brett

hi, i was thinking of upgrading my E320 to a fiber optic head unit and changer. i was told the following by an independent shop in my area and i want to run it past you guys in this forum:
A. fiber optic cables are thousands of dollars? (i think its bs)
b. i will have to change the AMP in my car becase i have the E320 Touring with seperate amp in back(didn't think that had anything to do with fiber optics)
c. overall project will be a total disaster in the end??
thanks for your input

DougandhisC280

Yeah, they're pretty much right. It won't necessarily be a disaster in the end but you will need new amps, headunit, cd changer etc. I have seen pictures of the conversion and it looks like a huge mess. I would highly not recommend it.

vas2vas

errr no, just get a fiber optic radio/changer from ebay.... get set of fiber optic wires from becker of na (if they not come with changer)... in fact I saw a set on ebay for about $50 "buy it now" you should be able to use your stock amp, since changer wires go directly from HU to changer.... upgrading to the later more powerful becker amp wouldn't hurt though... overall cost under $1000 for the parts.... who's gonna install them?
this deal requires specialty parts that are not available to just any local store... I'd suggest going to a store that is an authorized becker dealer...

brett

any idea what the amp would cost? i am planning on doing this with an audio 10 cd unit then buying a MB changer and the cables. i thought i could just drop the parts off at a local installer and have it done. i already have the HU and could get the changer any time. all i need now is the PN for the fiber optic cables and the amp? is there a becker dealer in the NJ/NY area?

tpliquid

dont think u need new amp. caus i am runnign stock amp with command.

i got my fiber cable for 50

OEM

vas2vas

NEW JERSEY

Sound City Joe
727 Van Houten Ave 201-778-9554
Clifton, NJ 07013

Radiomasters K.Y. Lim
265 Closter Dock Road 201-784-0270
Closter, NJ 07624

Elite Electronics Service, Inc. Stanley Malinowsky
58 Engle Street 201-568-2818
Englewood, NJ 07631

Short Stop Radio Tom
11 East Anderson Street 201-343-6200
Hackensack, NJ 07601

European Technicial Nick
44 Bergen Turnpike 201-440-8864
Little Ferry, NJ 07643

Superior Sounds Sergio Morgoda
357 Chestnut Street 201-344-4733
Newark, New Jersey 07105

Sound Effects Michael Glickman
174 Route 17 North
Paramus, NJ 07652

Monmouth Stereo & Electronics John
450 Hwy. 35 Broad Street 908-842-0595
Shrewsbury, NJ 07702

Audio-Tel Electronics Lisa Quigley
1107 Hamilton Blvd. 908-412-8346
S. Plainfield, NJ 07080

NEW YORK

T&J Electronics Theo Lambos
23-17 Steinway Street 718-956-4153
Astoria, NY 11105

Sound Effects Michael Glickman
337 East 64th Street 212-737-1122
New York, NY 10021

Sound on Wheels Bob Prichard
309 South Avenue 914-471-9880
Poughkeepsie, NY 12601

brett

well, i got my Audio 10 from Steve in the mail today!! thanks steve!! so now i am hooked! i can't go back to the old head unit, it looks so crappy compared to the new one. so i have the head unit. my question is now:

what model cd changer do i buy on ebay(fiber optic)

how can i buy the cable myself? what is the PN or where to find it.

i will skip the amp upgrade for now though.

how many hours would it take for a place to install the new cable?

thanks
brett

tpliquid

well u sholdve bought the cable from steve also.
took me abuot 1 huro to install it.

brett

your right tp, what should i expect as far as install. i don't know enough to do it myself but i don't want the place by me to jack me and tell me its a 5 hour project. can you breifly let me know what is involved? thanks
brett

tpliquid

take doro sills out.
take floor out,
take rear seat out
then take rear co driver side trunk liner out.

then run the cable from headunit to the rear of the car for cd changer
run from headunti to the undercarpet. then thru the door sill gutter
then thru the top of the backside of the rear seat then into the tunk.

running it ti eazy just takeing the seats out and putting everything back in is time consuming

brett

thanks

brett

BTW; do you know if OEM mercedes cd players that are fiber optic play CD-R's or not??

tpliquid

they do

brett

whew!! because my audio 10 doesn't play CDR's for some reason. but, i figured the changer unit would without problem. I wonder why that is? any idea? i had the same problem with a blaupunkt in dash cd player?

vas2vas

you can always get the fiber optic cd changer becker silverstone 2662 D2b from a becker dealer such as http://www.continentalimports.com/ or http://www.swstereo.com/ (call them up and talk to stephan-i got my monza from him) it's the same as the dealer model (you are not limited to OEM, in fact becker builds them for m/b) I'm not sure however if it is plug and play or the audio 10 HU has to be enabled first to interphase with the changer... tell them which HU you have, that your car is not prewired etc... they should be able to provide the appropriate changer and optical wires (as long as they have them in stock of course)....

brett

i will check out another brand of cd changer. TP, i have a wagon and the seats flip foreward both backs and bench so i can probabbly do this my self based on what you are saying!