S212 E500 Five Years In

[Londonscottish]

Just back from Comand Online, hifi upgrade completed. What a difference! Last year the guys fitted an Android/Apple unit from Integrated Automotive and a 10 inch sub. Today was Morel 602's. The kit includes 2 x two way door speakers and 2 x separate tweeters. And, this being Comand, the speakers were bonded in. And they fitted double dyamat. Of course.

The result is stunning. What the system very slightly lacks in terms of outright power over the HK in my previous 211, it more that makes up in terms of stunning sound quality and detail.

Whilst car was in, they tidied up the sub install, recalibrated the phone mic and sorted out an infuriating creak in the dash, all FOC.

The family's back tomorrow and that the perfect end to my bachelor week.

Well apart from a lads' trip tomorrow to see The Buzzcocks, Iggy Pop, SLF and Blondie......shame I can't drive there!

 

[Londonscottish]

Front:
2 x MOREL MAXIMO 6½" 2-WAY 90W RMS

Rear:
2 x MOREL MAXIMO 6½" COAX 80W RMS

Boot:
1 x ALPINE 8" SUPER COMPACT ACTIVE SUBWOOFER PWE-V80 160W MAX

And Dynamat acoustic insulation inside the doors.

Right; I'll back for the rears with next year's bonus

On a serious note, I did play about with the fader on the way home to hear the difference front to rear. Huge difference, obvs. What was really noticeable when I brought the fronts back into play was just how much bass they were contributing to the overall sound. I was quite surprised. Also, I must mention the new tweeters - the are extraordinarily detailed.

Thanks for all the recommendations and guidance. The end result is exactly what I was hoping for. Better, actually.

 

[Londonscottish]

My wife and daughter returned from a week in Greece late on Saturday. On Sunday I casually mentioned my trip to Comand Online to my wife. She laughed and told me she thought I might have sneaked off there. Then she told me I was taking her to Hampstead for a walk and pint in the Wells - so she could have a demo on the way over.

I stuck my New Speakers playlist on so we had some Roisin Murphy, Rickie Lee Jones, Tracy Chapman, Miles Davis, Canonball Adderley, Odyssey, Barry White, Sisters Sledge, Mika, Roxy Music, Isaac Hayes, Bowie, Grace Jones, ELO & 10CC (Godley and Creme era). All tracks chosen as being particularly well recorded.

Everything sounded fantastic and my wife was really impressed and is now looking forward to listening to some great tunes on the drive through France next month.

Once home I stuck the same playlist on my home system which is a pair of £1.5k Monitor Audio Golds, a Tannoy sub and a £500 Yamaha amp. My conclusion was that the tweeters in my car sound better that ones in my house! The top end coming through my speakers sounded "electronic" compared to the more natural sound in the car. Wasn't expecting that.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

My wife and daughter returned from a week in Greece late on Saturday. On Sunday I casually mentioned my trip to Comand Online to my wife. She laughed and told me she thought I might have sneaked off there. Then she told me I was taking her to Hampstead for a walk and pint in the Wells - so she could have a demo on the way over.

I stuck my New Speakers playlist on so we had some Roisin Murphy, Rickie Lee Jones, Tracy Chapman, Miles Davis, Canonball Adderley, Odyssey, Barry White, Sisters Sledge, Mika, Roxy Music, Isaac Hayes, Bowie, Grace Jones, ELO & 10CC (Godley and Creme era). All tracks chosen as being particularly well recorded.

Everything sounded fantastic and my wife was really impressed and is now looking forward to listening to some great tunes on the drive through France next month.

Once home I stuck the same playlist on my home system which is a pair of £1.5k Monitor Audio Golds, a Tannoy sub and a £500 Yamaha amp. My conclusion was that the tweeters in my car sound better that ones in my house! The top end coming through my speakers sounded "electronic" compared to the more natural sound in the car. Wasn't expecting that.

Old hifi tradition: upgrade one system and it reveals a "weakness" in another....
Time to audition new home speakers, but maybe a Meridian preamp / amp update is required....

 

[phobos]

My wife and daughter returned from a week in Greece late on Saturday. On Sunday I casually mentioned my trip to Comand Online to my wife. She laughed and told me she thought I might have sneaked off there. Then she told me I was taking her to Hampstead for a walk and pint in the Wells - so she could have a demo on the way over.

I stuck my New Speakers playlist on so we had some Roisin Murphy, Rickie Lee Jones, Tracy Chapman, Miles Davis, Canonball Adderley, Odyssey, Barry White, Sisters Sledge, Mika, Roxy Music, Isaac Hayes, Bowie, Grace Jones, ELO & 10CC (Godley and Creme era). All tracks chosen as being particularly well recorded.

Everything sounded fantastic and my wife was really impressed and is now looking forward to listening to some great tunes on the drive through France next month.

Once home I stuck the same playlist on my home system which is a pair of £1.5k Monitor Audio Golds, a Tannoy sub and a £500 Yamaha amp. My conclusion was that the tweeters in my car sound better that ones in my house! The top end coming through my speakers sounded "electronic" compared to the more natural sound in the car. Wasn't expecting that.

Depending on the Monitor Audio golds, you might find that is is the Amp / synergy that is not ideal

 

[Londonscottish]

Depending on the Monitor Audio golds, you might find that is is the Amp / synergy that is not ideal

Yes, I suspect the amp is the weakest link here. I've been toying with upgrading it for a while but am struggling with the available space - the intended amp which retailed at 3 x the price won't fit - the recess is too shallow as I calculated the depth from the bare brick and forgot about insulation, cabinetry, socket boxes and so on. What a numpty.

 

[Londonscottish]

Old hifi tradition: upgrade one system and it reveals a "weakness" in another....
Time to audition new home speakers, but maybe a Meridian preamp / amp update is required....

How to treble a £1.2k speaker upgrade

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

How to treble a £1.2k speaker upgrade

Easy. Was this a question?

 

[Skd884]

My wife and daughter returned from a week in Greece late on Saturday. On Sunday I casually mentioned my trip to Comand Online to my wife. She laughed and told me she thought I might have sneaked off there. Then she told me I was taking her to Hampstead for a walk and pint in the Wells - so she could have a demo on the way over.

I stuck my New Speakers playlist on so we had some Roisin Murphy, Rickie Lee Jones, Tracy Chapman, Miles Davis, Canonball Adderley, Odyssey, Barry White, Sisters Sledge, Mika, Roxy Music, Isaac Hayes, Bowie, Grace Jones, ELO & 10CC (Godley and Creme era). All tracks chosen as being particularly well recorded.

Everything sounded fantastic and my wife was really impressed and is now looking forward to listening to some great tunes on the drive through France next month.

Once home I stuck the same playlist on my home system which is a pair of £1.5k Monitor Audio Golds, a Tannoy sub and a £500 Yamaha amp. My conclusion was that the tweeters in my car sound better that ones in my house! The top end coming through my speakers sounded "electronic" compared to the more natural sound in the car. Wasn't expecting that.

As above your speakers require a major amp upgrade to shine.

 

[JimmyV3103]

Right; six years in now. Still loving it and still struggling to think of what to replace it with.

Anyway, dropped it off for a service today; Oil + filter + fixing slight oil weep from filter casing, air filter, cabin filter, plugs, brake fluid, NSF & OSF drop links, OSF lower arm & ball joint and gearbox fluid.

Meanwhile I've spent a few months trying to get excited about an E43 with rock hard suspension and red seatbelts. Or a C350e with a big battery in the boot floor, black wheels and black trim. I've given up, I don't fancy either.

So now onto plan B; once my daughter's learnt to drive sell the Fiat 500 and get something like a Golf GTI or Passat estate as an all rounder 2 litre petrol turbo-type thing.

Then sell the E500 and get something else V8 and interesting. I'm too chicken to get an SL55 but was getting very tempted by a CLS55 before pivoting back to a 2 door something. Current front runner is an XKR. Maybe break the habit of a lifetime and get a convertible.

The wife likes the plan and I get to enter a third decade with a mobile mid life crisis. Now where's my chest wig?

I am the same - haven't seen anything I would rather have - not far off 156k - target is 500k

 

[Londonscottish]

As above your speakers require a major amp upgrade to shine.

Indeed. It was only ever meant to be a stop gap. Phobos has been pointing me at some interesting stuff.

 

[Londonscottish]

One week without a creak. So glad that Rob (or was it Mark?) at Comand Online sorted the loose bit of dash last week. It was beginning to drive me nuts. Now I've had a whole week of silence. Bliss.

 

[Londonscottish]

I gave my 16 year old daughter her first listen to the new sounds this morning. She was blown away by the quality. We went to see The Big Moon a few weeks ago so I stuck them on. She first said "It's like wearing headphones!". Followed by "It’s like being there!".

Job jobbed

 

[Londonscottish]

Put the bins out and couldn't resist taking a picture of the beading.

 

[Londonscottish]

Pre-holiday tasks; I've cleaned and fed my seat and cleaned the passenger seat - will give that a feed later. I gave the mats a proper soak and clean last week after I'd polished the paint. I need to give the insides of the windows a proper going over too - it's surprising how much muck builds up on them over time .

After that, I need to find time for a trip round to the tyre place for a quick check, balance and alignment and I think that's me ready for a drive through France.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Pre-holiday tasks; I've cleaned and fed my seat and cleaned the passenger seat - will give that a feed later. I gave the mats a proper soak and clean last week after I'd polished the paint. I need to give the insides of the windows a proper going over too - it's surprising how much muck builds up on them over time .

After that, I need to find time for a trip round to the tyre place for a quick check, balance and alignment and I think that's me ready for a drive through France.

Just a hint of WfH ?

 

[Londonscottish]

Just a hint of WfH ?

Yes I was WFH yesterday but the the seat cleaning and feeding was done after I got off my last Zoom meeting and wrote my final email at something like 7.30pm. It's my way of staying sane after a long day. The rest of it will have to wait until this evening/Sat/Sun.

This year is repeating last year; just before I left to go on holiday, one of the T1 banks I work with suddenly got very serious about a major programme and everything kicked off. Guess what happened in Canary Wharf on Monday......?

And I've got three of four others bubbling away so 2H's going to be lively. One of the reasons I WFH at periods like this is the sheer amount of graft I can get through in one working day; two hours' less commuting + zero interruptions = twice the workload.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Yes I was WFH yesterday but the the seat cleaning and feeding was done after I got off my last Zoom meeting and wrote my final email at something like 7.30pm. It's my way of staying sane after a long day. The rest of it will have to wait until this evening/Sat/Sun.

This year is repeating last year; just before I left to go on holiday, one of the T1 banks I work with suddenly got very serious about a major programme and everything kicked off. Guess what happened in Canary Wharf on Monday......?

And I've got three of four others bubbling away so 2H's going to be lively. One of the reasons I WFH at periods like this is the sheer amount of graft I can get through in one working day; two hours' less commuting + zero interruptions = twice the workload.

What was that thing Mandy Rice Davies used to say?

But I do recognise that problem. When I rounded out my wage slave life by consulting / contracting, the beggars would always come up with a big urgent deliverable around peak summer, Christmas or just before a pre-planned trip.

But hey, it’s good to be wanted.

 

[Londonscottish]

What was that thing Mandy Rice Davies used to say?

But I do recognise that problem. When I rounded out my wage slave life by consulting / contracting, the beggars would always come up with a big urgent deliverable around peak summer, Christmas or just before a pre-planned trip.

But hey, it’s good to be wanted.

I landed a whopper last year but they really put me through it. An RFI just before Easter with no flexibility was one standout moment one year followed by and RFP the following year and the same time. And then, after weeks and weeks of prodding from me last spring and summer, a sudden burning drive to agree a shit load of complex commercials in double quick time just before my first overseas family holiday after two years of covid. Cue lots of spreadsheet work from a villa on Isle de Re

This time I got a green light from a US bank on Monday followed by them getting the hump with me today as some people turned down a meeting next Wednesday. Because the people in question will be on holiday next week.

Anyway, not complaining at all. It's great to be wanted!

 

[Londonscottish]

Just had the wheels rebalanced, tyre pressures checked and it's now on the Hunter.

Three wheels were out balance-wise. Same for the alignment - not helped by recent front suspension refresh.