darkknight26

great write up with great English. My door speaker has also blown FWITW (Bose)

Hp12c

First of all I really appreciate the OP doing this and writing it up. Thank you.

• I do think though its a "motor off" test, which is of limited real-world application
• I said limited, not no application, because I think we've all sat in the car in the garage and listened to the stereo, or read the owners manual, while our wives wonder what the hell is wrong with us
• The bose in my 991.2 sounded great while sitting in my garage with the car off.

But in terms of listening while driving:

• I have a listening room at home, w/ a decent but not over the top hi-fi setup (Rogue chronus magnum ii integrated amp, VPI Scout turntable, Sumiko BPS cartridge, Auralic Aries streamer + PS Audio DAC, Vandersteen 2ci speakers)
• If I put my dishwasher in the listening room, and ran it while playing records, I think it would sound about like listening to MP3's through the earbuds that they give you for free on airplanes
• I'm pretty sure the 911 Burmeister isn't as good as my home hi-fi, but I KNOW that twin turbo boxer is louder than my dishwasher

Ultimately the options menu is a bit expensive at every level, I don't think stereo options are any more/less overpriced than leather steering column treatments, bumper covers w/ slightly different shapes, upgraded mufflers that do less actual muffling, etc. To each their own, no matter what you choose you end up with a Porsche 911, and that's never really money misspent.

SDK Autos

I originally ordered PASM (-10MM) with my build, was later informed they had a break in production for that option so I negotiated Burmester for the same price as the suspension option instead of. I was on the fence about the suspension option anyway so it all worked out.

HF_992

Thank you guys for your thoughtful comments and opinions!

Happy to add (yet another) set of ears in the ever-going discussion with this forever-subjetive topic

glad to hear that! love to share music with similar-minded, best way of finding new stuff

yes, blown door woofers are a fault in design with Bose in 992 built before a specific date (Porsche Centers know of it)
mine is built 01/2020 so it got the new version of the woofers from factory, where the coil is not damaged

very true! this was also my reflection when doing the test, that as soon as ignition turned on (as it is supposed to be) the subtle differences become very minor.

however, I do not agree with those saying that there's no point in audio reproduction in a sports car anyway, that PSE is the only music etc...I'm a strong advocate for, no matter the cabin noises etc, reaching a certain level in quality audio reproduction - and to me that level in the particular case with the small and filled with lovely noise 911s seems to land somewhere around what 992 Bose represents (not below)

law of diminishing returns is very valid in this case

that doesn't make any of these systems become a supreme hifi experience, like most of the suppliers would want to advertise as, but rather a golden mid-way in the possibility to at least get the major part of the frequency response intended, a reasonable sound stage, a little less listening fatigue etc than the base systems

If you can use a trusted and true professional audio shop (or do it professionally yourself) then I would never use factory components - the performance vs money invested when buying the Bose/Burmester-parts of the shelf is not great. For example, one could easily find a tweeter probably sounding and measuring twice as good as the Bose-ones for less than $50 a pair.
It's when you buy everything as a package from factory it makes sense.
If not, then I would go aftermarket, and if not afraid of investment and maybe also planing to keep the car for a longer while (return of investment) then dream would be to add a system like for example Nick / Musicar on the east coast.
What I would definitely never ever do is to leave a brand new Nine-Elfer to a group of (usually) young dudes with no experience in quality craftsmanship. Would rather listen to PSE then.



That's a very good and valid point!
Simply because I find that all three systems lack in high frequency reproduction when being out in 'tone defeat' (flat EQ). High frequency details get lost in the over-exagurated mid ranges.
And aslo Burmester could handle a bit more treble turned up before beginning to sound harsh on some material (could be put up to +6 without a problem while Bose sounds bad over +3)
It's all personal preference I guess, but I find that many home audio speakers (and electronics) are 'defeat' tuned the way I would prefer (which in this case is a bump in treble)

When I mumble cryptic things "like removing a silk cloth" I'm not talking about the >level< of reproduction, I'm talking quality. Taking treble a notch up doesn't make I better performing, and does not remove any cloths imho.
Pushing hardware beyond it's capabilities doesn't often make it perform better I think.

Thank You, and I totally agree (including the wife/girlfriend or equivalent wondering what the h-ll is wrong..)

I have a microwave oven in one of our combined listening rooms (don't ask how it got there..) and it works the same way...it effectively eats up every bit of snake oil put down in cables, isolated stands for turn tables etc.
But someone needs her popcorn asap sometimes..

Dan Nagy

Lol - good for you! That is an unusual situation and seems to have worked out for the best.

markchristenson

First, nice system :-) I almost got sucked (back) into hi-fi but don't have a dedicated listening room nor a great setup in the room where my wife would be okay with it, so I passed altogether rather than putting great gear into a less-than-optimal environment.

Which takes me to second, your comparison is a good analogy and I've never thought of it that way. If somebody wants the Burmester or a full custom system, I say "go for it!" But practically speaking a car will never be a great "listening room" and therefore the equipment probably makes much less difference. Said another way, a person could buy a "10x as good," expensive system and it will only be marginally better when the engine is on and the car is being driven.

Hp12c

For what it’s worth, I received my car (bose in a C2s w normal exhaust), and I’m very pleased... relatively rich sound, impressive base when I put the right music on, and when driven gingerly, the engine sound doesn’t kill the music quality too bad.

Senna01

Thanks for taking the time to review. I own a company that installs top end HiFi and Home Theater systems. I'm a member of the Audio Engineering Society and I'm Home Acoustic Alliance certified. We've been in business since 1995, therefore I like to think I know what I'm talking about when it comes to audio.

Agree Bose's in car systems are mostly is great value for money.

However IMHO I don't think the Bose system can hold a candle to the Burmester's.

Sure, I agree its not worth 3 times the money but a Turbo S is probably might not worth 50% more over the C2S in some folks eyes.

Horses for courses.

diononiz

A bit off topic but did you compare the "music" from the normal exhaust vs the Sport Exhaust?

Thanks

Hp12c

I didn’t test 992’s with and without PSE... I’m coming from a 991.2 w PSE however.

jocke1

Anyone know what sizes the speakers are in the standard system? Is it 5 or 6 inch?

I did not go for Bose because I've had bad experience from Bose in a earlier car so I'm gonna spend those money on proper speakers myself.

Metalblond

My lock is soon and I also have been going back and forth on the stereos. One of my cars had a base stereo, my 991.2 had a Bose, and I'm contemplating uprading from Bose to Burmester on the upcoming 992. There was a big difference to me between the base and the Bose stereo- both in music quality but significantly when using the phone on Bluetooth. The base system just couldn't get the volume and tone up to where I could hear the caller correctly. Has anyone noticed a difference in telephone quality from a Bose to a Burmester? I'm stuck in traffic a lot and have to do a lot of hands free calls so this is something I need to consider. Thanks

NigelPlays

You want to pay 5k for the upgrade on hands free calls? Cheaper to buy airpods?

Metalblond

Wow--tough crowd here. I said in addition to music quality. There was a big difference between the base and the Bose in both and I was wondering if it was the same in telephone calls, as well as music, with the Burmester.

WellDressedCar

I thought both audio systems sounded "boomy". When I do listen to tunes, there are either hip-hop, EDM, or jazz. Nothing from my Spotify playlists or SiriusXM blew me away on either system. The Burmester had better mids and highs, but overall neither really impressed.
I ticked the box for the Bose. I mostly listen to podcasts if I'm just running errands, but my C2S will be just for weekend fun with the local Porsche chapter, going to cars & coffee, etc. In the end, I'll probably just listen to the sound of that sweet flat-six jabbing cylinders.