I do not have the Burmester system but rater the original trashy speakers lol. Does anyone know what or where can I get the specifications and size of those speakers so I can replace them with after market ones?

 

There aren’t any kits to replace the stock speakers in the US market unfortunately.

You can however buy the focal inside set made for the last gen c class and have a shop make custom mounts for them. The midbass woofers would be more complicated to mount though. I would recommend doing the build in steps and installing a AMP/DSP first for the stock system. It will help bring life into your stock system if tuned properly.

I was also disappointed in the stock system and installed a subwoofer in the trunk. I find the system to sound okay but it has no low end whatsoever until I installed the sub.

Find a good shop near you to do the work, but it isn’t going to be cheap.

 

So you are saying there aren’t an aftermarket speakers that match the ones insulated? They couldn’t be same size just better quality? I don’t want to custom make anything just leaving everything oem and replacing speakers

 

There aren’t that’s why you need to make custom mounts. Focal makes speakers that are the same cone size but the mounts are different. The only brand that currently makes a kit is gladen mosconi but they will not bring that product to the us. My shop confirmed with corporate about it.

Also replacing speakers alone would not make the system sound much better, and in many cases they will sound worse. The stock head unit doesn’t produce enough power and the system wouldn’t sound right. The speaker impedance might be different as well. You’ll have to get an amp/dsp to get the right sound. The burmester factory AMP is a big reason why the system sounds way better.

 

What kind of sub did you install in the trunk? I have a friend who is looking to do this in their new C300 and is having trouble finding the right speaker and place to do the installation.

 

I have a 12 inch JL w3v3 in a ported box. It gets decently loud but won’t blow your socks off which is why I’m upgrading. Will rattle your mirrors but I want more haha.

There are currently no kits available for the w206 in North America so you’ll have to make custom mounts for speakers. Same goes with the woofers in the firewall.

 

My C300 had the crappy standard speakers.
I changed the speakers in the doors to the ones fitted with the Burmester system and installed the OEM Burmester tweeters as well.
I also fitted a crossover between the mid-driver and the tweeter.

Also replaced the stock speakers in the rear doors with the ones fitted with the Burmester system.

The sound is significantly better than the stock standard system, but the Burmester mid-driver speakers are also extremely low quality, and not much different to the standard system speakers.
I only know of one speaker manufacturer, that makes easy-fit mid-drivers, which fits into the speaker mount in the doors. That manufacturer is Steg, an italian brand.
I am considering replacing the poor quality Burmester drivers with these Steg drivers.

Steg Audio

 

They probably sound better because you added a tweeter which was critical for getting the upper spectrum. As for the mid speakers the burmester ones definitely aren’t the best but what makes the real difference is the AMP/DSP in the burmester system.

I’m actually surprised that steg makes a kit for the w206. I thought gladen was the only ones who made one until now.

 

I just received my Steg speakers for the four doors including tweeters and crossovers from a seller in Germany. Hoping to get them installed soon!

 

Nice! I can’t wait to see them get installed! Btw are you going to get the front mounted woofers as well? Imo it’s the biggest difference between the burmester and non burmester when it comes to sound reproduction.

 

This was my solution: a 500 watts JL Audio amplifier and a 10" JL subwoofer connected to the only 8" subwoofer (it's really a woofer) on the front passenger side. The difference is incredible

 

Oh nice! I also got a JL sub in a prefab box but it’s a 12” and ported. I’m thinking of getting another sub or a more powerful one haha. Btw I recommend lowering the middle seat because it will make it louder and I think the sound quality is better as well.

 

Any chance the seller would be willing to sell another set?

Also, was the sub install relatively simple?

 

I would say probably yes. The company name is ACR-HOF and the person I contacted is Markus. The email is info@acr-hof.de. After I placed the order I received it in a week, very satisfied.
I pay a local shop to do the install of the subwoofer, $200. They used 4 gauge wire and they fed the amplifier with the signal from the 8" woofer that its behind the foot rest for the front passenger, that was the hardest part

 

So I've ended up with a solution with my shop that I will be executing within the next couple months. So far the only part I'm installing that is designed for the w206 is the front 8" mid-bass woofers from MATCH by Helix. For the front speakers I will be installing Focal ES100K K2 4" component sets which should sound incredible and Audison APX 4" rear coaxials. Since Im focusing on the front stage I will be investing the most there which is why i'm using cheaper speakers for the rear for the rear fill. I will be running them off the Audison AP F8.9 DSP/AMP and run one of the extra channels to the rear Mono block amp for the sub. The reasons why i'm not using any plug and play speakers is because they generally cost extra due to the more convenient installation, and I felt that I could spend that on nicer components. Another reason is due to my shop not carrying the Steg brand and as for the Mosconi, the kit it isn't available in the US. I was originally just going to get an AMP/DSP for the stock speakers, however, having only 1 6.5" woofer and no tweeters, the system will still not satisfy me. The biggest reason that I was holding onto upgrading the system was due to nobody having a kit for the front woofers which were crucial to a 3 way system that I wanted until now. I will update everyone once I get everything installed along with pricing and my impressions.

 

Does anybody knows where is the amplifier for the non Burmester cars? My installer couldn't not find it, I wanted the use the preamp connections instead of the speakers high level

 

The stock system gets the power from the head unit.

 

I just received the Steg BZN4C speakers for the doors and Steg BZ25 tweeters.
My C300 was fitted with the very crappy standard sound system, but I have fitted Burmester drivers in both front and rear doors and Burmester tweeters along with a crossover.
I installed the Steg speakers in my car this afternoon.
As I already had installed a crossover and Burmester tweeters, it did not take long to add the new speakers to the car.

I was hesitant to replace the W206 Burmester tweeters (not identical to the W205 tweeters), as I was fairly satisfied with them, although they were a bit aggressive.

Overall, I am quite happy with the change.
I would not have thought it, but there is a much better defined low-end now (of course not the deepest frequencies). I can best describe it as I hear less of the crappy 6" bassdriver currently fitted in the passenger footwell.

Midrange has been improved as well. It is slighty more laid back compared with the Burmester drivers.

The Steg tweeters are much less aggressive than the W206 Burmester tweeters, while still providing a nice addition to the high end frequencies.

If you are considering upgrading your standard or advanced system, I highly recommend going with the Steg speakers instead of the Burmester speakers.
No idea if the Steg speakers are available in the US, though. I am based in Denmark. I paid 172 USD in total for both sets of speakers.

Next step for me will be to replace the 6" bass driver in the passenger footwell and add one to the driver's footwell also. That will require a separate amp, and I am currently looking for a 1/2 channel amp with hi-input to be connected directly to the speaker connector coming from the MBUX system. It must also be small enough to be mounted behind the glovebox.

 

Both steg and Match Up should have front woofer solutions for the w206 now. I would definitely get the steg one though since I believe it is a 2 ohm driver. Like you said you’ll need a amp to drive them and I would highly recommend either the Musway M6 or Audison Forza C8.14. Both are DSP/AMP and you will get the most out of your woofers and speakers from them.

 

Thanks for the suggestion for suitable amplifiers, Holo.
I will be looking for a 1 or 2 channel amp, which is can connect directly to the speaker connector currently connected to the crappy 6,5" bass-driver in the passenger footwell.
This would remove the necessity to access the connectors on the main unit behind the screen.
I am sure the rest of the speakers in the car would benefit from separate amplification, but I am not willing to make the investment of a 6 channel amp w. DSP, as they are quite costly.

I am considering the Steg DST 202D class-D amp, which has the hi-inputs and auto-on feature via that connection. This would cost me 266 USD. Challenge will be to make a bracket for it to be mounted behind the glovebox.
Steg makes the BZN8 set of woofers which are 2 ohm speakers and perhaps too much of a load for that Steg amp. They would cost me 532 USD.
Audiotec-Fischer makes the UP W8MB-S4.3 set of woofers for the W206. They would set me back 647 USD, which is a bit too expensive in my opinion.

 

What’s your budget for an amp/dsp? If not you can definitely get away with just a normal amp. And yes the plug and play woofers are quite expensive and most of that cost is definitely RND. You can get away with custom fabricating your own if you want to spend the time and effort. You’ll also need a LOC which can fix the bass rolloff that the system has.

 

Just found the Axton A101 1-channel amp, which seems to suit the purpose perfectly.
A local dealer sells it for 194 USD. That seems reasonable.

The plug and play woofers are overprized, but also an easy solution. I think it may end up being one of those.

 

I would recommend getting a subwoofer instead which will give you a lot more low end for cheaper but at the same time it will only hit the lower bass notes.

 

Today I finally finalized the installation of the STEG BZN8 bass-drivers.
The sound system in my C300 now consists of the following:

- STEG BZN4C component set consisting of mid-drivers in the doors and tweeters
- Crossover installed between the speakers in the front doors and the output coming from the MBUX
- Burmester mid-drivers in the rear doors
- STEG BZN8 bass-drivers
- Axton A101 mono amplifier driving the STEG BZN8
- Self-made cables both inout and speaker-cables

The Axton amp is connected to the original speaker connector for the original 6.5" bass-driver.
It fits very snugly in between the firewall and the plastic cover for the positive lead distribution box. The Axton amp is just on the verge of being too big to fit.
I originally planned on using an Axton A1250, but could not get it to work with its high-level inputs and it furthermore is not rated at 1 ohms, which the parallel coupled STEG bass-drivers would end up being.

The sound improvement over the stock system is quite impressive.
The two most significant upgrades were adding the tweeters and adding the bass-drivers.
I dialed in the Axton amp settings by ear.

Replacing the speakers in the doors is very easy and can be done by most.
Replacing the bass-driver in the passenger side and the plastic cover in the driver's side is quite challenging. I am not a professional in this regard. It took me about 8 hours in total to install the replace the two bass-drivers.

The upgrade has cost me a total of 978 USD and a lot of effort.
I have not heard the GLADEN setup, but I presume it provides some benefit for the door speakers and I guess the DSP part can assist with dialing in the sound better.
However, overall I am quite happy with the setup I have ended up with.



STEG bass-driver in the driver's side footwell.

STEG bass-driver behind the plastic cover and Axton A101 placed between the plastic cover and the firewall.

 

Couple of videos on how to remove the door panels from the great German mechanic Chesttechner