simplest upgrade please! - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

#1 08-16-2002, 01:17 AM

i have 94 E320. recently my factory cd changer gave up on me. i went ahead and bought a sony cd changer 'cause the dealer wanted 600 bucks for a factory one. w/ the sony changer, i also installed a new sony deck in my dash, replacing the factory deck. i put in the sony cdx-m630 w/ motorized face plate and cd player.
the deck improved the sound a little bit and now i wanna do something to improve the speakers. i'm a starving college student! thus, i don't want to spend too much going crazy doing all those cool things everyone else in this forum seems to be doing!!! i want to simply upgrade the speakers in the car (the two in the front dash, the subs in the doors and the 2 in the rear) any suggestions? my main complaint is that the speakers in the doors suck. maybe change the door and front dash speakers? dunno...
the receiver i got gives off 23.2 watts per channel minimum continuous average power into 4 ohms, 4 channels driven from 20Hz to 20kHz (copied from manual!) can i just replace the speakers and use the audio outputs from the receiver, run new wires to speakers? and leave all the other wires there unused? any suggestions for speakers (and please include approximate cost). can i do it myself? i'd like good sounds w/ decent bass. for music from dave matthews, to linkin park, to nelly to dido, from santana to pink floyd... across the board music kinda guy...!
please remember, i'm staying as far away from cutting any metal or anything hard. i wanna just drop in speakers if possible. would doing this noticeably improve sound quality?

thanks!!!
joel

JCE · #2 08-16-2002, 02:14 AM

On a tight budget, I would be inclined to replace the dash speakers with either the pop-in Rainbow coax speakers available from Scott at www.laJollaaudio.com , or the 4 1/2 inch Diamond Audio coax speakers also from him, if they will fit. I just replaced the front speakers on my C230 with the diamonds, and they gave me 1000% improvement - better than the Bose speakers that were an option on that car. I am going to try and make the Diamonds work in my dash on my 300E, but have to check on fit. If Scott isn't there, Donald at the store had a ton of info - their number is 1 (800) 467-6545. Ask them about the Rainbow vs diamond option. (One nice thing about the Diamonds - they can be bi-amped! I plan on running the front Head unit channels to the mid section, and the rear channels to the tweeter section. That way the fader will act as a 'brilliance' control, and there is more power for each stage. The diamonds come with built in low/hi pass filters. My HU preamp out will be used for an Infinity Basslink 10" sub at 100watts, about $280 for the small box with the amp, sub, and phase controls.

The door location is pretty poor for a mid. If you don't want a seperate sub I might look at putting a 12db/octave roll off low pass filter cut at about 150hz and putting a 5-6 1/2" sub in the door slot. The rears I might just leave alone as they are just going to be there for rear fill.

If you haven't already installed the headunit, the wiring might get tricky, as some of the speakers (at least in the rear, and maybe the door) have their own external amp, I believe. this will complicate the wiring a bit - there are some discussions in the archives, try a search under 300E, E320, speakers, amplifiers, door, etc. key words. Or probably Scott or Donald will have the info for you.

Good luck with the stereo project.

MUYAMAN · #3 08-16-2002, 08:25 AM

John,

I know when I removed the rear-deck speakers to port the sub in the trunk the speakers used these funky little Euro-connectors to clip into the speaker wires.

I have two questions for you:
Do the front speakers use the same little funky Euro-connectors, and if so, will the diamonds or rainbows clip right in? I want to upgrade the speakers, but not at the cost of not being able to VERY easily return the stereo to stock (meaning that I don't want to cut the existing speaker wire). Is there an easy way to use those connectors with new speakers?

This point may be moot if the front speakers use something simple like spade connectors, but I'm assuming they are done similarly to the back speakers.

Thanks!
Jordan

JCE · #4 08-16-2002, 06:58 PM

The front has the same connectors, but with a lot of lead wire between the speaker and connectors. I just trimmed them real close to the speaker, and put spade connectors on the leads, leaving the connectors in place. If I ever put the old ones back in, I would just re-solder them to the leads. Maybe Scott knows if the Rainbows come with the euro connectors. Alternatively, the front should be an easy area to thread new larger guage speaker wire from the new head unit to the new speakers if you don't want to trim wires.

Those connectors are also what connects the fader control on my car to the 2 channel Becker head unit, splitting it into 4 channels. There are a number of threads talking about bypassing the fader, modifying it for use with a subwoofer instead of rear speakers, or using it for something else (Aux input for the head unit, garage door opener button, etc.) Or maybe Fastlane or Partsshop can get the connectors and you can make a new harness between the connectors and the speakers.

#5 08-16-2002, 11:31 PM

are the rainbows really that easy to drop in? simply taking the old ones out and replacing them w/ the new ones? and does that improve quality a lot or a little? how bout the subs in the doors? simplest solution?!?! how much would i be looking at spending in putting in a 5-6 1/2" sub in the door slot and is that something i could do myself? would i have to replace anything else besides the subs? like the amps that might be there? i'm confused as heck!!! and i'm a starving student who wishes for more but can't so must find the easiest route!?!? what to do what to do?!? john, can u further explain what you recommended for the doors? please! thanks in advance!
and any other suggestions would greatly be appreciated!
**i'm leaning towards getting some rainbows and putting them in myself in the dash (can i use the existing wires already there? only pull out the old speakers and put in the new?)**
please advise!!
thanks!!!!!!!

#6 08-17-2002, 12:49 AM

to clarify things guys, i've put in a sony deck (sony cdx-m630, gives off continuous 23.2 watts, peak at 50 something). i plan on putting rainbow speakers in the dash. will my new deck be sufficient to run the rainbows and rear dash and speakers in the doors? would i be getting 2 way speakers for the doors and just using the subs by limiting it to 150hz? or getting actual subs for the doors? and how bout the amps that are supposedly w/ the existing speakers in the doors?
how will all this sound?

JCE · #7 08-17-2002, 01:33 AM

The Rainbows are supposed to be exact size replacements for the dash speakers, using the same type of snap in mounting as the old factory speakers. Since you already have door speakers up front, and don't want to install a sub, my thinking is to email or call the pros at la jolla audio about the euro connections on the rainbows, the wiring and speaker recommendation for the doors, and how to wire in or omit the fader and rear speakers. They should know about any wiring tricks with the doors. Your Sony probably puts out at least as much power as the stock unit - it is the wiring, fader, and factory amps where you are going to need some care and good advice.

As far as the sound from the front speakers, I haven't done my w124 yet except to pull the front speakers, disconnect the rear ones, and install some 20 year old full range 4.5" Concord (Harmon Kardon group) speakers made for a Chevy S10 in place of the factory speakers, still run off the Becker head unit. This was a real major sound improvement, so I imagine any 2 way coax modern speaker will sound even better, especially with a modern Sony head unit.

You might also try doing this in stages - replace the dash speakers with new ones and see how you like the sound improvement. Then worry about the doors, etc. If you want to do all the speakers at once, and are on a budget and can't find a thread discussing your exact year and model, your best bet is to contact the people that do this for a living and have them talk to you. I got my speakers for my C230 from LaJolla audio by mail (after I heard them in person), and they answered a lot of install questions for me both in advance and after the purchase.