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I've decided to make this writeup that I hope will help anyone looking to completely remove the dated factory BOSE COMMAND GPS Fiber Optic Stereo from the W220, I decided recently that ive had enough with the factory bose audio system and since my bose amp was already starting to go out and loose audio on really cold mornings that was the final straw that pushed me to take on this conversion. Before you consider this conversion I will warn you, this is NOT an easy or cheap conversion by any means and with this method going back to the factory setup would be is NOT easy. Now if you want modern car infotainment and sound quality that is on par or better than the factory bose system was then this conversion might be what your looking for. My goal with this conversion was to have the best sound quality possible that matches or exceeds the factory bose system first and foremost, the 2nd goal was to add modern vehicle features to the W220 that it was lacking.
-Best Possible Sound Quality
-Retain Factory Speakers
-Retain Factory Subwoofer
-Front DVR 1080P Dash Cam
-720P HD Backup Camera (with grid)
-Realtime TPMS Monitoring
-OBD Integration (monitor engine performance on touch screen)
-Complete Standalone System that does NOT use the factory Fiber Optic Network
Now as you can see I set out for the perfect no compromises setup and I think I've found it!
Here's a list of the parts used in this build :
-JOYING 10.1" Motorized Touch Screen 2-din 8gb RAM / 128gb Internal Storage with 8-core CPU Android 10.0 Head Unit
-JOYING 1080P HP DVR DASH CAM KIT
-JOYING 720P HD BACKUP CAMERA KIT
-JOYING OBD INTERFACE KIT (BLUETOOTH)
-JOYING CANBUS / CUSTOM DASH HARNESS
-JOYING USB TPMS INTEGRATION KIT
-NVX NDA501 5-channel 980watt RMS Amplifier
-Stinger 6-channel 17ft RCA Cable
-Rockville 8GA Power/Ground Bulk Wire
-Monster Audio 16GA Speaker Bulk Wire
-Spiral Audio W220 2-din Dash Conversion Trim Kit with Mounting Brackets (factory woodgrain finish)
-120amp Power Circuit Breaker
-Apple MAGSAFE Wireless Charging Pad
-PROClip W220 Specific Phone Mount Kit
-Plywood , Various Hardware Screws, Electrical Splice Connectors, Electrical Tape, Etc.
Now before I started this project I did a TON of research on the W220 Audio System and all the components listed above in great detail, this list of components were found to be the best possible setup for this project, my budget wasn't unlimited but I had no problem spending a little extra for quality and performance within reason. The key to the success of this project was the amplifier, this is where I started, the factory bose speakers in the W220 are 2-ohm (I verified this with a DVM) Most all aftermarket component speakers on the market today are 4-ohm which is pretty much the industry standard so this meant if I wanted to keep the factory BOSE speakers I would have to find an amplifier that was 2-ohm stable and could supply enough power to drive them. I decided right away I wanted to run a 5-channel Class-D Amplifier, finding one that was 2-ohm stable proved to be tough, this was why I landed on the NVX, It fit the bill its RMS power rating at 2-ohms is 120Wx4 (components) and 500Wx1 (sub) Also this NVX Amplifier is very well made and is actually a bit UNDERRATED on the 4-ohm ratings which could come in handy down the road if I decide I want to swap the factory speakers out for some 4-ohm aftermarket components which was a big plus for me. Next up was the headunit, I spent weeks researching all the most popular Android based head units on the market in a 2-din chassis, I narrowed it down to 3 manufactures which were JOYING, OWNICE, and MEKEDE. The most important thing about these android head units are the specs and software they come with, to run Android smoothly with all the features I was looking for it takes at a MINIMUM 4GB of RAM and 64GB of Storage, I decided I wanted the highest spec unit possible because I didn't want to deal with lag or apps crashing, I reached out to all 3 of the manufactures and started researching their flagship units, this was a very tricky and difficult process there is very little info out there for these units in great detail, I was asking questions no one typically asks when buying these units , all the manufactures couldn't accurately answer most of the questions except for 1 company, JOYING. I decided on the JOYING Head Unit based on its hardware specs which were superior to others and software package being the most stable which was also very important to me. JOYING hands down has the best customer service and technical support I've ever experienced in the car audio world which is VERY important when going with one of these Android Head Units, they have answered every question I've asked along the way and solved all my issues with my initial setup, they are also VERY responsive which has been great. The only shortcomming on this JOYING head unit is the PREOUTS they are unfortunately only 2volts which is not ideal for a Sound Quality External Amplified Setup like mine, but this can be solved with a Line Driver which I am currently waiting on showing up to install since at low volumes there is feedback due to the Signal to Noise Ratio on a 2-volt preout being too weak, the line driver will solve this issue completely. So far the JOYING headunit has been ROCK solid stable and very fast and responsive, the picture is good and the touch screen is very accurate, no issues to speak of at all, all of the addons work flawlessly and are of very good quality. Wiring in the Head Unit was made very easy, JOYING made a custom harness to make it Plug N Play on the Head Unit side, they provided a CAN-BUS Module to interface with the Steering Wheel Controls as well as a power harness to get the headunit its power and ground, the reverse signal for the backup camera is also working. As for the sound side of things this is were I went a different path, I choose to run an external amplifier (nvx ND501) instead of running a fiber optic decoder that would of kept the factory amp and made things even more plug n play, there are a couple reasons I choose not to do this route, first off what most people don't tell you is when you run a fiber optic decoder you loose the ability to properly FADE the sound from Front to Rear and Left/Right like the factory radio could, this is a big deal when it comes to audio quality because you loose all of the sound alignment and processing that makes the amp and speakers truly sound good, I reached out to several companies who make a W220 BOSE Specific Fiber Optic Decoder and they all confirmed no proper fading or full audio channel processing support, I also spoke with a few people who did the fiber optic decoder with aftermarket head units keeping the BOSE amp and they all said the stereo works fine but audio quality is definitely not on par with the factory bose setup. This is why I choose to go the much more difficult route and run an external amplifier and remove the bose amp. To do this I used the W220 BOSE AMPLIFIER Wiring Diagram (pic below) to hijack the factory speaker wires right at the connector for the bose amp to reroute them to the new aftermarket amplifier, this proved to be tricky as the first diagram I found on W220 WIKI was actually incorrect and had errors, the correct one I found here was spot on, I verified each speaker wire for polarity and resistance (they all measured 2-ohms as expected) This also tells me the speakers are in good condition. A separate remote turn on wire had to be run from the new headunit back to the new amplifier in the trunk to turn it on as the factory amp is gone and no factory turn on wires will work, this was run from the headunit AMP Control Output Wire to the amplifier TURN-ON Terminal (12volts output controlled by head unit) Power and Ground wires from the battery to the amp were easy since battery is in trunk and close by, I used a 120amp circuit breaker in-line with the positive wire of the battery and amplifier. Routing the RCA's and Rear Camera Wiring from the dash to the trunk was a bit of a pain as to do it right the rear seat must be removed along with door sill trim and carpet pulled back a bit to route the wires, the W220 is put together very TIGHT, but none-the-less I got it done and correctly. Now on to the AM/FM Radio, JOYING includes a antenna adapter fitting that allowed the factory W220 AM/FM antenna to plug right into the unit which was a nice touch, as for the GPS thats a bit more tricky, JOYING included a standalone GPS antenna but I wanted to use the factory GPS antenna for a more clean install, this required a very special adapter cable , its a GT5-M to SMA-M which turns out is very special and basically a mercedes thing (I found it on amazon), this allowed me to use the factory GPS antenna!
Final Thoughts :
I am in in love with how everything turned out, the sound quality is awesome and is every bit as good and better than the factory BOSE system, the JOYING headunit has been performing flawlessly, everything is working perfectly! I'm in love with my car again and me and the wife both can't wait to go drive it everyday, the software has proved to be solid with little to no glitches or bugs at all which is surprising since most android head units from my experience are very buggy and unstable, not the case with this JOYING unit. Having Apple Music on tap along with Google Chrome, Pandora, Netflix, GPS, Bluetooth, TPMS, DVR, Backup Camera and any app I could want at my fingertips is truly amazing, takes the W220 to a new level, the car is already good but now its even better, family and friends are blown away when I demo the system, even friends with 2020+ cars are impressed. The factory speakers are handling the power well and don't seem to be having any issues at all which is surprising given they are very old and I'm giving them a bit more power than im sure they were rated for lol I hope this write up helps someone else out there who wants to make their W220 badass.
Here's some pictures of the project :
Last edited by Steveman09; 02-20-2023 at 10:41 PM.
Hello Steveman09,
At the very beginning, I want to convey respect for the implementation of a great project for the Android radio installation replacing the archaic Comand 2.5 or Comand-Aps.
I also want to apologize in advance for a weak English language.
It should be noted here that I am a complete layman in the field of audio installation, and my humble knowledge has recently increased only by studying various forums.
I am a mechanic with over 30 years of experience, but I have never done any installation.
Such things were dealt with by my employees, but after selling the workshops in 2017 they had to go to Germany in search of work, because with the new owner of my workshops, they could not communicate absolutely and my contact with them broke up completely and today I have to look for support on the Internet.
I have several cars of one model, i.e. the CL55 AMG 360 and 500 HP, one car (with the highest mileage 120k km) I want to donate to my son and therefore I want to change the radio to more suited to the present time, and this is certainly not Comand 2.5 which does not bother me However, for a young man he is a drama in such a rare, nice and reliable car like MB CL55 AMG.
My intentions apply to the 2002 model, i.e. based on the D2B installation. I gained basic knowledge from reading in forums, such as in this place:
Where very wise people "cowboyt" and "dave2302" undergo the process of installation of the Erisin radio, which they checked, tested and considered the best choice at that time. They made a very good conclusion that no fiber optic adapters should not be installed, because it will be bad Sound quality and went more difficult but right.
I will also contact them, but I saw your post and I was very intrigued by the possibility of adding an amplifier to all speakers, which I am very interested in and I would like to improve the audio in the car for my son.
He installed an Alpine amplifier but only for a woofer, he also replaced the speakers in the door on "Phoenix Gold 6.5" Coaxial Speakers, the SX65CX model, " However, I think about such a processing as you made, i.e. strengthening all speakers.
I will have a few questions for you and I will be extremely grateful for your help and advice, because I have to prepare specific information for a small local installer who has some knowledge but did not reconstruct the fiber optical fiber to copper, so I collect valuable information, despite the fact that this is the subject for me Completely foreign and quite annoying.
what the wise gentlemen "cowboyt" and "Dave2302" have tested extensively and for several years, and this radio is similar in appearance to the models after the facelift in 2003, which also convinces me, although I will install them in the car from 2002, i.e. before the facelift console that needs to be cut and rebuilt, here's an image of it:
But cutting the console and making a perfect fit is within my competence and skills, and even passion, because I like to create new things and rebuild old ones.
Radio Erisin has a built-in CAN decoder and no decoder with a wiring harness is needed, it also has probably five audio channels if I'm not mistaken, because for me it's black magic. Here is a picture of the back of the radio: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1P-n...ew?usp=sharing
When I read the posts of "cowboyt" and "Dave2302" I was able to somewhat understand what they were doing, i.e. they had an extension cable:
They cut off the plugs from the BZ6M cable as well as from the Bose amplifier and connected the car speakers to the cable, and I understand that somehow.
You wrote this passage in your post: "JOYING made a custom harness to make it Plug N Play on the Head Unit side, they provided"
Am I to understand that you have provided a diagram for the company to make the plug you need?
I am asking because I have been cooperating with Chinese manufacturers for many years in the area of CNC milling machines that I import and others, where they make non-standard elements for me and I assume that the Erisin radio manufacturer would also make a suitable cable plug to match the speaker plug in the trunk, because this connection that is currently in the BZ6M cable will only activate 4 speakers, and the rest will be dead.
Another aspect is that I do not understand whether the BZ6M extension cable is still needed when installing an amplifier that takes the signal from the channels marked in the attached image?
Another question is whether your W220 installation scheme is the same as the W215? These are twin cars, because the W215 is a W220 coupe, they have identical radios both before and after the facelift, and I assume that they may also have the same installation, but I am not sure.
In your post you gave the name of the amplifier, i.e. "NVX NDA501 5-channel 980watt RMS Amplifier" unfortunately, but in Europe you cannot buy such an amplifier, and I do not want to experiment on some Chinese products of an unknown brand, because I believe that the Android Erisin unit itself or any different, fills my resistance and risk range to Chinese products for improving audio in MB.
Not knowing the hardware requirements, I chose several 6 and 5-channel amplifiers and if it's not a problem, please indicate which one is worthy of Your attention with your professional eye and which one will pass the exam for such an application?
Can you tell me where the CAN bus is located in the car? from what I have read on the forum, it is under the floor of the front seat, but I do not know if this is good information.
willing to help the community "iMissMyW140" has attached a .PDF with information on the installation of the Erisin radio, but it is a car from 2004, i.e. not D2B but MOST and maybe you know if this installation process will be compatible with D2B? below this post, "cowboyt" said that it is a very similar process, but maybe you have knowledge on this subject, then I won't waste my time "cowboyt" because "Dave2302" worked a lot, they created a whole encyclopedia in terms of installation, add-ons, etc. . and I am very impressed, because I really respect people who do something just to help others.
I have a similar approach myself, people often ask me for information, e.g. regarding the conversion of the ABC suspension to coilovers, so I guide them through the entire process, suggesting solutions, indicating the necessary parts, etc.
Best regards and thank you in advance for your advice and help.
Mariusz
I can't speak on different chassis than W220 since that is what I did this project, so I am not sure if the wiring is the same on your chassis, I would assume it is very close and if you are trying to install an aftermarket amplifier like I did then this really doesn't matter much since all you need is the factory amplifier wiring diagram where you can cut the plug off the harness and splice your aftermarket amp into the factory speakers from there, the KEY to this install is the aftermarket amplifier you choose, it MUST be 2-OHM Stable because the factory speakers are ALL 2-OHM, the door speakers and subwoofer. If you choose a 6-channel amplifier instead of a 5-channel unit like I did you could also utilize the CENTER speaker in the dash (I did not) The other thing you need to make sure the AMP you choose can output at least 100w RMS @ 2-ohms PER channel for the front and rear channels (door speakers) and 250-300w RMS @ 2-OHMS for the SUBWOOFER channel, I am running 500w RMS to the subwoofer and it is a bit too much power IMHO so I compensated by turning the gain down a bit to the subwoofer to keep it happy. The headunit side where the Android unit fits in the dash connects to the factory radio connector and has a small can-bus decoder thats all part of the harness JOYING made for my install for the W220 system, this takes care of several functions including : Steering Wheel Controls Volume UP/DOWN, ANSWER CALL/HANGUP, Activate Reverse Camera when transmission is shifted into reverse as well as Door/Trunk Open Notifications to the head unit, and lastly power and ground for the headunit to turn on and function, you will have to contact your headunit manufacture to have this harness made for your car. Hope this helps and good luck it will definitely be worth the trouble in the end as I'm loving my setup.
Got the Audio Control Line Driver installed to help boost the signal of the preouts from the JOYING headunit to the amplifier and eliminate the noise in the system, it worked great and now I have 5-volts of preout going into the amplifier , the sound quality is even better and I'm happy to report all interference is gone.
02-20-2023, 02:33 AM
COMPLETE Android Audio System Conversion Writeup
