PLEASE HELP!!! Installing an Aftermarket CD Player on 1991 300SL M-Benz

[spins23]

if anyone out there who got there Mercedes factory stereo replaced with an Aftermarket CD Player In-Dash Unit please i need your insights and suggestions. I have a 1991 300SL Mercedes Benz and would like to replace the M-Benz factory stereo with a new CD Player. some people say that i need to replace everything like the speakers, amplifiers, and all that....some people say that i just need to buy a harness for the new CD Player....im confused! so please let me know what should i do. thanks in advance! Zee

[Marc-1]

Hi again,
Just posted for your other question about the amp. The speakers will be very difficult to improve apoun (by replacement with any other type) They are made as a unit and are of odd, very odd size in diameter. As far as adding this and that you're in for a trip !! Lots of work and LOTS of patients..... The remote unit (as described in the last post) comes out with two special 'keys' and then the climate control unit comes out, then the screws, then the wood....VERY EXPENSIVE AND DELICATE.....then the console, then the ENTIRE compartment behind the seats, then the molding on the floor just between the door and seats, then the trunk walls all come out, then..... SERIOUSLY.... would you like to continue???? How about a nice CD Player that works through the radio??? The original sterio is quite nice and you may also find and buy the original CD changer as yet another option. The things I did list are reall what you do need to go through

[tecqboy]

Changing out the stereo in this vehicle is not for the in-experienced or short - of - tempered. I consider myself quite expert in this area having done it professionally. This vehicle was the worst I ever worked on. My advice, have it done professionally, preferable by someone familiar with the vehicle. Or, buy the after market CD changer that plugs into the antenna jack of the radio. The radio is in the trunk BTW, so mounting the CD back there makes that an easy hook up. The Becker radio in there is probably a cassette type. The head controller is in the dash console, the tuner / tweeter amp is in the trunk, and the woofer amp is under the seat. The amps have speed sensitive volume control inputs. All very complex. The factory speakers are actually quite good. There are NO after market speakers that fit this vehicle directly. I added surface mount mid / tweets speakers to the rear compartment and a woofer into each storage compartment. I kept the factory speakers in the doors and dash. The Blaupunkpt MP3 3000 receiver I bought fits nicely in place of the Becker console head. But getting to all this stuff is difficult. Anything you break along the way will be very expensive to replace. Tod

[spinedoc]

This is insane. Why do so many people insist that no after market speakers fit this car?!?!?! I dropped in a 3 speaker component system, 6.5 woofers, 4" mid and 1" tweets in the front doors and dash. The 4's fit in perfectly, no mods, just used the provided brackets. The 6.5 fit in almost perfectly, just had to trim the boxes a hair to allow for the speaker terminals which stuck out. Replacing the speakers took me about an hour per door, very easy job, I mounted the crossover boxes in the trunk for easy access. Part of the trick is not to buy american oversized speakers. I used MB Quart, they have more of a low profile basket, specifically I used the PSD316 3 way components, like I said fit in pretty much perfect. The JL's also are a good fit.

As to accessing the radio and behind the console, the console is an absolute breeze to remove, 10 minutes at most. You just have to be careful to remove all the necessary screws and not force anything.

My advice, get a head unit with a decent amount of power, at least 45w/channel. Put the head unit in, put in the MB quarts or JL in the doors, and run your speaker wire. If you really want to do it right install an amp. You could go crazy and drop a couple of subs in the rear hatches as well.

Bottom line, it is very possible to replace both the head unit and your factoryspeakers, but its true there is a lot of potential to break expensive things along the way, so be careful.

[spinedoc]

By the way, I listened to some well meaning folks on the audio forum who said replacing the factory speakers was impossible, so I did not do it for a while out of fear. I finally took the doors apart and took the boxes to a custom shop to see what would fit. Sure enough both component systems they suggested fit in no problem.