UPDATE

I took my 2006 CLS 500 to an automotive audio specialist to replace the 2-way 6 1/2 inch component speakers in the front and rear doors. I had Infinity Kappa 60.7cs component speakers installed because they are 2 ohm speakers and have a sensitivitity of 95 db on 1 watt of amplifier power. I also had Dynamat installed in both doors to help cut down on road noise and vibrations.

While the technicians were working on the speaker installation, I asked them to check the sizes of the subwoofer and surround speakers in the car. The subwoofer in the trunk is a 4 ohm 12 inch speaker. The surround speakers in the rear deck are 3 inch ones. I am planning to replace the subwoofer and surround speakers shortly and have Dynamat installed on the rear deck and in the trunk. Then I plan to replace the U.S.-spec Harman/Kardon COMAND audio system with a Euro-spec one to get DVD capabilities.

I hope this helps someone else who wants to upgrade the speakers for the Harman/Kardon audio system in their CLS 500.

 

Let us know what components you use to replace your stock speakers and such. Thanks :thumbsup:

 

I had 2 Infinity Kappa 60.7cs sets (6 1/2 inch component speakers) installed in the front and rear doors and a Pioneer Premier TS-SW1041D (10 inch shallow mount subwoofer) installed in the rear deck. The car audio shop that performed the installation made a custom low profile subwoofer box so the new Pioneer subwoofer could fit in the same location as the original subwoofer. This solution enabled me to get significantly better quality bass without giving up any trunk space. While this Pioneer Premier shallow mount subwoofer is not for people who listen to rap or music with exaggerated bass, it does play bass very solidly to complement most musical styles and it works well with the Infinity component speakers.

I selected the Infinity component speakers because they are 2 ohm speakers and have a sensitivity of 95 db on 1 watt of amplifier power. This means the speakers are very efficient and get the most power out of the stock Harman/Kardon LOGIC7 COMAND audio system. The Pioneer Premier subwoofer was selected for similar reasons. It is a 4 ohm subwoofer (which is the same impedance as the stock subwoofer), and has a sensitivity of 87 db on 1 watt of amplifier power, which means it will play deeper bass on less amplifier power. The original subwoofer was a 12 inch speaker and sounded boomy, probably because it was not in a subwoofer enclosure and there was no sound dampening material on the rear deck. The new 10 inch replacement subwoofer gives me tighter and, to my ears, more musical bass. Being a musician (I play drums and percussion) for quite a few years, musicality and overall coherence of the sound is what I listen for in car speakers. This new speaker/subwoofer combination now does pretty well in those areas, given some of the limitations of the stock COMAND audio system.

To address the sound dampening issues, I had Dynamat installed in both doors and the rear deck to help cut down on road noise and other types of spurious vibrations. For those of you who do replace your audio system and speakers, installing sound dampening material at the same time is one of the best investments you will make to ensure you get the best sound from your new speakers.

The end result is a car audio system which, though based on the stock COMAND head unit, plays music quite well and sounds more like an audio system you would expect to find in a higher end automobile. Whether the source is FM radio, satellite radio, CDs, or an iPod, the improvement in the overall sound is noticeable. My musical tastes range from rock to jazz to classical and a lot in between, and it is nice to be able to enjoy music more.

I do plan to replace the stock COMAND head unit when I can find a better one. If anyone knows of an aftermarket company that makes a high quality COMAND-type head unit that is expandable (for example, has DVD, Bluetooth, GPS, iPod, satellite radio, and HD radio capabilities), works with the CLS 500's vehicle management systems, keeps the steering wheel controls, and is compatible with the fiber optic wiring, please let me know.

For those who might be interested, the Infinity speakers can be found on the Internet for about $150 per pair, and the Pioneer Premier subwoofer can be found for about $110. With the cost of the speakers and subwoofer, the sound dampening material, the custom subwoofer enclosure, and installation, the total expense of this upgrade was about $1,300.

 

I'm not very happy with the sound from the stock speakers either and I'd like to do something similar. I'm putting this on the list of mods. Thanks for the info,

 

For whatever reason, every owner on this forum has an issue with the sound quality of their CLS. While upgrading the speakers is a good option, the best bet is to amplify the car by upgrading aftermarket amplifiers fed through a signal processor. Alpine, JL Audio, and Rockford Fosgate all make signal processors that help this issue. Adding just an amplifier and processor will immediately improve the sound quality with even the factory speakers.

 

I simply decided to replace tweeters with Dynaudio MD100 I already had in another car: don't know today, but a few years ago they were perhaps one of best and wider range capable tweeters.
I had to mod a bit the plastic .. but at last everything's ok.
sounds great.
Unfortunately now I perceive door speakers and maybe the overall power of the system as feeble ..
I still have 2 very fine 8" macrom that were really good and would like to install but as far as I understand from you, there's not a proper ready location.

 

yep, the sound system in our cars are terrible.. Im not sure why MB choose to use Harmon Kardon.. My wife has a Bose factory system in her Escalade and it blows my system away.. Im embarassed but i dont want to change out the head unit either.. I want my ride to look factory so i havent done anything yet.. keep us posted.