Rogue-CLK

Is factory Bose or HK better than any aftermarket systems?

Glyn M Ruck

Cars are a hostile environment for sound & I gave up a long time ago & enjoy my high end system at home.

My car has the Logic 7 system fitted & I'm pretty happy with it as car sound goes.

betrezra

My factory system with addition of iPod interface suits my needs.

Louie D

Happy with what I have in the factory system....

kb24forlife24

The only music I listen to is the song coming from the exhaust.

phingoc

+1.

I have the oem bose system, and its perfectly balanced between bass and high notes.

The only thing that i dont like is that the headunit turns the volum down a bit when im slowing down like getting of the motorway.. does anyone know how to deactivate that function? I have the prefacelift comand..

M-Rods

When I got the car, I brought it to my friends stereo shop, he looked up what he could do, after looking at his confused facial expression, I decided the factory stereo was good enough for me.

badbenzz

First thing I did was have a Reus System put into the car and have not looked back. All the speakers were replaced and the amp. A subwoofer was also added. The only thing that remained was the head unit. Therefore, I have a high performance stereo with the factory look.

Rogue-CLK

Knew some1 was gonna say something like this lol

I replaced all 4 speakers,2 tweeters, 12" sub, amp, DVD headunit all Kenwood. I wanted more bass and I got it lol. Wondered if any1 kept all speakers but upgraded only the sub.

Rudeney

I put an aftermakret system in the kid's C240 - it had the stock audio 10 cassette deck unit. I installed a Pioneer AVIC-7010BT. I used the built-in amp for the speakers and then added a Pioneer 12" sub in an enclosure along with a separate amp in the trunk. The factory door speakers rotted, so I put in some mid-priced Pioneer coaxials. The goal was not to go "all Pioneer", but the price/feature/quality points on each item met the needs. I used a Pyramid amp for the sub, putting out 600 watts (1200 peak). The system sounds fantastic, especially with less than $1000 invested (bought the AVIC as refurb for $400). Even though the C240's sub will really "draw attention", and the whole thing will get way too load, I think the overall sound quality is much better in the CLK with its HK system. It just sounds "more full and rich" even though sometimes with the top down on the highway I;d like more volume out of it.

I have no intentions of replacing the CLK's factory system. Even though everyone says the COMAND NAV is hard to use, but I swear I find it easier than using the AVIC or the system in the wife's Jeep. Basically, the major annoyance is using the joystick to enter letters - it's too bad they didn't allow using triple-tap on number pad (like sending text messages before smart phones). I only listen to SIrius and iPod, both of which I have as factory options in the CLK and they work just fine. All I need to do is add the Bluetooth interface and I'm set.

Rogue-CLK

Couldn't use the factory amp, fibre optic cables blah blah blah. I was debating whether or not to go 3-way or coaxial but ended up 3-way for the lower speaker (closer to door jam) and a component set up too. Both not amplified tho, if I do would it b louder/clearer? Starting to regret it some times but then the sub kicks in and I'm happy again. Love/Hate thing I guess

midnight AMG

I kept all my speakers and changed only the sub (T1 rockford fosgate 12" with custom box); rockford fosgate 500 w mono block amp.

I usually have the rear passenger right side door open so the bass direct blasts directly into the cabin. Sounds amazing to me!

Will dynamat eventually.

Rogue-CLK

Wanted to do that too, most cost affective. Got the 1000W mono amp :P but since Im doing a sub might as well do everything else... -_- hey would u know the specs of the factory system? X watts blah blah blah?

kb24forlife24

Haha I'm not being sarcastic. Ever since my muffler delete, I have not even turned on my COMAND system. I love my exhaust!

Glyn M Ruck

The HK L7 system realistically pushes out about 60 to 70 watts RMS per channel. These are real watts RMS not the various & meaningless Peak power ratings quoted by many.

Let me assure you that a genuine 500 watts RMS from one channel in a car would make your ears bleed & cause permanent hearing loss.

The practice of adding the power of channels together to give a total ouput is also misleading.

Then there are issues such as speaker efficiency to consider. Ouput at a specific frequency or range at 1 metre for a 1 watt RMS input.

Higher power does not = better. Total distortion at the specified level requires consideration.

Don't be fooled by the power claims numbers game. Quality of reproduction has nothing to do with watts. All you need is enough to drive a specific speaker to a level below which unacceptable distortion occurs due to cone breakup, thermal issues or amplifier clipping & to be able to do that continuously.

Rogue-CLK

Forgot to mention I had the factory Bose system, the L7 spec should sound way better then Bose (newer system). Bose wasnt loud enough but it was clear. I haven't changed the settings like freq 80hz, 100hz, 120hz, 150hz, 220hz. Not sure if it makes much of a difference but right now i put it at 150hz :/ (speaker setting) the sub freq is another story I put that halfway and bass sensitivity almost at max. Is there a guild on how to set it up? Or should I just take it to a shop? Thanks for the info

Glyn M Ruck

The best guide is to trust your ears & set it up the way you like it. Try to keep the response as flat as possible with minor tweeks you like.

The only other method is to find a decent shop that can do a frequency sweep of your car & try to flatten the measured sweep response with the graphic equaliser. Car acoustics measure terribly with wild peaks & suckouts.

bheng

upgraded my audio because I had the stock audio 10. love the sound and still do

with all the bells and whistles, i considered it pretty useful compared to what I used to had. My only regret now (about 3 years later), i feel like i could use a smaller sub and box so it would take less room OR made it so that it mounted to the where the stock sub is located... but i didnt want to cut into the car or anything.

Rudeney

Peak watts are important to meet the demands of volume ranges. When there is a sudden crescendo, you need an amp with a good peak output in reserve. Most amps "continuous" rating is half or less than peak, which is fine as long as the continuous is enough to power the speakers at average volume. Larger and less efficient speakers require more power. Smaller, higher-quality and more efficient speakers with a weaker amp are always a better choice over more power and larger or less efficient speakers. I think the Bose and HK systems tend to use decent speakers with good efficiency and their amps are well tuned to match. They won't "rock the neighborhood" but they sound decent. The worst factory radio I've had recently was in my BMW X3. The best is a tie between the Bose in my ML320 and the HK in the CLK550.

Rogue-CLK

How about the amount of speakers? More is better? Currently have 4 speakers and 2 tweeters but the rear seems lonely lol got spaces for them but not sure why they didn't put them in (factory)

My speaker set up is currently 280Watts peak 80-120 RMS, 6.5 inches each. 12 inch bandpass sub, mono class D amp 1000Watt peak 300 RMS. all these should be better than Bose but apparently I didn't adjust or tune it so it kinda sounds decent but it could be better,

Yidney

I left mine original for a different reason. For whatever reason I like to keep my cars as they came from the factory even if that includes an ancient nav system or a radio that doesn't even display song titles. Those little quirks are just part of what the car is. My next car will have some other quirk. I suppose I could put air conditioning in a Model T, or a different grill on an Edsel, but it would alter the experience.

Rudeney

More speakers are no necessarily better. Other than needing a pair for stereo, there are only a few reasons for more speakers. One is to fill the area with more sound and focus the center of the sound stage on the listeners. Another is to use specialized speakers for better sound reproduction, i.e. tweeters, midrange, mid-woofers and subs. Sometimes using more speakers introduces timing discrepancies, so a signal processor is need to correct for that. There's a lot of science involved in selected and placing speakers in a car. That's why the high-en optional sound systems (like Bose and HK) sound decent - they work with the manufacturer to use the right equipment for the specific model. Of course they usually don't give you enough power and often some cheap components to save money, but otherwise, throwing speakers and amps at a car may not make things better, just louder.

Glyn M Ruck

Any decent amplifier that that achieves adequate RMS power all channels driven will by the very nature of it's power supply have good transient response.

The number of speakers depends what you are trying to achieve. If you want to create some sort of stereo soundstage in a car you don't want too many speakers.

If you are trying to achieve a quasi surround sound then the more the merrier within reason. The rear shelf is not a great place to mount speakers due to UV exposure. Yes I know Benz usually stick the sub there.

One problem with modern speaker design is that some of the finest drivers have the lowest efficiency. In fairness these are not the sort of drivers you would mount in a car.

Trying to achieve really refined sound in a car is extremely difficult & expensive & you can do a lot of damage to a car in this pursuit. I personally can't stand the sort of thumping ghetto blasters that some people try to build into their cars. I like things to sound natural & realistic.

No car needs a 12" sub. You would be better off with a decent tight 10 inch W7 from JL Audio or similar.

It sounds as though you have enough power. I would start by getting the most out of what you have first before considering any more speakers & amps.

Rudeney

Tell my 18yo that - she will just turn up the bass to drown you out. She actually has the idea that she needs a second sub (and amp!) in the C240 because she doesn't get enough bass. Sheesh! Kids!

Rogue-CLK

Yeah my sub is more then enough for me, the speakers just don't sound right, too many options for me to choose, right or wrong choices :/ currently speakers are at 150HZ. I use 2 save-able settings of 3. Setting 1 MOAR BASS when I'm with the boyz. Setting 2 less bass little to no thump. I prefer best of both worlds but those settings... -_-

Ps sub takes up more then half but still usable, groceries yes, set of wheels? No LOL