I've driven a few 991's but have yet to even turn ON the radio. Rather than take a trip back to the dealer I'd like to hear some feedback from folks that have had seat time with their system. Can anyone chime in? Specifically I'd like to hear if the Bose system has decent bass response (accuracy, depth, range).

The Burmester is such a jump in price I almost think I'd take it to an aftermarket shop and have them work on it.

 

I have heard that the Burmester is absolutely incredible. My only question would be how much of a difference would it make in XM Radio and other low quality media?

 

I have the Bose for my CTT and that was simply because I cheaped out and diverted the funds to performance and aesthetic options instead. For my home theatre I'm a real audio junkie. I wouldn't say I spend as much as some because you could really spend hundreds of thousands if you wanted. Mine was under 10K for my audio. Anyway my point being is that I have a critical ear for audio and frankly Bose are way below average. Don't get me wrong they are adequate but do you just want adequate. For me audio in the car could be adequate because I would sacrifice that for performance. Plus with all the road noise you're not going to get the clearest sound anyways. Having said that, if I were to do it again, I may pony up for the Burmester. I have yet to hear it but I'm sure its much nicer than the Bose. With the Bose you are missing the high end and the mid range is more muddled. Also the bass is muddled and not very strong or tight. Hope this helps in your decision.

Also to add, do you really want some kid who doesn't know how to properly take apart your Porsche interior to install an after market and perhaps not putting everything back together properly and leaving you with internal vibrations? Especially with a brand new model like this. I had something done after market on my Audi TT and it was not the same afterwards. Vibrates like crazy when accelerating hard. Id say save yourself the hassle and have it done at the factory.

 

Have had Bose an Burmester in my 911, and 991, respectively. I unreservedly vote Burmester.

A big leap forward if music is important to you. Given the overall cost of the car, a good use of your $$.

 

Dieter Burmester is kind of a HiFi God here in germany.
you pay much, much more for a Burmester home system.
yeah, it sounds ridicilous but the Porsche offer is kind of a bargain!

 

Note that Bose never publishes frequency range (ideally about 20-20,000 Hz). I just looked up the 991 brochure, Burmester says its rating is 35Hz-20kHz, which is not bad for a car audio. Bose? missing it again!!!

Bose usually skips twitter and uses smallish woofer. Twitters are the small speakers mostly made of metallic material and they are needed for high frequency. Some company uses diamond coating for rigidness and there are lots of technology involved here. Bose skip this step entirely and I don't know why Woofers are the big speakers needed for low frequency. They need to move a lot of air, so bigger the better.

Anyway, like No. 92 said, Bose misses lots of high AND low range frequencies and that seems to be the primary reason why Bose never, ever publish their system's frequency response. As a result, Bose developed its own characteristic sound, which can be easily identified. Some people like it, and actually it's not that terrible as long as you get used to it. I have a Bose system myself too.... well.... I did not know about these things when purchasing them

 

When and If I pull the 991 trigger I will pay the premium. Just from reading on here more or less made up my mind.

Great day on a great stretch of road I want Dark Side of the Moon to sound it's best from factory offerings.

As mentioned, nothing against stereo installation companies, I don't want my car in little pieces after factory tightening...ocd.

 

I will tell you my experience, albeit in a 958 TT. I had a 2011 CTT with Bose. Was a quick purchase as my X5M was being bought back, and could not find a white one in stock with Burmester. Was really, really good. Had no regrets. And wasn't really worried about the loss of the Burmester.

However, in April I had an offer to trade my 2011 in for a 2012 custom. Definitely ticked the Burmester box. WOW! What a difference. If you haven't heard the Burmester, you won't miss it. But I can tell you that it is just simply an amazing system. I was just in my Cayenne on Thursday driving with my family to my in laws. We had the Burmester system turned way up listening to some Foo Fighters, GnR, AC/DC, etc and had a blast. It is just such a high performing system. No distortion. No fade in sound as volume increases. Really, really worth it. I actually made a comment to my wife I would be interested in how the Burmester sounds in the Panamera and 991. I can only imagine it would be as good if not better secondary to the design/space of the interiors compared to the open space in the CTT.

I, like the two posters above me, would not go aftermarket. I mean, there are some fantastic companies out there that would likely not result in any significant "alterations" to the interior fit and finish, but I am not gonna take my 140k 991 (that would be my price if optioned) to someone else and have it taken apart.

As an aside, I paid for the HiFi upgrade in my Ferrari. Not really worth it. It was as much as the Burmester option and nowhere near the product. Thought about taking it aftermarket, but as above, decided against it.

GL!

 

Test drove the 991 this last Saturday and compared the Bose with Burmester. Undoubtedly, I would go for the Burmester. Expensive, yes. But the sound is as close to being live at a concert as I have heard in a vehicle, let alone some home systems.

 

Darn you guys, no you wish I checked the Burmester box...

 

Burmester is an ultra high-end brand; Bose is not. I would expect the Burmester to sound better, make it much better than the Bose. So if price is no object, then the Burmester is your answer.

In a room with the right acoustical environment and source, a high-end system will let you hear nuances/sounds in the music that you never knew was there. Yet a car (especially a Cab) under normal driving conditions playing CDs or (gasp) MP3 songs is NOT the ideal environment or source.
Will the Burmester still sound better than the Bose or base unit in the Porsche? I would certainly hope so. Will it be worth paying the price difference? To some it will, to others it will not. Will the Bose or Burmester deliver high-end audio from a CD source or MP3 in a moving car? I don't think so.

Before I buy my next Cab, I will try listening to the different audio options by driving the car with the top down. There should be a difference; then I must decide how much I am willing to pay for the difference that I hear. I certainly am not expecting high-end sound though.

PS. BTW, you will not get high-end sound from an aftermarket unit either. I would not let just any installer to mess around with my brand new P-car; in fact I may not allow any installer do that on a brand new Porsche period!

 

Great feedback from all! Regarding going aftermarket I would likely wind up spending more than the 5K option for Burmester to be honest. Sounds like I should just check the box for Burmester

 

On a related note i checked that my base and treble setting are currently 0 on my bose system, and fade is also 0. Sorry, I am no audiophile, so what would a decent setting for these be?

 

Well bass and treble settings are your own preference. If you want more low end sound, turn up the bass and vice versa with the high end sound. The fade means the shifting of the center point from the front to the back speakers. Like do you want to have more volume in the front speakers or the back speakers or equal between the 2.

 

This thread helped me decide, thanks for the useful opinions. Was checking the Bose box but think I'll just bite the bullet and go for Burmester. I do enjoy listening to music very loudly pretty much whenever I'm cruising around on the highway which is a lot.