Afternoon all !
Some of you may have seen a few threads from me regarding this subject!
Well I have finally installed my bespoke/oem style subwoofer into my 2010 W204
The standard sound system is excellent but it lacks quality low bass, not being 21 anymore and now married
I figured I needed something wife friendly which meant:
* No loss of boot space
* 8" or 10" subwoofer for warm/hifi sound which COULD be turned up for solo driving
The Box
I had seen a number of stealth side located boxes on the US forums as used on the W204. After some digging I found a guy in Sheffield who made subwoofer boxes. As he had never done a W204 before he was keen to provide the service, thus having a mould available for other buyers.
The location of the box sits to the left where the netting is holding the first aid kid, I have simply moved the first aid kid into the wheel well! As you can see by the pictures the finish and build of the box is excellent, it sounds fantastic and looks so cool ! It is an additional cost compared to traditional boxes but easily outweighs this with the obvious benefits. It is made from fiberglass so very strong and light.
Those that are interested in the box please visit/speak to Visual Ice:
http://www.facebook.com/visual.ice
visual.ice's profile
I only have good things to say about this guy, top quality work
He will even post the box to you !
Subwoofer
Being a little on the **** side i like things to match ! The coolest looking black subwoofer i found happened to be the 10" JL audio w0v3. It looks great, its light and the brand have a good stance on the market. As you can see from the pictures it does look great! Its well priced too.
W0v3 - JL Audio
Amplifier
I actually had an old JBL GTO 2 channel amplifier which offered around 180-200 watts RMS which was more then enough for the subwoofer. Please don't quote me on this but most sub £100 amps would be sufficient to run a standard 10" subwoofer. It depends on the type of sound you after i guess? The amp sits just right of the spare tyre as you can see on the picture. For both the subwoofer and amplifier I also invested in the following sticky/Velcro tape which is excellent! Easily holds both items in place. I would buy two.
50MM HOOK & LOOP ADHESIVE BLACK HEAVY DUTY VELCRO TAPE | eBay
Install
The install was done locally in Manchester by a ICE store, they were OK i suppose but I can advise on the following money saving tips.
The 12v cable can be hooked up inside the fuse box to the right, if you want to keep the standard headunit like me you will need a speaker to rca adaptor which can be found here:
SPEAKER TO RCA CONVERTER - HIGH TO LOW LINE LEVEL CABLE | eBay
i was quoted £25 for the same item by the store who did my install! Jokers! I think this is the biggest part of the install as it must be installed behind the dash and an RCA is ran to the amp in the boot.
Remote cable - Mercedes headunit does not support the remote cable, which switches the amp on and off when the car is turned on/off. This cable will need to be attached to a local 12v cable - usually wiring which connects to the lighter is the best option.
Wiring kit:
Please note this wiring kit is only for a standard amp, you may need a bigger kit for a bigger amp etc.
1000W CAR AMP AMPLIFIER POWER WIRING KIT 10 AWG GAUGE | eBay
Overall
I am very pleased with the results, excellent quality build, reasonable costs and matches the cars brand/class.
The sound so far is great! As the subwoofer is new its is currently on a very low setting to run for the first 2 weeks. I will report back soon.
Please feel free to PM me if you need any help. I have spend the last 60 days reading every forum on this subject!
Thank for reading, hope you all like.
Some of you may have seen a few threads from me regarding this subject!
Well I have finally installed my bespoke/oem style subwoofer into my 2010 W204
The standard sound system is excellent but it lacks quality low bass, not being 21 anymore and now married
I figured I needed something wife friendly which meant:* No loss of boot space
* 8" or 10" subwoofer for warm/hifi sound which COULD be turned up for solo driving
The Box
I had seen a number of stealth side located boxes on the US forums as used on the W204. After some digging I found a guy in Sheffield who made subwoofer boxes. As he had never done a W204 before he was keen to provide the service, thus having a mould available for other buyers.
The location of the box sits to the left where the netting is holding the first aid kid, I have simply moved the first aid kid into the wheel well! As you can see by the pictures the finish and build of the box is excellent, it sounds fantastic and looks so cool ! It is an additional cost compared to traditional boxes but easily outweighs this with the obvious benefits. It is made from fiberglass so very strong and light.
Those that are interested in the box please visit/speak to Visual Ice:
http://www.facebook.com/visual.ice
visual.ice's profile
I only have good things to say about this guy, top quality work
He will even post the box to you !
Subwoofer
Being a little on the **** side i like things to match ! The coolest looking black subwoofer i found happened to be the 10" JL audio w0v3. It looks great, its light and the brand have a good stance on the market. As you can see from the pictures it does look great! Its well priced too.
W0v3 - JL Audio
Amplifier
I actually had an old JBL GTO 2 channel amplifier which offered around 180-200 watts RMS which was more then enough for the subwoofer. Please don't quote me on this but most sub £100 amps would be sufficient to run a standard 10" subwoofer. It depends on the type of sound you after i guess? The amp sits just right of the spare tyre as you can see on the picture. For both the subwoofer and amplifier I also invested in the following sticky/Velcro tape which is excellent! Easily holds both items in place. I would buy two.
50MM HOOK & LOOP ADHESIVE BLACK HEAVY DUTY VELCRO TAPE | eBay
Install
The install was done locally in Manchester by a ICE store, they were OK i suppose but I can advise on the following money saving tips.
The 12v cable can be hooked up inside the fuse box to the right, if you want to keep the standard headunit like me you will need a speaker to rca adaptor which can be found here:
SPEAKER TO RCA CONVERTER - HIGH TO LOW LINE LEVEL CABLE | eBay
i was quoted £25 for the same item by the store who did my install! Jokers! I think this is the biggest part of the install as it must be installed behind the dash and an RCA is ran to the amp in the boot.
Remote cable - Mercedes headunit does not support the remote cable, which switches the amp on and off when the car is turned on/off. This cable will need to be attached to a local 12v cable - usually wiring which connects to the lighter is the best option.
Wiring kit:
Please note this wiring kit is only for a standard amp, you may need a bigger kit for a bigger amp etc.
1000W CAR AMP AMPLIFIER POWER WIRING KIT 10 AWG GAUGE | eBay
Overall
I am very pleased with the results, excellent quality build, reasonable costs and matches the cars brand/class.
The sound so far is great! As the subwoofer is new its is currently on a very low setting to run for the first 2 weeks. I will report back soon.
Please feel free to PM me if you need any help. I have spend the last 60 days reading every forum on this subject!
Thank for reading, hope you all like.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Looks great! I might have to put this on my to do list even though its my wife's car.
Junior Member
Great job on the install. I'm thinking that the amp will go into limp mode now do to it not being cooled since its going to be under the panel where the spare tire is??
Member
Props on the clean install. Will probably be my last mod
MBWorld Fanatic!
Very clean enclosure. Looks stock.
