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Because it sounds like crap.
It's not "OK", it's crap.
The frequency response is massively uneven - by like 10-12 db in the mid-bass - and the sub is underdamped to make it "louder", but it's really just a one-note fartbox that's over-driven.
Here's an experiment to show what I'm getting at: Make a recording of a piano playing notes from the bottom of the range to the top, all at the same exact volume (a basic chromatic scale). When you play it back through the Bose, some of those notes will not be audible, while others will be way too loud. In the mid bass, you'll hear aliasing - a loud noise, but not the actual note that was played. This is 100% unacceptable, even from a cheap set of earbuds, much less the "upgrade" audio system in a 6-figure car.
No, it's not an "OK" system, it's junk, pure and simple. I say this as someone who has played music professionally and semi-professionally for decades, and put myself through grad school working in a recording studio.
A good sounding system is a must and the BOSE is a definite no-go for me. I’ve had the Burm in a 911GTS and I liked it a lot. I checked that box on my Macan GTS order as well. The BOSE lacks solid bass as it is muffled and without definition. The Burm isn’t worth $5k+ but I’ll gladly take it over the alternative. My days of tinkering with aftermarket audio equipment are over! The Burm will maintain the quality of the lows, mids, highs, and put out tight bass up to approaching the threshold of hearing loss. The BOSE is adequate if you are not an audiophile. Personally, I haven’t heard a good sounding BOSE system in any car. They make great personal and aviation headphones but it ends there, IMO. Take apart a BOSE speaker from your car and you’ll know why.
I have it in my 992 TTS and it sounds great. Not one issue. I think in the secondary market, it just helps the overall sale if nicely optioned. You may not make it all back, but I bet the cost is mostly recouped by having it V’s. Not
I guess it really depends on what your expectations are for a car sound system and if you can actually hear a difference between different systems. I have a probably 15 year old CD/Radio in my Kitchen that probably cost $20 and I am perfectly happy with it, but anytime I have people over they always laugh and tell me how horrible it sounds. For some people like me it is hard to tell the difference in the sound, as long as I can hear the lyrics that is good enough for me. The only reason I am even getting the Bose in my Macan is because it comes bundled in the Premium plus package which I am getting for things like heated/ventilated seats, Pano roof, and PDLS+ otherwise I would be more than satisfied with the base system.
The wife's Volvo XC60 Hybrid Inscription has the B&W in it which was a 4k option for that car. Bought the car in April 2019 when my dealer could not get customers inside the dealership because of covid. It was the only hybrid he had so I was stuck with that option but 70k Volvo was discounted 20k in order to make a sale. It was amazing how good that system sounded.
We had a 2018 Volvo XC90 T8 with the B&W audio system. To my ear it was the best sounding audio system I've ever heard in any vehicle. It's the #1 thing I miss about that car. It ruined me for all future vehicle audio systems. 😂😂😂
I’ll take a moment to reiterate what I previously wrote - namely that the perceived sound quality should be determined while driving, not sitting in the showroom, and that the ambient noise from road surface, wind, and passengers will have an impact. The other human factor is the driver and how much attention he or she can or should be giving to the music (or podcast, etc) while driving. Want to get really picky? Try listening (or running a sound check) from several different locations within the car like moving the driver seat forward or back 4-6 inches. Relatively flat response is tough to achieve in a home listening room! Try to achieve it in a car (at least there aren’t many parallel surfaces).
To the OP - your ears, your choice. Just make it after listening with your source while on the road.
Order in - went with Burnmester - was great in my PTT - so why not - cars are a terrible audio foot print - but I drive a lot and most of the time am by myself and if not on the phone I am cranking tunes - so the Burnmester will be a nice thing to enjoy everytime I am in the car.
...the BOSE is a definite no-go for me. ... The BOSE lacks solid bass as it is muffled and without definition. The Burm isn’t worth $5k+ but...
Originally Posted by offagain
I am in line with everyone else here - the Bose system is OK. Its not great, but OK. There are a few tuning options to try and suit it to your ears, but its OK at best. ...The Burmester system is better and it is a 'premium' system, so does sound a lot better, though not sure its worth the $5000 extra for me.
Originally Posted by jobunaga
The basis of recommending the Bose over the Burmester has to do with the marginal utility of the upcharge, which, in a ICE vehicle, might not be worthwhile. If money is no object, then the point is moot. However, if one is on a budget, the close to $5K premium might be better spent somewhere else.
Originally Posted by flyau98
The upcharge from base to Burmester is 10% of the Base Macan’s price. That’s pretty insane for marginally better sound. Snob or not.
Originally Posted by chong0
agree with above.
Burmester is not marginally better, it is substantially better. you can argue whether it's worth the extra 5k over the Bose and that is personal opinion...
I'll echo all this, Bose is not great and I'm in the camp that the Burm is not worth $5k, but I'm not an audiophile.
Originally Posted by supercup
Order in - went with Burnmester - was great in my PTT - so why not - cars are a terrible audio foot print - but I drive a lot and most of the time am by myself and if not on the phone I am cranking tunes - so the Burnmester will be a nice thing to enjoy everytime I am in the car.
I have the Bose system in my 2018 Macan GTS. (And also in my 997 GTS.)
I intentionally specc'ed the VW5 -Thermally and Noise Insulating Privacy Glass option.
IMO, the ambient noise level in a moving vehicle is more relevant to one's audio experience than almost anything else.
A quality system produces music faithfully (accurately) and with dynamic range (which requires amp power and larger drivers for the loud passages and the capability of reproducing low volume nuances as well).
No one records quality music in an environment with stray ambient noise- but an ICE vehicle at speed is a cacophony of tire, road, wind, engine and exhaust noises. And what to we do to compensate? Crank it up.
I never want to be the annoying jackass with distorting sub-woofers waking the dead from a block away, or even playing quality music that is audible, with windows up, to adjacent cars at a stoplight or in bumper to bumper traffic. While underway, the ambient noise dominates the playback of any source with extended dynamic range.
A given system is only as good as the audio input source.
Ergo, if you listen to broadcast signals, MP3 or most conpressed audio- your system is severely compromised despite it's specs or price tag.
My choice, and I obsessed* over my Euro delivery build, was the Bose over the Burm.
It wasn't the cost, it was the futility of trying to create a superior audio experience in a moving vehicle.
No regrets with the Bose. None.
For a car stereo, the Bose is fine. It's not great, but it brings pleasure to my ears.
If one desires a true audiophile experience in a moving vehicle- slip on a pair of over-the-earBose
noise cancelling headphones.
*
Last edited by Liste-Renn; 02-08-2022 at 04:43 PM.
I had a ‘21 base loaner with Bose over the last couple days and I thought it sounded much improved over my old ‘15 Turbo with Bose. While I’m sure the Burm is better, I couldn’t justify the cost back then and did not opt for it in our incoming ‘22.
I had a ‘21 base loaner with Bose over the last couple days and I thought it sounded much improved over my old ‘15 Turbo with Bose. While I’m sure the Burm is better, I couldn’t justify the cost back then and did not opt for it in our incoming ‘22.
I remember hearing somewhere that the Bose was heavily modified/updated for 2019 MY.
The worst EVER sound system I experienced was the "base" system in the 993 C4S I owned.
Terrible!
...and in a vehicle that retailed for some $85K when new...
Shameful.
I think the Bose system has improved since the 90s. The Bose in my 22 macan is definitely good enough for me. The system in my 993 does indeed truly suck. I had burmeister in 2015 911 turboS, It was good but not worth the upgrade price IMO.
honestly do you all really analyze the sound this much in a car? If this was a home system I completely understand. But a car is the most unideal space to measure quality of sound for a system.
02-07-2022, 02:32 AM
The Burm will maintain the quality of the lows, mids, highs, and put out tight bass up to approaching the threshold of hearing loss. The BOSE is adequate if you are not an audiophile. Personally, I haven’t heard a good sounding BOSE system in any car. They make great personal and aviation headphones but it ends there, IMO. Take apart a BOSE speaker from your car and you’ll know why.
