Sub/Amp Install
 

Anyone do a sub/amp install? Any tips? This Burmester sound system has to be the worse sounding system ever! Bass is non-existent. Not everyone wants to hear classical music Mercedes.

I agree. What is the point of having a bad ass coupe if you cannot listen to Zeppelin and Queen the way it is meant to be heard! Maybe they could put in the stereo from the Pacer in Wayne’s World. :)

Let us know if you figure this out.

Not much to figure out, my friend installs my sub and amp in just about every Benz, Porsche, Jag I've ever owned. Just didn't know if anyone had any tips. Thanks!

Well the only suggestion I have is to turn up the base (which i did the day i bought it). But I agree re installing the sub woofer and amp. I just dont know if this car is a keeper worth that investment.

I remember way back when I had an 01 E55 (god I loved that car—it was so raw), I had Clarion “Pimp My Ride” and they put a sub woofer, amp and even a purple light bar in the trunk. Replaced all the speakers in the car. Incredible sound. I could go to a stop light in LA and out boom box the lowriders!

Ron, you're showing your age when you say things like "out boom box". Ha ha!

Older than dirt. Also could have mentioned 8 tracks if I thought about it. It was really nice, the pause in the middle of the song to change tracks. Gave you a chance to go out and get a beer! :)

Would love to throw a amp and sub in mine all my cars have them. Just scared of anyone taking anything apart in this car cause its so computerized. I have to find someone in the chiagoland that has done it in the Mercedes.

I have the optional HiEnd sound and its pretty good. Bass amp and 10" in the trunk, and 8-10" in the floor firewall.

I heard Doc Brown is really good at electronics. You might want to give him a call. :)

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...6c0c8c08a.jpeg

Jekyl:

It's nothing to be afraid of. I had a 2011 Jaguar XJL also loaded up with electronics. It's pretty straight forward, you tap into the existing sub, run power, ground, and you need a line inverter and you're good to go. It's much easier when the battery is in the trunk, otherwise you have to run power from the front battery to the rear of the car which is just a pain in the ass (removing floor trim, etc).

OKB:

Wow is that what comes with the high-end Burmester? That sounds like the right mix of speakers/sub. I wouldn't have paid extra for the upgrade considering the cost, but if you got it, rock it! The non-high end unit is garbage in my opinion.

Good point Lexnoir, the battery is in the trunk which makes things a lot easier. So you did not tap into the stereo system at all? You just ran off the sub line in the back.

Does anybody know of a good trusted shop in the Chicagoland area? The guy I have used for my other cars works our of his home. I am not sure though if i can trust him with this car.

Correct. it's strictly battery and tapping other sub. Having my buddy do it this weekend.

I'll be watching this thread, too. The installer I've used for my previous designs is a bit too "unstructured" to be allowed into the electronics and/or fiber optics of the MB.
Even the H-K in the W212 leaves SO much to be desired. My old 2001 Lexus LS blew the E-Class sound away.

I still remember when I bought my first MB, in 1988. I asked if there was an upgrade to the wimpy little Becker stereo it came with. The sales consultant told me, "Sir - customers do not purchase these automobiles to listen to the radio."

the $6500 hi end option has many more speakers, ( I think 20 or more total) and (I think1200-1300) watts. Theres a utube video where a shop retrofits one in a s sedan and shows all the new parts.
It really have a strong bass and I blew the trunk woofer. Im pretty impressed with it over all and its better than having to put a new system in. That was one of my hold outs finding the car.

Lexnoir update us with some pics of your setup when you get it done. okbarnett isn't the Burmeister the high stereo system? That is what is I have. It definitely is clear sounding but to me is missing a little more punch in the bass (subwoofer) dept.

6500 hi end option is an option
if you have the big grills on the doors and woofer in the trunk

Update
 

Guys sorry for the delay here's where we are...

AMP and sub are installed but... tapping the speaker wires in the back is causing the sub to not pump. It's moving but nowhere near the level it should be.

I need access to one of the speakers to eliminate the factory amp. But damn it if these speakers aren't hard to reach. The rear deck isn't accessible through the trunk. We think we need to take the rear seats out first but we wanted someone to chime in with experience (a MB mechanic etc.) preferably with directions or a blow out of removing a speaker that would get us access to tap the speaker thus bypassing the factory amp/system.

The good news:

Battery is in trunk (good for powering aftermarket amp) and obviously plenty of ground sources.

Factory amp is also in the trunk.

Bad news:

The factory system is turning down or doing something to my sub so that it doesn't do much pumping. Pretty much worthless.


Next steps:
We tested the sub and amp bypassing the system and it pumps!! So now we need access to a speaker. The easiest one to reach. I'm thinking rear deck.

Since I didn't do the work I failed to take pics (I know, I'm worthless).

But I can tell you to pull out all the rear trunk padding (everything in black). Left side is the factory amp behind the rear seats (now exposed) is the battery. Right side is fuse box for tapping to ensure the amp cuts on and/or off when the car is in/off.

What we got after we were done:

Powered amp, sub working albeit extremely low. It's like the car is saying no... not so much bass. So the sub is moving but very quietly. It also didn't seem to hit or be in sync with the actual bass drops with the music. It was bassing but off beat if that makes sense. Almost like it was bassing based on a sound that wasn't the bass drop.

Again I'm no audio expert so my terms are my terms and not necessarily the views of my backyard mechanic.

He stated however this is a cake job. The challenge is the need to tap an actual speaker which Mercedes did a great job of hiding behind all types of ****.

My ask:

Do we have an MB mechanic or someone that has
-Replaced a speaker in this car (doubt it)
- If so tell me how to access a speaker
-Has any idea what we are doing wrong that's causing the car to turn down the sub

In the words of my friend "can't you just buy a Nissan or something like everyone else".

By the way I trust him. I've done complicated cars before (other Mercedes, Porsche, Jaguar). Like an oil change **** is pretty standard albeit with some nuances. You never need to tap into any other electronics which made me more comfortable.

Help! I'm bass starved.

Hi!

Just don't go overboard with power and size. A diecent power combined with a quality components will give you a much nicer and balanced sound compared to one you will get if going for extremes.

Mario:

Definitely not looking to rattle the neighborhood. What I'm saying is, the sub isn't outputting much if anything. In other words it's as if the sub doesn't exist. Clearly something is wrong. If I can get to a speaker to tap then we'll be in business. But I don't want to rip up the car "trying" to get access to the speaker. I'd like instructions.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...e9b52b8260.jpg

That sucks Lexnoir, I bet it is an easy fix just have to get to someone who has worked on these cars. Maybe try to talk to one of the mechanics at your local dealerships. This is what I mean with these cars being complicated to mod anything on. everything is wired in to work in harmony. One little disturbance can cause a domino effect of problems.Good luck with figuring it out. Keep us updated. Okbarnett do the speakers in the door look like this? this is what I have in the doors.

I found a shop that can handle it. They do high-end cars. They'll charge me $60 to get to the speaker. The hard work is already done. I noticed you posted a pic of the door speaker. Clearly you haven't seen the inside of that door!! I had read on another forum that you'd have to remove the door panel, window motor, and apparently it's a pain in the ass. The rear deck is what I need access to since it's closest to the trunk. We're almost positive the rear seat has to come out. That's usually a pretty easy thing to do. You absolutely can NOT access the speakers from the trunk. There's a **** ton of electronics, battery etc directly behind the seats when accessing from the trunk. Speakers are no where to be found. So they'd have to get the speakers from the rear seat and without taking the seats out I'm not seeing an easy way to do it.

I've chickened out, I'm waiting to get more comfortable (used to my new toy) before I have anyone fiddle with it anymore. But the lack of bass is killing me. To the point where I'm wondering if something is wrong. Is there a factory sub in these cars? Or is it just a bunch of speakers?

I've upgraded the audio system in most of the cars I've owned. My last Mercedes was CLK55 cabriolet and stereo upgrade results were awesome. After that I had a Jaguar F-Type S V8 and upgraded that system awesomely as well. I recently sold it and got a 2017 S550 Cabriolet. This is my next audio upgrade project car. It has the standard Burmeister audio system and lacks bass I want. I am not going to change anything related to head unit as it is totally integrated but I plan to obtain clean low-level full-range signal to add after market amps with my own sub. I may also change speakers but will decide after I hear the Burmeister stock speakers powered by my Alpine amp. The stock speakers may be good enough once I set new crossover points.

The Burmeister standard audio system processes audio and provided limited frequency ranges to each speaker channel. It seems you tapped into audio signal for a speaker with low frequencies reduced by Bermeister's crossover. I know you have been looking to tap into signal from a rear speaker but I'm pretty sure the lowest frequencies are sent to speakers in front, not in the rear. The Bermeister system focuses its soundstage in the front and they put their deepest bass up front, specifically to subwoofer under the dash in the fire wall.

It sounds like we have the same setup and are on the same page with needing more bass. Please post any info you can on your install.