e320 wagon amp help needed

[curious james]

I've posted this on a couple sites so far, but nobody seems to know.....


I'd love to put in a new Kenwood receiver and replace the factory broken tape deck in my 94 e320 wagon. So with the new receiver, I'm looking at speakers, and I've got it all picked out, but the problem I keep running into is installing an amp. The speakers won't sound good without one, but where can I cleanly put it? None will fit under the seats, and the stereo guys say that really the only place they can think of is on the floor in the back of the wagon. So If I lower my seats, I won't have a clean flat surface, because there will be an amp on the right side. The wagon has the extra seat in the back, so my space is really limited. Anyone have any good ideas? Where have other e320 wagon owners installed amps with success? I'd love to get a great sound going on in the car, but I want to keep the look as clean as possible. Thanks in advance.

[edge]

Where are you also going to install a subwoofer? I just got a 95 wagon and was wondering about the same.

[A. Rosich]

Having done several upgrade audio jobs on my wagons I can tell you a little from my experiencies:

1/ On my S123 300TD, which came with the rear facing seat, I installed the amp on right hand side of the front dash console (passenger footwell, on the outside: vertically screwed to the carpet lining). In Europe, most M.B.s install the cellular phone at this point, so it actually doesn't look weird.

2/ On the same car I had a handmade subwoofer system installed to the back of the middle seat, anchored by Velcro to the rug. If I lowered the middle seat, I could move the subwoofer box out of the way pretty easily.

3/ On an S124 300TE I did installed the subwoofer (handmade also) on the middle hole of the spare tire. The cover had a special opening done keeping the original carpet, so sound would go out but the cover would look the same.

4/ Finally, on my E 320 T, which did not come with a third rear facing seat, I had the amp intalled in the rear most compartment besides the gate. It works fgreat. If you do not use your third seat often, I would buy the regular cover from the dealer and exchange it from the one that has the bottom part of the seat. That will provide you with more space in that area. Keep the original so you can change back to the original setup whenever you want to.

[Jim Cross]

I have a 92 300TE4 with a Clarion head unit ( so I can play CD's ) and stock speakers

I am unknowledgeable about sound systems.

Is it possible to upgrade the speakers only and have better sound
or is an amp required?
Is there room to put speakers/amp in the tailgate?

I would appreciate any info

Jim

[A. Rosich]

The factory speakers on W/S124s are horrible, so any type of upgrade would help. Although, do not expect to much boom since the largest size you fit front and back are 4" speakers.

I did install 4" midranges at the original factory holes and placed a separate tweeter on top of each. Finally I installed a set of 6" woofers on the front doors, although that did require tampering with the door lining.