flargosa

Has anybody successfully replaced their rear speakers? I called my local audio installer and he said the rear speakers is difficult to take out . He suggested adding a sub, but that's it. I'm hoping someone here has done it before. Base speaker system of the GLK is not very good.

Mmr1

I had all speakers replaced, the installer didn't say the rears were harder to do.

sethro1980

I haves installed my own speakers in numerous cars. The rear speakers in the GLK are much more difficult than any other vehicles I have experienced. You cannot just unscrew the speakers... you have to deal with rivets that are on the side of the sheet metal you cannot access. I had to cut the speakers out and then use a dremel to get the rivets out. I ended up having a pro with a bigger selection of tools finish the job. My advice is to replace the fronts and leave the rears alone. Then add a sub and an amp for the sub. Alpine makes a great little amp that hides up under the dash and provides 45 watts to 4 speakers... enough to get them LOUD, and doesn't need a large amp wire kit. It also stays cool.

Logikal

I can speak to this.

Ive had a few MB over the past few years, and currently I have a 2015 GLK 250 and a 2013 C350 AMG Sport. Both with stock/base audio systems.

I've recently purchased and installed 2 x JL 12TW3 (shallow) Subs + Alpine PDX-M6 Amp into the rear boot area (where the storage space is) but on top of the AdBlue tank in my GLK 250. The base upgrade is amazing. Very clean and powerful. Its exactly what I hoped for.

In a GLK 350 it would be easier (under the context of removing your spare tire from the wheel well) But it was very hard to build out the system in a flush/clean manner for the GLK 250 due to the lack of space/depth. However, we succeeded. (PM me for pics if interested)

Now I struggle with an incredible unbalanced audio experience.

There are no mids in comparison to the meek tweeters screaming to keep up with the 600w+ dual 12 inch subs. And I higher desire the idea of upgrading all my door speakers/components.

I have spoken to 2 different professional audio resources, they both claim its a large undertaking to swap any of the stock speakers in this vehicle.

There doesn't appear to be any compatible wiring harnesses, as well as the speakers being riveted (as someone mentioned earlier) Lastly, the factory amp specs seem hard to find, and I'm not fully sure which speakers would be the best fit.

Thoughts anyone?

Mmr1

It's to bad your not here in Chicago , I found a very good installer that's cheap, and they know Mercedes MOST Optical, the dealer referral and others were about double the price. I have a 2013 glk and replaced the whole stereo. You definatly need new speakers and an amp. I had the 2 way, Hertz 165 xl put in front and back. A 12" powered JL sub. An Audison Bit Dmi, (optical interface) Bit 8.9 (amp and processor 520 watt ) They hooked up to the Mercedes MOST optical system on the audio 20 head, I had the head unit reprogrammed to bypass the head units Analog signal, so my signal out of the Audio 20 is Optical. The 8.9 is 520 watt and super small in size, it will fit under the front seat ( best location for proper temperature) yea it's clean and loud, my ears are still ringing, (to loud) . If you have the cash and really your ears know quality sound, get the Voce amp and better speakers (at least for the front) . The Voce is class A front channel, the 8.9 is class D all around. Speaker instal cost was about 350 complete, amps about 400. They even had the Audison rep out to custom program the sound with interior microphones. You still need to tailor it to your music. In the mean time you can enter the Mercedes maintenance program to boost treble , cut mid and boost bass to get a bit better sound, the audio 20 is ok, it won't match Audison. The 165 XL are one of the most efficient speakers , they do work with the audio 20 in terms of efficiency since the stock sound system is like 2-3 ohm. Yes you won't find specs on the audio 20. The only thing you may have to look for is someone who knows and hacks the Mercedes system , to set the Audio 20 on bypass so you can access MOST optical. It's worth it to get the cleanest signal, if you have quality input like cd or high bit rate streaming, like Apple Music.

Mmr1

The rivets you bust out and old speakers are trashed, don't waist time trying to save them, sure there is a wiring harness, your speakers work right

sethro1980

I have the same amp, but I only installed one 10 inch JL sub. The amp is behind a trim panel in the driver side of the cargo area, and a custom fiberglass box that uses as little space as possible installed without having to cut any trim is secured around the amp. You definitely need to upgrade the speakers for a more balanced sound. When I first swapped mine out I was a little disappointed. Sure, nice bass, but the mid range sound wasn't as good. Anyway, changing out the whole stereo and installing multiple amps and mixers is way too expensive for the small gain that you'd barely notice. Especially if. you're using the Bluetooth connection for music, which trims out low and high frequencies. Here's an easy solution that I did. You still should find a decent install shop to do this.

Replace the front and rear speakers with an affordable but efficient, quality set that don't need a ton of space, like Polk db6501 for the front and Polk db650 for the rear. Rather than wire them directly into the existing stereo, wire in the Alpine KTP-445u amp. It's tiny, doesn't get hot, and will easily fit tucked under the dash on the driver side. Wire up the 4 speakers to the amp and get 45 watts per channel; that doesn't sound like a lot but the speakers can get very loud but still sound clear. You could leave the rears alone and bridge the amp for just the fronts to get 90 watts, then adjust the fade on the stereo so 70-80% of the sound comes from the front speakers.

I still don't have perfect balance. It would cost at least $5000 to get that, and I'd rather spend that money on other things. You get decent balance with the stock system, but not enough power, clarity, or bass.