Burmester System Review (Macan Turbo EV)

[macanchan]

I wanted to take the time to review the Burmester stereo incase anyone was on the fence of ordering this option. I haven't listened to the new Bose system so I wouldn't be able to compare to two. I had Bose in my previous ICE Macan and was satisfied with that.

Treble and Clarity is phenomenal, if you like instrumentals and vocals, this system is going to be for you.

If you like deep hard hitting bass, then I would skip this option. Even with the bass turned up, it doesn't quite live up to that car stereo expectation. The good thing is you won't get any rattles or buzzing, I'm not sure if the sound starts to distort, but I didn't want to turn it up past Vol. 27, I felt like 21-25 was comfortable level and loud enough. Even with the bass adjusted to max +9, the bass sound is there, just not the feeling.

If you plan to use wireless CarPlay for music, then skip this option. The preset sound tuning won't make any difference playing music wireless.

I'm planning to get a better quality USB-C cable to test the system. If anyone has any recommendations besides the AudioQuest Diamond USB, let me know.

I searched the app store and couldn't find the (Taycan-Burmester-owners) recommended Apple Music app, due to Android Automotive? I was able to play my Apple Music library from my phone, of course, and I thought it did sound better than my premium Spotify. I was not on WIFI, so I'll have to test Spotify again.

On a side note:

I previously subscribed to Tidal and compared it to Spotify, CD, and Vinyl in my home stereo back to back with a pair of McIntosh MC75 tube amps and C20 preamp with a solid state Technics SU-G700 and JBL L100 classics. I think the comparison left me thinking Tidal just wasn't worth the extra money and without having something to switch back and forth, the difference was minimal.

I've been into car stereos, maybe a bit more than others. I have the Pioneer P99RS with Hertz speakers running full active, each channel has it's own amplifier, and the treble is so insane that it's fatiguing. Of course, I can tune the frequencies but that stereo was set to hear every frequency that the sound engineer intended. I'm also building a vintage McIntosh MX5000 and MC4000M in my E46 M3. I'm planning to use a Brax DSP instead of the old Mcintosh Parametric Equalizers/Crossovers.

The Burmester is a bargain compared to what you'd spend on a high fidelity car stereo.

With that said, the reason why I optioned the Burmester is because I love car stereos. Even after building several car stereos, I think having something like the Burmester is perfect daily stereo. I'm not constantly trying to tune and adjust fq crossovers, phases, etc. for each and every genre I play, the Burmester even with the lack of hard hitting bass, is probably just enough where I can enjoy listening to music for a longer period of time.

 

[Diego]

Thanks for taking the time to review the system and congrats for your previous build and home hi-fy choice.

 

[krissrock]

good stuff.
The price of the Burmester was a lil too rich for my blood, but i prefer bass. I have amp/subs in both of my other cars.
I'm thinking the bose will be good enough, but more importantly, with the it already being the trunk, it may make the upgrade a lot easier.

now when you talk about streaming music from the phones, even with the low bitrate or compression of data going to a phone already, that a cable vs Bluetooth would make a discernable difference in audio quality?

oh, btw, do we know what size subs are in the Bose and Burmester?

 

[macanchan]

good stuff.
The price of the Burmester was a lil too rich for my blood, but i prefer bass. I have amp/subs in both of my other cars.
I'm thinking the bose will be good enough, but more importantly, with the it already being the trunk, it may make the upgrade a lot easier.

now when you talk about streaming music from the phones, even with the low bitrate or compression of data going to a phone already, that a cable vs Bluetooth would make a discernable difference in audio quality?

oh, btw, do we know what size subs are in the Bose and Burmester?

Yes, I did notice a difference between wireless and wired streaming on Spotify premium. I do have my Spotify cellular steaming set to "very high" ~320kbit/s. When I used Apple Music, I was not streaming but playing from my library.

 

[JayGT4]

Thank you for the great review! But you just made the wait for my Macan EV delivery even harder. Will have to live vicariously through your eyes & ears for now...

 

[macanchan]

I did e-mail Burmester to learn more about the system. We'll see if they reply.

not much info at all
https://www.burmester.de/en/automotive/porsche/macan/

For those wondering the Burmester Subwoofer size, it's listed on the Porsche configurator.
Now I wish they included 2, one for each channel L&R

25CM, 400 WATT

$4,710
Burmester® High-End Surround Sound System
Burmester® 3D High-End Surround Sound-System with a total output of 1,470 watts and 21 individually controlled loudspeakers including a 25-cm/400-watt active subwoofer with class D digital amplifier, two-way center system and Auro-3D® Technology for a captivating, spatial and homogeneous sound. Sophisticated high-end audio components, e.g. special tweeters (air motion transformers, AMT) and a total diaphragm surface area of more than 2,500 cm² enable precision playback even at very high sound levels. A wide selection of preset equalizers ensures a first-class audio experience. The Eco-Mode helps to optimize the energy demand intelligently. The selectable Driver Focus places the driver seat in the center of the sound experience and focusses the whole system on this seat. The Sound Enhancer® delivers improved audio quality and dynamics for compressed file formats such as MP3.


Note: Reduced luggage compartment volume due to subwoofer underneath the luggage compartment floor

 

[MFitz]

I wanted to take the time to review the Burmester stereo incase anyone was on the fence of ordering this option. I haven't listened to the new Bose system so I wouldn't be able to compare to two. I had Bose in my previous ICE Macan and was satisfied with that.

Treble and Clarity is phenomenal, if you like instrumentals and vocals, this system is going to be for you.

If you like deep hard hitting bass, then I would skip this option. Even with the bass turned up, it doesn't quite live up to that car stereo expectation. The good thing is you won't get any rattles or buzzing, I'm not sure if the sound starts to distort, but I didn't want to turn it up past Vol. 27, I felt like 21-25 was comfortable level and loud enough. Even with the bass adjusted to max +9, the bass sound is there, just not the feeling.

If you plan to use wireless CarPlay for music, then skip this option. The preset sound tuning won't make any difference playing music wireless.

I'm planning to get a better quality USB-C cable to test the system. If anyone has any recommendations besides the AudioQuest Diamond USB, let me know.

I searched the app store and couldn't find the (Taycan-Burmester-owners) recommended Apple Music app, due to Android Automotive? I was able to play my Apple Music library from my phone, of course, and I thought it did sound better than my premium Spotify. I was not on WIFI, so I'll have to test Spotify again.

On a side note:

I previously subscribed to Tidal and compared it to Spotify, CD, and Vinyl in my home stereo back to back with a pair of McIntosh MC75 tube amps and C20 preamp with a solid state Technics SU-G700 and JBL L100 classics. I think the comparison left me thinking Tidal just wasn't worth the extra money and without having something to switch back and forth, the difference was minimal.

I've been into car stereos, maybe a bit more than others. I have the Pioneer P99RS with Hertz speakers running full active, each channel has it's own amplifier, and the treble is so insane that it's fatiguing. Of course, I can tune the frequencies but that stereo was set to hear every frequency that the sound engineer intended. I'm also building a vintage McIntosh MX5000 and MC4000M in my E46 M3. I'm planning to use a Brax DSP instead of the old Mcintosh Parametric Equalizers/Crossovers.

The Burmester is a bargain compared to what you'd spend on a high fidelity car stereo.

With that said, the reason why I optioned the Burmester is because I love car stereos. Even after building several car stereos, I think having something like the Burmester is perfect daily stereo. I'm not constantly trying to tune and adjust fq crossovers, phases, etc. for each and every genre I play, the Burmester even with the lack of hard hitting bass, is probably just enough where I can enjoy listening to music for a longer period of time.

Thank you for the thoughts. I did option it but since it was not frozen yet I wanted to get some feedback. I have used Tidal for years so I will probably stick with it. Guessing I can load Roon Arc at some point (just a guess) but if not Tidal is fine. Hearing your assessment I plan on keeping it. I appreciate the time to give us your feedback.

 

[macanchan]

Thank you for the thoughts. I did option it but since it was not frozen yet I wanted to get some feedback. I have used Tidal for years so I will probably stick with it. Guessing I can load Roon Arc at some point (just a guess) but if not Tidal is fine. Hearing your assessment I plan on keeping it. I appreciate the time to give us your feedback.

If I had as many playlists on TIdal as I did on Spotify, I would've kept it, too.

 

[Sahajesh]

Great write-up on the Burmester.

It seems like the B&W I specced on my X5 - great sound quality but the bass was not as good as I expected/on the lower sound systems.

Regardless, the Burmester is still on my list, but I think I’d be OK with Bose if it was something I had to factor in the cost.

 

[Yves]

Well I did spec it, but compared to the B&W in the iX it sounded mediocre in the demo car I tested it, granted it was a quick test so maybe it is better with a good library and mabe the software is better now. I hope they will elaborate more on the equalizer, it was very basic. I’m a bit surprised that the audio settings get bypassed when you stream from phone, that is not the case in my BMW.

 

[Sahajesh]

Well I did spec it, but compared to the B&W in the iX it sounded mediocre in the demo car I tested it, granted it was a quick test so maybe it is better with a good library and mabe the software is better now. I hope they will elaborate more on the equalizer, it was very basic. I’m a bit surprised that the audio settings get bypassed when you stream from phone, that is not the case in my BMW.

I’ve read that the iX B&W is just unbeatable, so not surprised.

If I were to get an iX, that would be on the options list.

Makes no sense for audio settings to be bypassed, hopefully that’s a setting somewhere.

 

[macanchan]

Just wanted to update, I tested the carplay with bluetooth/wifi turned off. When I turned the wifi and Bluetooth back on, carplay would return back to the wired connection each time.

I did test the wireless sound again and the preset sounds did seem to sound different. Maybe the wireless isnt so bad afterall.

Another thing I did notice while plugged in to usb-c, if you place your phone in the wireless charging spots, it will cut off and stop playing music, reconnect and disconnect. I suppose you can turn off the wireless charging in the cubby if you really want to use it.

 

[CraigW1]

Finally took delivery of my Macan 4 with Burmester. I agree with macanchan’s assessment and coming from the Bose in my 911, I'm pretty happy as it is a significant upgrade.
Stumbled upon a YouTube video of a review of the Burmester in the Taycan Turbo which is also quite good and accurately describes the pros and cons of the Burmester