pmpalma

Thank you all for the great info. Still lost at was is needed (hatdware wize) for both front and back, and especially how does one install them (remove door panles, trim this, hammer that)...

Looking forward to this gratifying mod

pmpalma

Thank you all for the great info. Still lost at was is needed (hatdware wize) for both front and back, and especially how does one install them (remove door panles, trim this, hammer that)...

Looking forward to this gratifying mod

pmpalma

Lastly, I see that a lot of people are adding amps... With whatever Kappa speakers is suggested, do I need one or is that just an overkill?

Acapulco Bill

@pmpalma: All of the info for removing the doors and enlarging the front tweeter mounts are in the two excellent PDFs in the No. 1 post in this Thread by Akadan (although I disagreee that this is not for the faint of heart, just go for it).

As for the amp, the high efficiency of the Kappas, with the 25 watts RMS per channel, will provide 110 dB from each speaker, this x 4 speakers is 116 dB. Considering the peaks are 10 dB than the average SPL (sound pressure level), this will provide 106 dB of continuous volume into the 90 cu feet interior of the W204. Just try this upgrade first, remembering the break-in that the speakers need to provide best efficiency and sound quality.

To add on an amp (400 watts or 100 Watts/channel RMS) is a major undertaking and will only add 6 dB, and is not necessary IMO. A subwoofer to round everything out though is highly recommended.

pmpalma

@Acapulco Bill: Can't find the front tweeter mod in the post, care to share? Lastly, I see that some purchase Kappa's 62.9i for the front while you're suggesting 60.9s. Any gain with either or? And pardon by persistence... but how does one connect something to a cross-over (the 60.9s)?

Thank you again

Acapulco Bill

Here is another thread with a DIY step by step with photos:

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...rofit-how.html

AgilityControl

Acapulco Bill,

My 2013 W204 with HK Logic 7 is on its way. I'm using a loaner with same sound and I'm sick to my stomach at the sound quality. I've ordered the front Kappa 60.9 as you recommended. I checked back door application, it has component with tweeters mounted higher up on the door.

• How is this rear door application handled, use 6032si even though it's component?
• Rear deck, will I change out the small speakers, (L & R + sub)?
• Sub speaker I can barely hear, replace in rear deck or add your suggest Boss600 (new model is Boss800) with trunk application?

Road noise: While door panels are off should I add dynamat to reduce road noise?

Thanks in advanced, thank the whole panel for all the descriptive enthusiast information.


AC

sethro1980

Thanks so much for all the information and advice! I am getting ready to order the 60.9 components for the front doors and the 62.9 coaxials for the rear doors. I am a little concerned, though. I have a 2013 GLK with the base system and am not sure everything being detailed out for the C class will work in my car. Is it truly the same? Will the crossovers still fit inside the door panels?

Separately I am going to order the Kicker Hideaway powered subwoofer. My only worry there is that I am going to install it with the compact spare tire and wonder if it will be loud enough for the sound to come through the sturdy floor panel that covers the spare tire area. The seats offer little room to stash a sub, so my only option is there. I also want to keep the spare tire, so I can't fit even a shallow mount subwoofer in there because I only have 4 inches of depth to play with.

I'm pretty excited to get moving on this and would have done so already if not for these worries. The GLK-specific forums don't have nearly as much information in here as do the C-class forums.

I really appreciate any guidance anyone can provide. Thank you!

Acapulco Bill

The rear doors, on the W204 C Class require a shallow basket magnet assembly. Before you order anything let me check Crutchfield and see how deep the door panel is. This is the shallow mount Infinity Kappa:

As for room for the Xover, there is space at the bottom of the door. I may be able to run over to the "local" Merc dealer today and check what fits where, normally it is 300 kms north but I am in the same city for a few days. Hope you can wait until this evening for a reply.

sethro1980

I really appreciate your offer to check on this, but truly don't need you to go out of your way like that. I thought from my reading in here that the shallow mounts might not be necessary if using the stock speaker assemblies to mount the new kappas into. I also thought the 6032 shallow woofers were rated at 4 ohms instead of 2 ohms, so I could get better spl with the 62.9 speakers. If this is not the case, I wonder if the only difference is the power handling, which would really not matter because I would not be using an external amp. My obsession with knowing all the details before I commit to something wears me out! Thanks for the help....please do not go out of your way to help feed my OCD!

Acapulco Bill

Well, I needed an excuse to get out of the house and check out the CLA, SLS and the new S.

codeblue5007

Thank you Vic, Akadan, Bill and all for taking the time to post pictures and explain in detail how to swap out the stock speakers. I have a 2008 C300 4Matic Sport. I intend to use the Akadan method using Bill's Infinity 60.9 with tweeters front and 6032 si rear. But amazon only carries the 60.9cs, which is 4 ohms. Is there a 2ohm substitute for the 60.9?

Before starting, I'd apprecite a few pointers on the details. 1. Is it necessary to have extra orange clips? I wouldn't want an airbag to go off. 2. What size 3M foam tape? What size screws to fit into the 1/8 inch holes drilled ino the retaining ring? 3. Why is it necessary to solder those 6" leads instead of using the existing ones-- or did I miss something? 4. Boring out the tweeter hole to accommodate the Infinity tweeters is a matter of eyeballing it, right?

Leaving the cut stock plastic housings in place is my kind of solution.

Again thanks to all of you for the input.

Wawatusi

I prefer the sound of my alpine pdx 5 channel amp over that of the stock head unit. I believe having that extra power really let's the speakers sing...

I was also able to fit focal polyglass v 170 components front and rear, and now that the speakers are breaking in I gotta say I'm happy with the results!

sev7nflow

thanks for all the wealth of knowledge in this thread.

could I get your opinion on the W204 post face lift speakers?
If I get the 60.9CS and 6032's would that be the optimal choice -- and would it fit in my 2013 C250 Sport (north america version)

sethro1980

These are the speakers I used, along with a Kicker Hideaway 8 inch powered subwoofer in the spare tire compartment (GLK). None of the speakers fit right onto the stock housings. I was able to get the rears on...looks a bit shoddy but you can't tell once the trim goes back on. The fronts I had to have installed by a shop...they added mdf adapters because the 60.9cs woofers would not fit on the plastic housing. I left the tweeters at 0 and found out immediately that they are too bright. Wayyyy too bright. I messed with the EQ but still ended up taking everything apart to set the crossovers at -6db. They are still a bit bright. As for bass...it went byebye with the swap. I realize it is said in here that the bass from the stock speakers was not clean bass, but it was still bass. No amount of adjustment with the EQ has fixed this for me. The powered sub is 150 watts but it barely makes up for the lack of midbass from the components. I can't imagine anyone installing one of these in a trunk...I can barely hear it in the spare compartment. At this point I have decided to add a compact 12 inch sub with a 600 watt amp, and add another amp to allow at least 100 watts per channel to the components (which I will probably switch to JL's or, if the installer says they will fit, Image Dynamics components. Basically I want a silk dome tweeter to warm up the treble, I want decent midbass in the 80-500hz range, and I want enough 40hz bass to keep up with it all. Unless you like your music bright without much oomph on the low end, I recommend speakers with silk tweeters. If you are worried about efficiency, why not just spend $115 on the Alpine KTU-445, bridge it to power the fronts with 90 watts per side, and let the Audio 20 system power the rears for fill? That way you can put in less efficient speakers that sound good. I do appreciate all the opinions, guidance, and instruction provided in this forum...I just ended up not liking how the Infinity speakers sound. And for those who have a GLK but cannot find install help in this forum and think the W204 is the same as the X204...it isn't.

AgilityControl

You know how to access the EQ?


AC

sev7nflow

is this a common problem? i'm interested in upgrading my stock speakers since I didnt get the HK surround sound option on my car, but I'd be extremely disappointed and annoyed if I switched out my stock speakers and lost the bass. I'm definitely a bass lover and can't listen to music without it

sethro1980

Well, the guys in here who probably know more than me are saying that what we perceive as bass isn't really part of the music as it is supposed to sound. I'd still trade it for what I have now...lots of treble and thin sounding midrange, even with a 5db boost at 90 and 200hz. If you switch out for the Infinity set, I would go ahead and order a sub and amp to go with it.

As for the EQ, the instructions are in this thread...just hold the three keys for 7-10 seconds.

I am driving a W204 as a loaner and the speakers are totally different than the X204. I knew that based on my installation experience but now I have seen it first hand.

sev7nflow

so just to clarify, upgrading to the 60.9cs kappas and 6032si in the back will be WAY better than my audio 20 stock speakers right? I won't experience any loss in bass - even though my mids/highs are clearer?

sethro1980

Not in my opinion. Although it wasn't as clear with the stock speakers, it got loud and the bass was decent. Now the sound is clear (which I like), but the bass is gone (which I don't like). I wish I hadn't done it. Maybe once I have the sub installed and amplify the infinity speakers (or swap them out) I will be happy with it.

codeblue5007

//Not in my opinion. Although it wasn't as clear with the stock speakers, it got loud and the bass was decent. Now the sound is clear (which I like), but the bass is gone (which I don't like). I wish I hadn't done it. Maybe once I have the sub installed and amplify the infinity speakers (or swap them out) I will be happy with it.//

I was bummed out when I read yoir opinion because I had just bought a full complement of Infinity speakers, both shallow and deep for the rear, the dremel, disks, extra orange clips and pins ($38), fat mat, screws, tape, glue, etc. and was waiting for a warmer day to install the Infinitys. So I spent some time in the car listening to music and had to conclude that the sound of the stock speakers is lousy and you can hardly do worse. So i will go ahead and make tge change. I am however hesitant to install a subwoofer because of the difficulty of running all the wires from the front to the back and and the non-stock appearance of the final product, not to speak of the resonances and other surprises.

I would like to try n experiment with a small self powered sub attched to the rear package shelf that gets power from one of the rear fuses and is turned on by an audio signal from the right rear dooor (i think i can run the ires from the B pillar through a hole in the trunk.

I'd like to know where I cn draw power so that the sub tuns on and off when the ignition is tuned on, and what kind of sub will come out of standby with an udio signal.

The volume knob I see in various applications, like Bill!s, tkes more wiring than I'm willing to do and would like t leave the knob in the trunk and try it there.

Has anyone tried installing the sub in the trunk without running wires to the head unit?

Wawatusi

I think the right way to do this if adding a sub is with a clean sweep or lcq-1 and a 5 channel amp. If you are going that far, might as well get it complete.


My JBL subs in the trunk don't take up alot of room, and the overall sound is great.

ap10046

OLD OLD thread being resurrected.

I had the Audio 20 with HK (amp in trunk, on the side) in my car, until I did the COMAND NTG4 upgrade to the head unit and screen. Speakers were left alone.

It is a good sounding OEM system, but not great.
Are the Infinity speakers mentioned in this post - 60.9cs and 6032si 100% bolt on? I really don't want to be cutting bits off of the car, if I can help it.

Also, the mirror tweeters will need to be replaced as well?

Since it has been almost 2.5 years since this thread has been brought to life, any alternatives please?

Can the stock subwoofer be upgraded?

Acapulco Bill

The HK Logic 7 system uses soft butyl rubber surrounds on the woofers. In some climates the surrounds deteriorate rapidly affecting the sound quality greatly, especially the bass.

The whole HK system uses radical digital equalization profiles for both the different 360º soundstage effects, and for the sonic and resonance characteristics of each individual speaker due to it's function and location. Replacing the OEM HK speakers with the Infinity Kappas, Focal or JL Audio drivers would probably not improve the sound (although you could consult with JL Audio by phone).

Suggested is inspecting the butyl surrounds and also pushing carefully on the cones to identify any scrapping noises, replacing damaged drivers with OEM replacements. Then give the system a listen with all tone controls centered.

HK had spent thousands of hours tailoring their systems for the C Class and also the BMW 3-Series, and as an audio professional, l can extend the opinion that the HK system in the 3-Series at least I had was world-class sound, both in quality and volume, although recently I was very impressed with the Meridian system in the new Range Rover Sport.

It is unfortunate that aftermarket manufacturers have not developed and marketed systems for the W204 as they do for BMW, which has many options for "upgrading" the sound system. Recommend giving the HK, working properly, a chance to prove itself. Best of success!

ap10046

Thank you for your informative reply.
I have checked the speakers recently, well, almost all of them, and are in sound condition (lol).
Can the subwoofer be improved upon, in pursuit for deeper and tighter bass?