John Major

I currently have a Kenwood Excelon KDC X590 HU. I hate the fact that I can't really turn up my system past 25 without getting distortion. Plus it just doesn't seem it's as clear as it could be. I want to get some new speakers but the all seem to be 4 ohm. From what I personally know I'd have to rewire the whole car to bypass the Bose amp to run 4 ohm speakers. So the question again is, can I run 4 ohm speakers with what i currently have without having to rewire the whole friggin car?

John Major

Someone's gotta have an answer for me....

E55MKB

The Bose speakers on my E55 W210 uses 1 ohm impedance speakers.


In my case I replaced both Bose front speakers with Focal components speakers but I also use Kenwood Excelon amp to drive the two front speakers. Kenwood amp gets signal by tapping the front line out of the stock (Command Nav) head unit.

I left the rear speakers stock.

Much better imaging, clarity and volume than stock set-up.

netboy

does your Kenwood turn off when u turn off car engine and pull car key out?
i just installed Kenwood kdc-x891, and the unit wont turn off when car key is out! I have to manually turn off the HU. Installer said all aftermarket HU for mercedes is like that. Is he bsing?

rob13572468

thats absolutely not true... the reason why your HU will not turn off is because the installer could not find an ingntion switched lead at the radio harness. this is because all modern mercedes use the CAN network to send control signals around the car and the ignition signal is on CAN.

the solution for your vehicle is that the installer needs to run a short (18 inch) length of wire from the cigarette lighter plug (which is ignition switched) back to the radio. the lead can be accessed by pulling up the center console main panel (where the shifter is). finally, your installer might want to leave the mercedes brand vehicles to the profesionals from now on.

John Major

Oooh, you've got the good Excelon! But yeah, he doesn't know what the hell he's talking about. Mine works just fine. I did my install myself however, so that may have something to do with it. What harness did your installer use? I used the VW Metra harness. Everyone else here seems to use the same. So run with what I just wrote and see if it helps you out.

John Major

Are the focals 1 or 2 ohm impendant as well?

netboy

does my 2003 c320 coupe consider a "modern mercedes" and use CAN network? I paid 750$ installed! I should have do some reseach first, i just thought HU for mercedes with bose is kinda limited. kdc-x891 is only 400buk online. if my mercedes uses CAN, i'm going back there to let them fix it or i going to dispute the charge with my CC! Very incovinence to manually turn off unit.

netboy

i dont know what harness they use. does your unit compatible with ipod mini, i just borrowed my friend ipod mini to test it and it wont recognize it as ipod, only as usb which means i cant use ipod clone interface. or does it only work with 5 generation ipod and nano only? Also my AM is really bad, no signal at all inside house garage, maybe they didnt plug the antenna in!

jbondox

ya know it is sad to the see the caliber of installers today. And this guy is considered a "Professional Installer" Just sad, I wish i could have the phone number to the shop and installer... Just sad that a DIY'r has more knowledge than a Professional when it comes to the professionals job...

netboy

I just bought a 4GB ipod nano and it does recogize it as a ipod and use the ipod clone interface. so kdc-x891 only works with 5th generation ipod and nano only.

netboy

sheese, i going back there tommorrow to tell them to fix the problemS. He never told me there so many problems! Cant turns unit off by taking out car key, AM/FM receiption really bad, rear subwoofer is unfunctional/unhooked.
i paid 750$ installed, and they cant do ****! If they cant fit it, i going to pay them 500$ installed the most or i'm going to dispute it with my credit card!

rob13572468

there is another lead that is not hooked up properly which is the antenna amplifier turn-on lead. that one is behind the radio and simply needs to be hooked up to the HU remote lead and will solve the reception problem

netboy

just came back from the shop, they fixed the am/fm reception problem and the HU radio can turn off by pulling car key out!

my rear woofer in the trunk still unfunctional/disconnected. he said i need a separate amp for the rear woofer, aftermarket HU wont work with BOSE woofer. is this true?

also they disconnected my oem 6disk changer, but my disks is still inside! how can i take out the CDs when changer got no power?

M5CLK

I'm running 4 ohm MBQuarts with the OE digital Bose amp, OE center and woofer on my '02 C32. The sound is a huge improvement over stock Bose and everything working just fine. The only drawback is I'm running the MBQuarts at half of their intended power but it's perfect solution for my case and I like the sound just fine.

If you decide to change the HU as well, a German company called Dietz have module that can allow aftermarket HU communicates through CANBus and retaining full steering wheel controls. You can find them pops up on eBay.de from time to time.

http://www.dietz.biz/ENG/000000965c0...5c0e8915c.html

Dancer

Soundgate also makes an interface along the same lines called CanPulse4. It appears to accomplish the same enhancements using vehicle-specific and headunit-specific cable kits. I suspect it might be the same unit, as Soundgate seems to import things for resale.

Good luck...