ttaylormd

So would like to upgrade the stereo without doing too much and / or making it too obvious...

I've seen these Audiotec Fisher Match amps on crutch field that are supposed to be factory system Addons. Does anyone have any experience with this?

I would love more bass but I don't want a bulky box in my trunk especially if it will hinder dropping the top at all. The factory sub with the HK logic 7 system sits between the rear seats and seems small... Not sure exactly what would fit to replace there if anything.

I'm in San Antonio, TX if anyone happens to have a specific vendor they use and trust.

Thanks in advance

ruffrob

I've added on an Alpine sub amp and JL Audio subs.......to an existing Harman Kardon system....so you should be good.......Make sure you have a good installer...Good Luck!!

ttaylormd

Do you happen to have any pics how this came out? Where did you mount everything, and I'm assuming you also have the convertible and made sure it didn't impede the roof mechanism.

ruffrob

Nah ......all I was saying is that if you find a good installer ,adding stuff to your existing Harman Kardon system is not a big thing. I have a coupe (but not a convertible) like you now and once I get my sub in the trunk ,I will post pictures of it.....I'm taking the same system from my older sedan and using one of the two JL subs and adding an appropriate box and using the Alpine sub amp I mentioned earlier..

txjeep

If you listen to most of your music through an iPhone or something similar, you might try the "glove box EQ" mod. Search for it in the forums. If I find it I will post a link here.

It was originally done for an S class, hence the glove box location for the Aux input. For an E coupe it would be in the console. Basically, you buy a Clarion EQ and some 3.5mm cables and plug it in through the Aux input in your console. I did this and the sound quality, particularly the bass, improved quite a bit. The oem stereo doesn't give enough control over the tuning, and pushes too much midrange for my liking, which is why I did it.

However, doing this only affects what goes through the Aux input. It won't help with music register or Bluetooth sources. Total cost was minimal, and it took maybe 15 minutes to install. Worth a look before you spend time and money on more significant upgrades.

Edit for link: https://mbworld.org/forums/s-class-w221/513338-big-audio-upgrade-eq-pandora-streaming-bluetooth-around-100-a.html

RickInHouston

Are there any updates to this thread? I'm looking to upgrade the audio in my 2017 E coupe. I am going by the installer in the next few days to see what he might recommends. The sound is simply dead and lifeless. For the first time ever, I have treble, mid and base set almost to their highest and it still sounds bland. The speakers in this system are simply disappointing.

SnakeDoctor

I find the HK system that comes 2014+ is much improved over pre-2014 where the low end was seriously lacking. Better than most factory audio I've come across in my car purchases.

PaulE550

True. In general, the HK system is quite good for a factory audio system in this class. It is definitely not a audiophile level system, but almost no factory installed audio system is. If that is the goal, then the only real option is to take the car to a custom shop and replace all the factory installed speakers, upgrade the amps and equalizer.

Still the HK can perform quite well for most, but not all, music. The problem most people seem to complain about is the lack of base (not enough or not loud enough) or that everything sounds flat. If what you want is a booming base that can be heard down the block, then sorry neither the HK nor the BO is going to deliver that. Neither is built to deliver that in our cars. Time to install a sub-woofer and dedicated amp in your trunk.

The second issue of a flat sounding system seems to be due to the way HK setup their equalizer. I haven't found a way to access the parameters through the engineering menus, so I took a different approach. Modify the audio material being played through the system to see if the system could be made to produce much better sound quality without replacing hardware. As a musician and software engineer, I had a pretty good idea of what I was trying to achieve from an audio perspective. I re-mastered some of what I want to play to try in my car to compensate for what appeared to be lacking. I pumped up the gain on the low end by a few db to fix the base to my liking and increased the mid-range by a little over 3 db to enhance track vocals. The high end seems fine, so I left that alone. Then I added some mild spatial adjustments to add depth. In essence, I compensated for what appear to be the poor equalizer settings. The result is the system is more than capable of delivering very good quality sound. Just not something most people are going to be able to do themselves.