My C63S Brabus 600 has arrived

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I have to admit I haven’t given it a proper listen. Only some of the offspring’s music on the school run and then a bit of jazz. Not enough to form a proper verdict.

It seems well balanced. Some high end systems only work well at full blast and otherwise are a a bit treble and bass and no mid. What was disappointing about it for you?
Disappointing for me in no particular order:

- No dedicated sub, all bass is generated from the door speakers (and you can tell)
- Not powerful enough
- Poor sound stage and definition
- ‘Surround’ settings are the only way I can get most of music to sound near passable

My music tastes are varied too, I can be playing a bit of Floyd one trip and a bit of prog house the next. So the opinions above are really across the board.

Maybe 🤔 I’ve been spoiled in the past, the best factory system I heard was the B&O in one of my previous Audi’s, but even the Bose in my last Audi was way better and that’s really stretching the definition of ‘Good’!

Ultimately, other manufacturers are doing factory fit audio better and by some margin, particularly in the high end market.

/End Rant 😂
 
Naim for Bentley puts everything else in the shade IMHO

Unfortunately, unless a miracle happens and someone hands me the £250k for a new Continental GT Speed 12 i'd quite like, i'll probably never get to experience the Naim system - but I won't disagree with you :D
 
Unfortunately, unless a miracle happens and someone hands me the £250k for a new Continental GT Speed 12 i'd quite like, i'll probably never get to experience the Naim system - but I won't disagree with you :D
It's surprising how little you can pick up a (fairly old) used W12 Continental for.... looking at one next week...
 
It's surprising how little you can pick up a (fairly old) used W12 Continental for.... looking at one next week...
Didn't know that, however I was thinking of this Speed 12 in particular - in this colour with those wheels:
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Didn't know that, however I was thinking of this Speed 12 in particular - in this colour with those wheels:
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Yeah that one won't be cheap 😂
Watched that review, excellentas ever from Harry...colour isn't for me... but the cosmetic issue i have with that car is the headlight surrounds. They just remind me of the new style beetles you used to see with eyelashes around the headlights!
Sorry @nn7man, not meaning to offend. Still an absolutely awesome car, you're very fortunate to own, just my personal taste!
 
Disappointing for me in no particular order:

- No dedicated sub, all bass is generated from the door speakers (and you can tell)
- Not powerful enough
- Poor sound stage and definition
- ‘Surround’ settings are the only way I can get most of music to sound near passable

My music tastes are varied too, I can be playing a bit of Floyd one trip and a bit of prog house the next. So the opinions above are really across the board.

Maybe 🤔 I’ve been spoiled in the past, the best factory system I heard was the B&O in one of my previous Audi’s, but even the Bose in my last Audi was way better and that’s really stretching the definition of ‘Good’!

Ultimately, other manufacturers are doing factory fit audio better and by some margin, particularly in the high end market.

/End Rant 😂

Very interesting..audiophilia is such a specialized and subjective area and I don't feel very authoritative at all. Also cars are fundamentally terrible places for a sound system.

Still things have progressed so much in the last 15 years. I can't think of a premium car with a truly bad sound system now. Then, Ferraris for example came with the most dreadful hi-fis, even if you paid more for the premium version.

Many people do, but I didn't love the Bose in the 911, Panamera or Cayenne. A lot of bass and treble but lacking mid, somehow, something fiddling with the controls doesn't ever fix. A good and certainly a loud system but not my favorite.

The new Conti is an amazing car. I considered a nearly-new one instead of my C, but it's not for me for central London and where I need to park it sometimes. Naim historically made some of the great home hi fi systems. I am not 100% convinced of the system in the Conti. It is objectively brilliant: loud, clear, well separated, dynamic, brilliant all through the range, but somehow lacks a bit of musicality, which may make no sense to anyone else. Brilliant for some things, but just not so sympathetic to something like a pre-digital recording of a Mozart concerto, for example. Maybe I'm crazy. Anyway it's an excellent system and a stunning car.

I was probably misled by the Burmester in the S and EQS which is properly fantastic, and as you suggest, has the advantage of much more power and a bigger and better installation than in the C. It's true that the Burmester in my C is probably not as loud and clear as the Bose in my last 911, for example, but I still think I prefer it for a kind of musicality, which works nicely with classical and jazz. I think for big rock (which I like also) it would lack oomph and breadth, but I haven't tried that yet. My jury is out.

From my notes, the best car hi-fi was the Mark Levinson in the Lexus 500h a few years back, but that may have been because the rest of the car was quite forgettable. The B&O in the Urus was absolutely epic, volume wise, but it would take a side by side to establish whether it is better than some of the others. Neither Bose nor B&O have an audiophile reputation for home hi fi, where the quality really shows, unlike Mark Levinson, Naim, Burmester etc, although that does not necessarily translate into cars. Also at home you would have separates from different manufacturers. I have installed Focal speakers in two of my other cars, combined with a mild upgrade of head unit they made a significant difference.
 
Very interesting..audiophilia is such a specialized and subjective area and I don't feel very authoritative at all. Also cars are fundamentally terrible places for a sound system.

Still things have progressed so much in the last 15 years. I can't think of a premium car with a truly bad sound system now. Then, Ferraris for example came with the most dreadful hi-fis, even if you paid more for the premium version.

Many people do, but I didn't love the Bose in the 911, Panamera or Cayenne. A lot of bass and treble but lacking mid, somehow, something fiddling with the controls doesn't ever fix. A good and certainly a loud system but not my favorite.

The new Conti is an amazing car. I considered a nearly-new one instead of my C, but it's not for me for central London and where I need to park it sometimes. Naim historically made some of the great home hi fi systems. I am not 100% convinced of the system in the Conti. It is objectively brilliant: loud, clear, well separated, dynamic, brilliant all through the range, but somehow lacks a bit of musicality, which may make no sense to anyone else. Brilliant for some things, but just not so sympathetic to something like a pre-digital recording of a Mozart concerto, for example. Maybe I'm crazy. Anyway it's an excellent system and a stunning car.

I was probably misled by the Burmester in the S and EQS which is properly fantastic, and as you suggest, has the advantage of much more power and a bigger and better installation than in the C. It's true that the Burmester in my C is probably not as loud and clear as the Bose in my last 911, for example, but I still think I prefer it for a kind of musicality, which works nicely with classical and jazz. I think for big rock (which I like also) it would lack oomph and breadth, but I haven't tried that yet. My jury is out.

From my notes, the best car hi-fi was the Mark Levinson in the Lexus 500h a few years back, but that may have been because the rest of the car was quite forgettable. The B&O in the Urus was absolutely epic, volume wise, but it would take a side by side to establish whether it is better than some of the others. Neither Bose nor B&O have an audiophile reputation for home hi fi, where the quality really shows, unlike Mark Levinson, Naim, Burmester etc, although that does not necessarily translate into cars. Also at home you would have separates from different manufacturers. I have installed Focal speakers in two of my other cars, combined with a mild upgrade of head unit they made a significant difference.
Well I'll confess... My new GT Speed doesn't have Naim, had it on my last 2013 Speed but didn't spec this one, bought it new off the showroom floor rather than wait 6 months for a fresh order.

It was pretty close to what I'd have done and had been specced as a "drivers car" by the dealer. Carbon ceramics, Akrapovic exhaust, Alcantara, no Panoramic Roof and no Naim. It's light years ahead of the last one, it feels far more pointy and agile, bit like a 992 but still wafts like only a Bentley can. The active anti-roll bars, e-diff and rear wheel steer all work together really well to make it feel a lot lighter. I'm in rural Northants so easy to stretch its legs and traffic/parking not an issue.
 
Well I'll confess... My new GT Speed doesn't have Naim, had it on my last 2013 Speed but didn't spec this one, bought it new off the showroom floor rather than wait 6 months for a fresh order.

It was pretty close to what I'd have done and had been specced as a "drivers car" by the dealer. Carbon ceramics, Akrapovic exhaust, Alcantara, no Panoramic Roof and no Naim. It's light years ahead of the last one, it feels far more pointy and agile, bit like a 992 but still wafts like only a Bentley can. The active anti-roll bars, e-diff and rear wheel steer all work together really well to make it feel a lot lighter. I'm in rural Northants so easy to stretch its legs and traffic/parking not an issue.
So nice. The new Conti is leagues ahead of the old one in handling, particularly turn-in and flowing with the road. It's such a brilliant car, I wish I lived somewhere where owning one made sense. Enjoy.

Having said that, I really liked the V8S of the previous model..still tempted, and they are less than what I paid for my new C, but it just wouldn't make sense here. Sadly.
 
So nice. The new Conti is leagues ahead of the old one in handling, particularly turn-in and flowing with the road. It's such a brilliant car, I wish I lived somewhere where owning one made sense. Enjoy.

Having said that, I really liked the V8S of the previous model..still tempted, and they are less than what I paid for my new C, but it just wouldn't make sense here. Sadly.
I'm keeping an eye out for the Gen 3 V8 S, must be coming this year. Now that they've done the facelift Bentayga S it must be next in line.

If they put all the chassis improvements from the Speed on it then I'm in!
 
P.S. I wouldn't have a Conti in central London. My eldest boy has been renting in Fulham which is drivable in a decent car but is now buying in Clapham and the parking is a nightmare. Take a small car or the train...
 
P.S. I wouldn't have a Conti in central London. My eldest boy has been renting in Fulham which is drivable in a decent car but is now buying in Clapham and the parking is a nightmare. Take a small car or the train...
Believe me, I know! I live in the centre. Parking not such an issue where I live, as there are so many overseas owners, but I drive around for work and there are places I just wouldn't want to park a Bentley. And then the narrow roads. And the health club car park and..
C63S with the Brabus is the closest to a Bentley I will get for a daily driver. But for long distances...the Conti beats everything. Just in a different league as an actual car (rather than a mobile living room) than any Rolls. I drove a Phantom Drophead Black to Champagne and Bordeaux and back in a few days, the kind of journey the Bentley would love, and I just disliked it. Beautiful, if you like that sort of thing, but not a car for drivers. I couldn't wait to say goodbye to it.
I thought the S550 Cabrio was also beautiful for cross-continent cruising..at the risk of incoming fire, I preferred it (on an identical journey to France, Germany, Switzerland and Italy) to the S63, more comfortable in its skin. But the Conti...
 
Meanwhile, my daughter is at Manchester Uni, going to pick her up next Sunday as she's coming back for a reading week. Conti all the way!

Had a Wraith Black Badge for 12 months, first and last Rolls, like a mobile hotel room at the George Cinque but truly ocean going and vague to drive.
 
Picked mine up in November!

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Beautiful car😍 I wouldn’t think you are meant to modify them in any way but I do think the black wheels on your car would look fantastic, of course that is just a personal opinion and your car looks great the way it is👍
 
Beautiful car😍 I wouldn’t think you are meant to modify them in any way but I do think the black wheels on your car would look fantastic, of course that is just a personal opinion and your car looks great the way it is👍
I have black wheels on my other cars so know what you mean! I don't like silver or polished but the platinum tinted on my GT are acceptable given I didn't spec it.

I've modded quite a few cars but it generally ends in tears on higher end stuff unless its Brabus with an AMG. Wouldn't dream of aftermarket paint on Bentley rims.
 
Nice proper drive today on some of my favourite roads. I love the muscle car feeling. You feel AMG’s engineers were smiling as they designed it, and Brabus engineers as they added the mods.
Still running in so not thrashing it, but she has real muscle. And I am amazed at the traction from the MPS4Ss. Love the squat and shoot out of corners.
 

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Car looks stunning. Was tempted to get my e63s wagon the 800 treatment but then decided against it. Regrettable. The ONE thing I don’t like on yours, and the one thing I never liked, is the B emblem for the front. I find Brabus’ branding obnoxious:)
 
It's surprising how little you can pick up a (fairly old) used W12 Continental for.... looking at one next week...
Me too ... I was actually looking at it when I got an offer of my 2020 e63s but then couldn't pull the trigger - love the AMG too much ... but also - servicing and repairs are a heck of a lot more expensive.
 
Me too ... I was actually looking at it when I got an offer of my 2020 e63s but then couldn't pull the trigger - love the AMG too much ... but also - servicing and repairs are a heck of a lot more expensive.
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Agree on the expense! The two I looked at were very poor condition tbh. And I haven't seen one yet that doesn't have the TPMS fault!
 

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