newton22

I have the stock Bose system right now, and I don't think it delievers enough oomph. Anyone here have any aftermarket solutions? I'm not looking to spend very much at all, maybe just a nice sub in the trunk? Advice appreciated.

schwarz

that's remarkable... i've always thought the bose system has always been more than enough for me.

i remember someone installing a custom boot install. i think the member's forum name was jl88.

ShervSL500AMG

Bose is way better than the new Harmon Kardon systems, hands down.

newton22

No way. My Bose doesn't impress me. Maybe something is wrong?

ShervSL500AMG

Have you changed the options in the audio menu? Whats wrong with your system the bass? You can adjust those options and make them to use the surround sound via your COMMAND system.

newton22

Yes, I've gone through all the options. I'm currently using Driver Optimized, works best for me. Still, there is a lot of bass for the back seat passengers, but little for the driver.

ShervSL500AMG

The only thing I can think of is to make the setting the Large Ambient Sound, and then lowering the Bass to 7 and increasing the treble to 10. That should make it more uniform since the bass is in the trunk. Hope that helps!

Vader55

The stock system is ok for talk radio and some mellow stuff. But if you like rock,rap etc. It is horrible.. No Highs ? No Lows ? Must be Bose

Here is a link with my system and some other good ones.

https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...36#post1476136

ShervSL500AMG

Its not horrible, unless you are a rapper or a guy who loves the attention. The bose system is perfect for a mercedes. If I wanted to bump music, I would buy an escalade, puts some rims,tints, and a ghetto system, and not waste money on a Benz. Mercedes has class for a reason, you don't see the dealership giving out 20inch subs as upgrades.

bitonw

Well long, long time ago I had Altec Lansing Voice of the Highway in my car and that sounded great! Nowadays I lost track but who knows if something is still there?
In 2000 I had Bose in an ML500 Limited Edition (company shopping car) and wasn't impressed either... Also an Mark Levinson in an Lexus GS300 didn't impress me. But well I'm a sort of High End jucky...

vraa

Bose sucks butt. Anyone with half an ear will know that

Mark Levinson also sucks (except in the LS430). It's just not balanced right.

tkracing

I felt the same way about my Bose. First I tried adding a sub woofer, it was nice but still not enough. So I finally put in Focal fronts and rears with JL amps and an alumapro sub now I am happy.

ShervSL500AMG

I guess I am just a classy kind of guy. I don't really like fixing up Benz's especially adding Bass, but it is still cool!

newton22

Actually, I don't precisely want to add more bass, but rather, sound quality. My mother listens to classical and thinks the Bose system is wonderful. My rock music doesn't play so well over it though.

Maybe just too high of standards?

Oxygen

You share your car with your mother?

What is this world coming to...

ShervSL500AMG

Why you gotta hate, his mother enjoys the system what do you care. As in Rock music case, I don't really care for it, so I can't help you out there, but for rap it is a real good system in my opinion.

koreanpers

I used to install car stereo and security systems when i was in college..the saying was "no highs, no lows, must be a bose". That seems to have always held true. However, the acura tl 99-05 bose is by far the worst system i have ever heard from bose.

As for me, i kept the stock system, and added a Jl 12w7, Jl 500.1 amp to it. It gave plenty of bass to it now, and i can enjoy my system again. I wanted to install my alpine iva-d900 but the costs to incorporate it with the command system and navigation outweighed sensibility.

The install:
I have one of the rare cars w/o the rear power sunshade so it made install a lot easier.
*The rear deck was completely taken apart, dynamatted (i know i mispelled that word), and removed the 10" factory sub.
*My installer called JL and got specs to build a custom box to incorporate the back deck.
*Now according the the JL tech, my sub box is only the 2nd one that has ever been built due to the difficulty of finding a 6" diameter port tubing and elbow to make the curve into the box. But my installer is one of the best i have ever worked with!
*The 12w7 fires right into the factory sub whole into the car.
*The port was a custom 6" diameter circle port and fires right next to the factory sub hole.
*He cut out a circle of metal to allow this to fire into the rear cabin as well.
*The amp and 5 farad caps installed where the spare tire was (great idea, until i ran into a nail, and needed a spare tire).
*I also had the JL remote bass dial ( a must when incorporating with a factory system) installed in the front so i can manually control the bass boost.

I have very little trunk rattle since the sub and port are both firing through the back deck into the cabin of the car. The back deck looks stock, since only the metal was cut, but the rear deck carpet was left untouched. The sound is awesome!!!

Hope this helps..if u have further questions let me know and i can explain more...

koreanpers

ok, now i just saw this post...and see that you dont want more bass! lol, if you want to change the speakers, its gonna cost you a lot. The bose system is all fiber optics. There are no traditional speaker wires to the speakers. So, if you want to change the speakers, to get more sound quality, you are going to have to remove the factory amps and ALL bose speakers.

Run new wires, get a good amplifier, buy all new speakers. I believe Boston Aucoustics are very good sound quality speakers..but i have been out of the car audio scene for a while. I would read up on speakers before selecting them. Something like audioreview.com would be good..at least it was back when i was installing stuff.

Hopefully that helps you!

JAM

I had a 99 TL, wow, it was just awfull. Constant hissing from the amp even when the volume was all the way down. Sounded shrill, fatiguing, and harsh.

Also, I agree with the others that Bose is far from desireable. Bose is a good marketing engine, not a quality audio company.

I will say that Bose does a decent job in the W220, but they did better job in the W140. And, out of my three current Benzes, all with Bose audio, the W220 sounds the best.

In my former C2404Matic, the Bose option sounded awfull. When I was in for service and would get a loaner car, I was amazed with how much cleaner the stock, non-Bose system sounded in the C-class. Might not have been as much bass, but much cleaner.

I am into high end audio gear, and have yet to hear an OEM car audio system that really impresses me--especially Bose.

I recently heard MB's new HK system, and I do feel that it sounds cleaner than the Bose. Given that HK owns some high-end and pro brands, such as Lexicon, I would think this makes sense.

Oddly enough, and as much as I despise Ford product, I was in a Lincoln with an OEM THX system that actually sounded pretty good. Crappy car, but nice audio.

newton22

Well, it is her car afterall.

srknutson

I have never heard a car stereo sound anything close to a true 2 channel high end home system! It may be possible to do better than the OEM Bose system, however of the three german cars I currently drive. The W220 Bose system is by far the best, and I would be crazy to spend thousands more trying to make it marginally better.

kenstudios

Thes bose offered in the S has a center channel speaker in the middle of the dash that mae a whole lot of difference. It gives that sound fill you commonly find in 5:1 systems. You can upgrade your tweeters and add a small powered subwoofer to complete the sound. You will need to tap the tweeters at the connection otherwise it wont play.

JAM

Ken, are you talking about the W140? The W140 had a center channel on the dash, but I sure don't see a center channel on the dashboard of my W220.

I wonder if there is a way to crack the amp open and change the EQ or output for the sub. Problem with cranking up the bass is that you also bood the lower midrange, which creates a muddy sound.

kenstudios

You didn't know? Now you know. If you have Bose, you have a center channel between your windshield and your center A/C vents. Sorry for the hazy pics. Just didn't feel like going inside the garage.

fkong777

It should have a bose emblem on the door speaker.. I have the bose system.. Not impressed. No bass and highs are not clean nor clear.

Not that I like to thump.. but bass adds dept and highs add clarity. Bose system is lacking in both ends.. I dont understand, bose do make decent home system. Car systems sound quality is so sub-par.