Audio Upgrade/Subwoofer/HK System
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Newbie
Joined: Jul 2023
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From: USA
Mercedes-Benz GLK 350
Audio Upgrade/Subwoofer/HK System
What’s up guys I have a 2015 GLK350 and want to know if getting the Harmon/Kardon speakers worth it. If anyone has it, how good does it sound, how many speakers are there in total, and how much do you think the total would cost for everything? Also I know that the premium speakers come with the subwoofer if I’m correct and it goes under the spare tire and what’s the size of that subwoofer? I wanna know everything I would need to upgrade to the premium speakers. Including total price, how many speakers, and if I need to buy any harness/wiring kit. Please and thanks.
Last edited by rick223; Sep 28, 2023 at 07:39 PM.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Sep 2015
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2013 glk 350
You want to know everything? That’s too time consuming to write . Get speakers compared at a car stereo place . What you want to spend determines overall quality. For very good you need an add on amp and processor and someone e to reprogram your radio (250). I spent a lot on Audison. Go talk to a few stereo shops and let them do it . In Chicago I know a Quality place . So many options .
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Jul 2023
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
From: USA
Mercedes-Benz GLK 350
You want to know everything? That’s too time consuming to write . Get speakers compared at a car stereo place . What you want to spend determines overall quality. For very good you need an add on amp and processor and someone e to reprogram your radio (250). I spent a lot on Audison. Go talk to a few stereo shops and let them do it . In Chicago I know a Quality place . So many options .
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Sep 2015
Posts: 2,583
Likes: 342
2013 glk 350
Go to Audison’s site they have equipment that could Cost 50,000$. I spent 3400 total . Your best bet is to go to a quality installer and listen to speakers and have them guide you . Just new speakers are a bit better. With the stock amp you have to be aware of speaker efficiency. Also there is a hidden EQ multi band in the Engineering menu . Google how to access it, it’s pushing 3 buttons at the same time on the radio. I never could get a sound I liked using the built in system. Best for you is to listen to a speaker display that has many brands hooked up, and talk to a few stores that install .
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Joined: Feb 2023
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2011 GLK 350 4Matic
A few random thoughts on auto audio...
No matter how much you spend, the environment (a lumpy, small, odd-shaped "room" made up of soft and hard surfaces at various angles, without any good speaker placement options) is going to be a huge compromise.
New, efficient, high-quality (not necessarily expensive) speakers (aka "drivers") will make by far the biggest bang for the buck improvement
A true high-end system (new amps, eqs, subs, etc.) is a major undertaking, and might result in some less-than-spectacular results if the system isn't really tuned to that (horrible, compromised) environment
Adding a subwoofer can make a really big difference in the perceived system performance, by (obviously) boosting (hopefully not OVER-boosting) the bass, but also by taking the bass waveforms off the low-frequency drivers in the doors (making them much cleaner in the process).
Size matters, though try to avoid getting a huge subwoofer in a tiny cabinet (better to get a cabinet that's tuned properly to the driver for the best sound). I had a 70's Cutlass with a 15" sub using the trunk as an enclosure. Totally different than the "boom box sound" from so many modern subs.
Think long and hard about how you'll actually be listening to the system. I used to startle people a block away (and this was in the mid-70's) but have mellowed considerably. ;-)
No matter how much you spend, the environment (a lumpy, small, odd-shaped "room" made up of soft and hard surfaces at various angles, without any good speaker placement options) is going to be a huge compromise.
New, efficient, high-quality (not necessarily expensive) speakers (aka "drivers") will make by far the biggest bang for the buck improvement
A true high-end system (new amps, eqs, subs, etc.) is a major undertaking, and might result in some less-than-spectacular results if the system isn't really tuned to that (horrible, compromised) environment
Adding a subwoofer can make a really big difference in the perceived system performance, by (obviously) boosting (hopefully not OVER-boosting) the bass, but also by taking the bass waveforms off the low-frequency drivers in the doors (making them much cleaner in the process).
Size matters, though try to avoid getting a huge subwoofer in a tiny cabinet (better to get a cabinet that's tuned properly to the driver for the best sound). I had a 70's Cutlass with a 15" sub using the trunk as an enclosure. Totally different than the "boom box sound" from so many modern subs.
Think long and hard about how you'll actually be listening to the system. I used to startle people a block away (and this was in the mid-70's) but have mellowed considerably. ;-)
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Sep 2015
Posts: 2,583
Likes: 342
2013 glk 350
Get a subwoofer first, forget the built in if you can even find one, I have a powered JL sub in back bungied to the side . Get one with a control you can have up front, mine is Velcro to the mid consul where my hand rests . And check out speakers in a big display.
