what size/kind of speakers can i replace my w123 300CD stock speakers with?

[mushedroom]

anyone?

with any suggestions...
preferably something that's not completely all treble.
ugh
thanks!

[E320wagon'94]

I run Pioneer TS-G's in the dash (4"), and Alpine Type S in the rear (6.5", they fit, but only if your willing to do a little cutting, the rear shelf is so soft I cut it with a serrated kitchen knife). If your running a factory headunit, I don't know how well the Alpines would sound (there underpowered off of my Clarion) But the Pioneers should sound ok, and maybe something like the pioneers in the rear, you want something with a lower power handling capability for deck power, unless your willing to run an amp.
PS- Stock sizes are 3.5" in dash and 5.25" in the rear (4" fit in dash with just a little bit of trimming the speaker mounts)
-Zach

[mushedroom]

I'm thinking of getting one of those decks with 40+amp's built in...
is that going to sound bad?

there's an old school aftermarket perma-mounted 2 knob tape deck in there now...
but oy vey dare i touch the bass knob...only to get nothing but complete crap...
so it's trebel 100% all the way which is making my ears bleed
ugh

[carnut]

On mine I have 6 inch ones in the back and 4 inch in the dash. When you pull the rear speakers out you will see a "sub" tray under the shelf. That limits the depth you can use plus the fuel tank is right there! I would think a sub box in the trunk and holes cut in the board in front of the fuel tank and nothing but speaker grills on the rear shelf would work, but I'm almost 60 and I listen to all the "dead" artists anyway!

[PanzerSD]

in my SD, it at all similar with speakers, I have Pioneer's up front and rockford 5.25's in the rear with a twin-10 sub box. the bass sounds good, but I think alot of the lower freq's are deadened by the fuel tank....
going to put some 5.25's in the front door via custom speaker pods..


What do you guys think about Blaupunkt? ?

[Nate]

Originally Posted by mushedroom

I'm thinking of getting one of those decks with 40+amp's built in...
is that going to sound bad?

Been a while since you've played with car audio, huh?

Most common headunit wattage is 50 watts peak, per channel (50x4)... RMS around 20-25watts per channel...


You want to spend money, and have a PERFECT sounding system? OR spend less money, and get something better then what you've got?

I can vouch for how good dual brand speakers sound off 50x4 power, PRETTY DAMN GOOD... I put 4 6.5" speakers in my truck (2 in the doors, 2 on the trans hump)
Cant touch the CDT's in my trofieo, but they were $60 shipped. I paied $35 per pair on the DUAL brand ones. Unless you're gonna amp them (which I plan on doing), you dont really want really expensive speakers, because they're designed to put out major power that your headunit will NOT do.

If you amp your speakers, the sky is the limit... You can spend over $800 for a pair of speakers... 5k on an amp (how do u power it????????????? dang)


Anyways, for a headunit, budjet about $100-$200 for a good entry leval one... DO NOT BUY DUAL OR SONY HEADUNITS!!! (they're extreamly overrated in power output)

Get a name brand. Alpine, pioneere, kenwood... All good stuff, all have stuff under $200. Unless you want an extreamly sofisticated headunit, all the fectures you want will come with it... basic 3/5 band EQ, fader, precets, and clock... If your headunit doesnt have that, return it, it's crap...

Just let me know what you're looking for, and it can be done


let the 123 owners guide you on speaker sizes... just remember, bigger is better, and do NOT hack up your car. O, buy an automatic wire stripping tool, and a crimper. they're like $10 each, and are AWESOME. Use bullet connecters, so you can easily change stuff. Use dilectric grease on every electrical equipment so it wont corrode, and will improve conductivity


Good luck
~Nate

[Jeremy5848]

I ran new wires and installed MB Quart speakers, 5 inch rear (DKE-113) and 4 inch front (DKE-110), these are two-way speakers with coaxial tweeters. Bass is not wonderful but has to be expected with the small cone size. The rears fit with no modification and I was able to use the factory grilles so the installation is invisible. The front speakers just arrived and are not installed but I hope to be able to install them invisibly also. I have an old Philips stereo with slightly more power than the factory radio and it looks good in the dash.

I got the DKE-113s from Onlinecarstereo.com (on sale, $55/pair) but they kept saying that the 110s were on backorder (since July!) and finally (last week) said they could not get them. They tried to push me into the more expensive PKC-110 for $140/pair but I shopped around and found the DKE-110s for $50 at Sonic Electronix.

If you want to hack up your package shelf you can install 6x9s that will have better bass or put a subwoofer in the trunk.

Jeremy

[mushedroom]

thanks for all the input...
sorry i put the thread in the diesel section, i just wanted to hit an audience that was specific to my car, and not get lost in the flurry of audio discussions of the whole and complete line of new and old benzos...

thanks again...

[Nate]

Originally Posted by Jeremy5848

I ran new wires and installed MB Quart speakers, 5 inch rear (DKE-113) and 4 inch front (DKE-110), these are two-way speakers with coaxial tweeters. Bass is not wonderful but has to be expected with the small cone size.
Jeremy

Why'd you go with MB quart speakers? They are NOT made by mercedes in any way, shape, or form... They're made to handel 75 watts of music power, spiking up to 150 watts... You "might" be giving them 20 watts RMS, or less depending on how old your headunt is.

Making bass takes ALOT of power, and I think if you'd hook up a cheaper 75x2 RMS amp ($50 tops), you'd get alot better sounding speakers.

I still dont get why people spend so much on speakers, only to underpower them, and give them a bad rap...

Nothing personal Jeremy, just the way I see it
~Nate

[mushedroom]

Originally Posted by Nate

Why'd you go with MB quart speakers? They are NOT made by mercedes in any way, shape, or form... \

um i don't think i care about mercedes made speakers...
actually, i'd rather go with aftermarket especially if they can hide behind original enclosures, etc.
and yes it is understood about the amp, etc. but i'm trying to get this all done without the use of an amp, etc.

[Nate]

Originally Posted by mushedroom

and yes it is understood about the amp, etc. but i'm trying to get this all done without the use of an amp, etc.

So, why did you spend big $$ on speakers, only to under power them? Most of the cheaper speakers have a high sensitivity rating (90db+)... Yours have a sensitivity of 85, I think... I'm not sure what exactly that means as far as loudness increase, but I know it'd sound better if you sold even the 2 rear 5 1/4" speakers, and replaced them with a more sensitive speaker...


No offence intended, as allways, but just wandering the reasons for what people do...

~Nate

[greasybenz]

the pioneer 4in speakers i had in my W124 sucked imo! thats why i gave them to my dad he has them in the dash of his W123 run by the radio's power with 6.5 dual's in the back. Sounds fine for everyday listening, not crazy like the setup in my W124

Go with 4in rockfords for the front they are good! those MB quarts need to be pushed with an amp.

[mushedroom]

Originally Posted by Nate

So, why did you spend big $$ on speakers, only to under power them? Most of the cheaper speakers have a high sensitivity rating (90db+)... Yours have a sensitivity of 85, I think... I'm not sure what exactly that means as far as loudness increase, but I know it'd sound better if you sold even the 2 rear 5 1/4" speakers, and replaced them with a more sensitive speaker...


No offence intended, as allways, but just wandering the reasons for what people do...

~Nate

hey nate,
i haven't purchased anything
and also fyi, mb quartz speakers are approx. 55.00 per pair, pretty cheap if you ask me...

[Andy_M]

Originally Posted by Nate

So, why did you spend big $$ on speakers, only to under power them? Most of the cheaper speakers have a high sensitivity rating (90db+)... Yours have a sensitivity of 85, I think... I'm not sure what exactly that means as far as loudness increase, but I know it'd sound better if you sold even the 2 rear 5 1/4" speakers, and replaced them with a more sensitive speaker...

~Nate

Well, you have to pay close attention to exactly HOW the manufacturer is specifying this number because some play games with it, but generally it means that the speaker outputs an 85db sound pressure level, at 1W input power, at 1 meter from the speaker. The higher this number is, generally, the more "efficient" the speaker is, and the less power it requires to drive it to optimum level.

Nate is correct in saying that many people under power their speakers...and he is correct in saying that it negatively affects their sound quality. Here is why, and a good general rule of thumb to go by:

Lets say that you have a 16 watt per channel RMS head unit and your usual listening level is about 1/3 volume. Over simplifying the math here a bit, that means you are running at about 5W average output level. It is a fact that strong musical passages or bass pulses can easily draw up to 10x that amount of power to reproduce cleanly, so in this case that would equate to around 50 watts. This should be the minimum amount of power per channel that your system has available ot it. The difference between the 5 watt listening level and the 50 watt peak level is called dynamic headroom. If your system does not have enough dynamic headroom designed into it, those pulses and passages will go into a condition known as clipping and will distort, which is not good for either the amp or the speakers.

BTW, this clipping starts to happen LONG before your ears will actually detect it....but it is grinding away at your amp and speakers, cutting down their lifespan, the whole time.