The 1998 E430 is supposed to have 8 speakers
I take that there is 2 in the rear deck, 2 in the rear doors, 2 in the front doors & 2 in the front dash panels. Why are there screens on the upper doors near the mirrors, are they vents or is there supposed to be a place where a speaker can/should go. Is there a post that has instruction on how to remove the panel that houses the front dash speakers ? Are there any good upgrades avail. ?

------------------
Peter L. House
1998 Sport E430
Azure Blue

why don't you just buy a 99 or 00 e320awd and stop complaining?

I think the speakers near the mirrors are tweeters. There are no speakers in the dash. The other speakers are in the doors and in the rear deck. Is the sound system Bose? If so, why replace it?

Jack, I think that if you look through the windshield you will see the speakers through the grill. The small grills in the door pillar has me confused. Should a tweeter be there.. ? Yes it is the Bose system. The systems has extended lows but the highs aren't shrill enough..

------------------
Peter L. House
1998 Sport E430
Azure Blue

I have a new E320 that came with the Bose system. I sounds worse than what's in my Honda Accord so I started investigating what's in it.

There are 8 speakers by the way MBNA counts speakers and 6 when counted by us mortals. There are 2 mids in the rear and 2 more in the rear doors. There are 2 coaxial speakers in the front doors that MBNA counts as 4 speakers. That's it. There are speaker enclosures in the front door pillars and in the dash but these are not used in North American models, except the dash speakers may be used with the optinal phone system.

MBNA did not know but I assume that the other enclosures have some function in european models. Since the optional CD changer was $1000, and no aftermarket one will work with the Bose system, I decided to spend the $1000 on replacing the whole system and getting something that sounds better to boot.

In the front I put 6' speakers in the doors and tweeters in the door pillar enclosures already there, together with a crossover in the door. I put the same speaker system in the rear deck using the original cutouts. Since there are two 6" cutouts on each side, I put the 6" in one and the tweeter, on a plate, in the other, all under the stock grills. An Alpine 4-channel amp is in the back of the trunk mounted on a board to support. The head unit is an Alpine CD player that was liberated from by previous car. It fits perfectly in the dash opening.

OK, so it cost $1100 with tax and installation, interconnects, remote turn on, and speaker cables. (The car was rewired as if it had no original sound system. Replacing the Bose system is very easy.) The sound quality compared to the Bose is amazing. The Bose speakers that were removed were real junk, cheap paper cones and a snap on plastic tweeter (similar can be bought for about $10 a piece), and even in the process of rewiring the car for the new system and installing the amp, the installer never found the "200 watt" Bose amp.

The stock head unit, by the way, is a Becker, not Alpine as the MB dealer claimed. It's actually decent with some nice features and a large readable display. I would have liked to salvage it but it doesn't play CDs and the only way to add that capability is with the overpriced MB changer. My only other nit with the Becker unit is that the LCD screen is polarized 90 degrees from my sunglasses so when I put them on, the screen goes blank and I can only read it by tilting my head sideways:-)

MB really ought to do better for premium sound systems. Maybe use the Nakimichi like Lexus or give lots of options like they do in Europe. It is the weakest part of the car. Bose has superb marketing and has gotten those who are less experienced with sound system to believe a sows ear is a silk purse.

I'm wondering Olc if you would have just replaced the speakers, would you have good results. The E430 documentation is very misleading. It says that you have 8 speakers. What you are saying is exactly right. I found out this morning that only after making a appointment and waiting a hour. Tweeters should always go high in a car, around ear level. Can any 6in. full range go in doors front and back? I wouldn't mind replacing mine immediatly.

------------------
Peter L. House
1998 Sport E430
Azure Blue

FYI
W-210 Speakers
Dash Speakers are for hands free cell phone.
Front Door Speakers are 1-48mm 4ohm 4k-20K Hz
1-168mm 1ohm 60-10K Hz
Rear Door Speakers are 89mm 4ohm 120-15K Hz
Hat Shelf Speakers are 168mm 2ohm 20-80 Hz
Grill by mirrior in front doors are for a 25mm 8ohm 5K-20K speaker that is used with the standard sound system not with the Bose.
The amp that olc installer seemed to be unable to find is easily accessed in the trunk on the left side behind the paneling.
I hope that you find this information to be of some use to you. Also I would highly recommend that if you decide to install some after market componets that you find a Pro to install them as this vehicle is full of very complex networked systems and one wrong move can be a very expensive mistake. Good Luck.


[This message has been edited by Corky (edited 06-02-99).]

[This message has been edited by Corky (edited 06-02-99).]

Thanks for the info. Corky. If I do anything at all I will just be to replace the speakers, which will only mean that I will have to swap the two wires going to the speakers. I will just have to remove the panels and unscrew the old ones and screw in the new ones. One Thing, what is wattage rating on the amplifier in the trunk?. I wonder if the amp can handle two more speakers in the rear deck where the two cutouts are. Two more would bring the ohms down to 1ohm for that channel, speaking of channels I supposed that amp is a four channel amp

------------------
Peter L. House
1998 Sport E430
Azure Blue

Phouse
The radio is indicated as being 4X25
The amp is indicated as follows
3X50 50 to front door speaker #1
50 to front door speaker #2
50 to hat shelf speakers
2X25 to rear door speakers

As far as adding aditional speakers I dont think that this is a good ideal. I have no information on this topic though.
Good Luck and have fun.