After 8 years of "no high and no low, it must be BOSE", I finally replaced both front and rear speakers with infinity Kappa series 63.7i front and 52.7i rear, makes it a total 11 speaker (including the bose subwoofer) system. I must say, wow, what have I missed. The subtle bird chirping in the kiddie songs was not heard from the bose speakers before is now clear and crisp. Driving the ML is definitely more enjoyable these days with new speakers and new shocks/springs.
FWIW, I did not replace the head and the bose amp, nor the sub. I had to reuse the bose speaker housing to install the new speaker. Also put dynamat on all doors to improve sound isolation and reduce vibration. 2 nights in the icey cold garage is well worth the effort.

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98 ML320 (gone but not forgotten)

Could you detail the removal of whatever panels you need to be able to replace the speakers and the locations of screws/clips, please?

the door panels are secured by 2 screws hidden behind the fake wood trim on the door handle. then there are I think 8 plastic clips that pops out with force. Once door panel is removed, you will see the speaker and it is secured by 3 screws, unplug the connector and loosen the 3 screws and you can take the whole speaker assembly out. You will have to reuse the speaker assembly housing. The bose speaker is secured by 4 screws onto the housing. Everything is self explanatory once door panel is removed.

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98 ML320 (gone but not forgotten)

supradupe,
Did you just replace the stock Bose speakers while retaining the Bose head unit? Or did you also replace the head unit with an aftermarket one? I would like to just upgrade my speakers.
Thanks in advance, John

..another potential project for me!

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2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car

Thanks G-Benz, The excitement of getting rid of my bose speakers made me skim past what I really needed to know. Sounds like some Sound Domain price matching on Infinity speakers in my future.

Yes, it's definitely an easy project. Make sure you get the 2 ohm impedance speakers, as this is what the bose speakers are, 2 ohm. There are not too many speakers with 2 ohm impedance on the market though.

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98 ML320 (gone but not forgotten)

supradupe,
Wow big is the sub? and do you remember what resistance the Bose sub had?

supradupe, did you add speakers next to the front windows as MB did in the more recent models, or just replace the dooor units? Thanks.

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87 300e (white/black; amg body kit)
88 300ce (red/cream; amg body kit)
93 300ce cabrio (white/blue/blue top)
93 300ce cabrio (black/grey/black top)
98 ml 320 (totaled @ 137,000 miles)
99 clk320 (black/grey/black top)

Just Enough--- I don't know what kind of impedance the sub has. Never took it out of the driver's seat. Sorry, couldn't help you on this one.

richard28--- I didn't bother. Just swap the bose with a kappa 3-way inside the door panel, doing the sail panel will probably take me several more hours to carve out the hole and wiring.

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98 ML320 (gone but not forgotten)

Thanks

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87 300e (white/black; amg body kit)
88 300ce (red/cream; amg body kit)
93 300ce cabrio (white/blue/blue top)
93 300ce cabrio (black/grey/black top)
98 ml 320 (totaled @ 137,000 miles)
99 clk320 (black/grey/black top)

The sail panels are a very quick upgrade, took me about 30 minutes to install my tweeters in there and the wiring is simplicity itself. Putting the tweets up there helps to raise the soundstage from your knees to in front of your face where it should be. A worthwhile upgrade when you get the inkling and funds of course.

One other thought is that one-day when your inspired to bypass the bose amp you'll find the speakers suddenly have more highs and lows since the bose amp equalizes the speakers out to create the BOSE sound.

I went ahead and installed the Infinity 63.7i front and 52.7i rear. Pretty straight forward installation, the rear housings needed some material removed to clear the bigger magnet structure but this was easily done on the bench since the speaket housing can be pulled from the vehicle. When I had the doors apart I dynamatted the full interior of the doors covering the dreaded MB sound felt to prevent it's eventual peeling off and transfering it's adheasive to my windows. The dynamat's function turns out to be two fold and an easy job. The finished project provides a much more articulate frequency response than the original Bose speakers. bigcatny, I do hear the Bose head units coloration but with the Infinity's improved clarity (especially on the vocals and high end) the system has a very nice vacuum tube tonality now as opposed the the stock Bose speakers wet blanket sound.

what about side air bags?? thanks bob

If you have the 98-00, the side bag has it's own little cover. The door panel has a very nice cut-out for the side bag. not to worry. The side bag has it wiring nicely secured onto the door skin. Once you pry out all the plastic fasteners, you will see the cut-out hole.

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98 ML320 (gone but not forgotten)