no_clue

Congrats!!!!!! Talk about "FACTORY-Look". I actually spend entire week looking at each head unit until I found Blaupunkt!!!!!!!!!!

NO friends of mine notice I have new HU.

p.s. I also love its large buttons. ( seriously, are most of HU designers females? )

sbarsap

So which one is better PAC OEM-2 or Scosche?

I have an Alpine CDA-9856 connected to the stock Bose Amp/Speakers. I use my IPOD on it with Alpine's KCE-422i cable. I notice that the volume is not constant at times, it occasionally goes low then comes back to the current setting. I am not sure what the problem is.

When I had my previous HU also Alpine it did not do this.


no_clue any suggestions?

no_clue

I have tested one of my friend's Alpine ( I belived it is 9852 ) and found you do NOT need any level convertor, because you can use its line-out (NOT speakers out) to connect to the Bose Amp. The out-put level can be adjust in your Alpine.

I suspect that your Speed-Sensing-Volume controller is acting up.
(ONLY HU accepting MB's Auto-speed-sensing-volume is Blaupunkt/Becker)
In other word, make sure your A-1 connector (from your mercedes connector) is NOT connecting to your Alphine.

ImaginAsian

my installer used a VW Metra harness that plugs right into the factory wiring and made the installation a cinch. the bose system is quite good, the becker head unit sucks ***** - simple as that

here's a pic of my alpine install - i love this head unit. i also have a 12" MB Quart Dual 2 Ohm Voice Coil Sub being powered by a MB Quart Mono Class D sub thats wired to crank 1000W at 1 Ohm - this baby thumps

rsatmans

Hello Guys my volume button is going out and i was wondering how hard it is to install this alpine or blaupunkt hu. I like the stock look but the blaupunkt is very close. I called and looked around its about 225 for a used becker to put in the car. Please someone help me thanks

FireFox31

It's very easy if you have the few parts you need and some soldering skill. If you lack either or both, simply tell your installer exactaly how to do it and refuse to believe them when they say it's not possible.

Check out this information from my install. I only have a few steps left before finishing this and posting pictures and full info. Heck, maybe I should manufacture these direct plug-and-play harnesses for the community. I've got the tools and sort of have the skill. Interested?

rsatmans

Yes i would be very intrested in this plug and play kit if you could make me one

rsatmans

Hey guys i got the blaupunkt key west and the install was very easy took me about 45 minutes to do full install. The sound quality is better and has a nice cd player and aux in. Just wanted everyone to know this is not a hard install and really improved the audio in my 99 e300.

fju2112

i have no clue with a lot of this terminology, but i am looking for a relatively easy way to simply change out the stock head unit with a new one - preferably one of the alpine head units which allow ipod integration - while continuing to use the stock bose amp. is this possible? i've heard varied responses on the matter and i want to be sure of what needs to be done before i go ahead and make purchases.

rsatmans

Hey, just a suggestion but the blaupunkt that i used worked really well it uses stock amp and speakers it gave me more bass and better overall clarity. For $48 more they offer the ipod listen and control adapter which can control all the functions like turn on and off display song info and charge your ipod. I got the reciever and everything i needed from crutchfield for under $130 shipped. That includes jus a standard aux in for my ipod to listen only, I plan to buy the interface soon to charge since thats a nice feature. If you need some help i would be glad to show you what to buy and walk you through the install it took less than 30 minutes and ive never installed a radio/cd player before.

Zackb911

I just ordered a Key West unit for my car after painfully searching for something that wouldnt clash and has an aux input for my sirius. Crutchfield now has them for $99 and I had a $40 credit so mine is costing me $66 shipped

Thanks for the recommendation!!

fju2112

zack, let us know how it works out? what else does your KW unit do...mp3/ipod functionality...?

jacquesrober

I upgraded a 300e 1988 a few years back, ditching everything audio:head unit, carboard mini speakers, fader switch and wiring(common ground and a + wire to every speakers. Replaced with a new head unit with radio HD (Hyper Digital) cd player and slightly larger speakers, plus added 2x 6 inches subs with only 80 watts amp.The sound was so much better than what the bose system produced in my newly bought E430. The bose bass is muddy and boomy(lots of it), the mid range distort voices and the high frequencies are almost non existent. 10 minutes of listening at medium-high volume gives me a headache. Listening to the cd player is a bit better. Even then the bose system was the best stock system I have heard, in spite of my above comments.
BUT, I have lived with thumping bass (not too loud but dry bass), clear mids and crystaline highs in my older benz, so I will remove all audio(HU, amp, speakers) in the E430 and install the old system from my DIY on my 300E. The head unit is capable of delaying the signal to any speaker according to equalization and distance from a central point so that speakers placement is not relevant to the listening experience. The head unit is Kenwood and also is matched with a CD, MP3 player. Original DIY project cost was around $500 and the new DIY will not cost more than around $150 extra due to front speakers purchase. I will start the project next week and keep a post on results.

JR