Mershady_925

Hey all. I'd like to share my first, and in my opinion most essential upgrade to my car. I'ts an Audison Bit One and JL Audio amps/sub combo. My car was equipped with the Harmon Kardon speakers which i felt left much to be desired. I mean, downright torture.

I have had aftermarket systems installed in every car i've owned so this E class i've had for a few months now was definitely not going to be the exception. Even with the difficulty of having to keep the stock head unit.

I talked to a local shop (Custom Car Alarm in the SF eastbay) about upgrade options for a system with a much beefier low end and overall better equalization since i felt my HK system was lacking in nearly every department.

With the high number of channels from the stock amp to all the different speakers running through the cabin, I was sold on the Audison Bit One digital signal processor. It is not only able to handle all those different speaker channels (although having to combine some) but also has the ability to flatten the stock amp's signal and re-equalize everything to the user's preference through a USB to proprietary windows software on a laptop/PC. Picking up my car after the install, I was able to listen to the sound and have the tech tweak the sound accordingly.

The Audioson Bit one comes with a DRC that controls inputs that the shop was able to easily fit in to the center console. However, since the volume and bass can be controlled through the Command interface, there is not a whole lot of use for this. Except for the fact that you can program different user preferences in terms of EQ and switch between them on the DRC unit.

For the Sub I chose a JL Audio H0112-W6v3 which comes in a very sturdy ported box with and interesting design. I was told it was superior to the W6 in a few respects. I had heard a few systems with this generation of the 12" W6 and i felt like it was a good fit. I had to velcro the sucker down to the carpet because of sliding issues. I'm not gonna lie, its pretty big. However I almost never carry things in the trunk so the cargo space is not an issue.. I have taken it out once to get to the car jack but it wasnt a huge issue. Also, i took out the stock sub because, its garbage of course, and I needed to let an area for the bass to come through the trunk in to the cabin.

For the Amps i chose a JL XD600/6 6 channel amp to integrate the 13 or so cabin speakers in the car. And a XD600/1 to juice the JL 12" sub. Also, as seen in the pictures, the 2 JL amps, and (unseen), the Bit One unit are all hidden mounted on the drivers side quarter panel behind the trunk liner.

And lastly, I had a JL audio bass knob installed in the footwell/ under steering wheel area to control the subwoofer exclusively. Its great as a quick and simple control for adjusting the sub on songs that have much less or more bass than the average.

Overall i'm very pleased with the system and its ability to scream without distortion of any kind. I had the trunk insulated with a sound deadening material called "Road Kill Expert". However even without that, i believe the car's quality and sturdy construction insulates the sound very well. I can crank it loud and with the doors and windows closed, its not too noticeable from even 15 ft away.

One of the only issues with the setup is rattle from the rear of the cabin when low bass notes hit. The shop says it's coming from the electric roll up shade but to me it sounds like its coming from practically every piece of trim and plastic back there. At normal listening level its no distraction whatsoever. But if you have major bass going back there i think its inevitable to have at least some rattling.

Overall the system was very pricey, and there might have been another route that could have saved me some more money. But in my opinion thus far, im satisfied and have no regrets.

Royce118

Interesting write up. Did a similar set up on my car except for the fact that I do not have the HK System on my ride. I decide to go with the Audison Prima Bit 4.9 to save me all the trouble. Next, I upgraded my replaced my front speakers with Rainbow Vanadium series component speakers and is running on full active set up. As for sub, I am currently running Focal active woofer but will be looking to replace this with the Audison Prima line woofer in the near future. I am also having problem with the rear cabin of the car rattling when the bass hits. However, I am not sure whether the rattle is caused by my license plate or the electric rear sunshade.

Mershady_925

First off, props for being one of the few who has also shared their audio upgrade on their Mercedes. It seems that very few members have wanted to tamper with their existing stereo situation. As for my rattling problem I was referring to the problem i could hear inside of my cabin and not outside, where i cannot hear any rattles. I'm assuming since you mentioned the license plate your talking about the outside. And in that case i recommend taking the plate off and putting some double sided foam tape behind it. It's an easy solve to to diagnose. If you press firmly and hold it down when the bass is hitting, and the license plate doesn't rattle, there's your problem.

Also I'm pretty happy with my current set up but feel like i might benefit from replacing my front door and center channel speakers with a better quality component. The HK speakers while "premium" quality for a factory speaker, could be better. The "Hertz" brand seems to be a go to in this category in terms of upgrade. If you feel like that filled out your system more that would be a positive encouragement to go forward with it.

Royce118

You're most welcome. First of all, I am actually referring to the rattle inside my cabin for which I believe comes from the license plate. However, I will be attempting to put some double sided foam tape like you mention over the weekend to see whether the problem can be resolved.

I do not have the HK system on my ride and hence couldn't vouch for the performance. However, I am very happy with my Rainbow components but will be looking to switch out my subwoofer with the Prima line woofers from Audison once it is released to the market.

Mershady_925

Best of luck with your rattle problem. Have a good weekend. And snap some pics of your sub install once you get the audison in there.

Alexa Victor

Hi guys , just order new speaker , i chose JBL gto 626 , looks like i didn't order what i need for my car , how you upgraded yours what did you change all 3 of them , what model , how they work , i put it the JBL after i make from MDF spacers , to make them fit and very disappointed , no upgrade , worse , i have HK factory system just wanna upgrade the speakers , what you recomand to do , thanks and sory for my English grammar

prestonhendu

Good luck with the rattle lol. I had an E class and as you said, sounded like all the trim in the back rattled. I have a C63 now and it’s just as bad. Just turn up the volume 😂😂😂