px476

Howdy everybody,

I just purchased a 2007 CLK 350 last week and I am quickly finding that the awesomeness of the car and the sound system are far too disproportionate.

I want to upgrade the entire sound system as quickly as possible for a reasonable amount. However, I i have never done ANY sort of auto customization, nor do i have ANY IDEA WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE to pump up my sound system.

I understand that i sound like an idiot (which i am as far as this sort of thing goes) but if anyone could give me a brief rundown of what could/should be done, i would be much appreciative.

Thanks!
CR

Clkboi

Welcome to the forum.

Follow this thread for the stereo upgrade and use the search feature as well lots of info on how to do it and what to buy:

https://mbworld.org/forums/clk-class...ey-begins.html

Also lets see some pic of your car

2MCHCAR

+1. Also tell us if you plan on using a professional. My radio installation was the second one I have done ever, here is the thread I made detailing the experience:
https://mbworld.org/forums/clk-class...o-install.html

Fellow MBworld W209 member "bheng" has a few great threads about his radio install as well.

bheng

i asked a plethora of questions while i was actually doing the radio install. lol this forum helped a lot just search up my name, im sure all the old threads on audio will come up. .and if you cant find it, your **** out of luck!

haha just kidding. just ask and you shall receive. i was in your place about a year ago. when i started the audio journey.

oh and also tell us how much you plan on spending. audio can range from a 1k system to several....

oh and this was the first audio system ive done. lol i didnt break anything but door pins.

dynomite05

Question: Have any of you guys done sound dampening? I was planning on going with dynamat, but I have been reading about this stuff. (http://www.secondskinaudio.com/)

Anyone have an idea of how much more I should budget if I want to do the whole cab and trunk?

bheng

the entire cabin? thats going to set you back. in terms of budget, i would say an extra 200 or 300

i used dynamat only because i bought in bulk. i used more than 20 sq ft which was offered in the trunk kit, in our trunks. i think i used 28 sq ft cuz i had one trunk, and 2 of the 4 sq ft. then i bought another bulk pack of 36 sq ft. and used some more in the sides of the trunk, not just the lid.

for the front, i used dynomat on the doors which was one whole sheet in itself. i wanted to do the rest of the cabin, but ididnt know how to take it apart nor did i want to go to the hassle of breaking something with such a large piece. and i had a 1 or 2 sheets left.

many have used second skin audio and prefer that. i think its up to preference. i used dynomat cuz it was readily available at first. then i ordered the bulk pack only to save a couple of bones.

a friend with an mr2 had 2 10s in his cabin, right behind the seats. awsome sound. but he used a no name brand to dampen his cabin. and it worked just as well.

dynomite05

How has it been working for you? Does it also keep the road noise out? I was thinking of doing it tomb style in the cabin.

bheng

lol hmm well the knock is still vibrating the cabin. especially the rear by the sunshade. i couldnt figure out why. i do notice that if i apply force by the area of the sunshade, the vibrating sound does dampen. i bought high density foam, and plan on shoving some in a cornr back there to see if it could help.

i hear less road noise for sure. i wish i did tomb style. but also know it will weigh down the car. the doors feel a lot heavier. i feel the difference opening my friends c vs my door. so if you do your entire cabin, you might feel a bit slower.

dont forget to either put foam or dynomat on your trunk license plate so it doesnt rattle.

dynomite05

Good to know. The rear self is a big issue for me. I really don't want that thing rattling with my new system. I'm one step ahead of you with the license plate. I had to put some weathering strip foam behind the plate so it wouldn't scratch my CF. I can't wait to get this work done. I hope it doesn't take forever.

px476

1. Thanks for all the responses guys, I really appreciate it.
2. I am almost certaintly going to have a professional install the system.
3. I initially want to put 1k into it to get it passable, however I diffently do not want to skimp and I figure I'd be willing to put up to 3k in over a few months if that make that much of a difference.
4. I am posting from my phone and cannot upload pics. I will link some later today.
Thanks again!
CR

benamg22

I'm pretty new to the forum as well, but it has helped me a ton - the guys that have already responded to you in this thread were extremely helpful to me. I am currently in the process of upgrading my system. I am adding new door speakers, 10" sub, 2 amps, and a sound processor. So far I am just under $2K (including accessories to build enclosure, wiring, etc.).

I finished running the power from the battery and installing the door speakers this past weekend (which can be very tedious, but the only casualty was a few of the door panel clips). The most time consuming piece has been the custom frames I had to make to fit the 6.5" two-ways in the door - both front and rear. So far so good. Keep a check on my posts as I have a couple pictures and will be finishing the install next week (Clkboi put a link to my post above). Good luck! One thing that has helped was that I purchased a service manual dvd on ebay for $20. This thing is all inclusive...gives you instructions on removing panels, wiring diagrams, etc.

I priced a professional install and it was going to run over $4K for lesser work. Send me a message if you have any questions.

bheng

mmm. i think when i finished i calculated everything and how much it cost me. i was up in the 2.5k area and thats buying stuff with discount, and online stuff from different sites

dynomite05

Does that price include the Hu?

dragon_27

dynomat all panels to stop vibrating

Jamesbbh

To disassemble the entire cabin and take EVERYTHING out is going to be quite a chore, but if you really enjoy a good sound system it's the way to go. Just clean all of the bare surfaces really well so the sheets adhere to everything, also, use scissors to cut it when possible vs. an exacto to keep from scratching the paint underneath and possibly causing rust down the road. I think these cars are deadened fairly well from the factory, but I know I'm at least going to do the trunk.The license plate thing, in the past ive used 3M double sided body mounting tape around the inside edge of the cover and then around the edges of the plate itself, never heard a rattle after that.

benamg22

My price doesn't include a new HU. The JBL amps were pretty expensive, and consequently the total install price is nearing $2K. My goal is to keep the factory appearance in tact, minus the sub port exposed in the rear of the cabin.

bheng

wes, 2.5 including the hu. thats with getting the speakers, amps, and sub on discount one way or another. albeit, the speakers arent powerful and the amp i got for the sub matches power just perfectly imo.

also when applying the sound dampening at least with dynomat, i basically pressed it onto the area i wanted to apply it to. creased a mold. took it out, cut it up. applied it, heated it with heat gun and rolled it (i think thats overkill) but i wanted the job done super corectly the first time so i wouldnt need to double back.

dragon, i would love to dynomat everything but i dont know how to take off the cabin. and i fear breaking that the most as its probably going to be near impossible to replace.
i was thinking of having a benz tech take off the cabin, so i can apply more dynomat...but i havent found one that would do it for me yet. so as of now, im fine with it. i found that it only vibrates noticeable when listening to music loud but not that loud...kinda in the medium range. if i listen to it softly while others are in the car, no vibration. and when i crank it up when i commute alone i dont notice it

dragon_27

most of my cars before i dyno the door panels, and the whole trunk. once i roll down the windows, then people can hear my system and the bass doesn't vibrate that bad like you hear civics a block down the road with crappy rattling...

bheng

the rattling/vibrating isnt too extreme. very easy to phase out most of the time. now when i put the rear seats down.....man thats when the fun comes in =)

dynomite05

Brian, when you putting your rear seats up after having them down for a while, are you left with indents on the seats from the seat belts?

bheng

yup. is there a way to tuck them in?

dynomite05

I dunno, that's why I was asking. That ***** irritates me to no end!

Kevwood

lol, I get them here, they do go away though. And as for the sound deadening, I always used dynamat myself - cheaper ones peel after time, never had that problem with dyna. And a definate yes - the road noise is far less after doing a complete job like I did on my red Z34 (the link I sent you).