nauticalx

Guys:

Just got my E Coupe. WHERE IS THE BASS? Turn the stereo all the way up and barely a humm or thud from the rear where this supposed subwoofer is supposed to be. The front door speakers vibrate the car more than this sub! Is this sub really that weak or is there something going on here?!

Mtl20v

I know. The sound system is extremely weak in my cab. The Harmon kardon system in my c300 was MUCH better.

Mtl20v

I thought that it was due to the roof taking up space in the cabriolet. Sucks to hear that even the coupe suffers from the same problem.

PGT

umm....turn up the bass setting a bit? Mine's so loud as to vibrate the rear deck and make the rearview mirror unusable. A JL 10W6, it is not, but it has as much output as a 10W0 does.

nauticalx

Volume and bass were turned up all the way.

Richie999

umm....when you state that the factory sub has as much "output" as a JL 10W0....what is out put? SPL?

nauticalx

I'm gonna take this thing to the dealer and ask to sit in another unit to compare the performance. I refuse to believe that this sub is THAT weak! Anyone in the Atlanta area wanna do a meet?

PGT

hyperbole

Richie999

Your exaggeration was lost in the juvenile sarcasm.

PGT

wat? your sarcasm or mine? I was trying to give a tangible example of performance, as a metric to compare. Clearly, the OP has an issue that needs to be resolved.

cmcbenz

there isn't a subwoofer in the E coupe. I have a 2010 E550 Coupe with the P2 package - > with the upgraded harmon kardon system. I installed a 10 in JL Audio sub for $1200 and it has a knob under the steering wheel to adjust the power from the amp (amazing product and a top of the line amp and pro box). I can post a pic if you want. Thing is amazing. You could do it for as low as $600 if you go with the cheap stuff.

PGT

Yes, there is a sub on P2...it's in the rear deck.

cmcbenz

so i did some research and you are correct, but in practice it's quite weak and shakes the rear shelf in a very annoying way. i think it's a matter of how much power gets pushed to the sub and the location of the sub that makes it ineffective. in the A6, audi puts the subs in the doors which works better IMO.

the HK system has a total wattage support of 600W from the amp and the speakers support 450W of power and i'm guessing isn't enough power for good bass... here's the brochure with details...

http://mercedes.harmankardon.com/brochures/e-class.pdf

PGT

100w and a proper sub will do plenty.

that said, I do agree that the OEM system's limitation is its location and subsequent vibrations that mask any actual distortion.... but only one aspect; Isolate the rear deck and you'll see if it works or not.

cmcbenz

define "plenty" . it's personal preference...

i can literally massage myself via my sub, but i only do that for the ladies. haha, most of the time though seriously i just add a little more bass than the original system provides - with no annoying vibration and zero distortion. i turn the logic surround system off and leave the treble and bass where they should be (middle). um, it does take up about 1/4 of my trunk space though.

if you like techno, trance, dubstep, hip hop, etc the P2 HK system really doesn't have enough bass in the right areas to satisfy my personal preference. i like all kinds of music and having a really good sub with low volume precision that my JL audio sub provides adds quite a bit to my experience of music that's not meant for shaking everything - like massive attack, thievery corporation, paul van dyk, etc. i really think HK should take another shot at putting the subs on the sides of the rear seats and/or the front doors. rattling vibration is annoying on a $60k car.

cmcbenz

i would meet you @ atlanta classic cars sometime, if you want to hear my system.

PGT

I'm a huge reggae guy and I find this system is good enough to warrant not messing with it. And, that coming from someone with a 10W6 and 500/1v2 sitting in the garage and the skill to DIY the install.

then again, I'm married and my wife never was someone attracted to guys who compensate by adding big stereos

cmcbenz

my condolences for being married . jk. i'm 28 and a bit of an audiophile. ... and i need to be out and about looking for a wife. but compensation? haha, don't be ridiculous. i thought benz owners were classier than that. my list of cars has two things in common: speed & good sound systems. anyone who is worth their weight in salt knows the ladies really don't care about either one.

to be clear, i'm really shocked that you think it's a good enough system... you sound pretty good at this stuff, no pun intended. my JL is a 10w3 and i have the same amp that you have. you should try it!!!

PGT

I just bought a JL Fathom F110 this weekend for my home system. I'm quite confident in saying I'd spend money on the car if I felt it lacking and the time/expense was worth the trouble. My recent history (all DIY installs)

2008 Subaru STI. Kenwood/Garmin double-DIN in-dash with plans of grandeur (traded on the Benz before I got around to the install):

Custom doorpanels with DLS Iridium 6.3i


2006 MINI Cooper. 135Wx5 - MBQuart up front, old school Kicker 6x9 subs in the sidepanels. anybody that listened to it thought there was a 10" sub in the back but instead saw nothing:









2005 Subaru Legacy GT Wagon. JL Cleansweep integrated into center console with volume and bass controls (LED in ashtray). 100x4 + 500x1. Quarts times 4 doors. JL Stealthbox w/10W6. Anybody that listened to it thought there was a pair of 12's back there (when instead they saw nothing).

cmcbenz

VERY nice work !!

nauticalx

Yeah, that sounds cool but I'm not so sure that I want to mod the stock system much besides changing this P O $ subwoofer. Speaking of which, I absolutely REFUSE to believe that this is all the punch that this system has! I'd like to compare with another stock system first because this thing is pathetic...

AnotherSL

The 'upgraded' sound system in the E-Coupe is one of the worst I've ever heard, especially in a nice car.

The tweeters play about 10db (or 10x) too loud, the midrange is pretty nasal, and the bass is so boomy that it almost completely clouds out the midrange. No amount of adjusting the controls will help very much.

Now that I've changed the all-season tires to Michelin Pilot Super Sports, the top priority is to talk to my car stereo guy.

nauticalx

bass is boomy? what do you mean? I can barely hear it it's so weak!

Mtl20v

Just as i though. the Cabrio even has a smaller sub than the coupe. Weak.

BNKH

I just took delivery of my 2012 E550 cab with HK upgrade and I made a fatal error by assuming such a premium sound system would be ok. It's not. It's awful.

There is literally no bass unless I turn up the bass setting to max, whereupon the sub thuds/booms away in the trunk - sounding disconnected from the music - horrible!!!!

It's been back to the store twice, but the MB dealer tells me it's perfectly normal (whatever).

Not sure what to do. Maybe swapping out the sub would be enough, but I suspect the whole audio system is connected to the car's electronics, which makes messing around with it quite risky.

Actually, it has a feature which changes the audio setup when the roof is down. Again, sounds awful, they shouldn't have bothered. The boomy sub is even worse with the roof up.

If I could, I would just switch the sub off and tolerate the average bass coming from the other speakers.

Any ideas?