1988 "Zender" 300CE Coupe, 2009 Renault Koleos, 2007 Kia Rio Sport
Joined
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3,199 Posts
Hi Guys
Well there has been many questions posed about what we can replace in terms of rears speakers in our beloved W124's. As a general consensus though, MB (and other Euro manufacturers) opted for a weird ass size 13cm or just under 5.25 inches. Rainbow speakers etc often suggested as direct drop in's but not readily available here in Oz and a bit on the expensive side !
Well thanks to some detective work and other posts with some suggestions such as ".....I had absolutely no issue installing the 5.25" speakers in the rear deck. All you need is to have the stock speakers on hand...If you are all right with sacrificing the old stock speakers, there is a simple way for installing the 5.25" replacement speakers to the rear deck:
Turn the stock speaker magnet-side up on a hard surface. Hit the magnet with a hammer until the speaker begins to slide out of the plastic mounting bracket that was attached to it. Remove the speaker from the factory mounting bracket and, put the new 5.25" into the bracket. Drill holes into the original mounting bracket and screw the new speaker onto the bracket. The bracket raises the speaker enough out of the rear deck that the speaker
magnet will fit fine and you won't need to cut or drill any metal...."
Egad you uncouth brute ! Hit it with a hammer ????
Okay the 300CE Rear Parcel Self Speakers (and MAYBE other models I do not know) come fitted into a nice plastic mounting bracket which lifts the speaker away from the metal cutout and angle's it towards the front.
Clever design - why send the sound up into the rear window after all !
![Auto part]()
The speaker is very easily removed as it is held in place by two sprung plastic clips which are moulded into the mount plate (see picture)
![Auto part Metal Rim Wheel]()
Once the clips are released the speaker simply falls out - no need to wack the damn thing with anything whatsoever.
Now what you are left with is a plastic mounting bracket with a variety of small protrusions that help elevate and secure the speaker in place. The standard speaker has extra cutouts in its metal frame to ensure optimal placement in this bracket. (see pictures below).
![Auto part]()
![Electronics Circle Metal]()
So what about a reaplcement ? Well basically anything that has a circumference around the same as the existing speaker will fit. There are still any number of 5.25 inch speakers out there Infinity, Polk, Soundstream, Cadence, Clarion, Boston, Kenwood BUT my weapon of choice in this instance is the PIONEER TS-G1343R.
Inexpensive, 2 way13cm 140watt max !
![Loudspeaker Audio equipment Subwoofer Product Car subwoofer]()
TS-G1343R - 5¼" 2-Way Speaker with 140 Watts Max. Power | Pioneer Electronics USA
To make these baby's fit into the standard mounting bracket is quite easy.
See those 4 sets of screw locators (the 2 prong things) around the outside ?
They are light weight metal (unlike some other brands which need grinding) and with 3-4 bends of a pair of pliers they break off. Done in less than a minute !
![Audio equipment Auto part Car subwoofer Wheel Loudspeaker]()
Now before you try and fit them into the plastic bracket you need to remove the top 2-3mm off the 2 small plastic poles on the inside of the bracket !
![Product Tire Automotive tire Auto part Material property]()
Attach the speaker wires before mounting the speaker into the bracket and ensure that the lugs are sitting flat so that they do not hit on the plastic bracket .
![Wheel Tire Alloy wheel Rim Auto part]()
So now with a bit of gentle persuasion you should be able to fit the speaker into the mounting bracket with the wiring lugs passed through the bottom and accessible. Make sure you lock the speaker into the bracket with the 2 sprung clips !
![Audio equipment Auto part Car subwoofer Wheel Loudspeaker]()
Despite having a tweeter in the centre you can see from side on that the speaker sits beautifully in the MB mounting bracket and will not make contact with the speaker cover which incidentally has a molded circular shape in its center which conveniently sits right above the tweeter !
![Alloy wheel Wheel Tire Product Rim]()
So that's it ! Put the darn things back in, wire em up and off you go !
I am very pleased with the bass ouput considering they are only 5.25 inch speakers.
Cheers
Well there has been many questions posed about what we can replace in terms of rears speakers in our beloved W124's. As a general consensus though, MB (and other Euro manufacturers) opted for a weird ass size 13cm or just under 5.25 inches. Rainbow speakers etc often suggested as direct drop in's but not readily available here in Oz and a bit on the expensive side !
Well thanks to some detective work and other posts with some suggestions such as ".....I had absolutely no issue installing the 5.25" speakers in the rear deck. All you need is to have the stock speakers on hand...If you are all right with sacrificing the old stock speakers, there is a simple way for installing the 5.25" replacement speakers to the rear deck:
Turn the stock speaker magnet-side up on a hard surface. Hit the magnet with a hammer until the speaker begins to slide out of the plastic mounting bracket that was attached to it. Remove the speaker from the factory mounting bracket and, put the new 5.25" into the bracket. Drill holes into the original mounting bracket and screw the new speaker onto the bracket. The bracket raises the speaker enough out of the rear deck that the speaker
magnet will fit fine and you won't need to cut or drill any metal...."
Egad you uncouth brute ! Hit it with a hammer ????
Okay the 300CE Rear Parcel Self Speakers (and MAYBE other models I do not know) come fitted into a nice plastic mounting bracket which lifts the speaker away from the metal cutout and angle's it towards the front.
Clever design - why send the sound up into the rear window after all !
The speaker is very easily removed as it is held in place by two sprung plastic clips which are moulded into the mount plate (see picture)
Once the clips are released the speaker simply falls out - no need to wack the damn thing with anything whatsoever.
Now what you are left with is a plastic mounting bracket with a variety of small protrusions that help elevate and secure the speaker in place. The standard speaker has extra cutouts in its metal frame to ensure optimal placement in this bracket. (see pictures below).
So what about a reaplcement ? Well basically anything that has a circumference around the same as the existing speaker will fit. There are still any number of 5.25 inch speakers out there Infinity, Polk, Soundstream, Cadence, Clarion, Boston, Kenwood BUT my weapon of choice in this instance is the PIONEER TS-G1343R.
Inexpensive, 2 way13cm 140watt max !
TS-G1343R - 5¼" 2-Way Speaker with 140 Watts Max. Power | Pioneer Electronics USA
To make these baby's fit into the standard mounting bracket is quite easy.
See those 4 sets of screw locators (the 2 prong things) around the outside ?
They are light weight metal (unlike some other brands which need grinding) and with 3-4 bends of a pair of pliers they break off. Done in less than a minute !
Now before you try and fit them into the plastic bracket you need to remove the top 2-3mm off the 2 small plastic poles on the inside of the bracket !
Attach the speaker wires before mounting the speaker into the bracket and ensure that the lugs are sitting flat so that they do not hit on the plastic bracket .
So now with a bit of gentle persuasion you should be able to fit the speaker into the mounting bracket with the wiring lugs passed through the bottom and accessible. Make sure you lock the speaker into the bracket with the 2 sprung clips !
Despite having a tweeter in the centre you can see from side on that the speaker sits beautifully in the MB mounting bracket and will not make contact with the speaker cover which incidentally has a molded circular shape in its center which conveniently sits right above the tweeter !
So that's it ! Put the darn things back in, wire em up and off you go !
I am very pleased with the bass ouput considering they are only 5.25 inch speakers.
Cheers
