W124 Door Speakers - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

#16 09-26-2002, 08:48 AM

Thank everyone I think that i will just stick with my rear shelf speakers, and upgrade them. I dont think that i will put any subs in because i cant bring myself to cut up the rear shelf!

gsxr · #17 09-26-2002, 05:00 PM

Ummm, guys, the purpose of having speakers in the front doors is not deep bass, and they shouldn't be viewed as "subwoofers". You want door speakers to provide midbass. The dash 4-inch mids can only play down to about 150Hz or so, and your subwoofers in the trunk or rear deck should only play UP to about 70-80Hz. That leaves you with a gap between ~75-150Hz, which is where the door speakers come in - to fill the gap (which is basically the whole third octave in the audible music spectrum). Look at MB Quart's 3-way separate systems with a 6, 4, and tweeter. You would use this (for example) and only let the 6 play down to the sub crossover frequency (say, 70Hz.) If done properly it does make a difference. The location is fine because the lower frequencies are non-directional.

The qeustion is... does it make enough of a difference to warrant the cost ($500-$1000)? I don't think so. I'm going to be installing a system in my car shortly, without the door speakers, so I'll find out firsrthand:

Infinity 42.5i front dash speakers
Infinity ??.?i rear speakers (not sure if I'll use 4's or 5's)
Infinity Perfect 12.1 subs (two in sealed box in trunk, removable)
Denon DCC-8570 deck (I love the analog volume knob!)
Soundstream Reference 705s 5-channel amp

mushedroom · #18 09-26-2002, 05:07 PM

hey gxsr....
that's the point...it's really not worth the money to do door midbass subs since they don't have the audible positioning to be effective other than being a bootie vibrator (leftside for driver, rightside for pass)...
hehehehehe

hey kolo,

why don't you port out your first aid kit area...
if you want to take out the system, all you need to do is replace the kit and take up a small piece of sheet metal...
no one will ever see it....

gsxr · #19 09-26-2002, 05:12 PM

Exactly. But a lot of the preceding posts were basically saying the door woofers (they are not "subs") are not needed, and/or don't do anything. That's not true, they are kind of needed, and do something, it's just not cheap!

BTW, that JehNert setup is SWEET! I emailed them for more info. Looks like they use MB Quart drivers. I like the fact you don't lose the door pockets, either. I wonder if I became a dealer in the USA what cost would be...

I'd love to use those in my other car, which will be getting a much more complex system (someday)... I have the amps (S/S Ref 1000sx, 644s, & 300x) but am undecided on most everything else.

mushedroom · #20 09-26-2002, 05:16 PM

i got a price for the coupe version which is literally only the bottom section of the door panel, with three speakers per side...
and they wanted 1,120 euros which is roughly about a grand...shipped....
yikes....

but to be honest with you the door (mid) subs only are good if you're system is being played with the windows up and the volume at 3-10...otherwise in an aftermarket system, you'd probably have an enormous amoutn of bass from the trunk which would over power, and drown out the door mids...even if you had quartz, etc. in there
at which case it just becomes money wasted.

gsxr · #21 09-26-2002, 05:24 PM

Wow. Was that $1120EUR including the speakers, or just the panels with no speakers (drivers)? Also, their website showed the coupe/cabrio setup with FOUR drivers per door - wow, that must sound impressive, almost don't need subs in the trunk at that point... :p :p

BTW, it also depends if you want sound quality, or just LOUD. If you only want it to boom, forget the door speakers. But the only way to get tight midbass punch up in the front soundstage where it belongs is to have something (forward of the driver's ears) bigger than the 4-inch in the dash, and the doors are about the only option.

mushedroom · #22 09-26-2002, 05:27 PM

that price is with speakers...
and you would totally need subs in the rear because the door speakers would emit a thud versus the glorious harmonious hollow thunderous BOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM

lol
besides i'd be more concerned about the door speakers hitting so hard as to make the side door panels pop off while you're driving...ugh
and that would suck major!

:p

pentoman · #23 09-26-2002, 06:34 PM

My £0.02

I have never heard a single car hi-fi using Door speakers that sounded GREAT. I attended a small, but professional audio meet (in a pub car park! on a sunday morning!) a while ago, and many of the guys were using component speakers: mid/bass driver in door, and tweeter on dash.

Most were using $500+ components too, but the best I could say is that they didn't distort, and produced loud, though muddled and not very low-down, bass.

The distance between dash mounted tweeter and door mounted mid/bass driver means you'll never get sweet midrange - they are very hard to integrate.

It is an ADVANTAGE that we have dash mounted speakers

! A *good quality* pair of speakers up there give a far better soundstage, and beautiful midrange (I mean it - you'll want to listen to anything with a female voice in it over, and over). Mine are Boston Acoustics FX4 4" coaxials. High-pass filter them (if you buy good quality they'll take all the power you throw at them) and get the bass elsewhere (subs, rear shelf, whatever) - if you try to get it from up front, you'll probably muddle up the rest of the sound.
Don't run them from the head unit either.. these are the speakers you'll be hearing most - do them justice and amplify them if you can!

Perhaps someone has had luck with mid-bass-only door speakers, combined with near full-range dash speakers?

later!

Russ

190E -
Boston FX4 4" dash
Boston FX4 4" rear shelf
Alpine Type-R 10" sealed enc., trunk
Kicker IX404 amp <---- I need more power!!

mushedroom · #24 09-26-2002, 06:35 PM

i concur with russ!

Badinfo · #25 09-26-2002, 07:46 PM

hehe.... just to clarify, the mercedes speakers in the doors are subwoofers.

mushedroom · #26 09-26-2002, 07:49 PM

"subwoofers" is the term used, i like to think that they're really more... "thunk" sound makers....

ke6dcj · #27 09-30-2002, 01:31 PM

The Jehnert's are in the wrong position, that's why I custom fabricated these below. My ears don't like the sound of seperately located mids, tweeters, and woofers, hence I'm using ADS co-axials for a co-herant point-source.

:-) neil
1988 360TE AMG
1993 500E

Daesun · #28 09-30-2002, 01:51 PM

The W124 door speakers are in poor locations for midrange. But they are perfect for midbass. They were an essential part of my system, as they bridge the gap between the 4.5" midrange dash speakers and the 12" sub in the trunk. You can read about my setup here. If they are installed and tuned properly, dedicated midbass drivers in those door locations will make a world of difference. They really help tighten up my bass, and I get plenty of "boom" from my custom bandpassed 12.

gsxr · #29 09-30-2002, 04:13 PM

I agree with Daseun... he summarized what I was trying to say earlier.

gsxr · #30 10-02-2002, 03:47 PM

I emailed Jehnert and they quoted me about $1000 as well (the sedan panels are a bit cheaper than the coupe.) One thing I did not notice at first, but these are complete systems with tweeters included! That makes the price a little more tolerable. For the coupe, they say it includes four 6's, one 4, and one tweeter per side... not a bad deal. It looks like they use all MB Quart drivers.

I wonder if I can get them down on the price...? I want only the door midbass setup, and I would use Quart coaxials in the dash (like Neil said, you want your mid & tweet from the same point source - but the lower midbass is non-directional so it's OK to be in the door.) Hmmm... I also need to ask them if they come color matched or if you have to dye them? I'd like more photos too.

Is there any dealer in the USA for this stuff? I like these because you don't lose your door pockets... and it's all a bolt-in too, no cutting required.