Need advice on speakers and speaker harness
 

1991 500SL I would like to change the front door speakers. Are these a component system? Or are they just separate speakers. I would like to go with the Infinitty Kappa series, but am not sure if I just need 2 different sized speakers or a component system. Do I need to worry about crossovers, etc?

Also, anyone know of a good source for speaker harness? I would rather not cut into the factory speaker wires.

No one with a 500SL has upgraded their factory speakers???

The speaker system is a 3 way with a euro 6.5" low in the door and a 3.75" high in the door and a 1 " tweeter in the dashboard location. There are no direct drop in speakers as it takes some work to convert to standard sizes. I have done plenty of them but it is labor intensive. Lots of possibilities I can sell you some Kicker speakers that will go in pretty well. What power are you running???????/


Scott@lajollaaudio

Thanks Scott, check your PM.

Right now its running off an Eclipse 7002 head unit and the factory amp. I was hoping to keep it just like that, and just drop in new speakers. I dont mind not having it louder at all, I dont crank up the volume, I just wanted the speakers to be higher quality than the factory.

There is not enough power from the factory amp to run better woofers as tis is less than 25 watts per ch. You will have to find something really efficent to do this!

Scott

Scott, I have 2 problems. I dont have the time or inclination to rewire all the speakers, etc etc, and I cannot find a shop that will work on my car. Thats why I was hoping to get away with a Sunday afternoon and taking off the door panels and dropping the speakers in, but alas I suppose it is not to be.

I do have a JBL 4X50 RMS which is almost new, sitting around. I would bridge the front channels for the mids and tweeters and use the 2nd channel for the door woofers. Would that give me enough bass? Or should I go for a second amp and a couple of woofers in the rear hatches. I could always bridge both channels, the amp is 2ohm capable. Like I said, I dont need a lot of power, just better sound.

Did you get my PM? I would like to get the parts from you for a hopefully easier fit. Are there speaker harnesses that just plug into the MB ones? Can you make the hatch doors with the subs in them so I dont have to cut up mine? Should the bottom door speakers be pure woofers, or two way speakers?

Thanx much. I really didnt want to get my hands dirty on this one, but it looks like Im the only one who will do the job!!

I did get your pm but as I have just got home at 1:00 am I am without time and energy to respond to your pm. I am sorry as I am really busy at work. The jbl amp will work fine to run the fronts and i think we should start with that first and you can decide if that is enough for you. Does your amp have electronic crossovers in it? Your best bet for the woofers is woofers not coax's. As far as speaker harnesses I don't usually use the harnesses so I would recomend running new wire into the doors.

Scott

I have a separate 3 way crossover I can use with 2 amps if need be. In my younger days I wired plenty of amps and head units, alarms, remote starters, etc. But in just wiring my remote radar/laser unit I can see that the 500SL is a bear to run wires anywhere. Plus I have grown old and lazy, you know what they say, time is money.

So a full woofer in the bottom door and a 2 or 3 way in the top door? The kicker speakers you have, will they just fit into the existing bracket? Or do they entail some work? For the top speaker I was hoping to use Infinity Kappa's, I really love their sound, and they have a 3 way in 4", but may be too large. For the front tweeters I have no idea what to get.

I just took a closer peek, and it looks like the Eclipse 7002 head has been wired directly to the speakers. Looks like the front speaker outputs go to the tweeters and both door speakers, and the rear outputs are not used (not the preamps). It sounds actually very loud the way it is, just not good quality, so I think I can get away with dropping some speakers in, as well as dropping a couple of 6X9's in the rear hatches and running them off the rear outputs of the head.

Please keep in mind I still am not after volume or thump, just a nice, low to medium volume quality.

a four inch in the top location is possible but it takes a lot of work to fit it. No mater what you do it will not be a drop in. By the way the sl I dont find very difficult to run wires in. The doors are easy to get into and the tresholds come off easily...

Scott