Well, in the last couple of months ive tried 5 different head units, about 10 combinations of component speakers, and many subwoofer configurations, and I've found a few that work extremely well in my 123, and should work well in 124's/201's too.
First of all, I hear a lot of people complaining about putting flashy head units with horses and dolphins in mercedeses; how stupid they look. Well I highly recommend eclipse head units; the early ones had skipping issues, but they have all been resolved. The higher end models have 5 or 8volt preouts, all the best features, are built very well, and blend in well with mercedes dashes.
For speakers, the stock dash locations are pretty bad for coaxials. I got some vifa/scaan soundstream exact midranges to put in the 4" spots, and seperate tweeters. The end result has been great, as the tweeters don't reflect off the windshield, which causes a lot of coloration and harshness. Polk dx, soundstream, a/d/s, infinity and boston make excellent 4" component sets.
And of course, subwoofers. I've found that no matter how a box is built/aimed, its hard to get bass into the cabin just with the rear speakers out. The best solution I can see: building an external (or at least partially external) slot vent which can fire directly through the first aid kit hole, so that it reflects off the back glass which adds some depth to the bass. This way a large amount of bass comes directly into the cabin. I've spent about 6 months on my system; it began with a radio shack tape player and honda accord speakers, and has now evolved into the system in my signature - it is possible to get great sound in a mercedes, its just hard.

Hi ther e- this information is pretty good!

I have one question - and it relates to the door mounting of your speakers. Can you describe the way you mounted them? Where did you mount them, and what did you have to do to make them secure? Did you put them into the plastic door-bins, or did you mount them in the actaul door trim itself? I have leather there and not sure if I want to take the risk!

Thanks for your help

>Joe

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>Joe

http://www.bonnemay.co.uk/pics/W123_48.gif
1984 W123 230E Saloon/Sedan! (82k miles - Ice Blue as new)
1985 W123 230TE (96K miles - stinkingly nice!)
1995 W124 E320 Wagon (130k miles)
Future projects:
Sportline Suspension W124, W123 TE restoration, A/C, cruise & powered seats retrofit!

>Based in the UK!

Joe:
Door speakers (with photos) can be seen at Michaels Door Speakers

Big discussions on stereo in 300/400/500Es in archives, including 500E Stereo upgrade

I am told another way to get more base in the cabin through the speaker holes is to trim appropriate diameter PVC drainage pipe to about 4-5" long and mount it in the speaker holes.

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John

2003 Firemist Red/grey leather SL 500
2015 Palladium Silver/black mbtex GLK 350
1987 Smoke Silver/burgundy mbtex 300E Sportline (SOLD)

Click to see 87 300E

Thats pretty much what i did for the speakers, only i mounted them on an mdf baffle covered with vinyl, and mounted that to the door panel. This way it has a more solid baffle, which helps midbass and rattling.
The pvc pipes are great, but sometimes if you just add ports your trunk is used like an enormous bandpass box, which could lead to undesirable sound.

I BELIEVE IT IS NOT HARD TO GET EXCELENT sound into any
MB. the perameters of any car audio system is optimal in a Mercedes. ofcourse it is always best to use top quality amps, recievers and drivers. i believe Mercedes placed the
speakers in an optimun angle for excellent sound distribution. my component tweeters bounce very well of the glass and produce lifelike sound. (MB Quart) the car is also a suitable sound stage because of its incredible sound dampening. no comparison to some punks system in his rattling IROC. (no offence to Chevy owners) my bass (in 126) is perfect for my ears. 2 rear firing 10" eclipse aluminum cones in a sealed box with both storage and first aid removed. it hits hard yo!!
good luck!
adam

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Current Stable:
01 ML55 AMG
92 500E (a few mods)
87 300E (lots of mods)
00 Chevy 3500HD Diesel Box Truck
68 18' Donzi Marine
06 GT i-Drive7 1.0 Mountain Bike (with GPS!)

PREVIOUSLY OWNED:83 300SD, 87 420SEL, 88 420SEL, 90 420SEL, 86 560SEL, 86 190E 2.3-16V AMG, 94 E320

I have played around alot in this area. What I found works well for models with the fader control on the console (ie. w201, w124, etc.) Is bypassing it completely. Speaker that I liked where MB quart Premium Refernez Component up Front, and Coaxs in the rear. The Xtant amp is perfect for them. The Eclipse 88100.4 and 88120.4 Subs are incredible, and take very little space, only require power, and the new JL Audio 500/1 Class D sub amp is a perfect match for them. I am having them installed (2 88120.4 with a JL Audio 500/1 amp to each, wired in stereo.) Since my full DIN has Cassette storage box init, I plan on gutting it and keeping my stock radio now, and using an Alpine ERE-G180 1/2 DIN 11-Band equliazer which allows for mon/stereo sub output, and also using aa 1/2 DIN Alpine ERE-G190 Crossover so I have total control right at my hands.

I cheated a little by having one of my friends do their E420 with a smiliar setup except he used 3-88120 4+4ohm Titanium Subs from Eclipse (750 Watts RMS) and used 3 Alpine V12 600x1 watt rms at 4 om. to each to drive them. He also used the Kenwood MP3 Z919 player, and skipped the CD-changer (no need, over 100s of minutes of mp3 playtime on once CD) and has the subs angled towards the first-aid kit, and the first aid kit is removed, and a simple screen is put over it.

The integration of the work looks so factory, that you can't tell. BEsides that, he has blue neon lights run through the cabin and on the box.

Think I finally settled on a system, will post pics this spring break if I get a chance to do it, if not, then probably looking at the summer.

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Chirag (Charlie) Patel
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- 03 Mercedes S600 Sport TTV12
- 97 Acura NSX-T
- 99 BMW E36 M3 w/500+ HP
- 04 Lexus RX330
- 04 Dodge Dakota Quad 4x4 V8

4 Sale:
- 99 BMW M3 E36 Coup with Dinan SC, Upgraded to an RMS Stage 3 with Aftercooler, 12psi, and 500+hp @ flywheel.

removing the first aid kit was enough to get the subs loud enough in the car? Though at 1800 watts I would hope so..where did your friend install the subs? and would you please tell him not to drive past my house at 3AM?

jp -who plays bass at concert levels through an (albeit efficient) 30 watt TUBE bass amplifier. of course this frequently goes through a 20K watt PA system.

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John Pazdan
94 E420