Vehicle: 2001 Benz E320 w210 79k miles . Picked up 6/16/08
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 17
I upgraded with the infinity 6022i's for front and rear deck. perfect fit . even use the factory speaker bracket and screws. no rewiring involved. for the rear door i used the 3022cf fit perfect. other then have to use an extra screw to hold it in place. looks completely stock. im adding an alpine amp this weekend and it will really set them off
Use crutchfields live chat, then get em from somewhere else. they will tell you what fits in the factory brackets.
Also here is the master sheet for the 99 + e320 . Mods feel free to make it a sticky.
I like the way mine sounds from the factory, so I don't miss speakers there. Bose must think that they don't need them, and they would spend more on a prototype getting it right than any one (sane) person would spend on his own car.
Probably the biggest thing for me, though, is that I can't hear the high tones very well, especially compared to what I could hear 30 years ago.
The system to me sounds pretty good as well, but I've had to crank the treble up a fair bit. With a balanced system, you shouldn't (theoretically) have to mess with too much equalization (hence the term). I have a vintage Marantz amplifier for CD listening and coupled with my speakers (Altecs) the amp's EQ is flat and the sound is superb. The system is balanced and no one frequency (or range) is favored.
The only thing weird I find about the entire Bose setup in the w210 is that all the high-end drivers (tweeters) are at one's ankles. High frequencies are directional and hence the sound is somewhat deadened by the position of the drivers. That's why I am wondering about the whole pillar tweeter - it was put there for a purpose. Why Bose didn't use it could be due to myriad reasons...
It would be nice to connect it and compare. If I ever get around to it, I'll post an update.
Vehicle: 1998 E300 estate, 2001 BMW M5, 1978 Moto Guzzi Le Mans II
Location: Manchester, U.K
Posts: 126
I've not got the Bose :-( so my speakers were dual-cone in the door bottom & pillar mount tweeter.
I'm not using much of the standard install now. New head unit feeds sub+amp, & 4ch amp driving the new units in front, but standard rears for 'fill' only. I am retaining the standard speaker pods, as they seem quite good for a seal against the door card grille.
All looks standard from outside though (apart from big black box under the wagon rear cover ;-) so hopefully shouldn't attract too much attention. All the amps & gubbins are in the boot floor storage.
Linear Mode
