95 280C sounds very bright

[DavidWeis]

Hi.
Just picked up a 95 280C. After my 'other cars' radio, this one seems very bright..not much bass or umph (for lack of a better word).
Is this normal, and is it the speakers or the radio? Would getting better speakers help? I can't imagine that MB is lacking on Speakers, there just doesn't seem to be much bass in there.
Help!

I have a '95 C280 and this sounds like normal radio operation to me. Not much bass, not very rich sounding. I installed a CD changer and what a difference. It now sounds great! Must be the radio, but the CD runs through the same system. So, anyone out there have any ideas?

[Ashman]

Have you adjusted the bass and treble levels? Sometimes too much treble can make it seem very bright.

Abou the bass, I think the only thing you can do to improve it is to switch to better speakers and or an aftermarket amp.

I added a 10" Sub to my car, which has stock speakers but aftermarket head unit and changer. The system sounds decent, the sub really adds that bass that is lacking, but as of yet still does not produce enough bass because it is in the trunk and has not been ported into the cabin yet for the full effect.

If you are just looking to add some bass, you could look into powered subwoofers to add in to your existing system, though I'm not sure if it will work with a factory head unit.

You might look into replacing the factory unit it an aftermarket one, which might make the sound better, but thats not going to be cheap, and you would have to bypass the factory amp most likely.

It sounds to me like you just need to add a 10" or 12" Sub in the car to give it the oompf that you want.

Alon

[DavidWeis]

Alon,

A few questions.

-What do you mean by the 'head unit'?

-What is involved with putting in the 12' base?

-Will it 'lower' the value of the car? I plan on selling it for an upgraded model in 2 years. I heard that modifications can actually lower the value of the vehicle.

Comments? And thanks for your answers!

[Ashman]

The HEad Unit is the Radio itself.

Adding a sub shouldn't be too hard. you should be able to add an amp off of the front or rear channel via high level inputs or Line to RCA Converters.

With the sub in the trunk with enough power, it should add enough oomf. This can be done withour porting into the cabin, but you will get so much more bass if you do port in.

All that would be involved would be running a bit of cable, which could easily be taken out and reverted back to the way it was.

Hope that helps you some.

Aftermarket head units of course are better to use for amps, but you would probably have to bypass the factory amps. an aftermarket head unit with factory speakers usually sounds better than the factory head unit and factory speakers.

Your best bet is to see what a few local stereo shops want to do without cutting up the car.

I dont plan on cutting mine up, just enhancing it with a single hole. if I need to revert back, I'll just put on a new rear deck or something.

The good thing is I will be porting my sub into the first aid kit box, so it will still be hidden.

Alon

[DavidWeis]

Thanks..I Don't want to replace the head unit, but I'll see what my local shop will recommend about adding a base with / without porting.

Thanks again.

[Ashman]

Keep us posted.

Alon