I have a 92 500E and am interested in a stereo upgrade that is as unintrusive as possible.

Does anyone know the speaker dimensions for the dash, door and rear deck?

Can anyone make any specific product recommendations for the above?

I'm assuming that any DIN head should easily replace the original radio/cd changer.

Thanks,

Bill
92 500E
Boston, MA

Dash and rear deck speakers (odd sizes) should be similar to that described in the w-124 stereo removal feature under the DIY tab at the top of the page; http://www.peachparts.com/Wikka/W124Stereo

A lot of 500E specific info is at this thread;
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?threadid=3149&highlight=500E+stereo

Even more info is available in the archives using the search function.

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John

2003 Firemist Red/grey leather SL 500
2015 Palladium Silver/black mbtex GLK 350
1987 Smoke Silver/burgundy mbtex 300E Sportline (SOLD)

Click to see 87 300E

Bill,

Given the very low impedance of your factory speakers, replacing them will result in very low volume from the replacement speakers. Sure, you can replace the head unit, but it won't work with the car's factory amps & speakers. So, it's all or nothing.

Sorry!

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"If God had meant for us to walk, why did he give us feet that fit car pedals?" Sir Sterling Moss

Michael
2014 E63S Estate
2006 SLK55
1995 E500
1986 Porsche 944 turbo

I put 5 1/4" MQ Quart coaxs in the dash of my '8 300E. Definately requires serious cutting. Speakers have less mid range than I would like and research indicates this is probably due to the location. FWIW, If I had to do it again, I would forget about a stealth install, I don't believe the sound quality is adequate. Good luck and let us know what you decide.

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http://www.belmontgroup.com/images/300Ewcolor.jpg

'88 300E 265K
'91 300TE 155K

Gebhard,

Did you replace your head unit? Otherwise, the poor tonal quality likely relates to the speakers' incompatability with the OE head unit.

BTW I have both 4" mids and 1" tweets up under the factory grilles on the dash, and they sound great!

__________________
"If God had meant for us to walk, why did he give us feet that fit car pedals?" Sir Sterling Moss

Michael
2014 E63S Estate
2006 SLK55
1995 E500
1986 Porsche 944 turbo

Thanks for all your input. I am now resolved to can the entire original system and start over. I'm driven by a amp that cuts in and out. I don't have esoteric audiophile needs just like modern sounding system. I would like to minimize the sheet metal surgery and sacrific ultimate sound quality to do so.

It seems like Michael could fit 4" speakers in the dash, I've seen that 6" rounds cans fit in the door and maybe a 5 1/4 in the rear deck.

The doors seem like a good place for woofers.

Also, has anyone used a good car audio installer in the Boston area?

Michael,

Thanks for your interest. I'm running a Kenwood deck (top of the standard line, not Excelon), an Arc Audio 2100 amp for the fronts and a Arc 2050 bridged mono for the IDQ10 sub in the trunk. The fronts are 6 1/2 s high in the doors (mounted like yours, I forget which one of your vehicles) and 5 1/4 coaxs under the factory grills in the dash wired through a MBQ 3 way crossover. It sounds very good, but it seems the better it sounds, the more I expect of it. I have the midrange up all the way on my Arc EQ and it just isn't quite there. I thinking of making custom door panels with Boston Pro or Focal Poly Kevlar 3-ways, with the mids and tweeters aimed towards the listening position.

GeneralBilly,

6 1/2s fit nicely in the doors, I didn't watch the depth of the speaker and ended up having to make a 1.5" spacer to keep the magnet from hitting the window when it rolls down. What you have described is certainly a modern sounding system, that was my goal too and then the car audio bug bit me and now I'm looking for audio perfection. FWIW, I've read almost all the posts regarding w124 audio and Michael is certainly one of the experts on this subject, so if he says 4s and tweets sound great under the stock grill, I'd bet they do!!

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

__________________
http://www.belmontgroup.com/images/300Ewcolor.jpg

'88 300E 265K
'91 300TE 155K