Just another newbie question
On my 07' SL550 the speaker covers say Bose so its safe to assume its the Bose amp with fiber optics?

Ed

 

2007 Mercedes SL models have the MOST fiber optics.

 

Yes, Ed, all USA model R230's have the fiber system. Through MY2004 it was D2B, after it was MOST. Bose was used through MY2008 I believe, and then they switched to Harmon-Kardon (but all are fiber from the head unit to the amp).

BTW, I see you have a MY2017 Cadillac XT5. My wife has one, too and we really don't like it much. It's a leas and she's counting the days (nearly two more years) until she can trade.

 

agreed Rudeney we are not huge fans of the XT5 my wife has 1 more year on her lease she has her eye on the Volvo X60 although she has expressed interest in taking my GLC300 which we own (I would rather she didn't I really love driving that car) and I would consider getting either a BMW X3 or the GLC300 Coupe for myself.

On another note I spoke to my local audio shop about upgrading the head unit and they said that they just did an SL with the MOST and what they did was swap out the head unit and install a new amp to bypass the stock amp and kept the stock speakers and maintained the steering wheel controls total cost around 2K Is there anything I need to be concerned about when the stock amp is bypassed ?

 

My wife was end-of-lease on her second Jeep Grand Cherokee. It the JGC was literally the only car we ever bought twice - we really liked it, but she was ready for something different and the JGC had not changed at all from our 2014 model. Her brother was the manager at the local Cadillac dealer and gt us a deal we could not refuse on the XT5. It's OK, but we have had some problems with it. My main complaint is that it's basically a Chevy with nicer leather. It does ride well, and drive more sporty than the ML or the Jeeps, but I think most any modern FWD-based CUV would be the same.

As for the radio, I see no issues bypassing the MOST amp. It's what I'd do. The alternative is an adapter that takes analog inputs and emulated the MOST amp, but you have no fader control (though the factory COMAND doesn't have that anyhow). Given that they have done this before, that's a good thing. So many shops will lok at the car and say, "Uh, no, we don't work on no Muhr-SAY-deez."

 

We have many JGC's over the years one of my favorite SUV type vehicles with real 4WD fortunately the XT5 has been trouble free for us and the car handles really well and has nice curb appeal but there is something very unappealing about the view from the drivers seat not fan of the dashboard or the head unit the touch screen is so sensitive that when your fingers get within a few inches it activates there is something kinda bulky feeling about the car its hard to explain but we certainly wont be getting another!

 

Hmm, I actually like the CUE system in the XT5. It does have a proximity sensor so that if you are in full-screen NAV mode, as your hand approaches the screen, it will slide-in the top and bottom menu options. I thought that was a pretty neat feature. My biggest complaint with CUE is that he icons are sort of bland, and the screen angle gets a lot of reflections and really shows fingerprints.

What amazes me is driving the XT5 back-to-back with our 2010 ML250 that has 1300K miles on it. The ML just feels more stable, planted, and luxurious. It is more top-heavy feeling than the XT5, but feels just as secure when pushed. I;d much rather drive it than the XT5. I think once the lease is up, I will get my wife to look at a gently used W166 ML. She really wanted one to begin with, but we never could find what she wanted - and damned if I'm going to pay MBZ's over-inflated new car prices!

 

I had a 2014 ML350 it was huge mistake getting rid of that vehicle it was roomy and super comfy to drive it was on lease and I should have bought at lease end the price was right but the GLC300 had just come out and the wife talked me into getting that because why did I need a vehicle "that big"

 

I like the GLC. We looked at a new one when we chose the XT5 and it was a no-go as there was no option for a tow hitch. We don't need to do any heavy-duty towing, but sometimes I need to hookup a trailer and move an appliance or piece of furniture. I think you can get an aftermarket hitch, but there is no provision for wiring.