My stereo install in the 500E is done! - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Flavio · #1 08-07-2002, 06:13 PM

Before anyone asks, pictures will follow shortly!

I'll describe what I've done.

I got a set of Jehnert (www.jehnert.de) doorpanels and speakers to replace the stock dashmounted speakers. The doorpanels replace the stock lower plastic storage parts on the front doors. Each one has two 16cm midbass woofers in them. Before they were fitted I had the inside doorpanels sound deadened with spray-on sound deadening material. The Jehnert doorpanels are screwed down so the result is very sturdy with no annoying resonances.

The Jehnert dashboard speakers consist of 10cm midranges and separate tweeters. The midranges go where the stock speakers were and I put the tweeters on top of the grilles of the midranges. With a Dremel a hole was made so the tweeters are sunk a little in the grille and they were fixed in place with some sealant. Doesn't look bad at all.

The Jehnert speakers come with a 3-way passive crossover but I decided to go partly active. I have a 5-channel amplifier, a Xetec 5G-900 (www.xetec.de), chosen because it has high power output but small dimnesions.
The front channels (100W each) power the dash speakers through the Jehnert passive crossover.
The rear channels (100W each) power the midbass woofers in the door and are actively lo-pass and hi-pass by the crossover in the amplifier.
The dedicated subwoofer channel powers the sub with some 450W.

This JL Audio 15W6 subwoofer (wired to 3 Ohm) was fitted in the spare tire well. I used the trunk carpet as a pattern for three MDF floor panels, all of them 50mm thick. One acts as the baffle for the subwoofer and fits on top of the spare tire well. The other panel is fitted left of the baffle and the last one is fitted right of the baffle on top of the battery cover. I did this to create a whole flat floor again. I removed the rear speakers so the sound from the subwoofer can get into the passenger area.

All these panels are carpeted in grey material to match the stock trunk carpet as close as possible.

The baffle was screwed down in the metal with some eggshellfoam acting as a seal all around. Before this was fitted the spare tire well was sound dampened with Dynamat.

The plastic carpeted piece that normally sits against the fuel tank was used as a pattern for a 6mm MDF panel that holds the amplifier and the 1 Farad capacitor next to it. The MDF panel was cutout in such a way that it would fit the same way as the stock plastic carpeted piece. This gave it already some sturdiness and a small L-bracket was fitted against the underside of the rear shelf to permanently fix it in place. All wiring for the amplifier goes behind this panel. I am going to have a perspex panel made to protect the amplifier and the capacitor in case I have luggage in the trunk.

Power wiring was very easy because the battery is in the trunk. I used a 100A magnetic circuit breaker as protection and from there a 4 gauge positive wire goes to the capacitor and from there to the amplifier. Ground for the amplifier goes from the rear shelf to the capacitor to the amplfier.

I had a Crystal Line line-driver lying around so I used that to boost the output of the Alpine INA-033R DIN sized DVD navigation headunit to some 10 Volts. This enabled me to set the gains on the amplifier to their lowest settings to avoid hiss. A single signal cable runs from the line driver to the amplifier.

The Xetec amplifier comes with a remote subwoofer level control and that was fitted in the center console.

It is a very tight sounding system. I think 90% of the people would be satisfied with the bass ouptut of the doorpanel speakers alone, they are very, very good.
As a former IASCA competitor I am quite pleased with the result. Staging and imaging is far from perfect but that was to be expected with dashmounted speakers so close to the driver but tonal quality is very good. The amplifier has more than enough power for the speakers and there is no distortion, even at very high levels.

I recommend anyone who is thinking about a stereo upgrade in their W124 to look at these Jehnert speakers and door panels. They are not inexpensive but well worth the money IMHO.

If anyone has questions feel free to ask.

Flavio

Michael · #2 08-07-2002, 09:16 PM

NICE! I already have a fairly serious system in my 500, but the big gap is lower mid-range/upper low end-my MBQuarts are weak.

Can't wait to see the pics!

Flavio · #3 08-08-2002, 10:05 AM

All the pics are in this album:

http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4291517131

Here are a few samples:

Flavio

G-Benz · #4 08-08-2002, 12:24 PM

Very clean install...I especially like the door panels!

I assume you have removed the spare tire in order to accomodate the subwoofer?

My only concern is the visible tweeters in the factory dash locations...was there not a "stealthier" way to install the tweeters?

Flavio · #5 08-08-2002, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by G-Benz
Very clean install...I especially like the door panels!

I assume you have removed the spare tire in order to accomodate the subwoofer?

My only concern is the visible tweeters in the factory dash locations...was there not a "stealthier" way to install the tweeters?

Yes, the spare tire was removed.

There was no room for the tweeter underneath the grille and we didn't want to fit them in the A pillar or door.

Flavio

aldedmon · #6 08-08-2002, 03:25 PM

Hey Flavio, How much for the door panels in Good ol' USD$

Flavio · #7 08-08-2002, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by aldedmon
Hey Flavio, How much for the door panels in Good ol' USD$

The Dollar to Euro exchange rate is about 1 to 1 so that's $750 ex. VAT plus shipping from Germany to the USA. For that you'll get the doorpanels with 2 speakers each, the dashboard speakers (midrange and tweeters) and the passive 3-way crossovers.

Flavio

Doug Kinney · #8 08-08-2002, 04:01 PM

Hi Flavio,

I really like the speaker systems you installed, especially the door panels. I will be in the Netherlands next week and I was wondering if you know any dealers for these in the north. I will
be staying in Heerenveen.

Best Regards
Doug

Flavio · #9 08-08-2002, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Doug Kinney
Hi Flavio,

I really like the speaker systems you installed, especially the door panels. I will be in the Netherlands next week and I was wondering if you know any dealers for these in the north. I will
be staying in Heerenveen.

Best Regards
Doug

I don't think you will find a dealer that has them in stock. The Jehnert distributor in the Netherlands is ASN (Autosound Nederland), http://asn.tt-net.com/
Most reputable car stereo shops should know who they are.

Mine took 5 weeks to deliver.

Flavio

Zeus · #10 08-14-2002, 10:39 AM

Hi Flavio,

Nice install, the door panel speakers look great!

I'm wondering - I just posted a thread about it - how did you fit your Alpine CD changer into the glove box? Did you have to make any mods? My Alpine S624 doesn't seem to fit in my W124 (300E) glove box and I know the changer is the same width as yours...thanks!

Chris

Flavio · #11 08-14-2002, 12:36 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Zeus
Hi Flavio,

Nice install, the door panel speakers look great!

I'm wondering - I just posted a thread about it - how did you fit your Alpine CD changer into the glove box? Did you have to make any mods? My Alpine S624 doesn't seem to fit in my W124 (300E) glove box and I know the changer is the same width as yours...thanks!

Chris

I had to cut the glovebox out a little a the back but since the changer is in front of it it is not visible. If you remove the liner from the car it is much easier to fit and try.

Flavio

Zeus · #12 08-14-2002, 01:25 PM

Ah, so that's how you did it!

I just took an extra long lunch here at work

and emptied out my glove box completely to dry fit the changer. It fits in 4/5 of the way right now. I figure if I remove the liner as Ashman said, or trim it like you did, it should fit snugly.

Did you use mounting brackets for your changer or is it held in place by friction (I couldn't see any in the pics) Thanks for the reply!

Chris

Flavio · #13 08-14-2002, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Zeus
Ah, so that's how you did it!

I just took an extra long lunch here at work and emptied out my glove box completely to dry fit the changer. It fits in 4/5 of the way right now. I figure if I remove the liner as Ashman said, or trim it like you did, it should fit snugly.

Did you use mounting brackets for your changer or is it held in place by friction (I couldn't see any in the pics) Thanks for the reply!

Chris

Held by friction so no brackets, just some doublesided linen carpet tape. There's nowhere the changer can go! I put some Armaflex on top of the changer to keep it even more steady. Because you have a 6CD changer you might have to use brackets or figure out something else but it is not really hard to get the changer in there.

Flavio

Zeus · #14 08-14-2002, 01:40 PM

Yes, mine's a little shorter, so I might make some custom brackets if necessary, but seeing as it is such a tight fit, they may not be necessary. I'll play around with it this weekend and I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks for all the help!

Chris

#15 02-25-2003, 12:56 PM

Flavio- wonderful install. Many many many thanks for sharing it with us- it made my day!

I am an audiophile and I was concerned with the build quality of the panels- they look very nice.

Structurally are they very rigid? When you play bass for instance without the high frequency channels of your amplifier on, do they "rattle" at all or buzz or burp? I was also wondering about the placement of the drivers being so far back. Do you think it would have sounded better if the door panel speakers were moved forward as in Neil's car- see

Speaker Upgrade on W124s

I was wondering if his sound might be more coherrent because the drivers would be located a little closer to one another and perhaps behave like a point source.

Also how much cubic volume do your door panels have? Could other drivers be used? Are they ported through the magazine pockets or are they sealed?

Did the Vinyl match perfectly?

All I can say is WOW!