Lost With Beauty 400e - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

#1 09-26-2002, 05:01 PM

HI,

I HAVE A 400E And soemhow u m getting my hands on a 980 becker cd changer should i go with that or get an alpine cd changer as i have heard there are many problems with the 980 system is that true i just got this car with 35,000 miles and in a mint perfect condition and i m against changing the head unit what should i do to have cd play back in my car
please help ASAP
mani

#2 09-30-2002, 12:15 AM

Dude,
that becker in the car is not worth even thinking about or even worth upgrading.
Get rid of it ASAP !

Mike400E · #3 10-01-2002, 10:50 PM

I also have a '93 400E, with the original unit in place. The previous owner put in an Alpine 6 cd changer in the trunk, I have found it to be just fine. It definitely doesn't have many of the whizzy controls you would get on a new deck, but is sounds pretty good. (Especially after I added a couple of 10" subs in a small enclosure and ported into the cabin through the first aid kit to boost the bass!)

If you have the bucks, do a complete upgrade, otherwise you can just add the Alpine changer.

Zeus · #4 10-02-2002, 03:41 PM

The Alpine!!!!

Replace the head unit with an Alpine if you can as well. My Alpine CD changer has never once skipped during playback and it's fast. Changeover from one CD to another only takes a few seconds.

I'm sure your old Becker will make an excellent doorstop. They're also handy for tire props when jacking the car up, well...you get the idea...

#5 10-02-2002, 03:47 PM

I couldnt agree more with Zeus on this.
What I keep wondering about is, why did such a nice car come with such a bad audio system.
If there's a logic behind that, I have yet to figure that out !

But Alpline seems to work great with the setup. The problem area still remains the Bass factor. I dont really like the whole idea of punching holes in the back to let bass in from the trunk. I've looked at Infiniti's Basslink boxes.
Has anyone tried them yet ? how's the bass response ? Better than bazookas in comparison or worse ?

Mike400E · #6 10-02-2002, 04:18 PM

Mani:

The guys with 300E's have a different setup than the 400E. I have owned both, and I agree the Becker in the 300E is poor. The 400E system is considerably better. We have separate amps for the four main cabin speakers and the little bass drivers that are door mounted. This not only has a BUNCH more power than the head amp on the 300E, but having what amounts to completely separate circuitry for bass really helps the sound. It's still not up to par with what you can buy today, but it was decent for 1993, and as I said, it can be upgraded relatively cheaply.

If you've got a couple grand, chuck the whole thing, start over, and you will have an awesome system. If not, an Alpine changer will make a nice upgrade until your next big check!

#7 10-02-2002, 07:28 PM

Mike,
I agree, 400e's have a better audio system. However if Mani goes ahead and invests in a cd-changer at this point, spending couple hundreds on it as he mentioned, would that cd-changer be useful with an alpine system afterwards ?

Mike400E · #8 10-02-2002, 11:11 PM

Yes - it shouldn't matter. If at some point he spends serious cash and upgrades, it should all be compatible.

#9 10-18-2002, 03:07 PM

hi guys first of all thanks a lot for all ur advises they are pretty helpful but if i wann akeep my same head unit becker adn wanna add an alpine cd changer what kind of cables would i be needing and how many
thanks in advance
,mani

Mike400E · #10 10-18-2002, 08:42 PM

You will need three things: 1) Power. 2) Signal from the head unit. 3) An on/off source. My Alpine CD changer has a single wire I believe comes all the way from the head unit, and carries all three. It was installed before I bought the car. When I added subs and an amp, I used a power wire directly to the battery, which is in the trunk. I used a high level signal from the rear speaker wires, by simply splicing them in. A low level signal directly from the head unit, SHOULD be cleaner and stronger, but you have to run it all the way from the dash to the trunk. (And know where to wire it in at the head unit. I'm pretty sure the stock Becker does not have a "low level out" jack.) I used the power antannae as the on/off. If you dig around behind the left rear carpeted panels where the power antannae is, you can find where to connect it.

Email me directly if you want me to give you more detail!

SCLJA · #11 10-19-2002, 01:32 AM

The best solution if you are on the fence is add the cd changer and alpine makes an ai net changer that works with the old m bus tecnology that is compatiable with your set up so if you decide to change the radio out you can, you will just have to use an alpine. There are 3 cables and a translator module need to adapt an alpine changer and if you decide to use the ai net one there is a cable needed for it too. This is the best answer as it also allows you to play mp-3 discs in it. I you are interested call my shop @800-467-6545 m>f 8:30 to 5:30 and ask for Donald and he can give you a quote on all the parts.

Scott@lajollaaudio

#12 10-20-2002, 12:28 AM

hi guys thanks once again for being so help ful mike it seem slike u know ur cae inside out i m impressed adn yes scott i ll call on that number to talk to donald
thansk u all
mani

#13 10-20-2002, 12:31 AM

scott is there any MD head unit fro my car if i can only add on a md player insteqad of my becker adn do u guys carry any if yes let me know i want to get that asap
thanks mani

SCLJA · #14 10-20-2002, 08:30 PM

I think most of the md stuff is gone but I will see what Donald comes up with Mani!

Scott@lajollaaudio

#15 10-23-2002, 05:15 PM

hey guys i m attaching this site with my reply tell me can i go wrong with this coz i wanna keep the oem stereo system
thanks
http://www.minidisc.org/images/becker_zoom_4937.gif