evilsaint

... built into the stock head unit? Pleeeeease say yes, so I can just replace it (which I probably will for real line-outs and an iPod connection anyways) and stop blowing out my ears every time I decide to have a bit of fun

WaveyKat

its a mic that is in the dome light above that can be unplug easy DIY

evilsaint

Awesome, thanks. Any tips on a painless unhooking of it? And will it affect anything else, past the phone, I would assume?

DarkXerox

ah yeah i'd like to know how to disable it also. I could have sworn that I disabled it but it still intervenes

amgmark

If you pull down your light dome, to the right in the roof there is a small hole in the sheet metal.. You will see a wire going in the hole, that is where the mic is. I just ripped the mic off the wire.. but you can unplug it.. I was just impatient after almost blowing up my speakers.. LOL

jgsx

If you replace the head unit, the speed sensitive volume control will no longer function. If you're keeping the factory unit, you can unplug the unit like others said, or if you have an open minded and friendly dealer, you can have them disable it through STAR diagnostics.

evilsaint

The whole assembly is just pressure-fit in there? No need to really pry it or anything?

And I could see ripping that mic out already too, even with only having had the car for a few days I swear I have to adjust the volume stoplight to stoplight for 9/10 of what I listen to...

slammer111

How much volume difference are we talking about? On the W203 the default is +6dB, which is barely noticeable... so you guys drive around with shotguns or something?

evilsaint

Sadly, it's just enough difference to be irritating; i've no idea what MB was thinking on this one.

At lower volumes you can hardly notice it, but if it really is a +6db change like you said, imagine loud music going up by %60 more in volume... ow... (correct me if my math is off, but isn't +10db = twice the perceived volume?)

slammer111

Nope, that's not how accoustics work. Yes decibels are logarithmic and +10dB means 10x the energy, but that's not how we humans perceive it.

Linky

To give you an idea, I remember reading once somewhere that normal convo is 60dB, and someone yelling is 80dB. Not exactly eardrum-shattering stuff. A rock concert is around 120-140dB. With that said, I don't know what the default is for the W204 (even the W203 had 4 settings including "off"), but if it's done like the W203, you should be able to tone it down/switch it off at the dealer for a nominal fee through StarDiag. (not a fan of ripping out wires personally)

ps just reread your original post, what kind of fun are we talking about here?

evilsaint

Let's just say going out to grab lunch at work is IMMEASURABLY more fun with this car

Where/how can you change the settings of yours? I figured that I was just missing some button on the stock HU originally (no owner's manual yet), but i've putzed with everything I can find to no avail.

slammer111

Okay, I was imagining that somehow a girl was involved, and that maybe the stereo was cranking up when the car was... not running.

The settings must be changed through the computer at the DEALER.

evilsaint

SSV while not moving, that'd be hell in a handbasket, lol.

Oh well, figured I would have to go talk to a dealership soon enough and establish some sort of relationship locally... Anybody recommend one in the northern Chicago suburbs?

amgmark

Try adding 1000 watts and 2 12" woofers.. it ends up being much more that 6dB..

amgmark

The mic is just clipped in.. I just yanked the wire out and left the mic where it was.. I never intended on using it again.. It should come out pretty easily though.

DarkXerox

Yeah I want to know how to take off the dome without breaking something since I've never done this before. Thanks!

amdeutsch

The factory HU has a preset setting of 6 dB that can be changed/set by the dealer in 3 dB steps down to 0. The mic in the overhead is the one for the std BOSE system and is variable in the sense that it supposedly increases volume with perceived noise; i.e. open windows/sunroof, increased speed, etc. In that sense you could get a double adjustment on speed. In my old C320 I had the dealer set the std HU to 0 dB and left the mic alone. That worked out to be much more tolerable.

DarkXerox

Eh, bump! I really would like to do this soon.