njgilligan

Overall, I'm very pleased with the sound quality of the stock speakers, however, I wouldn't mind a little better base response. I've had aftermarket systems before, but I don't want to sacrifice the space in the trunk, so I want to look into a direct replacement of the stock sub-woofer. I'm thinking I may need to get an aftermarket amp to get the sound I want. For now, I just want to take a look at the sub and see if I can find a more efficient unit for a direct replacement.

I haven't been able to find where the sub-woofer is located. Can anyone enlighten me?

dlbehrns

I didn't know there was a subwoofer with the oem Bose system.

njgilligan

You might be right, but I thought it was an 8.1 system running off a single amp in the trunk (8 mid to high range drivers, and 1 low end/subwoofer).

MarcusF has posted this diagram (along with a whole lot of other helpful info) on his website:
http://www.marcusfitzhugh.com/CLK/DIY/headunit2.html

marcoalza

My sub-woofer is located behind the rear seat, (Cab)
A bit of a job to get too but worth it once upgraded.

VIPclk320

on the w208 hard top the two speakers on top of the trunk/under package tray by rear glass is considered the woofers which they use the trunk space as their box hint the reason why underneath they are exposed. there are two sets of speakers on each side door the front big ones are considered your front components and the rear smaller ones are considered your rear components and the tweeters on top of the doors behinde the side view mirros are considered your highs. on the verts how ever because of the package tray not being there there is a tube/box built into the center of your rear seat with a small grille sticking out under the rear seat armrest which is your woofer but the rest is the same. if you are going to change the any of the speakers make sure to use one way speakers because if you use two way or more your amp wouldnt recognise the rest of the speakers and only one would work on each side, even though there are only 4 speaker wires behinde the radio going into the factory amp, some how the amp splits the signal into 6 speakers(comp, low and high). hope that was helpful.

jonUF02

I'm still working on the system as a whole, but right now I am running Pioneer AVIC-X930BT head unit into the stock amp for highs, and through the sub pre-out to Infinity Basslink sub in the trunk. I took out the stock CD changer on the right and the Basslink tucks nicely into the space behind the wheel. It gives plenty of bass for a balanced system, I have used it in various cars over 10 years and never disappointed. I will post a pic when I get a chance.

For the highs, I replaced the front components with an old Eclipse set I had, standard 6.5/6.75 components are a direct fit. For the rear door speakers, they are an odd size, but I managed to modify the plastic bracket to hold standard 4" speakers. I am running Image Dynamics CTX4, but the door panels won't clip on all the way due to the tweeter sticking out beyond the speaker. It's like a 1/8 or 1/4" gap on the bottom corner of the door panel where it meets the metal, but most people will never notice unless they are looking for it. I could take off the factory grilles here and replace with the aftermarket grilles attached to the door panel, but I don't like the looks of the grilles included with the speakers. I would probably go with something that has small tweeters or a better looking grill if I was going to buy them again, but I'm sticking with these and probably using Image Dynamics to replace the front components soon, great price for the amazing sound they produce. I will probably replace the stock amp with a different 4 or 6 channel unit, or possibly go with 8 channels of amp for a "full active" setup. For now, the stock Bose amp is doing the job with all the customizable crossovers and equalizer settings built into the Pioneer deck. It is probably better sound than most people would ever need, but I really like my tunes crisp, clear, and loud!

As for the rear deck "woofers" from the stock system, I don't know what I will do with them. Maybe just leave them and turn down the power for just a little fill, or possibly replace with some more solid bare woofer drivers. I thought about replacing with components in the back, but it would get complicated since they were not intended to fire into the cabin, and it's kind of a pain to get at them for a change.

grt62

Subwoofer in the CLK convertible is under the rear center armrest. Reasonably acceptable for an '03 system...

njgilligan

thanks for all the info. I found a nice diy for getting access to the rear speakers. Seems fairly straight forward:

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w208...ests-subs.html

does anyone know the impedance of the stock 6.5"s? I'm trying to decide what I might replace them with.

sirswift93

Did you ever replace your sub in its original enclosure? I took out my original Bose system, CD and all, and installed a Pioneer AVIC-130BT. I installed a kicker under seat subwoofer that is lying in the trunk; not happy with the sub. I want to update the original sub and install the new speaker in the original enclosure since it's great at directing sound wave directly into the cabin. Only trouble is what size speaker fits the enclosure bracket?