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I’ve been following this and reading other subwoofer upgrade threads with great interest, as I too am less than thrilled with the Burmester non 3D system in my S550. After much thought, I am going to be installing an 8” powered bazooka bass tube this weekend, as I’ve had great results with them in the past in other cars both of mine and for friends. They are easy to install, have great bass output, take up very little room, and are reasonably priced ($299 for amplified mode). If one 8” isn’t enough I can use the amp in the first tube to drive a second passive tube ($139) as well, but for now I’m starting with one as to not overpower the rest of the stock system.
I am also going to be doing the 3D tweeter upgrade, but they haven’t arrived yet so just a sub for now. I jokingly say I will have wana3d sound lol.
As a PSA, I took a screen shot of a YouTube video user doing a similar install that shows the wiring color codes to get the subwoofer signal off the Burmester amp.
Wish me luck, but shouldn’t be too difficult. I used to be an installer back in the day so time to dust off the tools and get busy.
I think you will be happy with it. Im 90% happy with mine now. Mark Levinson Audio in a Lexus its not, but its enjoyable to listen to and I can turn it up and feel some music, its fine, I'm not going to keep throwing money at it. If I get another S Class after this one, I will get the upgraded audio, as I will on every car I buy going forward knowing that its important to me. It was never really important to me until I had that ML.
There is wide bass disparity in music, I find I do have to adjust the subwoofer knob a fair bit. It sounds good for a while and then a song will come on that has a shocking amount of bass and I have to turn it down.
I am considering the 3D tweeters, I did find some that are supposedly compatible with the 64 color ambient lighting in the 18-20. They look really straightforward to install so that I would probably do myself. Thats more for the cool tweeters than sound though lol. Let us know how yours turns out.
The hardest part of the tweeter upgrade looks like taking to door panels off and on without breaking anything, otherwise plug and play. I agree those are mostly a cosmetic upgrade though, but some people report thinking it’s a tad brighter sounding.
I’m with you about any future MB purchase must have the 3D (or 4D next) sound option. We’re shopping for a GLE for my wife right now and that’s one of the requirements.
Has anyone added the 3D lower door speakers/grilles or ceiling speakers?
I’ve been following this and reading other subwoofer upgrade threads with great interest, as I too am less than thrilled with the Burmester non 3D system in my S550. After much thought, I am going to be installing an 8” powered bazooka bass tube this weekend, as I’ve had great results with them in the past in other cars both of mine and for friends. They are easy to install, have great bass output, take up very little room, and are reasonably priced ($299 for amplified mode). If one 8” isn’t enough I can use the amp in the first tube to drive a second passive tube ($139) as well, but for now I’m starting with one as to not overpower the rest of the stock system.
I am also going to be doing the 3D tweeter upgrade, but they haven’t arrived yet so just a sub for now. I jokingly say I will have wana3d sound lol.
As a PSA, I took a screen shot of a YouTube video user doing a similar install that shows the wiring color codes to get the subwoofer signal off the Burmester amp.
Wish me luck, but shouldn’t be too difficult. I used to be an installer back in the day so time to dust off the tools and get busy.
those are the wires for the early W222s. Does anyone have this same document for the 2nd generation W222?
I think you will be happy with it. Im 90% happy with mine now. Mark Levinson Audio in a Lexus its not, but its enjoyable to listen to and I can turn it up and feel some music, its fine, I'm not going to keep throwing money at it. If I get another S Class after this one, I will get the upgraded audio, as I will on every car I buy going forward knowing that its important to me. It was never really important to me until I had that ML.
There is wide bass disparity in music, I find I do have to adjust the subwoofer knob a fair bit. It sounds good for a while and then a song will come on that has a shocking amount of bass and I have to turn it down.
I am considering the 3D tweeters, I did find some that are supposedly compatible with the 64 color ambient lighting in the 18-20. They look really straightforward to install so that I would probably do myself. Thats more for the cool tweeters than sound though lol. Let us know how yours turns out.
I dunno if I’d even bother doing those. You probably will not gain anything in terms of sound maybe even worse. And so what if they spin when you turn on the car. 99 percent of the time I’m not even looking when mine are spinning when I start the car.
those are the wires for the early W222s. Does anyone have this same document for the 2nd generation W222?
that sounds like a good idea doing the bazooka tube yourself. I’ve done those and was happy with the results and it’s inexpensive and easy to remove when you trade in the car. Plus since your doing it yourself less likely to get something screwed up by some shop tech not paying attention to what they are doing.
So I installed an 8” 160W powered Bazooka yesterday, and am less than impressed. It’s moving a decent amount of air and sound when I’m in the trunk adjusting it, but when I close the trunk and go back in the car it’s not very noticeable. First I used the high level inputs directly off the wires for the front stock subs, then I tried a line level converter to use the RCA inputs for more boost which was about the same.
Also it seems the radio volume needs to be turned up quite a bit before the tube really starts producing, and at that point the stock 8” floor subs actually start sounding much better to my surprise. I even removed the cubby box behind the rear armrest, which shouldn’t even matter if a lot of sound was being produced, but made no difference.
Double checked everything by Adjusted the levels, crossover point, messed with the Burmester equalizer, and verified all signals are in phase. Even my wife was unimpressed, and she’s normally the first one to say something is fine I’m just nuts lol.
Now trying to decide where to go from here. Add a second tube? Get a box with one or two 10” or 12”and separate amp? Kinda let down by the bazooka this time. Is it just that these cars as so well insulated?
Wow thats surprising. I wonder what is done different when the car has the 3D?. Mine has the 3D and just what looks like to be a 8 inch sub and it kicks more bass than I need, I've got the bass set on 3 right now and it vibrates the inside of the car with rap type bass with that type of music, makes really dong/dong sounds, lol. Maybe where the sub is in the corner there is some kind of pass through behind the panel that goes into the passenger compartment. I cant see it because there is cover over the sub and I'm too lazy to remove it to check. Is there anyway you could put the sub in one of the footwells in front of the back seat with a quick release connector should the seat be used? That would probably correct the problem as then the sub would be in the passenger compartment. Driving the car you would not know it was there but should you have a passenger or two in the back seat just unplug it and throw it in the trunk.
Last edited by 2012 merc amg; Feb 7, 2021 at 11:07 PM.
A lot of it with sound systems is the input. Try playing this song. On my stock system in my wagon it sounds fantastic plenty of clean bass from the front subs. On my 3 D on my S class it sounds spectacular. You tube must have really good equipment I guess.
Ok so plan B with this project is now in the works. I removed and returned the 8” powered bazooka, and acquired this JL Audio 12” high output box. Might be overkill I’m not sure, but it had great reviews and the test fit today went perfectly. Removed the trunk trim panel that goes behind the back seat, and now the angled front of this box goes in it’s place. No obstruction with my comfort box or floor lift up panel, and just fits like it was meant for the car. Now to decide on an amp, thinking to go with a mono block made by audiocontrol, as they have really low THD and a few installer friendly features when adding to a stock stereo.
Ok so plan B with this project is now in the works. I removed and returned the 8” powered bazooka, and acquired this JL Audio 12” high output box. Might be overkill I’m not sure, but it had great reviews and the test fit today went perfectly. Removed the trunk trim panel that goes behind the back seat, and now the angled front of this box goes in it’s place. No obstruction with my comfort box or floor lift up panel, and just fits like it was meant for the car. Now to decide on an amp, thinking to go with a mono block made by audiocontrol, as they have really low THD and a few installer friendly features when adding to a stock stereo.
That's gonna sound great. Like i said before, i think it's better to have more than you think you'll need than not enough. When you don't have enough power you're forced to turn the gain or bass boost up. When you have more than enough power you can turn the gain down and not over work the amp or sub.
Ok so plan B with this project is now in the works. I removed and returned the 8” powered bazooka, and acquired this JL Audio 12” high output box. Might be overkill I’m not sure, but it had great reviews and the test fit today went perfectly. Removed the trunk trim panel that goes behind the back seat, and now the angled front of this box goes in it’s place. No obstruction with my comfort box or floor lift up panel, and just fits like it was meant for the car. Now to decide on an amp, thinking to go with a mono block made by audiocontrol, as they have really low THD and a few installer friendly features when adding to a stock stereo.
Wow, you're gonna blow the trunk lid off with that thing. I'm pretty happy with my 8 inch sub lol.
My thoughts exactly of not needing to run it hard to get more than ample sound. Plus if I decide to upgrade the main amp or speakers with a navtv this sub will keep up.
Not a golfer but still have most of my trunk space. The car has the back seat package so there are modules and electronics mounted to the rear of the back seat preventing the box from being pushed further in.
The JL Audio 12' sub/box I have is sounding better and better. Thats the same way mine fits, even without removing the rear trunk trim it fits perfect there and doesn't impede the lift up panel or the comfort box.
The big challenge here is how well the car is sealed from the trunk. If you're not wiling to open up a passage (which I'm not) thats always going to be a limitation. So for me the lower bass notes don't make it through, and you still rely on the frontbass for those and the bigger bass notes do punch through from the sub. Removing that trunk trim may help with that somewhat actually...looks like it removes pretty easy, I might try that. Im sure the car with the 3D is designed to channel that bass into the cabin where the car with the base system is not. The 3D Car also has bigger woofers in the lower doors where the base car has no woofers in the doors. A lot of the bass you hear in the 3D car likely comes from those and not even the subwoofer.
Originally Posted by DaveW68
You must not be a golfer.
Golf clubs will fit no problem in front of the sub.
Audio Control makes excellent gear, I almost went with them instead of JL for my Amps, plus they are a Seattle company so hometown for me. In the end though I went with the JL VXi line as they are simply amazing and efficient amps. The car shaking sound that the VXi 1000/1 Mono amp puts down to the JL W7AE 10" sub is more than I will ever need. Regardless of the amp, make sure you get a bass control knob installed in the center console. With the JL Amps you can control bass volume and also crossover point of the sub which are both a big deal to change on the fly as you play different music. I suspect other amps have this capability as well.
Removing the trunk panel behind the seat allows the box to push a little further in, and I can use the bracket that surrounds the center cubby to attach it. Bonus of removing that panel is to allow sound to not get muffled by it, and maybe even remove the cubby box which pops right out and creates a pass through.
3D cars have, amongst other things, a lower 6” midrange in the doors. I considered adding those cool grilles and something behind it, but the door panel in that area is very different between 3D and non (bulged out vs open pocket). Also those mids attach directly to the doors with angled stand-off brackets and not to the panel, and a set of grilles are hard to find even if they did fit.
I saw a review of a W223 car with optional 4D sound, that incorporates what sounds like bass kickers into the seats and more ceiling tweeters.
superpop on the audio control mono sub amps, they have a 300w and an 800w. One seems maybe too small but the other seems overkill. Leaning towards the 800 though which I can dial down as needed, or maybe the 300 is enough for the 12” JL. Thoughts?
Removing the trunk panel behind the seat allows the box to push a little further in, and I can use the bracket that surrounds the center cubby to attach it. Bonus of removing that panel is to allow sound to not get muffled by it, and maybe even remove the cubby box which pops right out and creates a pass through.
Can you post a picture of the back of your trunk with all that removed?
Somehow if I were you guys I’d find a drawing or something from mb how it’s done with the 3D system as I’ve just got a small sub in my car with the 3D and it sound like the sub is in the cabin. Tons of bass. There’s gotta be some kinda pass through.
Somehow if I were you guys I’d find a drawing or something from mb how it’s done with the 3D system as I’ve just got a small sub in my car with the 3D and it sound like the sub is in the cabin. Tons of bass. There’s gotta be some kinda pass through.
I really bet a lot of the bass you feel comes from those woofers in the doors. Thats how it was in my LS460L with the ML audio, the subwoofer is a big part, but the lack of big capacity door woofers with the basic Burmester is a big part of the issue.
I wasn't aware that Audiosource 800 was used in mobile audio applications? Am I missing something here? How long did it take to remove all those panels? Are you using a converter to go from digital to analog to feed your amplifier? Thankyou
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