Head unit that looks like it belongs in a Benz
 

A good friend of mine has a 560sl that I have done a lot of work on to get it back to the way it should be. Well yesterday the OEM Becker's cassette quit working (he made the fatal mistake of trying to use it for the first time since he bought it). I could see dry-rotted pieces of plastic laying in the bottom of the unit looking through the cassette door. He wants to upgrade to a CD player with an aux input for a MP3 player which is no big deal until you start looking for a unit that doesn't look like a Winamp skin or video game. So my question is: can anyone recommend a head unit that fits the style of a Merceds-Benz? One that has a simple layout and actual knobs like the units of the late 80's and early 90's before everything become menu controlled. I am considering trying to find him a vintage unit, but then we will be back to the problems associated with old transports and electronics. I remember there were similar threads like this in the past, but haven't seen any on a search, plus new models come out all of the time to replace previously recommended units. He will also upgrade the speakers and maybe add some rear ones as well, so it has to have at least one set of preamp outputs. Thank you in advance, John.

Blaupunkt.

http://www.armonica.biz/images/santacruzmp36.gif

You can change the color of the backlight.

Why don't you go back to Becker Radio. They will go over your unit for $129. To update a bit they'll had a input for a MP3 player you can put in the glove box for another $100. That's what I did with my 300Dt. Plays thru the radio speakers and sounds great. Plus, you can shut off the antenna so that's not going up and down all the time. Google Becker Radio in North Jersey.

dave

Thanks for the suggestion, that's what he originally was going to do, but his daughter uses the car now and she "needs" a cd player :rolleyes: (I wish I had a 560sl to drive when I was in high school). I suggested, as a low-cost alternative, using an FM transmitter hooked to her IPOD. Not the best sound quality, but better then Tampa FM radio. I will send him to the Crutchfield website as they carry that model Blaupunkt.

Blaus are the only thing that looks halfway decent in there.

If the daughter "needs" a CD player, she's living in the 20th century... CD sales are at an all time low and declining. Any more, the way to go is the aux input and some sort of external player or just buy an in dash .mp3 player with a USB jack or a CD ROM to load it. The quality is .mp3's is not quite up to the specs of a CD but it's adequate for a "noisy" environment like a car.

I doubt I'll ever buy another CD.

Nakamichi

I have a Blaupunkt Bahamas MP46 in my 83 300D. It's about the closest thing you're going to get to that "official MB" look. The backlighting is changeable to whatever color your car's interior lighting is, it dims / brightens with the car's headlights (if your car supports it), raises and lowers the antenna, and doesn't have any ugly ricer-like VU meters bouncing up and down while you drive.

In all, it's a very nice CD / MP3 player that I highly reccomend.

I would be very interested to see a photo or two of it in the car. I've been eyeing the MP46 styles for a few months thinking that it would blend in to the dash of my 300D better than anything else modern. I'd love to have proof of concept before deciding to finally take the plunge and order one. I bet a few others would, too.

Pic's in a 82 240D
 

Pic's in post 8 of this thread.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/car-audio-multimedia/132872-w123-new-blaupunkt.html

I think total black looks the best. Trying to find one without some sliver/chrome trim is not easy. This model has a rear aux input. I snaked a connection behind the ashtray/shifter console, to the tray under the armrest, for my Ipod.

Good luck!

Oh, I forgot about the Eclipse (Fujitsu-Ten) units too. They look pretty mild in the cars, that's what I have laying here to toss in my 750iL

If you want an idea of what it looks like in my car, I snapped a few quick photos the other day. Sorry for lack of close-ups, I was trying to take pictures of my newly detailed interior! :cool:

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a2...k/CIMG0195.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a2...k/CIMG0204.jpg

Hope this helps!

Actually, those pictures are perfect. It looks just like I imagined it would. Thank you for taking the time to take and post them. I do believe that will be my new radio.

Sweet steering wheel, by the way. Seems a little smaller in diameter than the stock version. I may need to find myself one of those some day, so the wheel stops rubbing my legs.

The steering wheel is a Nardi Torino wheel. The diameter is definitely smaller than the original MB wheel, too.

Only bad thing about the smaller diameter, is the fact that it cuts off the top portion of my instrument cluster. You get used to it, but it's still a little annoying. :)

sweet
 

Thanks for sharing ZeroHour (and others)......you just convinced me too. I've been mulling over head units for a couple months and I'm now sold on the Blau too.

Beautiful interior! That radio really blends well with the style of the vents, etc...

Yep, I have the CD3413. Has MP3, CD, and CD-R formats allowed. Also has two knobs so it's easier than pushing buttons for the volume and tuning. Also does not have the removable face plate so no fidgeting around either. Needless to say even with stock speakers I'm so pleased with this head unit.

Look at the old Polk EX and DX line for a nice sound upgrade for speakers. I have the DX and EX in a pile of my rides. They're a BARGAIN now as they were out in ~'99.

EX402A are the 4" dash, EX525A should be 5.25" :D

Take a look at this Becker. It plays CD & MP3.

Becker Monza

http://www.perfectmarketaudio.com/img11.jpg

Apparently they don't have the EX525A but the EX402A are there

http://www.polkaudio.com/search/older_car.php

What's the difference between the EX and DX versions?

Edit: Looks like EX502A is 5.25 too?

Yes, 502A. That's it. :D I have them in my 280S and 240D. I like those as they have a silk tweeter, so it's not shrill like the metal units.

DX has a bit higher power handling, the DX6 are in my F150. They're running off a 150x2 rms JL 300/2 amplifier and just fine.

Recall, the power rating is for full sound 20-20000hz. Cross them over, power capacity skyrockets.

I checked the local stores but only saw the DX versions and not the EX you mentioned. What's the difference between the two?

I just found out the Sony Xplod on our 300TE is also MP3 and CD-R capable :freak:

DX has a bit higher power handling. Look on ebay for the DX and EX, they're from around '99-00, not sure why a store would still stock them.

There's nothing like a Blaupunkt in an older Benz
 

Here's my 1985 380SE with a Tokyo HU, and my just-installed Nevada RDM in my recently acquired 560SL. These are usually readily available on EBay, very reasonably priced, and look perfect IMO, all black and white like the MB buttons, no flashey graphic s**t, and best of all, they work with the Blau Thummer steering wheel control. I bought Thummers for each car. Incredibly nice working, nice looking sound equipment in an older Mercedes. (I'd add that the display on the Nevada is much easier to see in the sunlight than the Tokyo though.)

I like the Nardi wheel.. I need one now!!

This.. would be the best... I saw one in a 280SL(pics attached)

http://www.mcintoshlabs.com/mcprod/....X406_front.jpg
Mcintosh MX406


http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y74...7/IMG_1828.jpg


and the amps

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y74...7/IMG_1827.jpg

Those Nardi wheels are pricey! I'm just glad the PO bought it, and it didn't end up costing me anything.. heh!

I just bought myself a new set of speakers for the back of my 300D. Kenwood KFC-X130 5-1/4" speakers. From the specs, they looked pretty damn nice, and I found them for a very reasonable price. Hopefully they put out more sound than the stock paper-cones I have back there! (I may need to run new wires.. the paper-cone ones are putting out next to NO sound.. I have to wonder if they're just blown, or if there's a wiring issue. Fader is bypassed.)

Those old stockers are probably 8ohms, whereas modern units will be 4ohms, so you may be getting 1/2 the sound output with the originals....

You make an *excellent* point, and are probably right. Stupid me, I forgot about the impedance entirely! Hopefully the new speakers I bought will end up putting out more (and better!) sound. I can't wait till they come in. :cool:

Even if I have to use the aftermarket speaker grilles, the ones that come with the speakers look pretty "stock". No ricer flare with "sport" trim for me, thanks.

I just put a Blau headunit (San Diego) with 4 new infinity reference speakers from crutchfield for about $200 total. It's been great so far - I ran all new wire and bypassed the fader. It ALMOST covers the drone of my 240D at 75mph. Almost.

Thanks all for the sage advice.

Now you just gotta get a Thummer for that baby:thumbsup:...I managed to land a brand new Blau 10 disc changer to compliment my Nevada RDM, EBay, under $100.00, and the thummer will control both the head unit and the changer....next up will be a stealth-installed Sirrius satellite radio. I'm planning to custom sink the disc-shaped antenna into the third brake light housing, and paint it body color.:)

That McIntosh is a good looking unit!
If only we could have gotten this in the USA, this would have been the best:

http://cache.gizmodo.com/images/2006...ckermexico.jpg

That McIntosh is probably worth more than my car. Were it not for the fact that my Merc is not a sound stage worthy of such a piece of high fidelity audio equipment, I would lust after it.


...Okay, I'll lust after it anyway!

Nakamichi makes great head units that look as if they were designed for the car. Very similar looking to Becker units but much better performance.

Denon makes some serious high-end head units that look very clean. Especially in black. I'm not sure about availability though, as some models may only be available in Japan. And they range from about $700-2600.

http://denon.jp/products/car.html

Soo clean..
http://www.car-music.ru/articles-res...152-152_03.jpg

Don't mean to hijack, but what are the gauges in your console? Did you put those in?