Can anyone give me an evaluation of the quality of the special Bose radio and speaker system in the 2000 E 320? I heard
the Nakamichi radio-cum-speakers in the
Lexus GS 300 and they seemed far superior,
even bringing in crystal clearly in Palo Alto the PBS classical music station KXBR in Sacramento. I have my doubts that the Bose can measure up. How about the default MB radio in the E 320?

Don't even try to compare the two systems... Nakamichi is High-Fidelity and Bose is a piece of *ç%&@ sold at an extremly high price...
Bose is made of poor quality components, usually the speaker cones are made of paper and don't offer any midrange sound. The subwoofer is giving a muddy bass and that tries to eliminate that lack of melody while the tweeters try to tickle your ears...

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WEB Site : http://www.adamou.dpn.ch
A.S.C. 1999
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hehe, each to their own.

Adamou is right, the Bose system is mostly bass and treble with nothing in the middle. The Lexus systems are pretty fine, as are the top Volvo systems (Dynaudio speakers!!). Why is it that MB factory systems are awful?

Anyway, for the cost of the Bose system, you're better off getting the factory standard system and upgrading it.. *or* I dont know if you can specify no radio in the US, but in Europe you can get your MB with no stereo at all.

Either of these options should save you enough $$$$ to get a *really* good stereo put in by your local specialist.

Brian



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Brian Drought
1991 300CE
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~drought/
ICQ: 2180069

Just to be clear: is it feasible, physically speaking, to replace the standard radio in the E 320 with some better brand and do so without screwing up any electrical or electronic systems in the car?

Robert

Yes it is very easy to change the head unit. Some are 100% compatible with the wirering system of the car, some will need an adapter, and some will need a little bit of DIY :) But nothing really special, anybody can do it...

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WEB Site : http://www.adamou.dpn.ch
A.S.C. 1999
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oooooooooooooooooooooooopsssss!
NO it's not possible to replace the head unit in the 2000 version of the E class as it is a built in type.
I don't know if there is place to put in a normal head unit in but I doubt...

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WEB Site : http://www.adamou.dpn.ch
A.S.C. 1999
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YOu can replace the speaker components very easily and continue to use the bose amps. This will have a huge improvement. YOU also can change the head unit but, you will lose the phone connections and will have to redo ALL the wiring. (pretty damn expensive)
I personally have gone with the replace speaker routine. I have replaced the fronts with 6.5 MB quartz Q series speakers and the rears with top line MB quartz speakers as well.
I have replaced the 2 factory subs with 4 8inch JL top of the line free space subs with a Phoenix Gold Zero point Titanium series 4 channel amp to power just the 4 subs. Must say that it sounds 100s of times better.

I have just ordered an E320 and chosen not to
go for the so-called "Bose Premium Stereo" system since I think that the Bose Premium system is mediocre. So, I declined to get the E2 package (sunroof, special wipers, and Bose premium system) and hope to replace both the Bose unit and the one-way Bose speakers with MB Quarts after getting the car. I'll probably go with an Alpine or a Pioneer head unit. However, I am considering just replacing the speakers alone with MB Quarts and leaving the Bose head unit and seeing if changing the speakers gives me high enough quality sound so that I don't have to replace the "factory built in" Bose head unit. Any thoughts or suggestions here?
(P.S. I listen mostly to classical music and opera.)

Thanks,

Robert

HAS ANYONE ON THIS BOARD HAD ANY EXPERIENCE/ESTIMATES REPLACING THE FIBER-OPTIC AUDIO SYSTEM IN 1999 & UP W210 MODELS?

You will probably go to considerable expense to replace the audio sytem (electronics) in the 1999/2000 models. The system is run on fiber-optic cable. Replacing the speakers is easy but re-wiring the fiber-optic audio/phone/antenna etc. system maybe painfully expensive. Good luck!

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<UL TYPE=SQUARE>
<LI>1998 MERCEDES-BENZ E430
<LI>OBSIDIAN BLACK/BLACK
<LI>XENON H.I.D.
<LI>DEBADGED E430
<LI>AMG CHROMED TIP DUAL EXHAUST
<LI>CARLSSON 1/6 CHROME (PLUS 1) WHEELS
</UL>

What are MB Quarts speakers? Are these upgrades available from Mercedes Benz? Is there a catalog or URL?

egruber: MB Quart has nothing to do with Mercedes Benz, it's a High Fidelity speaker making company :) To buy them you will have to go to a specialized car Hi-Fi shop.

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WEB Site : http://www.adamou.dpn.ch
A.S.C. 1999
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I thought that every 2000 MB uses fibre optical wire for both computer and stereo?? And the only way you can do stereo mod is to re-wire the whole car???

Andy Kuo

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<UL TYPE=SQUARE>
<LI>1992 Mercedes-Benz 400SE
<LI>Moonstone Grey/Black Leather
<LI>Blue/Red Headlights
<LI>Xenon-Look Foglights
</UL>

ICQ#26950002
http://drive.to/akry

Can anyone tell me whether the so-called
"Bose Premium Stereo System" included in the 2000 E320's E2 package (with rain-sensing wipers and moonroof) differs from the standard radio ONLY in that it uses different, presumably better (Bose) speakers? Or is it the case that the AM/FM cassette unit in the "Bose Premium Stereo" package is also different (and better) than the standard radio unit?

Many thanks if anyone can clear this up for me.

Robert

Hi, I ment to place my topic here but I sent it to new topic above (Plant). Look for some answers to above questions and misconseptions.

Thanks,

Jim LaPlant
Factory Mercedes-Benz Technician

RMCGINN, To make it clear. There is no Bose Radio, only upgraded Bose speakers in your package. The AM/FM/Cassette/Phone head unit in the 1999/2000 is not made by Bose. Jim LaPlant says it is made by Alpine. The head unit in the E-Class for 1996-1998 is made by Becker.


------------------
<UL TYPE=SQUARE>
<LI>1998 MERCEDES-BENZ E430
<LI>OBSIDIAN BLACK/BLACK
<LI>XENON H.I.D.
<LI>DEBADGED E430
<LI>AMG CHROMED TIP DUAL EXHAUST
<LI>CARLSSON 1/6 CHROME (PLUS 1) WHEELS
<LI>ALPINE CHM-S611 CD CHANGER
</UL>

[This message has been edited by Kevin (edited 01-10-2000).]