New System in 560 SEL

[Gigtime]

I've been planning and putting this one together for a while now.

HU: Sony CDX-F5710 $179 Best Buy



I went with a fairly inexpensive head unit for a few reasons. First, I'm considering going with a Pioneer Avic or other navigation system in the future. Second, I thought it would look better in the MB than some of the other options. It doesn't have the crazy moving graphics, etc. You can choose from a number of different display colors. Unfortunately, amber isn't one of them and the others don't look great.

Finally, it had three pre-amp outs, XM capability and can play MP3 CD's. It has an aux input for an Ipod. After getting the Alpine 9855 for my Z3, I found the built-in Ipod control less than satisfying. I hear that we'll soon see head units with controls similar to what's on the Ipod itself. So in the Mercedes, I won't use the IPOD for now.

Amp: JL Audio 300/4 $449 Custom Sounds Austin



I could have gotten this amp for $399 at Onlinecarstereo.com but paid more so if there were any problems, I could get Custom Sounds to swap it out immediately rather than the hassle of shipping it back, etc.

Very clean amp. It's installed on the back wall carpet in the trunk.

Rear Speakers: JL Audio XR650-Csi $255 Onlinecarstereo.com



The OEM system in my 88 560SEL had two tweeters mounted with the 6.5" speakers on the rear deck so there was plenty of room for both tweeter and woofer under the factory grilles.

Front Speakers: JL Audio JL Audio XR653-CSi $369 Onlinecarstereo.com



We put the 6.5" where the existing OEM sub was in the front doors. The 4" mid and the tweeters were mounted in the existing 4x6 holes in the dash. The crossovers were mounted out of sight in the area just below where the blower motor and regulator are on the passenger side.

The install took a day and a half. A lot of extra time was needed because many of the plastic parts were in bad shape and had to be reglued. My car was salvaged from an accident in `98. There are no mechanical or rust problems found when I had a PPI done when buying the car. My installer did find that the speaker grills, door panels, etc. had been off and modified/repaired in the past.

Once the system went in, it didn't sound right at all. The front door speakers on both sides were very muddy. I suspected they were out of phase but that wasn't the problem. We hadn't pushed the system and the odds on two bad woofers in a new install are slim.

The installer at Custom Sounds, Erin, then spent another 3 hours, which I wasn't charged for, tracking the problem down. It turns out there was a short in the speaker wire going into the door. That was in turn causing problems with the crossover which then caused problems with the amp causing distortion on both front sides. Usually a short like that would just shut things down. Anyway, when Erin replaced the wiring on the driver's door, everything was fine.

The system sounds great. It doesn't have quite as much low end kick as I'd like. I listen to classic rock, jazz, blues, classical and some hard rock but am not trying to rattle the windows.

Part of the problem in the 126 is they placed the door subs so they fire right into the sides of the seats. And having sheepskins on the seats only absorbs more of the bass.

Erin told me that JL Audio makes a 6" sub that requires very little cabinet to work well, hardly bigger than the actual speaker. He said he could mount them in the footwells under the dash pointing down using a small amp like the JL Audio 250/1. I like this idea because I wouldn't have to cut out the first aid kit panels to put something in the trunk.

I'm pleased with the way the install turned out and Custom Sounds (S. Lamar in Austin) did a great job. Given the limitation of the original MB design sound stage and the fact that a 4" speaker is a big part of the system, I think the system sounds very good. It would probably sound better with a 6.5" mounted in the forward part of the doors but I wanted to stay with a stock look (and I'm not even sure there's room in the door for that). And the subs
suggested by Erin should finish it off nicely.

I'm also loving the XM radio. I've had it for a few months in my Z3 and love it.

This was not a cheap install, labor alone was $500 but I didn't have time for a DIY job.

Bill

[jhodg5ck]

Very nice! Any pictures of your install?

My only questions, why when you used rather high end speakers/amps you went w/ a low end head unit? I understand you are thinking of replacing it later but you can find some Very high end, somewhat older head units for about the same price.. Hell, I just sold my Clarion HXD10 for 125 and it has about 1 1/2 years on it. One of the nicest sounding head units I've used.

A day and a half install isn't bad at all...My 126 coupe install took about 7 days of work and I'm still fine tuning it.

One thing you might consider if moving the tweets from the dash to the B pillars.. I did just that in my 560SEL and the soundstage improvement was dramatic to say the least!

Again, nice job and good write up!

Out of curiosity, you don't notice the Satellite radio lacking in sound quality? In my other coupe I have a full alpine AI net w/ ADS speakers, Steg amp etc..and I gave up on satellite radio after a couple of months, found my favourite music did not sound nearly as good that way.

I use MP3 sourced music in a pinch, but do my best to located music that has been encoded @ 256K at the minimum..320 is ideal..well, ideal is finding what I want in compressed wave but that can be tough outside of live recordings.

Jonathan

[Gigtime]

Jonathan, there's actually not that much to see, which was mostly deliberate. I took some shots during the install but the key pictures didn't come out that well. I'll shoot one of the HU and the amp in the trunk, though.

I originally asked for the tweeters to be on the B pillars because I didn't realize they'd fit in the dash. My installer considered doing a phase reversal on the tweets since they'd be reflecting off the glass so quickly but it wasn't necessary.

Probably the main reason I went along with having the tweeters in the dash is to keep the stock look. I may change it in the future, though.

As for the HU, it was a gift from my wife. And although I love to buy used audio, I shy away from doing so when it comes to things for the car. If I see a used home receiver on ebay, I can usually do enough reconaissance on the seller via feedback and what other things they've bought and sold to tell who I'm dealing with. Usually it's someone that's just updated their home theater system.

In a car, I always wonder if it was pulled due to a defect. Plus if you buy used home audio gear, you can find out if it's got problems as soon as you take it out of the box. With a car stereo, it might be a couple of weeks before it gets installed and then the seller wants to claim it was working fine when they had it, something must have screwed it up during the install.

Anyway, I'll probably update it before long. I bought an Alpine 9855 and although it sounds great, the glide-touch thing is a hassle so I didn't go that route again. Also, I wanted an HU with built-in XM controls because I didn't want to have the external tuner.

As for the XM, it's better quality than radio, but that's about it. I listen to talk, the comedy channel and major-league baseball as much as music. There are a couple of channels that are great for discovering new music. Since it's got artist and title listings, I'll get the CD for something I like.

90% of the time, I'm listening to CD's.

Btw, I've been to your website a few times and saw the 4" mount you made using the old 4x6 setup. Great job. You're in Atlanta, right? I lived there from 83 to 88. I used to work with Humble Pie and a couple of other bands. Great times but it cost me a lot of high-end hearing ability.

Bill

[jhodg5ck]

Ah got you..I know how it goes a lot of the pictures I took during the install didn't come out at all like I had hoped.. I'm always curious to have a look at the finished product though

Did you run your wires through the factory conduits? How did you mount the amp?

I've run 2 way 4's in the dash before and they worked well, I would like to see how your installer worked the tweets in..perhaps if it's not too much of a hassle you could shoot a pic or two of that?

In regards to the B pillar tweets no one Ever noticed them..I always had to point them out... One other bit I forgot was I installed the crossovers for the rears in the extra cubby... Gave a little something neat to show people;-)

I hear you on the used audio bits..I bought my CDX C90 used but it was from a good friend so there were no working issues...the XDP 4000 was from his as well and it was never installed thus it all worked out quite nicely

When you do decide on a different head unit I would also recommend something w/ an external processor that would allow you to go fiber optic.. the improvement in sound over an RCA is astouding..Especially w/ original non-compressed music.

Thanks for the compliment..it worked out as well as I had hoped if not better (rare thing in life!)..I think the only change I'm going to make will be a set of tweets installed in the rear seat panels so that anyone in the back seat will have a proper sound stage as well.

Shame you left! It would be nice to have another audiophile 126 head around;-)

Were you a roadie or sound engineer while you were here??

Are you running anything interesting @ home?

Lastly, where is Wimberly? I bought my white coupe from Dallas..it was a trade on a new Lexus at the Sewell dealership...Love those Texas cars!

Jonathan



Bill[/QUOTE]

[Gigtime]

Originally Posted by jhodg5ck

Did you run your wires through the factory conduits? How did you mount the amp?

The wires are in the factory conduits in some places.

Here's the amp in the trunk...

Originally Posted by jhodg5ck

I've run 2 way 4's in the dash before and they worked well, I would like to see how your installer worked the tweets in..perhaps if it's not too much of a hassle you could shoot a pic or two of that?

Sure, I just need to get a chance to pop those grilles.

Originally Posted by jhodg5ck

In regards to the B pillar tweets no one Ever noticed them..I always had to point them out... One other bit I forgot was I installed the crossovers for the rears in the extra cubby... Gave a little something neat to show people;-)

I hear you on the used audio bits..I bought my CDX C90 used but it was from a good friend so there were no working issues...the XDP 4000 was from his as well and it was never installed thus it all worked out quite nicely

When you do decide on a different head unit I would also recommend something w/ an external processor that would allow you to go fiber optic.. the improvement in sound over an RCA is astouding..Especially w/ original non-compressed music.

Thanks for the compliment..it worked out as well as I had hoped if not better (rare thing in life!)..I think the only change I'm going to make will be a set of tweets installed in the rear seat panels so that anyone in the back seat will have a proper sound stage as well.

Shame you left! It would be nice to have another audiophile 126 head around;-)

It's been years since I left. I get back from time to time. I've got to come to a seminar the first weekend in April and I'm thinking about making the drive in the Frau, her first extended road trip since I've owned her.

Originally Posted by jhodg5ck

Were you a roadie or sound engineer while you were here??

Road Manager for Humble Pie then and did a bit of roadie work for a couple of other bands when the Pie wasn't touring.

Originally Posted by jhodg5ck

Are you running anything interesting @ home?

I've got a home theater rig built around Denon and JBL THX and a great old pair of B&W's in my office but nothing that exciting. I'm in a Town House and can't put too much volume to it anyway.

Originally Posted by jhodg5ck

Lastly, where is Wimberly? I bought my white coupe from Dallas..it was a trade on a new Lexus at the Sewell dealership...Love those Texas cars!

Wimberley is about 40 miles NW of Austin and 50 miles NE of San Antonio. It's a little artist community in the Texas Hill Country. A bit boring at times but it beats the heck out of the traffic and air pollution in Houston where I lived before.

I agree, Texas cars are great, Jonathan. And your white coupe is a sweet looking car.

A few people wanted it so here's a shot of the Sony HU in the dash...



Bill

[Hit Man X]

I have a similar setup in my Z71... 300/4, 500/1, 12W3v2, 653s up front, 400s out back (ZR series speakers), with a big Alpine 7998. JL stuff is top notch, and if you can shop deals are there. I scored both amps used for $175 and $200. Speakers were all new online, HU was also, and the Stealthbox I picked up locally.

The amps were designed by the same cats that make Xtant amps (excellent) and the JL XR speakers apparently were designed by some MB Quart guys.

The setup is clean, loud, and efficient. Very nice balance.



Those amps will be going into the SD here at some point (I'll play with the L's stereo after I rebuild the suspension) so then I'll run some old PPI Art Series in the Z again. I need more power in there, 75x4 is barely pushing those speakers.



FYI - the RMS rating is full range, when you cross them off you gain tons of headroom. I have some 35rms Polk DXs in the F150 and they're running off a 300/2 JL amp! So don't be scared to crank those JL speakers, they really love to sing.

[Gigtime]

Yeah, Hitman, it was you that steered me towards JL Audio originally as well as pushing for sticking to the same brand and product line of speakers throughout, which I've always agreed with.

I got sidetracked at the time when I bought my Z3 and ended up doing its system first with a nice set of MB Quarts driven by the Alpine 9855 HU. When I decided to keep the Benz, I was really looking forward to putting a good system in her.

I still plan to add small 6.5 JL Audio subs in the footwells driven by a smaller JL Audio amp and would like to go with an HU that includes navigation. New front shocks and motor mounts come first, though.

Btw, when you're prowling the boneyards up in DFW, let me know if you run across an 89-91 560 SEL with decent door panels or reclining rear seat in cream beige. I replaced my front seats with seats from a 91 and would like to finish the job.

Bill

[Hit Man X]

Oh, excellent. I'm pleased you enjoy your new stereo!

I know of a NICE 300SE '89-91 but I do not know if you need front and/or rear panels.

[Gigtime]

Originally Posted by Hit Man X

Oh, excellent. I'm pleased you enjoy your new stereo!

I know of a NICE 300SE '89-91 but I do not know if you need front and/or rear panels.

I need front and rear so it would have to be an SEL for the rear door panels to work. First and foremost is the rear seat, though. The door panels in the pre-89 cars don't look bad with the later model seats so I can get away with keeping them but wouldn't mind updating them if I find a complete set in good shape.

The seats need to match, though. How's the rear seat in this one?

My first choice is a rear seat that's reclining and heated because its' a straight bolt-in to my car. My second choice is to pull the leather off a non-reclining, non-heated rear seat and have an upholsterer replace the leather on my current seats with it.

Bill

[Hit Man X]

The seats are like new, car has around 96K only. Front end hit.

Is creme beige the lighter, near white color?

This place picks up many 300/420/500s, 560s just aren't that common in the yards here. Your best bet will be to recover your existing.

[Gigtime]

This is the color and design I'm looking for:





That's the rear seat of a `91 420 SEL. I think the rear seats in SE's are the same size as SEL's. I should probably verify that.

Anyway if that's what the rear seat looks like in this SE, let me know what they want for it. I can make the drive up there. I might like to buy the front door speaker grille's too if they match mine.

Bill

[Hit Man X]

I'll keep the eyes open, the 300SE's is the shade darker. Interiors typically go QUICK at this place as they get in nice vehicles always.

[Gigtime]

The next darker shade is the palamino which you usually see
in black, blue and red MB's.

Thanks for keeping an eye out. I need to find all the boneyards in
this area. In Houston, it was easy. They were all on the same street.

Bill