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1997 Mercedes-Benz SL500, 1999 Ford F250 reg cab V10
C217 S Coupe Center Channel Speaker Upgrade to the 810 Burmester (Non-3D) system
Probably a low take rate on this topic but since I was replacing all my drivers with Focal Inside pieces I thought I’d share some info. Yes, this is so worth doing based on the instant sound improvement that I heard. Mids and high are much clearer.
Pry up at the lower right corner and work out towards the drivers door along the lower (closer to you on the dash) edge. Pry up and pull the whole thing towards you to unhook the edge that runs along the windshield. Disconnect the sunlight sensor before trying to clear the trim piece away from the area. The stock center channel - note that it has two plugs going into it. Pry up and out on the speaker.
Two plugs, white is closer to wondshield
The two plugs await the Focal. Note the nice foam ring that Focal supplies to better seal this location.
A very nice piece! But note the mounting tab spacing - not the same as what came out. The factory speaker that goes here has its locating tabs spaced 120 degrees around the periphery.
Note that the Focal speaker does not have its three tabs spaced like the oem that came out. So, I used Dynamat to make a bed for the front of the speaker (closest to windshield) and made sure it was fully seated in the single rearward hole. To do - either find the Focal that is spaced like OEM for this location, or drill proper holes into the dash opening to accept the front two Focal tabs.
From top to bottom: ICC MBZ 100 center channel, ICR MBZ 100 rear deck coaxial surround, IS MBZ 100 - you need two of these kits - 4” midrange and separate tweeter for doors and rear side panels.
The factory center channel speaker resting on the cutouts for the Focal intended center channel speaker. Notice how the bottom two holes do not align.
The ICR MBZ 100 kit provides speakers with the proper hole spacing for both rear deck and center channel locations. Here you can see that I set the factory center channel speaker on one of the ICR speakers just to check the alignment of the mounting pins between them. They are the same as for mounting pin location. However, these ICR drivers only have one jack for a single voice coil electrical connection. Not good for center channel use as that driver has two voice coils and jacks to support them.
Last edited by djcwardog; Aug 16, 2023 at 04:12 PM.
I'm thinking of upgrading my sound system in my 2018 s560 coupe. Do you recommend these focals? Is the sound difference worth the cost? Have you amped them yet or thought about amping the new speakers along with a dsp? Thanks.
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
Slideshow: A one-of-one U.S.-spec Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster became even rarer after a factory-backed transformation at McLaren's headquarters.
