[artinsharolli]

I just bought a 98 Ml320 nice carbon fiber interior.
lookin for a nice stereo system to put in it. please reply if you know any good companys that make cd recievers for my Ml320

 

[artinsharolli]

if you know any good speaakers and subs to match please tell me. I have $800 cash to slend on all this

 

[alroumi]

kenwood has good cd/m3 player head unit that i installed a week ago and i love it
trust me its good

 

[artinsharolli]

I still need more info

 

[artinsharolli]

I still need more info

 

[dfskinner]

You could slend me some of that $800, and I'll help you pick some stuff out?

Just kidding, do a search on audio on the website, so past post have been really good at audio info.

Good Luck,

 

[Roman]

I think that the 16GB MP3 player that Alpine has is a really good unit

can't wait to get one

its $330 on Crutchfield - same price as on ebay

for speakers, go to SoundDomain.Com, go to Shop, and look for Image Dynamics.

I don't think you have enough money to go with sub/amp

unless you ditch speakers, and want lower line equipment.

If you really want the best sounding sub, I got one for sale - Phase Linear Aliante 12 SVC4, $300 with shipping in the USA; doesn't get better then this

and you do know that ML already has a factory soundsystem?

_edit_

Alpine:
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-g960ce2KAG2/cgi-bin/prodview.asp?i=500HDA5460&g=50800&search=alpine+mp3

Image Dynamics speakers:
http://www.cardomain.com/shoplist~b~Image+Dynamics~t~2-Way+Speakers

or Infinity:
http://www.cardomain.com/shoplist~b~Infinity~t~2-Way+Speakers

but, I found ML system to be plenty for me; only thing I would like to do is ditch CD changer in favor of the Alpine MP3

picture of my sub is under: www.sounddomain.com/id/projectg

 

[alroumi]

my modificatios for audio

my my is a 99 european version
okay
for my head unit also known as radio or reciever i changed my Mercedes Bose Headunit to a Kenwood MP3/CD PLAYING HEADUNIT part name or number is KDC-9023R and its really good i love it when you turn off your ml it hides or retracts something like this it costs me $375 with labour fixing cost

for the front speakers i got JBL GTO 606CE component sound system sized 6 1/2 which fits perfectly ans really sounds good it costs $165 so what did i do to the tweeters i installed them in the sail panel[]whic is great and im happy now becuase my ml sounds fantastic when you crank it up

and now for the rear speakers since i installed JBL606CE component speakers which i liked so i said why dont i change my rear speakers to JBL COMPONENT again so i got a component jbl506ce and it costs $145
i installed it and its sounds
[]terrific soo i have to amps for the front speakers installed a Audiobahn A4004T
Multi-Channel Amp and for the rear speakers i connected them to a 250watt sony xplod amp

 

[ttaleric]

To whoever only has 800$ to put a system into their car. If you are looking at getting a new HU, Subs, Speakers, Amps to have your "pimpin" system. you better save up!!! To get anything decent your going to need at least double that. Defently go for a Alpine headunit, JL (not W0's), PG or JL amps. Just with the subs and them amp, you might be spending a little more then 800$

If you get Alpine's nice unit right now, not the HD one but the regular mp3/cdr/cd4w/wav/windows media player, you could look at spending 299+. Those door speakers, you should go for some MB's or JBL's or some Boston Acoustics. If you were looking at getting some Pyle 15's and a legacy 10,000watt amp and with a Boss HU i could see the 800$ . But if you want a pimpin' system, save your money! And get something really "pimpin". Just what i would do.

Good luck.

 

[bigcatny]

artinsharollli,

Do you have the BOSE system in your car or is that the basic stereo. It looks like the basic to me. The quick answer is, do you have a sub-woofer box under the driver seat or not. If not then it's the basic stereo.

Others are right that suggestions really depends on what type of sound you want. Do you want to do the upgrade in stages or is this it. Do you want the neighbors window to rattle when you drive by or what.

If your going to go in stages I'd suggest thinking in this order.

First upgrade the speakers in the Front, then back.

Then consider adding a subwoofer system, either self powered and enclosed like the INfinity Basslink or something similar to save cost and installation. Or you could go more "pimpin" with much more involved amps, custom enclosed subs and the like but you will be blowing the budget.

Last I'd consider the headunit as the output of the original system isn't bad it's just limited and I hate the interface but more than clean and has decent enough bass/treble adjustment which is all a well designed system should need. Basically, it's important but the least bang for the buck.

Based on the fact that you have a limited budget I'd doubt that you can hear a difference between the OEM head unit and anything else BUT it will Look different and for many, that's also important.

Have fun

 

[Roman]

every good system starts with a good deck

that is what anyone getting a sound system installed, should look at

fromt here on, its speakers, then amps, then subs

I find my Bose stereo to be plenty for me, I wouldn't mind having more bass, but I don't have the real need for it

I'm still debating though, maybe I will install it, the sub is great and hard to find in the first place

 

[Roman]

artinsharolli
where did you get the carbon fiber stuff? or is it a sticker?

 

[bigcatny]

The original ML deck (even the basic stereo) is already a decent deck. Afterall, it's not a Hyundai or car rental Ford.

As the car comes, it's not the weakest link in the system, the speakers are. Do the search, pretty much the overwhelming opinion as far as sound goes. Of course you can't see the other stuff just the deck so maybe sound isn't his top priority, then maybe a deck is what works for him.

Anyway, changing only the deck presents some problems for him as very few decks can drive the 2 ohm load required by the original speakers. furthermore, the drivers, cone (pretty much every part) of the OEM speakers is about as cheap as it gets. In reality, the front drivers are 4 inch speakers mounted to fit a 6 inch hole. Just by switching the front door speakers will gain in loudness, Mid-Bass and clarity while the best deck in the world will sound exactly the same using the original speakers. In fact others have tried and found exactly this result. (use the search). People who complained about exactly this heard no difference till they swapped out the speakers. Logically if your speakers cannot produce high quality accurate sound then what does it matter what's hooked up to it, you'll still get the shitty sound because that's all it can do. Ah but I digress...

But hey, it's his system, his budget and it's up to his priorities.

 

[Roman]

never heard of that before

why would m-b run a factory stereo at 2 ohms? who told you that?

 

[ttaleric]

most factory stuff runs a differnt ohm levels then aftermarket. I dunno why, but that is what i have seen also.

 

[5thMB1stNew]

Roman,

MB has used closed hifi systems, including inline sub amps at the rear doors and 2 ohm speakers in the front, for a long time. Makes them very expensive to upgrade. They also changed systems during the model run.

My '94 and '92 E's had the same head unit and completly different speaker systems. But you could at least change the head unit without starting over. Bose only makes it worse. My ML320 is and will always have to be the stock bose system. No way I could justify what it would cost to replace it after what it cost new.

 

[bigcatny]

Roman,

read this:

it's very long but also very detailed and will tell you everything about the original system that started this thread. Thanks to Ken Yee for keeping this on his site.

http://www.keysolutions.com/M-Class.nsf/8178b1c14b1e9b6b8525624f0062fe9f/ad96201628ab6ea685256921000856f8?OpenDocument&Highlight=0,bose

By the way, MB would run a system like this to discourage you from upgrading. Personally, I just ripped everything out and started from scratch but that's what I always do.

 

[Roman]

the thing is though, if anyone really wants a sound system, all you need to do is run a power wire for the HU and amps

the rest is a cake

I think thats kind of stupid

hm learn something new everyday ...

 

[bigcatny]

Roman - 1/19/2005 10:43 PM

the thing is though, if anyone really wants a sound system, all you need to do is run a power wire for the HU and amps

The point is if you have a new head unit, amps and speakers plus the labour to properly install everything especially the wires not to mention the cost of the wires then you have an entirely new stereo. Of course you can do this but it will cost much more than just being able to swap out componants and many won't do it.

However, the existing stereo can power new speakers without problems and it will improve the sound noticably for very little money.

 

[ttaleric]

What do you mean run a power wire for the HU and amps? The Power wire for the existing HU would be fine. Unless you want to run the Vdrive on the Alpine, which you need a 8ga/10ga wire. And to run that is very easy. The best place i found to run my wires is passanger side remove all the flooring and you will see a rubber bushing that the AC filter/ i think its the ac filter, plugs into and just pop right through that one, and push the wire up, and BAMMMM you see the wire floating up above the metal peice covering your firewall..