gets a plastic grille and the Burmester's is obviously metal.
My guess is that the black plastic grille has enough give to keep the A20 from buzzing where the metal grilles do not.
First time poster, been lurking for a few months now. I bought a 2015 C400 about 3 months ago, and being pretty particular with my audio, I noticed the speaker buzz the first week of ownership. I'm very happy to report they were finally able to completely fix the buzzing. After having their technician look at it and replace one of the speakers, which didn't make any difference, they checked out other C400's they had on the lot and found they all made this noise. The head of the service department put in a technical case to Mercedes and they responded saying there were speaker brackets that could be ordered that fixed this buzzing. Brackets were ordered and installed, now the buzzing is completely gone! I tested it with the frequency generator app (which the technician was impressed by by the way) and I found no buzzing whatsoever. Wanted to let you all know there is a fix available!
FYI, I have the Burmester system, just to clarify.
My dealer did this same fix on my 450 last week, and it too FINALLY fixed the problem. I'm a first time Benz owner (as of a few months ago), and music/audio is extremely important to me as well (as it's a daily part of what I do for a living), and could not believe the buzzing/rattling I was getting on a car like this. Definitely made me question my purchase choice a couple of times... but I'm very happy there is an official fix for this now from Mercedes.
I notice that both of you guys who had the fix performed are in Canada. Has anyone in the states had the repair. I called my dealer today and they said they would look into it but that hasn't meant much in the past.
I notice that both of you guys who had the fix performed are in Canada. Has anyone in the states had the repair. I called my dealer today and they said they would look into it but that hasn't meant much in the past.
I don't imagine that it has anything to do with being in Canada. I brought my car in once before for them to look at it, and it was pretty much useless. It wasn't until I brought the car back a second time and used that frequency-generator app that they could actually clearly hear just about everything on the door panels rattling at a low-level volume-- and I told them that this was absolutely unacceptable.
Anyways, after they heard that, they wrote a report to Mercedes in Germany stating the issue, and they came back to them a few days later saying that there is now an 'official' fix for this known issue.
So I brought my car back a third time, and they were finally able to fix it.
I notice that both of you guys who had the fix performed are in Canada. Has anyone in the states had the repair. I called my dealer today and they said they would look into it but that hasn't meant much in the past.
I was able to get it fixed in the states on my 2016 c300, the service bulletin on the work order is LI72.10-P-061465 . So far it seems to have corrected the issue.
I was able to get it fixed in the states on my 2016 c300, the service bulletin on the work order is LI72.10-P-061465 . So far it seems to have corrected the issue.
Hi.. Can you describe in a little more detail what exactly that work order entailed and what it fixed? I'm noticing more and more buzzing in my front right and left speakers at the 250-280 Hz range and I am taking it to the dealer on Monday. Would really like to do some good research on the issue/fix beforehand since my dealership's been known to be very picky when it comes to fixing what they view as "small" issues...
Hi.. Can you describe in a little more detail what exactly that work order entailed and what it fixed? I'm noticing more and more buzzing in my front right and left speakers at the 250-280 Hz range and I am taking it to the dealer on Monday. Would really like to do some good research on the issue/fix beforehand since my dealership's been known to be very picky when it comes to fixing what they view as "small" issues...
sounds like you need to find a new dealer. Mine just replaced the door clips and tweeters after the first dealer completed the "TSB" and gave me the car back with rattling speakers. The second dealer rolled there eyes (at my first experience) and fixed it correctly in addition to replacing my front glass with acoustic. I don't understand these dealerships. Good luck!
sounds like you need to find a new dealer. Mine just replaced the door clips and tweeters after the first dealer completed the "TSB" and gave me the car back with rattling speakers. The second dealer rolled there eyes (at my first experience) and fixed it correctly in addition to replacing my front glass with acoustic. I don't understand these dealerships. Good luck!
Exactly!!! I'm shocked at these horrible experiences, although, I do believe it has a lot to do with the SA.
Agreed... Unfortunately the second closest dealer to me is about 100 miles away... Guess I will have to bring it in on Monday and hope for a good SA...
Update: I just received the car from the dealership after it being there for 3 days. My SA really went above and beyond to fix this issue and I'm pretty satisfied with the results. They ordered new front speakers for me and installed it on the 2nd day but told me they were still hearing the buzzing noises and had to get in touch with MBUSA. Apparently, MBUSA said that it is a common issue and the only remedy is to install felt tape and insulation in the doors that have the problem. My SA called me and asked if that is okay and I said sure thing, and they actually insulated and installed felt on all four doors plus the center dash speaker even though my only complaint was for the front doors.
After testing the system for about an hour now, I can say the problem is pretty much gone and the Burmester system is sounding really badass. While at the dealership I tried my tone generator at the frequencies that used to buzz and I was really surprised there was absolutely no buzz even at really loud volumes. Also tried phone calls and some songs that used to produce that buzz and it is completely gone!
Couldn't be happier with the results so if anyone is interested in the exact wording of what was performed on the car I can post it on here sometime. Just wanted to report this update for other users out there who have the same issue.
Update: I just received the car from the dealership after it being there for 3 days. My SA really went above and beyond to fix this issue and I'm pretty satisfied with the results. They ordered new front speakers for me and installed it on the 2nd day but told me they were still hearing the buzzing noises and had to get in touch with MBUSA. Apparently, MBUSA said that it is a common issue and the only remedy is to install felt tape and insulation in the doors that have the problem. My SA called me and asked if that is okay and I said sure thing, and they actually insulated and installed felt on all four doors plus the center dash speaker even though my only complaint was for the front doors.
After testing the system for about an hour now, I can say the problem is pretty much gone and the Burmester system is sounding really badass. While at the dealership I tried my tone generator at the frequencies that used to buzz and I was really surprised there was absolutely no buzz even at really loud volumes. Also tried phone calls and some songs that used to produce that buzz and it is completely gone!
Couldn't be happier with the results so if anyone is interested in the exact wording of what was performed on the car I can post it on here sometime. Just wanted to report this update for other users out there who have the same issue.
Can you post the specific frequencies that were causing the buzz/issue so we can reproduce for the dealer should this problem occur for us folks awaiting their vehicles to arrive?
.....Apparently, MBUSA said that it is a common issue and the only remedy is to install felt tape and insulation in the doors that have the problem. ....
Well, at least now they are admitting to it and realize how 1) ripoff the cost of the Burmester is, 2) poor speaker design such that they need to line things up with felt! I mean really... For the touted quality and cost of the Burmester, we would expect much more than this. For my ordered Porsche, I'm
"only" going with the Bose this time as I'm really disappointed by this experience.
Can you post the specific frequencies that were causing the buzz/issue so we can reproduce for the dealer should this problem occur for us folks awaiting their vehicles to arrive?
Thx man and glad it's fixed for you!!!
Search on this thread and you will find the answer or the link to your answer as it has been posted before. For me, I can easily replicate with the music I play (heavy bass).
The issue isn't with the "Burmester" speakers, which are actually a common off-the-shelf 4" Harman/Kardon unit that's been used in BMW and Mercedes for decades. It's with the metal grille and the way it's set into the trim. Certain frequencies create a harmonic vibration between the grille and the trim. The felt tape dampens the speaker grille and stops the vibration.
Here are some side by sides between the "Burmester" 4" mid and tweet vs the Harman/Kardon 4" mid and tweet from a W221 S Class.
Can you post the specific frequencies that were causing the buzz/issue so we can reproduce for the dealer should this problem occur for us folks awaiting their vehicles to arrive?
Thx man and glad it's fixed for you!!!
The frequencies that caused me issues were from 230 Hz to 280 Hz. I've uploaded some test tunes I put on a flash drive and kept with the dealership while they were fixing the issue so that they can test it. You can also just call any customer service number (I called Time Warner Cable) and if you turn up the volume just a little bit, the speakers start buzzing. Also, some songs that I noticed really produce the buzz are Mercy - Shawn Mendes, i hate u i love u (just the first few seconds) and Fake Love - Drake. So, I also left these on the flash drive. Feel free to download the wav files I attached and test them out. When I tested it at the other cars in the dealership, they all produced that buzz. Fortunately, the felt tape fix remedied that issue completely so in a sense the current system I have is better than a new one.
The frequencies that caused me issues were from 230 Hz to 280 Hz. I've uploaded some test tunes I put on a flash drive and kept with the dealership while they were fixing the issue so that they can test it. You can also just call any customer service number (I called Time Warner Cable) and if you turn up the volume just a little bit, the speakers start buzzing. Also, some songs that I noticed really produce the buzz are Mercy - Shawn Mendes, i hate u i love u (just the first few seconds) and Fake Love - Drake. So, I also left these on the flash drive. Feel free to download the wav files I attached and test them out. When I tested it at the other cars in the dealership, they all produced that buzz. Fortunately, the felt tape fix remedied that issue completely so in a sense the current system I have is better than a new one.
Thanks, bud! I really hope they've fixed this at the factory already in the coupe I have on order
The issue isn't with the "Burmester" speakers, which are actually a common off-the-shelf 4" Harman/Kardon unit that's been used in BMW and Mercedes for decades. It's with the metal grille and the way it's set into the trim. Certain frequencies create a harmonic vibration between the grille and the trim. The felt tape dampens the speaker grille and stops the vibration.
I really don't care if the problem is a "screw". The plain fact from the customer's point of view (mine) is that I paid for a Burmester system and it rattles. When I touch the speaker grill (which I believe has Burmester written on it), it stops. This whole thing is part of an engineering effort done by Burmester, like it or not, as it has their branding. Through their engineering effort, they would have (or should have) taken into consideration ALL aspects of what, where, how their system is going to interact with every other system inside the car. Am I being too hard? For the premium that we paid, I don't think so.
Sadly, aside from Mercedes licensing the Burmester name, there are no Burmester components in the 205. Not the speakers, and not the DSP amp. Burmester itself is a builder of audiophile home audio. They don't produce or sell car audio. It's possible they had a hand in selecting components and tuning, but Mercedes hyping the 205 "Burmester" is kind of a joke. Even when it's functioning normally it's not a great system. For casual listening at moderate volume levels it's adequate. Mine was in the car for about two weeks.
Sadly, aside from Mercedes licensing the Burmester name, there are no Burmester components in the 205. Not the speakers, and not the DSP amp. Burmester itself is a builder of audiophile home audio. They don't produce or sell car audio. It's possible they had a hand in selecting components and tuning, but Mercedes hyping the 205 "Burmester" is kind of a joke. Even when it's functioning normally it's not a great system. For casual listening at moderate volume levels it's adequate. Mine was in the car for about two weeks.
I'm following the same route... Probably leaving the speakers, for now, but re tuning and adding a sub using a DSP, similar to what Mike did.
Cannot believe it's taken this long for them to solve this. I'm just glad I returned my C63S when they wanted to break all the clips and glue the speakers in place over a year ago. Back with a BMW and my M5 is absolutely rattle free in all areas compared to the C63S that had a rattles and issues in most places.
I miss the exhaust note and the style of the C63S interior looked nice but ultimately BMW just feels so much better put together. I'd consider a E63S for the next car but then I've read the new E class isn't exactly well put together either which is a shame. Mercedes need to do better.
I hear this too. They did the manual hand modification of the speaker clips, which 'helped' the rattling with no music playing.... but during { any quality of song, or type of music... with surround on/off, equalizer on/off, volume high/low, bluetooth/usb/cd/satellite, bluetooth volume enh off/on, } i infrequently get a very low frequency distortion. NO way around it that ive found. At certain times it will make this very noticeable sound to those who are audiophiles. A video has a hard time illustrating just how unpleasant the sound is.
HK and Burmester seem to use the same sort of software that augments the outgoing sound to enhance acoustics/treble. Some earbud technology came out with this...I think i threw them away after all, and they were like 140 bucks...
Not to mention, Theres no way around the fact that these speakers are attached to a small amplifier......
I've had the "Burmester" speakers out of the car. Not only are they like crappy HK, they are crappy HK. No Burmester hardware whatsoever in the car. And yes, a very small digital amp. I guess Burmester signed a license deal and possibly did the tuning.
Also the door speakers are all on passive crossovers, with a cheap capacitor glued to the back of the cheap off-the-shelf silk dome tweeters. That and the lack of any proper midbass woofers, leaving the boomy "Frontbass" speakers to play way up into the mid range. That's why, while the system is passable at lower volume levels, when you roll it up the mix disintegrates. The mids get shrill and overpowering, and the bass goes loose and sloppy.
I get that metal grilles are snazzy, but is anyone shocked they buzz? I'm wondering if the problem is more prevalent with the metal door trim vs the ash or lindenwood. Mine didn't buzz either with the OEM or Focals.
Last edited by Mike5215; Jan 30, 2017 at 05:27 PM.
I've had the "Burmester" speakers out of the car. Not only are they like crappy HK, they are crappy HK. No Burmester hardware whatsoever in the car. And yes, a very small digital amp. I guess Burmester signed a license deal and possibly did the tuning.
Also the door speakers are all on passive crossovers, with a cheap capacitor glued to the back of the cheap off-the-shelf silk dome tweeters. That and the lack of any proper midbass woofers, leaving the boomy "Frontbass" speakers to play way up into the mid range. That's why, while the system is passable at lower volume levels, when you roll it up the mix disintegrates. The mids get shrill and overpowering, and the bass goes loose and sloppy.
I get that metal grilles are snazzy, but is anyone shocked they buzz? I'm wondering if the problem is more prevalent with the metal door trim vs the ash or lindenwood. Mine didn't buzz either with the OEM or Focals.
Mike,
Do you have to remove the door panels to get the speakers out or can you access then through those snazzy metal grills? I have the coupe....
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