I used to be picky about sound systems until everything went low res digital and streaming. Now I figure, "what's the point?". Junk in, junk out. But, I guess a higher end system sounds less junkie?

 

Actually, with compressed music higher end systems tend to sound worse. I keep all my music on 2TB USB SSDs encoded in hi res FLAC to listen to in my cars. If you're only listening to Sirius/XM or streaming from your phone you probably won't hear any appreciable difference. When I tested the two systems I took tracks I was familiar with encoded as hi res files on a SD card with me.

 

or PCCB

 

Delete

 

Now that I have my new hearing aids, the Bose sounds wonderful.

 

Agree with all concerning quality of the source contributing to quality of the sound--and that certainly holds true for the Burmester system. However, for those with experience in concert-level sound systems (3/4/5-way crossovers, mid/sub cabs, etc), a good correlation of sound produced is reminiscent of an adequate system, that's missing the sub-bass range. Appears Burmester processing sharply rolls off frequencies below about 70Hz or so and slightly peaks the mid-bass range. This may drive the perception that it's perhaps "cleaner or tighter" than the Bose. The good news for me is the wife loves the overall sound--but I know something is missing. And for me, that's where a slight modification can fill the void.

 

Define “slight modification.”

 

Also concerned by that....I wonder what others experience has been. The last thing we need is more rattles

 

Greetings Dr. G! Good catch -- the word "slight" could be a little misleading for some lol! In one of my earlier posts, I mentioned the addition of sound deadening material in the doors as a good first step for eliminating rattles and reducing road noise. Next step could involve additional sound deadening material in other areas such as the floor, firewall, etc. before even touching audio devices. For those seeking the best audio sound possible while keeping the "stock" look, they'd have to supplement that initial approach with a combination of more powerful amps, processor (to correct roll-off), and higher quality speakers/sub in factory locations to pepper overall sound to desired taste. Here are a few links explaining what other 992 owners have done to improve their audio systems: ;
I'm still in the honeymoon stage with my cabrio--observing, listening, learning and taking notes along the way based upon issues others have raised on this wonderful site. I haven't pulled out the real time analyzer (RTA) of other associated audio test equipment yet, but it's coming--after I ensure I don't have any other mechanical gremlins mentioned on the forum. It's all about sharing experiences to improve our personal enjoyment of these exciting machines.