2014 E350 Stereo lacks weight

[javahouse]

Hi all
I have a 2014 E350 Estate with the standard stereo. After the CLS the stereo sounds very 'bright'. When I go to Audio settings, the bass and treble settings... there is no discernible difference between 0 an 10 on the bass scale. I guess this means something's wrong, but before I take it back ,can someone confirm that the stereo *should* be weighty and the bass should alter significantly from one end of the scale to the other?
Many thanks in advance
Rob

 

[John Laidlaw]

My 2015 212 certainly has a huge difference in Bass, but then that's an HK system
However I also had a 2013 212 non HK and that was the same
Something tells me I had to set it for each mode though - I.e. Radio,CD and media....might be wrong on that but worth checking

 

[Larkone]

Have you checked that all the speakers are working as they should?

 

[Headhurts]

My 2016 E350 has standard audio and it is extremely good with lots of bass and a big difference when you alter the settings.

I remember reading on a post once that according to a company that upgrades speakers it was remarked that the standard speakers are surprisingly good quality.

Mind you they should be decent on cars costing around £40,000


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Botus]

I was going to say, modern systems appear to have too much bass these days. They don't really have any !!! but with compressed audio they can severely boost what's enough boom to fool most.

Your car should go from none to too much of what its designed to have by changing bass settings as you have done. That would suggest somethings a miss.

There are many issues with German car stereos. German's must have odd hearing as they tend to fit average speakers, nasty underpowered amps then mess up the equalisation electronically in the head unit to try and get the sound type they do.

Often the best starting point is to bin the amp as soon and as fast as possible. And where able code the headunit back to normal. Both easily achieved in a BMW for around £500

On a merc the amp is often integrated into the rest of the cars comand system rendering aftermarket amps a no go without serious work.

next up on merc is the HK system, which is weak and feeble but a lot more then the stock setup, but certainly isn't hifi or what you can do an a BMW for 600 quid

100 real amps in to a 20w speakers will make them sing and never break
20w into 100w speakers will sound awful and the speakers will rattles themselves to death quite quickly

 

[javahouse]

If I set the fader in the centre or indeed move around the car it would appear something comes out of each speaker; and when set to centre, then sound appears central, but it's so harsh you just can't turn the volume up. And the phone sound only comes out by my right knee.
Does anyone know whether a diagnostics check would show any defects to the stereo?
Does the E350 estate have a sub-woofer as standard?
Thanks
Rob

 

[Botus]

on the HK upgraded cars, allegedly you have 14 strategically placed speakers at 610 watts, LOGIC 7Â and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound technology.

"...in my E350... the most striking aspect is the lack of lower bass punch--almost like there is no subwoofer compared to the sound quality in my C350"


http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...-my-car/130441-mercedes-e350-sub-upgrade.html

 

[javahouse]

on the HK upgraded cars, allegedly you have 14 strategically placed speakers at 610 watts, LOGIC 7Â and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound technology.

"...in my E350... the most striking aspect is the lack of lower bass punch--almost like there is no subwoofer compared to the sound quality in my C350"

That's exactly what I have. I need to listen to someone elses, but this car might be the shortest I have ever kept a car.

 

[Botus]

620w in todays world probably means a real number (of nasty quality) around 18w at each speaker... and that'll be going out of control at 70% vol

there's another way if you want to cut the wiring loom in half and use high level, then you could drive some of the speakers properly and tweak the messed up signals on your laptop to your hearts content

http://www.audison.eu/index.php?page=product&id=50

 

[John Laidlaw]

That's exactly what I have. I need to listen to someone elses, but this car might be the shortest I have ever kept a car.

Where are you based?

 

[javahouse]

Hi John
Sandbach, Cheshire, but I'd guess your E63 would have better audio than my old CLS.
I think I need to spend an hour at Fords of Winsford tomorrow. Report my concerns to the supplying dealer and schedule a visit.
Does the Mercedes diagnostics cover the audio?
Thanks
Rob

 

[javahouse]

620w in todays world probably means a real number (of nasty quality) around 18w at each speaker... and that'll be going out of control at 70% vol

there's another way if you want to cut the wiring loom in half and use high level, then you could drive some of the speakers properly and tweak the messed up signals on your laptop to your hearts content

http://www.audison.eu/index.php?page=product&id=50

What a cracking idea. Do all of the speaker cables originate behind the head unit or is there an amp in the rear wing?
Cheers
Rob

 

[John Laidlaw]

Hi John
Sandbach, Cheshire, but I'd guess your E63 would have better audio than my old CLS.
I think I need to spend an hour at Fords of Winsford tomorrow. Report my concerns to the supplying dealer and schedule a visit.
Does the Mercedes diagnostics cover the audio?
Thanks
Rob

You're right- doh- my 63 has the Harmon Kardon stuff.
I don't believe Mercedes Star will delve into the audio stuff unfortunately.
And, you're right if FOW supplied, then that's your point of discourse!
Good luck Rob, cracking car you don't want spoiled by poor bass!

 

[javahouse]

Hi John
The car came from Mercedes Stoke as an approved used, but I thought I could have a cheeky listen at FOW

I had a brainwave, I have colleagues who are German, I may need some translation services, but...

http://www.ebay.de/itm/I-SOTEC-Ends...067213?hash=item3f69ce4c0d:g:P2sAAOSw6DtYSxBm

 

[Botus]

What a cracking idea. Do all of the speaker cables originate behind the head unit or is there an amp in the rear wing?
Cheers
Rob

well the picture you found suggests they are on the head unit
but if there is an amp in the boot all the speaker wires would start there

 

[Submariner1]

well the picture you found suggests they are on the head unit
but if there is an amp in the boot all the speaker wires would start there

I did toy with the idea of using my gorgeous DLS A3 audiophile grade amp.

For 2 decent bass speakers 2x 270w rms < 0.1 THD.
The guy in the specialist shop said they used some kit to get at the high level output that comes out of the amp in the rear.
I assume as my HK system has an amp so will the std. system??

 

[Botus]

I did toy with the idea of using my gorgeous DLS A3 audiophile grade amp.

The guy in the specialist shop said they used some kit to get at the high level output that comes out of the amp in the rear.
I assume as my HK system has an amp so will the std. system??

just thinking as even more cars are reaching merc's designed in obsolescence and the HK amps are dropping like flies (and even the Bulgarian specialist are unable to resolve) is it the amplified section that's dead ? it might be the pre amp element is OK and one could get an expert to add pre outs ( rca's ) - thus leaving one able to put a decent amplifying stage on the car.

I had read one guy had done this, its a great idea !!! - but he was only doing to get the system bearable rather than fix a fault, which he later claims was better cured with the audison as could tame merc's attempts to bastardise the signal reaching the speakers

 

[Jkh112]

I have recently bought a 2014 e class with the standard audio and find the sound very flat. With the volume at higher levels there is a difference heard when adjusting the treble and bass via Comand.
I can have the volume up quite high and the system handles this well, in that there is no distortion, but although I can hear the high frequencies and reasonable low frequencies for a system with no subwoofer I find the sound very closed.

 

[harrye500]

Hello Rob, its an older post but I thought I would add to it! Plus, I'm only in Winsford so not a million miles if you ever were in the area and wanted to compare 'Stereo's'! I have an E500 convertible with the HK system with multimedia usb etc etc. The car is superb, the stereo is mediocre at best. It plays better with purer audio (say a high quality DDD CD), but via USB or god forbid, Bluetooth, the quality drops even with a 320kbps recording. The problem I think is is the lack of control on the equaliser side, if there was any then one could play around a bit and drive those very average speakers a bit better. The pre set up airs on the side of excessive mid range and a severe lack of bass I find. Although, saying that, it does tend to be a relatively clear and tight sound, but that isn't to everyone's taste. If you drive it hard though its hideous, absolutely awful from any source. For an upgraded system, it'd probably suit most ears. Not forgetting of course its all down to fitting cost. The original HK upgrade cost when new was I believe pretty reasonable and has to be better than the average Mazda? Ive sort of learnt to live with it as I like the car so much, 10 years ago I would have been frustrated on every drive - must be the wiseness of age!! The std Dynaudio system in my old Volvo C70 was astounding, stunning and puts the HK to shame. Theres a good write up on here on upgrading to an Audison Amp which sounds like it would provide a good upgrade without possibly having to change the speakers. Maybe if we bought 2 amps we would get a better deal!! . Lets see how happy buyers are with the brand new Burmester system on new models, I've read a few write ups and it seems that system is equally as bad with, you guessed it, a lack of user controls including EQ! Why do they do it, we'll never know I'm sure! Enjoy your E Class, they're a top car!