I have a '90 300E and want to replace the stock stereo equipment. The car has a Becker HU; dash speakers, and rear shelf speakers. There are no door speakers, and I'm not sure if there are amps or not. I plan to replace the stock stuff with the following:

HU: Alpine CDE9852
Amp: None at the moment, possibly a Profile AP1040 or Alpine MRP-F250 a little later.
Speakers Front: Polk Audio db series replacement size ( not sure if 4" or 5")
Speakers Rear: Polk Audio db series replacement size (5 1/4" I think? can I fit 6 1/2" back there? or maybe 6x4" ?)

I will run new wiring HU to speakers. I do not mind doing a bit of cutting or fitting with the speakers as long as the stock grills can be used to maintain a stock end appearance.

Questions are:
1) What sizes can I fit under stock speaker cover grills front? Rear?

2) How do you remove the stock Becker unit? (not sure which Becker model it is)

3) Do I need to unhook or disconnect any of the leftover stock system if I am re-wiring HU to speakers direct ?

4) What, if any, rewiring will have to be done to maintain the power antenna use?

Any other tips, warnings, advice, or comments would be appreciated also.

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Andy_M
'98 W140 S320 Black/Black
'06 W164 ML500 AMG White/Grey
'03 Porsche 986 Midnight Blue/Grey

1) Fronts- depends on how much you want to mod... A few people have put 5.25s in the front after widening the hole with a dremel. I have 4" in the fronts, prefer fabricating something rather than modifying it. Dont know about the back, as I have a wagon...


2)Top of the page says DIY articles... It covers removal of the old unit... Pull yours out to see what system you have.. If you have an antenna lead plugged into the head, then you have the one piece system, and you dont have to deal with seperate tuners/amps...

3)I ran all new wires, but I had the one piece stereo, so there was nothing for me to unhook...

4)Just connect the antenna lead off the new headunit to the lead in the car... You should be good to go.

Good Luck! Are you going to be running a subwoofer?

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-Justin

91 560 SEC AMG - other dogs dd
01 Honda S2000 - dogs dd
07 MB ML320 CDI - dd
16 Lexus IS250 - wifes dd

it's automatic.

No, probably not. It is really my wife's car primarily. She just wants a decent radio and good quality sound. I may decide to amp it, but that's about the extent of it. The kids and I use the CD or Ipod features, that's why I bought the Alpine head unit. I have been told that you can get 4x5's or 6 1/2" in the back under the stock grills if you don't mind making up a plate for them. I guess I won't really know until I open it up, but was trying to find out ahead of time what to buy. I don't mind modifying a bit as long as the final install still looks stock (other than the HU of course.)

Of course, the kids would have half the trunk filled with a twin sub box if they had their way.

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Andy_M
'98 W140 S320 Black/Black
'06 W164 ML500 AMG White/Grey
'03 Porsche 986 Midnight Blue/Grey

I've replaced my rear deck speakers twice, and I don't think you can get anything bigger than a 5 1/4 in there without having to modify the deck and the cover. The cover is long and narrow, too narrow for something bigger. I put in 5 1/4s last time, and I had to cut the mounting gear off the speakers and screw them directly to the deck. I would be interested to learn if anyone has managed to put bigger speakers in there without new covers.

Good luck,
Mark

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