Review: Prima 8.9, Magic Box For W221 Audio
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2016 C300
Originally Posted by stephenhacker23
ALL I CAN SAY U R DA MAN.
Got a link to the ones you're suggesting for rear doors. Cant wait to get the system done up right as you've suggested.
Got a link to the ones you're suggesting for rear doors. Cant wait to get the system done up right as you've suggested.
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2016 C300
Originally Posted by ItalianJoe1
What about on a 215? This info is great, and I feel if you could do as you say, and gain full control over the stock stuff/take the stock equalizer out of the equation, it would sound much better. I have the factory Bose system, and it's not bad but could be so much better I think.
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2007 CLS 550
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Joined: Dec 2016
Posts: 19
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2007 CLS 550
Would the Hertz HCX series 6.5" Coax speakers be a good choice for the rear doors coupled with the DSK's for the front and the Audison amp? No other speaker add ons - Sub and surround speakers in trunk stay as is - as well as dash speaker and the 4 other speakers by the feet and pillars.
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Yeah, those would be fine, and you've got so much tuning power in the Prima's DSP you can pretty much get them to sound however you'd like as far as voice matching. Do the rear doors in the CLS get OEM tweeters already or no? I didn't see any. As far as the stock speakers, leaving the center and rear surrounds alone and on the OEM amp, and using the Prima bridged to the OEM sub makes the most sense.
I will add this about the Prima. It's not a high volume seller like the Bit One, so your shop may never have done one. If it's not configured correctly, both physically and by having the latest firmware and the latest software, it's going to sound like crap. Make sure the shop has the time and patience to work thru any issues. It's totally worth it in the end but sometimes getting there can be rough.
The physical "preset" switch should be set to "0". Signal gets pulled in from the front door woofers and tweets, and the sub. Do your shop a favor and hunt down the CLS Loudspeaker Wiring Diagram. It has all of the speaker wire color codes.
Once it's been set up, you should be able to sit in the car and using the laptop, select each speaker and "solo" it, meaning it plays all by itself. The volume from each speaker on the Prima should be the same. If the OEM speakers (center and surround) are overwhelming, there's a problem in the config.
In terms of tuning, there's no RTA for the Prima like there is for the Bit One. It's all ear and feel. You may need to run the car up the road to Gainesville and let me do it for you if you can't get a tune you're happy with.
I will add this about the Prima. It's not a high volume seller like the Bit One, so your shop may never have done one. If it's not configured correctly, both physically and by having the latest firmware and the latest software, it's going to sound like crap. Make sure the shop has the time and patience to work thru any issues. It's totally worth it in the end but sometimes getting there can be rough.
The physical "preset" switch should be set to "0". Signal gets pulled in from the front door woofers and tweets, and the sub. Do your shop a favor and hunt down the CLS Loudspeaker Wiring Diagram. It has all of the speaker wire color codes.
Once it's been set up, you should be able to sit in the car and using the laptop, select each speaker and "solo" it, meaning it plays all by itself. The volume from each speaker on the Prima should be the same. If the OEM speakers (center and surround) are overwhelming, there's a problem in the config.
In terms of tuning, there's no RTA for the Prima like there is for the Bit One. It's all ear and feel. You may need to run the car up the road to Gainesville and let me do it for you if you can't get a tune you're happy with.
Last edited by Mike5215; Dec 14, 2016 at 07:49 PM.
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2007 CLS 550
The shop I'm bringing it to tomorrow is an authorized Audison dealer. I hear they do excellent work. I'm going to show them all that you've written and get their feedback. I'll keep you posted.
Yeah, those would be fine, and you've got so much tuning power in the Prima's DSP you can pretty much get them to sound however you'd like as far as voice matching. Do the rear doors in the CLS get OEM tweeters already or no? I didn't see any. As far as the stock speakers, leaving the center and rear surrounds alone and on the OEM amp, and using the Prima bridged to the OEM sub makes the most sense.
I will add this about the Prima. It's not a high volume seller like the Bit One, so your shop may never have done one. If it's not configured correctly, both physically and by having the latest firmware and the latest software, it's going to sound like crap. Make sure the shop has the time and patience to work thru any issues. It's totally worth it in the end but sometimes getting there can be rough.
The physical "preset" switch should be set to "0". Signal gets pulled in from the front door woofers and tweets, and the sub. Do your shop a favor and hunt down the CLS Loudspeaker Wiring Diagram. It has all of the speaker wire color codes.
Once it's been set up, you should be able to sit in the car and using the laptop, select each speaker and "solo" it, meaning it plays all by itself. The volume from each speaker on the Prima should be the same. If the OEM speakers (center and surround) are overwhelming, there's a problem in the config.
In terms of tuning, there's no RTA for the Prima like there is for the Bit One. It's all ear and feel. You may need to run the car up the road to Gainesville and let me do it for you if you can't get a tune you're happy with.
I will add this about the Prima. It's not a high volume seller like the Bit One, so your shop may never have done one. If it's not configured correctly, both physically and by having the latest firmware and the latest software, it's going to sound like crap. Make sure the shop has the time and patience to work thru any issues. It's totally worth it in the end but sometimes getting there can be rough.
The physical "preset" switch should be set to "0". Signal gets pulled in from the front door woofers and tweets, and the sub. Do your shop a favor and hunt down the CLS Loudspeaker Wiring Diagram. It has all of the speaker wire color codes.
Once it's been set up, you should be able to sit in the car and using the laptop, select each speaker and "solo" it, meaning it plays all by itself. The volume from each speaker on the Prima should be the same. If the OEM speakers (center and surround) are overwhelming, there's a problem in the config.
In terms of tuning, there's no RTA for the Prima like there is for the Bit One. It's all ear and feel. You may need to run the car up the road to Gainesville and let me do it for you if you can't get a tune you're happy with.
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2016 C300
Ok. PM me if they get stuck and I'll get my shop involved. If you're going two way active up front, have the shop verify that the front doors are already wired that way from the amp. There should be a dedicated wire for each tweet and one for each woofer coming off the factory amp. If not you can of course run wire from the trunk but it's a pain. On the W221 every speaker got its own channel on the amp. Not sure about the CLS but it looks like they're the same systems.
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From: Maryland
2013 C63 P31 Obsidian Grey
I'm interested in doing all of the work myself to my C63's HK Logic7 system. I have done multiple installations on cars before but am having trouble finding wiring diagrams for the factory amplifier. Alternatively, could I use a AP T-Harness “DCC” for connecting the factory amplifier to the DSP? Where is the harness that the AP T-Harness “DCC” taps into, behind the dash, or in the trunk with the amplifier? I don't know if Audison offers the AP T-Harness “DCC” for Mercedes based on their website.
Any enlightening installation/planning thoughts are more than thanked!
PS, Mike I've been looking at a lot of your installs in a couple cars and they're all gorgeous. Awesome work man!
Any enlightening installation/planning thoughts are more than thanked!
PS, Mike I've been looking at a lot of your installs in a couple cars and they're all gorgeous. Awesome work man!
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Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 165
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From: Houston, TX
2017 E400 Coupe
Just received a quote for audio upgrade to 2017 E coupe with HK Logic7 (dull, lifeless, no punch, no attack).
Musconi 6 to 8 (he's an audison dealer, but prefers the musconi).
Hertz Milli MLK165 for front doors.
JL Audio HD 900 amp
Wires, Dynamat, labor, ... $3550.00 (ouch)
He's going to use the 'sub' in the deck as the sub and see if we can get anywhere with it. If not, it's a sub box in the trunk (10") or custom enclosure to the side (8", maybe). We decided to 'flip' the sound to the back door vs front door to put the mid's more up front and low mids to the back of the car.
Is there any way to get a sub in the deck besides what's already in there? Can the factory sub propery driven be any good?
I know I'm going to have to spring for a sub down the road because the above will sound fantastic but still be lacking...
What do you think? I like the shop. They did an E350 recently with $5500. worth of gear they said sounded fantastic (but he wanted the BOOM).
Musconi 6 to 8 (he's an audison dealer, but prefers the musconi).
Hertz Milli MLK165 for front doors.
JL Audio HD 900 amp
Wires, Dynamat, labor, ... $3550.00 (ouch)
He's going to use the 'sub' in the deck as the sub and see if we can get anywhere with it. If not, it's a sub box in the trunk (10") or custom enclosure to the side (8", maybe). We decided to 'flip' the sound to the back door vs front door to put the mid's more up front and low mids to the back of the car.
Is there any way to get a sub in the deck besides what's already in there? Can the factory sub propery driven be any good?
I know I'm going to have to spring for a sub down the road because the above will sound fantastic but still be lacking...
What do you think? I like the shop. They did an E350 recently with $5500. worth of gear they said sounded fantastic (but he wanted the BOOM).
Last edited by RickInHouston; Jun 22, 2017 at 02:53 PM.
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2016 C300
If it's the shallow mount dual coil sub the bad news is almost nothing else will fit in there, but the good news is that with a little EQ and some power they hit pretty hard. I'd definitely do that first but buy an amp big enough to drive whatever size box you anticipate needing. I kept the factory sub on a little 300 watt JL amp and never had to get into a box.
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2016 C300
Originally Posted by klapkakid
I'm interested in doing all of the work myself to my C63's HK Logic7 system. I have done multiple installations on cars before but am having trouble finding wiring diagrams for the factory amplifier. Alternatively, could I use a AP T-Harness “DCC” for connecting the factory amplifier to the DSP? Where is the harness that the AP T-Harness “DCC” taps into, behind the dash, or in the trunk with the amplifier? I don't know if Audison offers the AP T-Harness “DCC” for Mercedes based on their website.
Any enlightening installation/planning thoughts are more than thanked!
PS, Mike I've been looking at a lot of your installs in a couple cars and they're all gorgeous. Awesome work man!
Any enlightening installation/planning thoughts are more than thanked!
PS, Mike I've been looking at a lot of your installs in a couple cars and they're all gorgeous. Awesome work man!
As far as a custom harness, we looked at them and at $700 my shop felt they could fabricate one for less (which they did). Once you've got 12v direct from the battery to the trunk it's mostly just the tedium of a bunch of little soldering jobs running cable and pulling signal from the high side of the amp over to the Prima and sub amp, then back over to tie back into the speaker leads.
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From: Miami, FL
2003 CL 600
As far as that shallow rear deck sub, they come apart all the time, we replace them under warranty. It's usually the cone popping off the small speaker next to it though, part of the assembly but not actually the big speaker. Might be worth removing the little speaker by the sub all together if you are gonna drive it harder, as our theory is that the big sub just rattles the little speaker apart.
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2016 C300
Originally Posted by ItalianJoe1
As far as that shallow rear deck sub, they come apart all the time, we replace them under warranty. It's usually the cone popping off the small speaker next to it though, part of the assembly but not actually the big speaker. Might be worth removing the little speaker by the sub all together if you are gonna drive it harder, as our theory is that the big sub just rattles the little speaker apart.
I had my HK rear deck sub on a 300 watt JL amp processed by the Prima and it hit like a sledgehammer but I never had a problem with it damaging the adjacent surround speakers.
However putting more power on the sub will cause some rattles in the body so it's a good idea to pull the rear seat out and Hushmat everything back there.
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From: Miami, FL
2003 CL 600
The little 4" speakers that flank the sub aren't part of the subwoofer output, they just occupy space in the same rear deck module. They're wired into the amp independently and are actually the rear surround speakers for the Logic 7 system.
I had my HK rear deck sub on a 300 watt JL amp processed by the Prima and it hit like a sledgehammer but I never had a problem with it damaging the adjacent surround speakers.
However putting more power on the sub will cause some rattles in the body so it's a good idea to pull the rear seat out and Hushmat everything back there.
I had my HK rear deck sub on a 300 watt JL amp processed by the Prima and it hit like a sledgehammer but I never had a problem with it damaging the adjacent surround speakers.
However putting more power on the sub will cause some rattles in the body so it's a good idea to pull the rear seat out and Hushmat everything back there.
I've seen them in 204/207 and CLAs, maybe not in the larger/newer sedans, which have a more substantial audio system.
Agreed about the mat though, these cars rattle like crazy at full power even on the stock system, if you're driving them hard you gotta control the extra vibrations.
