How does the Bose Surround Sound System Sound in the S-Class?
03-15-2007, 11:13 PM
#1
Newbie
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 7
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
How does the Bose Surround Sound System Sound in the S-Class?
Firstly does anyone know the RMS wattage rating of the whole system and how many watts the sub is? Also is the high end range clear and can you hear every instrument hit like Mark Levinson in Lexus', basically is it enough for an audiophile or would one have to upgrade to aftermarket products?
Thanks!
Thanks!
03-15-2007, 11:45 PM
#2
MBWorld Fanatic!
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: OC
Posts: 2,319
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
AMG E55, Stage 1, Strait Pipe from Primary Cats
Firstly does anyone know the RMS wattage rating of the whole system and how many watts the sub is? Also is the high end range clear and can you hear every instrument hit like Mark Levinson in Lexus', basically is it enough for an audiophile or would one have to upgrade to aftermarket products?
Thanks!
Thanks!
Here is a thread with some opinions and another link in thread to my setup. If you are serious about your music then you will need to rip that system out and replace everthing but the head unit.
https://mbworld.org/forums/s-class-w220/152499-sound-systems.html
03-16-2007, 03:52 PM
#4
Member
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Orange County, CA
Posts: 97
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Lamborghini Countach, BMW M3, ML 500 x2, S500 Lorinser
Firstly does anyone know the RMS wattage rating of the whole system and how many watts the sub is? Also is the high end range clear and can you hear every instrument hit like Mark Levinson in Lexus', basically is it enough for an audiophile or would one have to upgrade to aftermarket products?
Thanks!
Thanks!
Its a "Blose"...
They arent the WORST audio components in the world, but they dont deserve anywhere NEAR the hype.... And that goes for the Home as well as car audio.... You can get the same quality from a 50 dollar speaker.... The extra $400/unit is spent by their marketing department convincing the world theyre the best audio equipment out there.... And theyre not even CLOSE....
Last edited by RomansDad; 03-16-2007 at 03:58 PM.
The following users liked this post:
maw1124 (04-21-2021)
03-16-2007, 07:35 PM
#8
MBWorld Fanatic!
There is no bass. What sounds like muddy bass is muddy, peaky midbass. I listen to lots of classical too and have gotten used to the mediocre sound. It handles AM newstalk radio quite well.
I think the speakers are the weakest link. Has anyone swapped drivers and lived to tell the tale? I know they're very low impedance, like 2 ohm, but are they matched to weird signal processing games in the amps that would require replacing electronics as well?
I think the speakers are the weakest link. Has anyone swapped drivers and lived to tell the tale? I know they're very low impedance, like 2 ohm, but are they matched to weird signal processing games in the amps that would require replacing electronics as well?
The following users liked this post:
maw1124 (04-21-2021)
03-17-2007, 12:24 AM
#9
MBWorld Fanatic!
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 1,578
Likes: 0
Received 7 Likes
on
6 Posts
04 S430 (sold),05 X5 4.4i, 02 325i, 87 560SL, 85 Alfa Romeo
There is no bass. What sounds like muddy bass is muddy, peaky midbass. I listen to lots of classical too and have gotten used to the mediocre sound. It handles AM newstalk radio quite well.
I think the speakers are the weakest link. Has anyone swapped drivers and lived to tell the tale? I know they're very low impedance, like 2 ohm, but are they matched to weird signal processing games in the amps that would require replacing electronics as well?
I think the speakers are the weakest link. Has anyone swapped drivers and lived to tell the tale? I know they're very low impedance, like 2 ohm, but are they matched to weird signal processing games in the amps that would require replacing electronics as well?
The Sonic quality if any system is totally dependent on the "Room"
So Yes you have muddy or no bass and the mids are weird, but remember imaging, location and all of this plays a part in how sound moves and travels.
Frequency wise, My S is near perfect technically speaking. Once I learned the car. I am a producer and I take music mixes from my studio to my car for reference.I know right away if my mixed are wrong because I know how the car sounds. For most a great sounding system is on that enhances certain frequency's thus coloring the sound quite a bit.In my case it's the opposite.
I don;t like systems that color things too much. The HK systems do that and I prefer BOSE over the HK for that reason.
Not that I'm the biggest fan or anything, but BOSE does a lot of research into how to get good sound Perception not sound quality. This is why they led the industry in small speakers that seemed to sound a lot like Big one's.
In a car, you can't duplicate that just in circuitry. The positioning of speakers and distances from the listener etc actually plays a great part in how the overall sound is duplicated.Unfortunately the auto companies put speakers in the same location no matter if you have premium sound or not. This is usually semi compensated for by adding more speakers in different locations to help "agitate" the sound movement.
All cars have a "sweet spot" but it is usually not where the driver sits. On the S it's somewhere in the middle of the cabin behind the front set and just forward of the rear seat about the upper thirds of the car below the ceiling.
There is plenty of Bass and highs there when you turn it up.
Of course no one sits there, but that is where the bulk of the frequency;s land. And that is because of the location of the rear door tweeters and how much low frequency is coming from the rear of the car.
The S sounds better than most because there is more room for the sound to travel. My CLK for example with the HK system was pointless because there is no where for sound to travel in that car.
In the end I like the way it sounds.. It's not booming loud, but it's loud enough for a stock system.I like it because it's true aand basically flat. Much better than the plain factory audio like my 2006 E has. Now that I absolutely hate!!
Last edited by my06clk; 03-17-2007 at 12:30 AM.
The following users liked this post:
maw1124 (04-21-2021)
i think i blew my amp
03-20-2007, 06:33 PM
#12
Super Member
Sound system in a W220 is most un-rewarding. Lexus GS Mark-levinson system is by far the best OEM system I have heard yet. There is no comparison.
03-21-2007, 12:21 PM
#16
Super Member
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Long Island, New york
Posts: 943
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
2004 S55 AMG
Bose is not that bad but you can't crank it up. Also compared to aftermarket bose sucks. Strangely the bose stereo in 98 cadilliac was way better and louder that the S.
03-23-2007, 09:08 PM
#17
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: US-Philadelphia
Posts: 260
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
SL600
The Bose system is an embarassment to the S-Class. However, the Bose system in the previous model (W140) was much better in terms of bass. When I first purchased the W220 I was convinced something was wrong with it. Then, I heard another W200 and it was equally bad. It is amazing that a $100K car has an audio system that it utterly crappy. In my 07 GL with upgraded HK audio, it is sonically better than my S500's Bose, but it is still weak.
The past posters hit it right on the head... no highs, no lows, must be Bose. Blose was another good description. Sure, I could rip it all out, but that is a hassle, especailly since most of the time I am on the phone in the car.
It would, however, be nice to be able to crank up the audio and enjoy what one would think would be superb sound. I have been fiddling withe the various adjustments for 7 years now and still cannot get the sound where I would like it to be.
If you want to hear an amazing car audio system, listen the the Infiniti M35/M45. It is a Bose system, but it sounds incredible. Just be sure to listen to a surround sound audio DVD or high quality CD recording.
The past posters hit it right on the head... no highs, no lows, must be Bose. Blose was another good description. Sure, I could rip it all out, but that is a hassle, especailly since most of the time I am on the phone in the car.
It would, however, be nice to be able to crank up the audio and enjoy what one would think would be superb sound. I have been fiddling withe the various adjustments for 7 years now and still cannot get the sound where I would like it to be.
If you want to hear an amazing car audio system, listen the the Infiniti M35/M45. It is a Bose system, but it sounds incredible. Just be sure to listen to a surround sound audio DVD or high quality CD recording.
03-26-2007, 09:10 PM
#19
Super Member
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 835
Received 69 Likes
on
51 Posts
'19 G63 Ed 1,'18 M5, '16 G63,'12 458 , '11 E63, Brabus SL55-K8, '10 S63, '94 E500 "Wolf", '91 560SEC
My friend had an Infiniti FX45, and it was hands down the best factory system I had ever heard. I bet the M45 sounds really impressive with the speakers in the front seats.
03-27-2007, 01:54 PM
#20
MBWorld Fanatic!
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Tampa, FL
Posts: 3,063
Likes: 0
Received 22 Likes
on
14 Posts
2005 S500 4-Matic, 1978 450SL
Guys I think you are all forgetting something important here.
The Sonic quality if any system is totally dependent on the "Room"
So Yes you have muddy or no bass and the mids are weird, but remember imaging, location and all of this plays a part in how sound moves and travels.
Frequency wise, My S is near perfect technically speaking. Once I learned the car. I am a producer and I take music mixes from my studio to my car for reference.I know right away if my mixed are wrong because I know how the car sounds. For most a great sounding system is on that enhances certain frequency's thus coloring the sound quite a bit.In my case it's the opposite.
I don;t like systems that color things too much. The HK systems do that and I prefer BOSE over the HK for that reason.
Not that I'm the biggest fan or anything, but BOSE does a lot of research into how to get good sound Perception not sound quality. This is why they led the industry in small speakers that seemed to sound a lot like Big one's.
In a car, you can't duplicate that just in circuitry. The positioning of speakers and distances from the listener etc actually plays a great part in how the overall sound is duplicated.Unfortunately the auto companies put speakers in the same location no matter if you have premium sound or not. This is usually semi compensated for by adding more speakers in different locations to help "agitate" the sound movement.
All cars have a "sweet spot" but it is usually not where the driver sits. On the S it's somewhere in the middle of the cabin behind the front set and just forward of the rear seat about the upper thirds of the car below the ceiling.
There is plenty of Bass and highs there when you turn it up.
Of course no one sits there, but that is where the bulk of the frequency;s land. And that is because of the location of the rear door tweeters and how much low frequency is coming from the rear of the car.
The S sounds better than most because there is more room for the sound to travel. My CLK for example with the HK system was pointless because there is no where for sound to travel in that car.
In the end I like the way it sounds.. It's not booming loud, but it's loud enough for a stock system.I like it because it's true aand basically flat. Much better than the plain factory audio like my 2006 E has. Now that I absolutely hate!!
The Sonic quality if any system is totally dependent on the "Room"
So Yes you have muddy or no bass and the mids are weird, but remember imaging, location and all of this plays a part in how sound moves and travels.
Frequency wise, My S is near perfect technically speaking. Once I learned the car. I am a producer and I take music mixes from my studio to my car for reference.I know right away if my mixed are wrong because I know how the car sounds. For most a great sounding system is on that enhances certain frequency's thus coloring the sound quite a bit.In my case it's the opposite.
I don;t like systems that color things too much. The HK systems do that and I prefer BOSE over the HK for that reason.
Not that I'm the biggest fan or anything, but BOSE does a lot of research into how to get good sound Perception not sound quality. This is why they led the industry in small speakers that seemed to sound a lot like Big one's.
In a car, you can't duplicate that just in circuitry. The positioning of speakers and distances from the listener etc actually plays a great part in how the overall sound is duplicated.Unfortunately the auto companies put speakers in the same location no matter if you have premium sound or not. This is usually semi compensated for by adding more speakers in different locations to help "agitate" the sound movement.
All cars have a "sweet spot" but it is usually not where the driver sits. On the S it's somewhere in the middle of the cabin behind the front set and just forward of the rear seat about the upper thirds of the car below the ceiling.
There is plenty of Bass and highs there when you turn it up.
Of course no one sits there, but that is where the bulk of the frequency;s land. And that is because of the location of the rear door tweeters and how much low frequency is coming from the rear of the car.
The S sounds better than most because there is more room for the sound to travel. My CLK for example with the HK system was pointless because there is no where for sound to travel in that car.
In the end I like the way it sounds.. It's not booming loud, but it's loud enough for a stock system.I like it because it's true aand basically flat. Much better than the plain factory audio like my 2006 E has. Now that I absolutely hate!!
The one thing I would like in the Bose is tighter bass - not louder, not boomier - just tighter. The two 8" subs in my Audi A6's Bose system were better in that regard.
Also, I am more satisfied with the result when using the system "plain vanilla" (no sound processing) except that sometimes I'll use optomization for the driver when traveling alone. I do some tweaking on the bass and treble for different types of music.
The following users liked this post:
maw1124 (04-21-2021)
