tommy

Session - thanks for taking the time to post the pics and type the install.

Question: everyone says that it sounds much better than the stock h/u. Do you agree with that? Then the follow-up: anyone know why it does sound better? TIA.

session

answer: it definitely has a crisper sound than the stock HU, but as far as sounding "better" that is really hard to tell. it seems to have better output than the stock, but as far as i remember they're both really low wattage.

the next thing i'll change (hopefully soon) is the speakers and adding an amp/sub. i don't know if i can do this with the audio 10... my audio 10 is essentially a "temporary" install until i can overhaul the entire system.

Richard

US cars have pre-wiring for phone/cd etc, EU cars are not - that includes the fibre-optic (D2B ring) cable.

The D2B ring is used for :-
Digital BOSE amp
Phone
Voice-Recognition
CD Changer
Teleaid
[some other stuff aswell no doubt]

So if your in the US, or you have one of those, you'll have fibre-optic cable

tommy

OK, thanks. The reason that I ask is that I talked to a high-end stereo shop over the weekend, and they've done a good deal of installs on MBs where they leave the h/u as-is, and then redo the wiring from the h/u to a new external amp(s), new speakers, and subs. He said that changing the h/u won't give you any better sound, and then I remembered Buell and others saying that the A10 h/u sounds better than the stock one.

If it's just that the A10 has more power than the std h/u, no biggie - an external amp will more than make up for that.

Buellwinkle

You just don't realize just how good it sounds until you get a loaner and it has the cassette radio. I've had this C240 loaner for 3 days now and arghhh, I can't stand that radio. The big difference is BASS, lots of it, more than I can stand. Setting the BASS setting on your cassette radio to 10 is like setting the Audio 10's BASS control to 5. Setting the Audio 10's BASS to 10 is enough to give me a headache. I find setting the BASS and TREBLE to 8 gives me the sound I want. Also, having better control over the tone allows me to listen to it a lower volumes and still get a warm rich sound. It's sounds better in my Coupe without Bose than a C320 with Bose. I would imagine it would sound even better with Bose.

preyx

Does the Bose system have any kind of special connectors to the HU that prevent it from working with the Audio 10? If it sounds great with stock speakers, I want to see what kind of improvement it provides for a Bose system!

young

are you asking if the sound is empircally better vs psychologically better? b/c it would suck to have spent the money and not get better sound. but, it is nice to have the in-dash cd vs the useless tape deck (yeah, i don't listen to books-on-tape )

only one real way to find out to me... someone (eg tommy) needs to get one and then compare to the stock bose system(eg mine).

Buellwinkle

Look at it this way, a person spends an extra $600 for Bose and I can barely tell the difference but it's a Bose so psychologically it sounds better. The Audio 10 for half that price physically sounds better, you can feel the vibrations in the door panel and the thumping in your head long after you turned the radio off.

Now if Renntech was smart they would silk screen Renntech on the Audio 10 and sell it for $1,694. Then it would sound psychologically much better.

preyx

Actually, I second that! It's not worth it until it says "Renntech"!!!

young

actually, i never listened to the non-bose system so i don't know if the bose is better. also, to me, bose is NOT a high-end sound system so psychologically, it probably has a negative effect. but, the bose is good enough (i'm really not into the bass end). if you want an in-dash cd player w/ the steering wheel controls still working, (but the radio frequency pickup is slightly funky), then the audio 10 makes sense. i hope they release a US version and i'd get it. now when is the in-dash cd player going to be standard in the US spec cars?

i don't think i'd buy a renntech sound system (unless it was a rebadged high end sound system)... but i'd get a mark levinson! whoo hoo! nah... recently, i've been just listening to the engine and street noise.

young

RennTech

btw, session, excellent instructions. could be useful in the future for me.

tommy

Young - no, I just want a system that sounds better with more power, so I'm torn between keeping the stock h/u (and attempting to stay at least close to stock for the electrical system warranty) or swapping the whole damn thing, and getting a h/u that can play mp3s. Those 130% oversized DIN h/us from Alpine look really good (and you can switch to amber illuminiation to come close to stock look).

I got a ballpark of $2500 for speakers/amps/one 10" sub in a stealth box on one side of rear; add 600 for the Alpine h/u. It's going to be a while before I can do this stuff, but want to do it correctly the first time.

preyx

Actually, the sound system I'm interested in is one provided by this comany: http://www.reusaudio.com . They offer an "upgrade" package that keeps the currently installed system but augments it by installing a subwoofer and some tweeters and a new amp alongside the current one. I really like how their systems are tuned for the car to get the optimal sound stage, I listened to their demo systems at the LA Auto Show in January and was just blown away. I'll might look into getting a non-Merc HU if I ever get to the point of installing this particular system.

Jakobud

Nice illustrations. Very helpful to me and others I'm sure. Can you tell me one thing though, about the 'stock' radio? I am getting ready to put in a new headunit and speakers and I need to know on the regular tape deck radio, is there an illustration somewhere that describes what all the wires are on the back? Mine will have the fiber optic cable since I currently have the bose system, but I am wondering about which is the antenna connection, which wire is for accessory power, etc... I can't seem to find any sort of pinout on what is what in the back...can anyone point me in the right direction?

Thanks

Jakobud

schwarz c230

Go with the Alpine that plays mp3's, after you get it installed you will sorry you did not do it sooner,I like the Alpine 7995

Buellwinkle

I would hate to spend that kinda dough and in a year it's obsolete because of digital FM or something else. Don't they have MP3 players that use RF?

RJamesC240

OK, here goes my first post. Hopefully I won't make a complete *** out of myself since I know absolutely nothing about cars.

I'd like to have an in-dash CD player, is that even a possibility here in the US? If, in fact, the Audio 10 is a possibility here in the states, then were are the buttons for the preset stations? And can the dealer perform the change for me? Thanks Alot!

By the way, I've really enjoyed this forum. It has definitely become one of my favored diversions while sitting at my desk, since work is definitely not something I favor.

Buellwinkle

Sure, the Audio 10 is available in the US from Gaston at autoclass.net. You have 8 presets for each band and they are the cross buttons on the right. You cycle through presets the same way you do now with the steering wheel controls. I've heard of dealers installing this radio for people on the forum but I did it myself. Most buy it on German ebay to save a few dollars, afterall, I bought the cheap MB for a reason.

RJamesC240

LOL!!!

Well it definitely doesn't feel cheap every time I write the check out.....but, I am definitely not handy. Tim the Toolman Taylor would have better luck installing it correctly and functionally. I appreciate the response, THANK YOU!!

RJamesC240

Wow, I just called Autoclass. Now I get why all of you are buying from ebay. I dunno, I've never used e-bay and am a bit hesitant. But, should I choose to get the Audio 10 through e-bay and manage to install it myself, will it void out my warranty? I just got the car 4months ago so it would suck if it did. Also, are the install instructions posted the same for the sedan? Thanks

Buellwinkle

I took my car in for service with my ebay Audio 10 and complained about it cutting out and they reset the DB2 loop, under warranty. It's an MB part, why would it void your warranty?

As for ebay, it's not for everyone and the fact that it's in German doesn't help. I'll give you a head start, here's one starting at 1 Euro. A Euro is similar to a dollar. Count on about $30 for shipping, $5 ebay fees, $15 international wire transfer fees. All in all expect to pay from $225 to $275 shipped.

http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...tem=1760759125

And it says he will ship only within Germany so ask the seller first before bidding if he'll ship to the US if you pay, you may want to ask him if he speaks English if you are German chanllenged.

Use Babelfish to help you with the translations.

http://babelfish.altavista.com/

If you are worried, start on something small on U.S. ebay like a $2 hotwheels and experience it first. There are bidding skills to be learned.

session

the install instructions are for all W203 C-class models.

as far as buying on ebay.de, look out for auctions that have a "Buy It Now" option. that way you can buy the product before any bids are even put in. you may pay a higher price than the auction would produce but you're assured you'll "win" the bids since it eliminates any other bidders. that's what i did and i got my audio 10 for about $267 total.

don't feel like you can't install this thing... i'd never taken a car apart before this, and look how easy it was. my pictures show you how to do it

Blueice

Buellwinkle So u have it install and it works good? I mean with the cd changer and all =)

peet

Does bidding on ebay.de require seperate registration from ebay.com? or do they share databases? I'd hate to be a (0) person again after finally getting into the 40's of feedbacks (after many many many many years).

P

peet

Never mind, figured out - it is the same system as here in the US.... any suggestions on sending payment (cheaply and safely)???

Peet