allenjdmb

Just got to thinking that the 18 E43 I bought doesn't have a CD slot (I don't think). So that leaves me with TR radio, Internet radio, Sat and....there's my question.

What are you guys doing to listen/? I assume out of your phone? What's your primary site for ripping/burning? I am an android guy with a Note 21, can you point me to some YouTube video or something so that I"m not too stooppid? Yes, I will RTFM but the car's not here yet. Trying to get educated before then. It has the $6500 Burmeister option, so audio quality is meaningful to me.....

Thanks if you can help.. Boy am I old!..

Cylinder Head

iTrader: (1)

First of all the Burmeister is my absolute favorite option on my E63. AMAZING sound quality. I bought the biggest SD card I could find, got a cheap SD card reader/writer for my PC and threw a few hundred gigs of lossless tunes and everything else I could come up with. You will find the SD slot in your center armrest. I also use my iphone via USB and it sounds great.

E63Wagen

I did the exact same thing Cylinder head...bought a 128GB SD card, and have about 50 albums on it, mostly lossless FLAC from HDTracks.com, and some ripped CDs that I already owned. I think I have about half the SD card still free space, so room for many more! Sound is awesome!

utsteve98

Tidal. Especially MQA level tracks cannot be beat when it comes to sound quality.

Sunbeltgolfer11

I must be doing something wrong. I've downloaded music on a thumb drive and bluetooth via an android phone for my E63. Everything plays on the system without issue, but I don't find the sound quality to be as sharp or pleasing as the Harmon Kardon systems in our SL550 and GL450. Yesterday I monkied around with settings for the equalizer, fader, base, mid and treble yet nothing seemed to do the trick. Has anyone elde compared the sound from the two systems?

HBerman

What is the bit rate that you used for your download? I don't have another vehicle with which to compare, but the sound quality seems fine on my system. I downloaded my albums via my computer at a 192 Kpbs bit rate.

Sunbeltgolfer11

320 kpbs. I used sidify for the download and they claim it's lossless. That is what made me wonder about the Burmester sound quality.

Sunbeltgolfer11

I've put the thumb drive in my GL450 and I have to say it definitely sounds better on the Harmon Kardon than the Burmester in the E63s. Maybe I just haven't figured out the correct combination of settings yet.

HBerman

What are your settings?

Sunbeltgolfer11

On the equalizeer I've bumped the bass to 7, mid to 4 and treble to 6. It is on surround and emphasis for all seats. Can't remember if there was any other changes.

HBerman

My settings are bass 6, mid 2, treble 4, surround and emphasis on front seats. Changing to all seats seems to mute the middle range a bit.

Sunbeltgolfer11

Thanks. I will give that a try. It's probably a bad idea to try and compare sound from different vehicles and systems. My hearing does have some issues with loss in certain tones and maybe that has something to do with it. There is just a real noticeable difference between the Harmon Kardon and Burmester to my ear. Not that the Burmester is poor quality, just seems sub standard when compared to out two other MB's.

whoover

Do you have the 3D system? We may be discussing both the stock Burmester and the optional upgrade (which is significant) in the same thread.

Sunbeltgolfer11

Mine does not have the 3D.

HBerman

The Harmon Kardon system has Logic 7 for surround enhancement. The Burmester system has a different surround algorithm. I measured the frequency response on the system in my wagon with my equalizer settings and found it basically flat in the midrange, +6 db in the bass, flat in the high end. Setting the surround algorithm to Pure enhanced the midrange a bit without any change to the equalizer settings. You might try the pure setting and see if it is more to your liking.

Sunbeltgolfer11

I'll try that the next time I have it out. I'm probably splitting hairs when in reality the Harmon Kardon just suits my ear. The Burmester isn't bad, just different.

718Rob

Might be off-topic from original thread, but has anyone else noticed sound quality degradation when using Android Auto vs. the factory Bluetooth connection?

Spotify on AA and Spotify direct to COMAND sound dramatically different on my 2018 E63 S with the Burmester option.

Sunbeltgolfer11

We have a lot of music downloaded on an android from spotify. It sounds fine, but we use bluetototh when playing it in the E63s. Next time we drive it I'll try AA and see if we notice a difference.

utsteve98

I’m not sure what type of connection android auto is as I use Apple CarPlay, but I assume it’s the equivalent. Bluetooth is an inferior connection and is lossy compared to any direct connect or even wireless CarPlay on some cars. Not sure if BT 5.0 will be a superior connection but I never use BT if I want the highest quality audio.

allenjdmb

I have the 3d, and I cannot believe they can get away with 6500 upcharge on this. They should be ashamed of themselves...

utsteve98

Don’t you mean 4500? Still high. But not quite 6500.

TDoug1

You can't get the 3D system in the wagon, at least not MY 2021.

b0rderman

Don't feel left out, as there are no wagons with 3D sound. We lack the rear shelf behind the back seats, so we can't get to the required speaker count.

Audio threads always risk apples/oranges comparisons...there are two sound systems for the E63 cars, Burmester and 3D.

E63Wagen

I was willing to give up whatever quality improvement there is with the 3D system for the practicality and uniqueness of the wagon. I have zero complaints about the standard Burmester system in my wagon...I download most of my music in 96kHz/24bit from HDTracks (with a few ripped cds thrown in), and the sound is awesome.

E63Wagen

Has anybody tried an SD card larger than 128GB?