nola000

I would certainly bypass the factory x-overs. Design your own if youre so inclined but I would use the x-overs on your amp or headunit.

codeblue5007

There's information about the x-overs earlier in this thread and other threads dealing with speaker replacements. I believe the x-overs are in the front OEM speakers themselves (polarized caps). A full signal comes from the HU. The Infinity replacement speakers come with their own x-overs.

Sincity

Your battery is in the front? Also, where did you tap the audio signal for the high/low converter?

BeBeBenz

Just did an upgrade for my W204.

Front: German Maestro CS 6508
Rear: German Maestro CC 6508

Retro fit with minimum modifications.
End result, awesome sound and value for money.

Sincity

Did the fronts today and that was no fun. Rears to be done tomorrow.

Sincity

These Inifnity Kappas sound great and I may not even bother with my sub. One of the rear speakers that came was blown. Waiting for the replacement. Still having a hard time changing the EQ settings and making them "Set."

codeblue5007

Did you already dremmel out the sails for the tweeters? I'm having second thoughts about the infinity tweeters jammed into the foam. They still sound harsh to me. I Have a pair of Alpine sps119 tw and want to try them out. I wish I had the sails with the tweeter holder intact. The tweeters would fit right in. Anyway, I want to see if they improve the sound.

You've got to press SET for every column-- frequency, Q and gain.

Sincity

Sails have been dremmeled as that is the only way the tweeters will fit. I did press "set" by pressing down the rotary knob but it doesn't seem to do anything. Also, when changing the values, I didn't notice a change in sound. In my Engineering Mode, it shows that I will have to change all 4 speaker values individually. Will try again this weekend.

codeblue5007

Yes you have to set the values for all 4 speakers individually. As I recall, this requires backing out of several screens to get to the 4 speaker screen for each speaker. Frankly, I didn't notice a great difference between recommended settings by ICON and others. As I understand it, the equalizer is intended to eliminate certain imperfections due to cabin acoustics at certain frequencies, not change the sound of the speakers. But please share your experience.

Meanwhile I'm going to try out Alpine tweeters and post results. I took one of the sails and foam backing out to examine them closely in my workshop and notice right off that the sail has a relatively small circular "transparent" area through which the tweeter sound comes through. This means that much of the Infinity tweeter sound is blocked by the plastic sail. One possible solution is to mount the Alpine tweeters so that the swivel head is on the cabin side of the sails, but this may look too low rent for a Mercedes. The next owner may be put off by such an obvious mod.

Sincity

Same experience.

I did notice the bass response has improved greatly with these new speakers.

codeblue5007

Following up on my search for better sound, I installed these Alpine tweeters behind the sails. They come with their own in-line crossovers. I tried with and without, and they definitely need their own crossovers to avoid distortion at higher volumes. They fit very well in the foam backing with a thin 1/4 inch foam insulation wrapped around the housing.
I used these 3M butt connectors and recommend them for all speaker wire connections. They are easy to use, needing only a pair of pliers to lock them shut, and they squeeze out a small amount of gel to keep the connections from corroding. They accept even heavy gauge stranded wire.
The sound of the tweeters is more detailed and provide an airy dimension. Voices, Cymbals, finger snapping, rim shots are better defined. The Infinity tweeters have more power, but in a lower range. Overall, I don't think this modification is necessary. Far more important is the source of the sound. FM and sat are pretty awful compared to CDs.

Sincity

I have been having issues with my rear 62.9i in the RR channel. When I start the radio, I do not hear the distortion until a minute or so later. I have switched the speakers around and it is the same channel that is having issues. I wonder if my RR transistors are weak and they must be overheating when driving the 2 ohm load? I have no issues with the front 60.9cs. I'm going to disconnet the LR channel and run a 4 ohm speaker on the RR channel this weekend to see if the distortion will come back.The damage to the Audio 20 amp may be irreversible now.

This is just an assumption that the radio may have issues with a 2 ohm load for the rear channel and "may" be damaged when running a 2 ohm load. If I don't have issues running the 4 ohm speakers for the rear, I just may switch the rears to 6032si since they are 4 ohms.

codeblue5007

If it's the RR channel that sucks. There are used HUs on eBay. I saw one without a face for $150. Or you could take the opportunity to replace it with a more powerful non-OEM unit. Keep us posted.

Acapulco Bill

Sincity: Before anything else, there is another test you may wish to perform - replace the RR Kappa 62.9 2-ohm speaker with the original OEM stock unit. If the amplifier ceases to distort, then the distortion is caused by a mismatched part in the headunit triggering the circuit that limits the current to the output stage of the amplifier (causing an early onset of "soft" clipping, a pre-existing condition in the headunit).

If this is the case, one solution would be to replace both rear 62.9's with 4- or 8-ohm units (or just reinstall the original OEM speakers). These would have to be highly efficient, and the output balance could be restored with the front-to-rear fader, although the sonic qualities of these new units may be different.

However, if the distortion persists even with the stock speaker swap, then another output solution must be found, as the output stage components or transistors may actually be damaged. This would also have been caused by a pre-existing defect, as the current-limiting circuitry DIDN'T work; modern solid-state amplifiers since the late 1960's have been protected against even full.-shorting conditions (where for instance both speaker leads are directly connected), typically with a "crowbar" which clamps the base of the transistor and prevents excessive current flow. references are here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crowbar_(circuit)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Current_limiting

Please send a personal message through MBWorld as I am at your service to assist in resolving this condition, also for anyone else who is experiencing this problem, feel free to communicate. In the next week I will be having a custom bluetooth screen (to visualize Nav from my smartphone) with backup cameras installed to the stock audio headunit, the aftermarket company doing this upgrade may have additional insights into solutions to this condition. They can also recommend some high efficiency 4- or 8-ohm speakers if the suggest test demonstrates that the headunit amplifier is intact, these recommendations I will post ASAP,

Sincity

Tks Bill. The stock speakers were destroyed to do the retrofit. Ironically, I do have a pair of old speakers from my 190e that I can try this weekend.

Sincity

Decided to not even bother experimenting with a 4 ohm speaker. Now my RF channel is also affected. Looks like I have a "bum" radio that can't handle this load.

MB Marko

so i just got a JL audio sub and amp with the control knob installed i feel like i need to mess with the "secret audio menu" i turned up the max audio volume which made a difference but any tips on making the base sound a little better on the non HK system what settings to change etc. any help would be appreciated

Doanster

Per my response to your other thread, you need to describe what "making the bass sound better" (not base, btw ) means. What does it sound like now? Not enough thump or boom for your liking? Too muddy? If you have to crank the volume up in order to get satisfactory bass, perhaps your installer reversed the polarity of the speaker inputs so things are out of phase. Either way, more info would help diagnose your issues better.
If you've read this entire thread, you'll see that a properly setup sub like Acapulco Bill's Boss system will yield fantastic results. No dual 12" setup in a coffin box necessary!!

MB Marko

haha my bad umm its not deep and clear if that make sense its cheep sounding i don't know how to describe it exactly maybe i can post a video of it once i figure out how to do that

Doanster

Sounds like an install issue to me. First thing to check is polarity. I'd just bring the car back to the installer and have them recheck.

MB Marko

I post pictures of my set up need to make a video still but maybe the pics can help in some way who knows there on my profile under album

Doanster

No way to tell from those pics. You (or the installer) will have to physically check to see which color stock wires were tapped to feed the amp. When I did the Kappa upgrade, I reversed the polarity (green vs green/brown IIRC) and EVRYTHING sounded horrible. The minute I fixed it... bam, 1000% better and sounds as advertised.

MB Marko

can you make a video of how your system sounds i might just upgrade

Doanster

No. There's no way you can tell how good or bad a system sounds from a video clip. Plus, you're grasping at straws here (messing with the engineering menu, upgrading to Kappa's, etc.) instead of solving your real problem with the JL setup. You paid quite a but for that sub/amp combo so why not get the problem solved before doing other things? Just my $0.015-worth...

snky1987

I red this great topic form bottom up and I learnt a lot from it.

Any update about the speakers ?
In UK it is currently impossible to get Infinity Kappa 60.9cs and 62.9i any suggestions about the speakers setup to replace them old models (w204 wise ofc) ?

As I understand Kappa 60.9cs and 62.9i were an 'easy fit' upgrade and I am looking forward to something like this without a need to play a lot with MDF rings.