Quality of '85 OEM radio?
 

I'm looking at an '85 300D, and I was just wondering...how good is the OEM radio? It's an AM/FM/cassette unit, although the current owner last told me that he's not sure if the tape player works.

I'm not looking for a blastin' radio; if it can be turned up louder than the engine without distorting, I'll be okay with it, at least for now...I'm just curious. If it's a known POS, maybe I'll pull the radio out of my van and put another one in the van, and keep this one to put in the Benz...or see if I can get a standard DIN tape player/CD player...

Also, typically, how many speakers would come in a car like this? 2? 4?

Thanks in advance!

POS is relative.

If ALL you *need* is to be able to hear sounds at a moderate level, then the OEM HU is....okay.

If you like or want anything higher quality than what I just said, you will want to replace it.


When I bought my 300SD, I had full intentions of keeping the stock OEM radio. On the drive back from buying the car, I quickly decided THAT was not going to happen!

The biggest problem for me was the incredibly POOR radio reception. I had trouble picking up even the strongest stations in my area (Atlanta!). After asking others on the forum, my sentiments were echoed pretty loudly.

4 speakers are the norm if I'm not mistaken. They are also POS. Once you replace the HU with something that picks-up stations and you can actually turn the volume up to a decent level w/o horribly distortion, you'll want to replace the speakers with something halfway decent.


Chris
'85 300SD

I think they were like 5 or 7.5 watts to 4 channels max. I would replace it but try to keep an orignal look by not getting one with screen savers etc. IMO

7.5 watts?!?

GOOD LORD...I think Radio Shack's cheapest radio had better output than that...

I think I'll live with it 'till I can afford another one...I think I want to leave the one that's in the van in there. Personally, I don't like the new "Screen Saver" esque radios...I saw a nice looking DIN radio that had a tape player and a CD player together...decent price, too. Unless someone can convince me tha tit's cheaper to get a radio with a tape player and controls for a CD changer, and then get the changer... :D

They arent that bad but a new one will not hurt.

OEM Radio
 

In Los Angeles, I was only able to pick up 4 stations!!!! with the OEM Radio on my 1984 diesel. Electronic radios may have been a neat thing to have in 1985, but the quality had a long way to go!!! Needless to say, within a week, I had a new radio and 4 new speakers. You can probably get by for around $200 for both a CD Player and 4 x 4" pioneer speakers that will do the job well. Good luck!

1985 Radio Quality
 

The radio that you have is most likely a BE-612 which is the one with the small green display on the face. These radios though old are rebuildable to keep the car stock, however, I like to step the customer up to the BE-754 unit instead. It has a better tuner and a much larger display along with some extra features. Just something to think about.

If you want to know more contact me at: www.lajollaaudiorepair.com

Cleeve Morrison
Repair Manager
La Jolla Audio Repair