chemed

The store-bought splitters I have that were wrong gender are denoted "1 male to 2F", see the tag on the bag: 1 plug (with pin-holes) and two receptacles (with pins). The OEM speaker (photo below), and its Match replacement, have a plug with internal pins. With this notation it is 'female'. The wiring harness plug (with holes) is male. The Match cable to the crossover is a plug with pins, like the speaker plug.
I cut up some splitters so that I had two plugs: one for the speaker and one for the tweeter cable, and one receptacle for the wiring harness plug. The receptacle is the wrong shape for the wiring harness plug, soI had to remove the shroud to expose the pins, like picture two below, which shows three versions of 'female' receptacles with pins. The pins then plug into the wiring harness plug.

[aside: I know that I am over-complicating the explanation, because the standard notation of calling a plug that contains pins (like that on the speaker and the 2 plugs on the crossover) "female' makes no sense to me. to me if it has pins, it should be male and if it has holes it should be female. However the normal notation is if the plug sticks in it is male, whether it has pins or not. But when I cut off the shroud to expose the pins then inserted it into the harness plug, gender became unclear. Much ado about nothing I suppose.]

A real audio person could comment, but I think you want to make sure both the mid-range speaker and the tweeter are in phase---of consistent polarity. The connector on the mid-range and the tweeter have a stop to ensure the harness plug only fits one way. (see right had side of speaker plug in photos). I tried to ensure that by making sure the red wire of the male connector was in the same relative location on both the mid-woofer receptacle and the tweeter receptacle.

benzdude

A bit late, however.

https://www.audiotec-fischer.de/en/m...e/adapterIndex

chemed

I got a Match adaptor cable bundled with the Match PP 62 DSP that I received a week or so ago. I had been interested in one for a while, but all I could find were in europe, and while the cable was not too bad ($40-$50 range) you paid that again for shipping. I bought from a vendor in England called "audiotec_fischer_uk" because they were selling the pp62DSP bundled with the cable for about the same price I had been seeing just the DSP: GBP 400 (about $515 right now), cable included with about GBP 33 shipping for the bundle. I sent them an email to ask if I really got the adapter with the DSP, and if they had it for a GLC 300. They said they had better luck with a PP-AC 13A (a BMW adapter) than for the model that Match showed for my car, which is the 94A that benzdude shows in his post. I havent plugged it in yet so I dont really know if they were bs-ing me because that was all they had, of if they were truthful.

The ebay listing is titled: Match Audiotec Fischer PP 62DSP Plug & Play Amplifier + Free Harness Mercedes
About as clear as you can get. Now if it just works...

jeboo

PPAC-13A adapter works fine with the factory harness. That amp is a bit bigger than the 5DSP, going to mount under the glove box?

As for others worrying about the door speaker plugs, unless you plan on placing the stock speakers back one day (unlikely), just cut the stock wires and split/divert them.

chemed

good point. It is bigger than I expected, though the dimensions are clearly listed. I haven't yet looked seriously at the glove box, or how to take it out. There is a nice space under the passenger seat just above what appears to be an air duct, out of the way and easy to plug a usb cable into. Harness storage might be an issue. Once I get the console out and see what likely cable paths exist, I will know more. I am ok with it being in the back cargo bay (its a GLC, not a C-class), in the storage well. The harness is long enough, but the routing is not obvious, at least to me.

Suggestions welcome.

jeboo

Not sure what the GLC looks like inside, but under the passenger seat would be easier. You could probably fish the wiring directly under the center console to the underside of the seat. If you're going to the back, you would fish the wiring under the passenger floor and plastic door trim. One thing you should test before picking a final spot is if the amp in "low-power" mode is sufficient. I ended up switching mine to high-power mode, so it required separate power/ground wires.

chemed

Thanks, that is helpful. I have read about low and high power mode, and I knew about harness power vs direct battery power. However I didn't realize the correspondence, duh! I hope to start with low power and maybe/probably wire the battery in later. I may go ahead and run a battery wire while I have things disassembled. May I ask where you went through the firewall and where the ground tie-in is?

botaggs1

So I just spent an hour searching this thread (preface in case anyone tells me to do that LOL!) and was wondering if anyone simply installed a powered subwoofer in the trunk or under their seat without the use of a DSP? I assume getting power would be from the battery, but would anyone have any ideas as to how to get a good signal? My understanding is that speaker level inputs from the rear's wouldn't be high quality. Is there a way by accessing the head unit or tapping into the wiring for the front bass in the passenger footwell?

Also, thank you to all who contribute to this thread, this has been incredibly helpful.

chemed

I was searching the web for a convenient place to run a battery cable through the firewall on my glc 300 and I found a youtube that seems to address your questions, at least for an earlier GLC. "Wire a Mercedes Benz for a Subwoofer using Factory Radio".
My GLC300 sound setup and trim seems very close to the C class, which is why I am posting here. The author of the video apparently ties into a door speaker cable for the signal, but I didn't watch that far. I suppose you could also tie into the front bass, because it is near where he runs power through the passenger firewall.

I wasn't too interested in this option because it does not address the missing midbass. My issue with the sound was not so much that low bass was weak, it is, but that the overall balance was poor: lack of highs (no stock tweeter) and no midbass ( word has it that everything below a few hundred hz goes to the front bass). All my music sounded like it came from a 1940s acoustic recording

benzdude

I ran mine through the rubber grommet behind the battery in the W205 and down the passenger side trim.

jeboo

Not sure if tying into the front bass would provide a different signal considering it's bridged from the door speakers in the head-unit harness (check https://w205audio20.wordpress.com/). If you do want to try it, your best bet is at that harness; getting to that subwoofer is a major task from what I recall. Lastly, if you're obtaining high-level input from only one speaker, can you just split it for the converter?

benzdude

Sweet Baby Jebus.

chemed

Whoa, now that is what I am talking about!

Any comments on the center speaker installation will be appreciated, as will that of the surrounds---I assume they are for the rear pillars, between the rear window and back doors.

Oh, and thanks for the answer on power routing. I think there is a grommet in a similar location on the glc. I will look tomorrow or saturday.

benzdude

Center and surrounds are done. Covers pry off easily and speakers simply pull out of rubber holders..

Moka Id

I am planning to upgrade the speakers by replacing all of them (9) with match up set for my w205
I have no idea how much is the improvement would be ? is it noticeable ?
knowing that I will keep using the factory amp and head unit, only the 9 speakers will be replaced
your feedback is highly appreciated

Moka Id

i was wondering if anyone has an idea about the specs of the amp installed in w205 stock system
amp ? watts ? voltage ?? all the data about it
thanks

benzdude

The C-Class Burmester system gets 13 speakers, a nine-channel amplifier and 590 watts (7x50W, 2x120W Front Subs) of power as standard.

• 4” midrange & 1” tweeter left front door passive crossover*
• 6” subwoofer left front footwell
• 4” midrange center dash
• 6” subwoofer right passenger footwell
• 4” midrange & 1” tweeter right front door passive
• 4” midrange & 1” tweeter right rear door passive
• 4” midrange left parcel shelf (left surround)
• 4” midrange right parcel shelf (right surround)
• 4” midrange and 1” tweeter left rear door passive

benzdude

The upgraded speakers sound great with the stock DSP amplifier.

The harsh front bass is softened a bit, but still needs tuning to not sound like beating a cardboard box. I turn bass to 10.

Note.
For some reason the Match tweeters and the Match front subs are wired opposite to the stock Burmester ones.

I made adapter cables to reverse them using Aliexpress connectors for MB speakers so they match the corresponding mid speaker polarity. (when tested)

Also, the Match subs are 4 ohm each but the stock OEM front subs tested at 2.2 ohms each.

Moka Id

thanks for ur detailed reply ..
but i would like to know about the base sound system ..
what matters with me is that i wanna know the stock non burmster amplifier whether it is there or not
coz i read on some threats that for the base sound system there is no amplifier ... while the head unit is feeding the speakers with the power and one more then i read also there is no subwoofer at the drivers side
i am little bit confused .. about all this ...
i want simply to improve my sound system by only replacing the speakers so that i dont void the warranty ..

Moka Id

this what crutch field offered me
https://www.crutchfield.com/cart/def...&emKey=2394217
there is a duplicated item in the cart just ignore it
and here is my vin nnumber
WDDWF6EB5GF272630

please check if there guys offered my the right thing

benzdude

Why don't you just look in the Trunk under the right side trim?

Moka Id

i will tomorrow and get back to you

benzdude

You are looking for you, not me.

Moka Id

loool yeah i know that but i will get back to you to give me the full answer .. kindly read my previous reply
come on bro .. you have to excuse me . i have no idea about all this

benzdude

The video i posted shows you everything you need to know to upgrade a base c class. Turn on translate. Good luck.