I had a 10" JL Audio sub W1v2 and a JL audio JX 250 watt monoblock subwoofer amp installed by a local shop. Some pics are posted below. The Harmon system in the sedan is great but certainly lacking in the low end.

The E has an unusual step off in the rear of the trunk so they made a custom box to sit behind the step off and put black carpet to match the trim. The amp was installed on the top of the rear trunk -- you can see it in the pics. A remote bass volume control was fixed underneath the steering wheel.

Overall it produces more bass than I need and does fill a gap of tone in the stock system, especially for pop songs. It does well for the really low notes. However, being in the trunk and with all the insulation in this car, the crisp pop of bass you get with 'higher notes of bass' is lacking and there is certainly muffling of the sound.

I don't regret it but it would be nice if it was a bit crisper, akin to what you get with passenger compartment speakers which produce bass.

 

Looks good!! I've been thinking of doing the same thing and I did it to my 08 Civic and mounted the amp to the deck just like that. The amps these days make it pretty easy to do and with a battery already in the trunk, it would be a pretty simple install. I was debating a 12'' speaker, I used a 10 in the civic but with the extra insulation I figured a bigger speaker would help.

 

you guys like that brutha bass huh?
lol
I prefer heavy metal myself

 

The stock system is very good, but it is lacking in the low end as most stock systems do. I wouldn't call a single 10'' sub anywhere near "brutha bass". It doesn't matter if you listen to opera, this system could benefit from a small sub.

 

Nice install RNBRAD.

Do you know where they tapped into the system for the bass signal?

 

Are kidding me H/K system lacking in the low end???? I found the subwoofer of the H/K too overwhelming even at -2 bass. I tried everything to get the bass to be less boomy, but without any luck. I even turned off Logic 7 to see if that would work, but has no effect.

 

Not my install, though I have some pretty trick installs I've done in my other vehicles.

Maybe you've never heard a system that has low end. System has a great midbass thump to it and is very crisp but not boomy. Boomy is something you get with a bandpass box that only perform well within a very narrow frequency range. I guarantee if I put this system on an RTA and measures the frequency curve, it would be lacking in the sub bass region below 80hz most definitely. This is the only area the 211 outperforms the 212's system. Now I do believe the coupe has a different system than the 4 door and I haven't listened to it. The coupe actually has a larger sub where the 4 door uses I believe just some small subs in the doors.

 

Maybe you've never heard a true hifi setup before. Speakers from Focal, B&W, Totem, Monitor Audio, or Paradigm outperform H/K or any automotive speakers anyday. Bass from a true hifi setup is not boomy, but tight and punchy. Unless you want to rock the house with dance or hiphop music, I'm fine with you installing more subs, but do so without annoying the drivers around you. Even dialogue is muddy and not clear. Too much bass deteriorates clarity of the vocals and minor subtle details in the music.

 

Csquared, what car do you drive? There was really very little bass in my stock E550 H/K system even when the bass is up to 9. A lot less than my recent C-class loaner and wife's 328i. I was actually shocked to learn the E had a stock subwoofer.

Here's website with some details of the H/K system in the various E's:
http://mercedes.harmankardon.com/en/...l-tmodell.aspx

You're making me think the stock sub in my car wasn't working correctly and I ended up getting an aftermarket solution without needing to.

I've heard the wagon H/K has good bass note - refer to this thread -- is that what you have?:
https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...fer-sucks.html


Regarding where they tapped into the system - it looks they clipped into the stock subwoofer's wires. I'll take a look and tell you what colors for the DIYers out there.

 

I currently drive a 2011 E550 4M, which I just got this weekend from the dealer. I have the premium package with the 14-speaker 610 watt H/K sound system and the bass is overwhelming compared to the stock sound system in my 2003 X5. There's too much low end even I when I have the bass lowered to -10. Even on AM news, you can hear too much low end rumble when the newsreporter is talking. Rear passengers are even worse because they seem to get even more low end rumble which is very uncomfortable for regular listening. The system is not balanced: too much low end and muddy top end. Maybe Mercedes improved the bass over the 2010 model??? You do own a 2010 E550 don't you?

 

yes, you're right..........I do agree.........

 

I used to be the "2x 12" subwoofer in the trunk" guy and I am happy with the base in my car. If it has enough bass for me then I would say that it should be good enough for "most" people.

 

I actually fell over when I read your response. I didn't make this statement about the low end of this car cause I don't know what I'm talking about. I've been in the car audio industry for a number of years. Was an Iasca car audio competitor and judge from 1992 to 2001. I have more accolades than this post is long and have heard the best car systems in the world (ever built)(actually own one) and use (still do) some of the finest car audio equipment in the world. So to answer your statement, YES I have listened to a true "hifi" setup, but just barely. lol. Though not sure what you mean by boomy? Boomy is actually called overhang, meaning a bass note that reverberates and hangs longer than the intended bass signal. This is usually caused by ether poor speaker placement and/or poor cone control from box design. This car does not have any of that at all. It is very tight, crisp, accurate but lacks low bass extension that the 211 has.

If you think this car is boomy and does not exhibit "hifi" characteristics of high end audio equipment, you have some major problems somewhere or something isn't right between your experience and mine.

On a side note, it's not the volume of bass I'm talking about here, this car has plenty of it, it's the "type" of bass, bass that is below 80hz is almost non-existent in this car. Add a sub that reproduces frequencies from 30 to 80hz that transitions well right into the midbass region of this car and it will sound 10X better, I promise!! Most people assume just cause you add a bass speakers, you want to drown out everything else. The problem is a lot of people do exactly that. This system in this car sounds like it has a 6.5'' bass producing speaker. Correct me if I'm wrong but if it actually has a larger (>8'') dedicated sub, it doesn't work well.

 

Re: Access to the bass signal.

The shop that installed my subwoofer seemed to take the input from two wires coming out of the wire array plug going into the stock subwoofer in the trunk. The two wires they accessed were the blue wire and blue/brown wire.

I checked my stock subwoofer and its not broke - ie I can hear it working. The 10" JL sub makes really nice difference. I usually keep the gain quite low though to keep it from being overwelming.

Csquared - yes I have a 2010 and maybe they did change some settings on the amp - like I said the C loaner and 328i kick a lot harder than my stock system. But from your description it does sound like your system is seriously defective. The H/K system is crystal. Perhaps your crossover setting is fouled up causing the stock sub to interfere with the higher tones.

 

Did they just tap into the battery in the trunk? I believe the battery is in the trunk in E550 non-4matics.

 

Yes. In the E550 2WD, the battery is on the right side of the trunk next to the spare.