I have had great success with the panasonic 4 inch speakers sold at best buy and recommended replacement speakers for the rear deck. The sound was great. I recently ordered the higher end replacement speakers from Becker auto sound for my 82 300 CD with the original Europa cassette am fm radio that beaker auto refurbished and updated with an iPod Jack. The system sounds awesome!
I'm not trying to bass anyone out of the water though hahah

So they really fit (the se-45) with a flat front speaker grille?

__________________
Current Diesels:
1981 240D (73K)
1982 300CD (169k)
1985 190D (169k)
1991 350SD (113k)
1991 350SD (206k)
1991 300D (228k)
1993 300SD (291k)
1993 300D 2.5T (338k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (442k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (265k)

Past Diesels:
1983 300D (228K)
1985 300D (233K)

You mean the stock grille? If so then yes they fit perfect with no modifications other than the tabs on the speakers.

Great to know... Im working on doing this on both my w123s when I have time....

__________________
Current Diesels:
1981 240D (73K)
1982 300CD (169k)
1985 190D (169k)
1991 350SD (113k)
1991 350SD (206k)
1991 300D (228k)
1993 300SD (291k)
1993 300D 2.5T (338k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (442k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (265k)

Past Diesels:
1983 300D (228K)
1985 300D (233K)

Anyone have any other suggestions? The SE-45 speakers are NLA and I need new speakers for the 280E.

I have MB-Quarts all around, including subwoofer, just to keep it all sounding proper together.
The front speakers are too tall, so I mounted them from underneath. It takes a little more effort, but it's do-able.

__________________
1982 300CD Petrol/Black Leather

Watcha talking about, Willis? they are available everywhere.

__________________
85 300CD Signal Red/Tan sold
83 300D Manganese Brown 109K
97 E420 Midnight Blue 197K sold
98 BMW 328i Vert White 100K, sold
95 BMW 525i White 125K, sold
93 BMW 525iT Red 193K, sold
95 E320 Green Wagon 125K, sold
94 E320 White 127K, sold
85 300SD 156K Grey (Annie), sold
84 300D Lapis Blue 170K (Judy), sold
99 ML 320 Black (lease), 1998 C230 White (lease)
00 Honda S2000 Red (lease)
86 Mercedes 300E (sold)
84 Porsche 911 Red (sold), 1965 Porsche 911 White (sold)

Crutchfield states discontinued.

__________________
Current Diesels:
1981 240D (73K)
1982 300CD (169k)
1985 190D (169k)
1991 350SD (113k)
1991 350SD (206k)
1991 300D (228k)
1993 300SD (291k)
1993 300D 2.5T (338k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (442k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (265k)

Past Diesels:
1983 300D (228K)
1985 300D (233K)

What model did you choose? What kind of hardware did you use to mount from below? Does it affect sound in any way?

__________________
Current Diesels:
1981 240D (73K)
1982 300CD (169k)
1985 190D (169k)
1991 350SD (113k)
1991 350SD (206k)
1991 300D (228k)
1993 300SD (291k)
1993 300D 2.5T (338k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (442k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (265k)

Past Diesels:
1983 300D (228K)
1985 300D (233K)

This was a few years ago so these models are out of production now, but the speakers are Discus line, (4", 5.25", 10") and the amplifiers are Reference line (RAB 1450, REF 4.80). The sound is good. I don't think it really makes much difference mounted above or below, just so long as there is no obstruction.

__________________
1982 300CD Petrol/Black Leather

So what, you can get them on Ebay, Amazon or many other places....and they sound great.

__________________
85 300CD Signal Red/Tan sold
83 300D Manganese Brown 109K
97 E420 Midnight Blue 197K sold
98 BMW 328i Vert White 100K, sold
95 BMW 525i White 125K, sold
93 BMW 525iT Red 193K, sold
95 E320 Green Wagon 125K, sold
94 E320 White 127K, sold
85 300SD 156K Grey (Annie), sold
84 300D Lapis Blue 170K (Judy), sold
99 ML 320 Black (lease), 1998 C230 White (lease)
00 Honda S2000 Red (lease)
86 Mercedes 300E (sold)
84 Porsche 911 Red (sold), 1965 Porsche 911 White (sold)

I will check those tonight. I have them in the 240D and love them I just need a second pair for the 280E.

Thanks for this thread !
I just ordered a pair of BA SE-45 for the front of my 300D. (epay)

__________________
1979 300D 220 K miles
1995 C280 109 K miles
1992 Cadillac Eldorado Touring Coupe 57K miles SOLD
********************
1979 240D 140Kmiles (bought for parents) *SOLD.
SAN FRANCISCO/(*San Diego)
1989 300SE 148 K miles *SOLD

Here is the deal.
For my 300D 1979, the passenger side cover was not possible to remove completely. The tab that holds the end would not unhook.
So I had to put a piece of cardboard under the windshield pillar trim to protect it as much as possible as I pulled up on the open end. Like prying open a clam shell. The trim did buckle a bit and later I used a hair dryer to heat and smooth out some. Its not perfect but better. The cover would not budge even with tools, twisting and curses.
I used an 'S' shaped driver to undo the phillips screws. I tried to use a needle nose pliers alone to turn the screw head since the driver was a tight fit at one corner. I finally had to pull up alot and fit the driver in to break the screw loose. Then I could use the needle nose pliers to methodically turn and unscrew. That allowed me to relieve some tension on the cover.

I thought the driver side would be worse since the cluster hump is in the way. But I was lucky in that the cover just came off quickly. It appears to have been removed before and the hold down tab was slightly chipped.

So the driver side was easy to remove the old speaker and install the new since tha face was wide open sans cover.
Remove (cut off with dykes) two of the new speaker's screw tabs and the speaker fits nicely into the already deep slot. I used two screws to hold down the speaker on the driver side.
I only used one screw to hold down the passenger side since it was too difficult to press in the screw in the far corner and find the hole and start the threading.
I tested it, as it was, and it did not vibrate.
Later I will put down a seam of silicone glue along the passenger side speaker's perimeter to assist the hold down and combat any possible vibration.

The MBZ speaker covers drop over nicely without any bulge. My car's passenger side had a atmosphere sensor on the speaker cover that had to be pried off to allow the face of the cover to lift up fully.

The green MBZ wire is HOT and the black is ground. That corresponds to the HOT white wire of the new speaker and the black ground wire of the new speaker.
Boston Acoustics SE-45

Sound is not bad. Better than the old ones.

Attached Thumbnails

         

__________________
1979 300D 220 K miles
1995 C280 109 K miles
1992 Cadillac Eldorado Touring Coupe 57K miles SOLD
********************
1979 240D 140Kmiles (bought for parents) *SOLD.
SAN FRANCISCO/(*San Diego)
1989 300SE 148 K miles *SOLD