I found the sound system in the A200 premium pack impressive. But I find the idea of a 590 watt system in a car really alarming

To quote from the Daily Telegraph:-

“Booming car stereos aren't just infuriating - they're dangerous
By Rajeev Syal12:01AM GMT 28 Mar 2004
Careful with the volume button: loud music decreases a driver's ability to react to sudden movements and make decisions, according to the latest research.
The study, by scientists in Canada, found that reaction times diminished by up to 20 per cent when a person was subjected to loud volume, a potentially fatal delay for a motorist driving at even moderate speeds.”

While it’s easy to find a source that agrees with your suspicions, I do believe that excessive sound is dangerous and not just because 590 watts has the potential to blow your doors off and make your eyes bleed.

So many excellent musicians and sound engineers are no longer working because exposure to sustained high pressure levels of sound has impaired their hearing. Lots of people do love to ramp up the volume, including me. And I’m a session musician and a recording engineer so I should know better.

 

It is good to hear that the Advanced Sound System sounds impressive from a professional viewpoint, I did not have the chance to check it during the test drive. 590 watt allows higher undistorted volumes and probably a wider frequency response, and the Burmester would not be that much more money if it were available here.

 

You are right about the frequency response being artificially extended by throwing more watts at the extreme ends. but 590 watts? And class D? Class D, if not very well designed, brings its own shed load of issues around distortion. In the end, it’s how that half a kilowatt of output is used.

Bang & Olufsen were pioneers in the domestic field in the use of active technology and came out with speakers that looked like propelling pencils while everyone else was still offering a pair of coffins stood on their ends to take up valuable living room space. Look what they’ve done to sound in cars since they rumbled that car stereos sounded crap.

Small to medium PA systems have also embraced the use of active speakers, which has resulted in huge savings in weight, size and bills from osteopaths.

Anyway, don’t take too much notice of musicians when it comes to sound quality. I went on a course with Linn to learn about their products and when I produced a cd that I had played on to evaluate their seriously top end equipment the faces of the Linn employees fell.

“But you’ll know what it’s supposed to sound like” they lamented. Apparently musicians ears also fill in the gaps that the hifi misses. They reckoned I’d be happy with a Dansette.

And who am I to moan about someone turning their A-class into a broadcasting station. It’s their money and their ears.

 

I have the Advanced Sound option (not Burmester) which I am quite satisfied with.
I've read a lot about the make of the sound system, and I leave here a picture of my speakers and other Burmesters.
I know they are not the same, they do not have the same level of quality but are not the same brand? Burmester?

 

I have a A200 AMG Line with no additional bits, so it's the standard "mid range" sound system. I came from a Golf GTD with Dynaudio so i was spoiled somewhat in terms of sound quality. It is really the only issue I have with the Merc - speakers aren't amazing, though I readily accept they are not poor either. I want more from the sound system though so I took it to a specialist to have the speakers replaced and an inline amp added... long story short, they couldn't do it!

It seems the speaker is part of the door assembly, so you can't just swap it out without basically rebuilding the door or pulling on things you wouldn't want to pull on without knowing what's going on behind them... and given the car is so new there seems to be a distinct lack of the intimate knowledge of these kinds of things. I guess that comes with time and tinkering by people.

So my question is, has anyone looked into ways of upgrading the sound? In an ideal world I would've got the A Class with the Burmester system but, as my dad would say, I'm not made of money

I will probably just suck it up and my ears will adapt to the new reality after a time anyway but thought I'd ask!

 

Thanks for the info regarding the door speakers as I had no idea they would be so integrated so much into the door. Whats going to happen when these cars are 10 year old and the speakers fail? Massive Mercedes bill I presume!!

I also think the speakers aren't the best. My previous car was a black edition Audi with B&O sound system. I have however played about with the equalizer settings to fine tune it a little bit.
I had to turn the Treble down to -3, Mid +1 and Bass +4. But then that is personal preference for me, might not be the same for you. Oh, I also have the Subwoofer in the boot as part of the premium pack.

 

I honestly think that the sound system in this car it the worst part of it. I came from a Hi-Fi sound system from BMW 1 series and i found that an huge downgrade. But i guess i won't give all the effort to upgrade it.

 

I have looked around also to see if a possible upgrade can be made but looks very unlikely based on some local modding companies I have spoken to. I come for an Audi A3 with the Bose sound system and it definitely has more punch than the advanced sound system in the A Class.

For 225w - it just doesn't feel like it and feels very flat in my opinion. The burmester option was/is not available in the UK but I am sure this would have sounded a tonne better as it has a dedicated amp in the rear with the sub + its optimised for the cabin (like the Bose and B&O systems in Audis for example) so that it is a lot more 'immersive'.

 

Hi,
Best sound settings for the standard W177 system
I have a standard sound kit on my A220 W177
How to set the best bass, middle range, treble.
I can not deal with it.
Chris

 

Are you asking how to set this through the menus or what other people have as their settings?

 

Hi Craggyislander
Thank you for your message.
I know where and how to set the equalizer.
I do not know what the best settings would be to get the best sound from this standard device.
Maybe someone through trial and error obtained a satisfactory sound and will share the settings.
Chris

 

No probs, I think it's down to personal choice to be honest, I have bass at 10 and mid/treble at 5 for example.

 

Hi,
T


Thank you for your help.
I'll try this setting.
The quality of the speakers is mediocre as you know and they begin to vibrate with the bass.
Regards
Chris

 

Here are my settings;-

 

Hi,
Thank you so much.
Light in the tunnel >>>>>>
Your settings 10-4-6
Another user 10-5-5
that is, close to each other.
Regards
Chris

 

Wow it’s bad.
anybody upgraded speakers or something?

 

I have a A200 AMG line 68plate, and yes the stereo is very disappointing for the range of car.
Bill Hooks

 

Does any one know if there is any noticeable difference between the standard stereo fitted to an standard car and the mid range one fitted to premium and premium plus ? I am looking to change my car and to cover the engine upgrade cost I may have to downgrade from premium to executive trim and only thing I am worried about is the stereo sound worse.

 

What year car are you looking at?

 

I have a 2018 and looking getting a 2021 car

 

Hi all,

sorry to repeat what I put on another thread but I got no replies:


I have the advanced sound system (not the Burmester) in my brand new facelifted A250e.
Now, I am a total illiterate when it comes to sound systems but I find the quality of the sound somewhat poor and I feel that almost all the sound is coming from the center speaker and almost nothing from the A pillar side speaker (I am assuming that thing in the A pillar just above the vent is a speaker?). That speaker isn't producing any vibration and I cannot define if any sound is coming out at all. The front door speakers are working.
I mostly listen to rock/hard rock and besides (or maybe related to) the issue of the sound seemingly only coming through the center speaker, I feel that on low volume it sounds ok'ish but it's not loud enough for the kind of music I listen to and on high volume it comes out high pitched, maybe distorted and lacking bass. Also overall I feel that the sound does not "evelope" me, like I am listening to one of those single speaker small stereos.
Playing from Bluetooth seems to be slightly better than Carplay or USB.
I checked the sub unit back in the boot and it is working, not sure if properly.
I tried playing with the sound settings but I fail to notice any significant improvement or difference.
Also I can confirm that the volume increments are too high, so it seems they have no fixed that yet...
I come from a BMW X2 with a (I guess) standard sound system and, although it did not sound great it sounded relatively ok to me and definitely better than this one.

I apologize for my lack of ability to describe it any better.

I know that sound quality is very subjective and my description of the issue may not be very clear but, reading the above could anyone answer or give me any hint on the questions below:

1. Do you think there could be an issue with the equipment itself?
2. Anyone who listens to similar type music could paste here the sound settings they have and that they are happy with?

PS: Doing any upgrades like new speakers/subwoofers/whatever is not an option for me.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

 

I have the standard 100w system in my A250e and in my opinion it's shocking. Didn't have an option to upgrade as it's a company car so beggars can't be choosers.
Coming from a Vauxhal Insignia I was expecting a lot more but have now realised just how good the standard Vauxhall setup was as it was superior in all aspects.
I would say avoid the standard system if you can.

 

I have the standard 100w system in my A250e and in my opinion it's shocking.

That's what I thought initially. I have however played quite a bit with the equaliser / tone / balance controls and am now quite pleased with the sound.

 

Got my A class 2021 AMG Line Executive, initially was disappointed with the sound quality. Then after fiddling with the equaliser to Bass -10, Mid- 5 and Tre-5 started sounding better. AIso Spotify user make sure you change the Spotify settings quality - high and equaliser - Rock after that its much better. Went to a after market sound system guy and he suggested the Alpine Sub SWE-815 for £289. But am a bit confused to set that up in already a tiny boot in the A-Class

 

Interesting your settings, some seem to think it lacks bass but in my stereo, basic, it does seem too bassy so might try yours can't be worse, the only downside I have about the car but have been spoilt in previous MB

 

The Burmester is equally disappointing.

 

Not in the FL it isn’t. Totally different setup and very good sound.

 

I find the sound quality in my a250 executive to be quite poor. I’d assume I have the standard sound system.
Just curious - I hear a lot of sibilance (harsh sounding “s” sounds) and I wonder if playing with the equaliser might help this, so I’m going to try some of these user settings in this post. I’ve heard turning treble down can help.
Out of interest - has anyone managed to upgrade their speakers? A previous user in this post states the door speakers were too engrained to remove and fit new speakers.

 

In two weeks I upgraded my standard sound system to 4 speakers, a seat active subwoofer. A DSP plus amplifier, 4 tweeters have been replaced.

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• khg02303
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• khg02303
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• khg02303
• Jun 18, 2023

 

It looks and sounds expensive?

 

Looks very impressive; however, my servicing MB dealer told me I can’t install an aftermarket system because it’ll affect my warranty (maybe warranty conditions are different for me in Australia).

 

The installation is complete, and now the sound of the stereo is very good, with a very good sense of bass, two subwoofers, four tweeters, four 6.5-inch door mid-bass, one instrument panel dual-coil speaker, and two rear surround 3.5-inch speakers.

 

Where did you purchase the speakers from? I have the FL Advanced system and its not bad, but I just want a little more lol

 

That‘s awesome! Thanks for showing us.