This is a dispute that will never be settled. We subscribed to a fabled series 'Grand Musicians' in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. Both the venue and the orchestra are known the world over as top of the bill. Ten great concerts, good seats. Now and then I closed my eyes and wondered if this was undisputedly better than the CD at home. Ambiance: yes. Quality of sound: not always. No editing in a superb mixing studio, done by a top producer. Better or worse? Just different, that's what it was. Nothing beats a life performance, but canned music does have it's advantages. I would expect a car with a tweaked hifi set to be almost as ideal as it gets: everything can be tweaked, as opposed to a living room. Every argument bobterry proposes is totally sympathetic to me, but my stock NTG1 audio set up is dull. Those who critized it at it's launch were right from the beginning. Solid, reliable, but dull.

 

@jps33, Thanks for sharing about your install. I have been wanting to change my radio for some time and have been debating over a Chinese Android head unit or some other name brand aftermarket head unit. I was looking at the Seicane (Chinese) radios here:
https://www.seicane.com/car-dvd-play...th-srd-s018817

This looks to be the same radio that you installed, maybe just under another brand.

However, I contacted Seicane to confirm that it would fit my 2008 SL550, and they asked me to send to send pictures of my factory radio and center console, which I did. They responded that it would NOT fit because I do not have the trim around the radio? See pic below:



Apparently on mine, there is no trim between the radio and the leather on the console (compared to the picture originally posted by jps33; I presume this trim hides the edge tabs on the Chinese head unit?)

Does anyone else have experience with this or has installed a different head unit with a center console like mine?

I understand and appreciate the points made by bobterry99, and I don't disagree with his wisdom. But, a car radio is no longer just a radio, and everyone values the various functions and aspects within a radio head unit with different priorities (sound quality vs. GPS navigation vs. smart phone integration vs. auxiliary source capabilities vs. ease of installation vs. price vs. controls/interface vs. name brand vs. cosmetic appearance... and the list goes on and on...).

The AVIN MOST Fiber interface suggested by bobterry99 looks to be a great option for going with some other name brand aftermarket radio. I suspect it would work with Bose, even though it says it will only work with Harman Kardon. Seicane has one as well here, and it says it works with either Bose or Harman Kardon. I believe you would lose steering wheel controls, but maybe there are other options to interface with steering wheel controls.

Lee

 

MB sacrificed the elegant trim around the head unit to a unit with a bigger screen. I think this was in 2005. The Chinese units seem to focus on the older configuration.

 

Technically inferior audio systems add distortions and colorations which can be pleasing to some listeners. Consequently, with some music great audio systems can sound comparatively dull.

I'm reminded of a dozen years ago when I purchased Infinity's smaller version of its IRS (pictured in my prior post), and a friend found their sound underwhelming and inferior to his far less expensive Bose 601s. And that leads to a point mentioned elsewhere in this thread: audio is highly subjective. What sounds wonderful to one person can sound dreadful to another. For this reason it's prudent to take anyone's opinion of sound quality with not a grain but instead a kilogram of salt.

And since the R230's stock sound is tweaked with custom equalisation and digital signal processing, I truly wonder how it can be significantly improved without making modifications to the interior of the car which are of questionable taste.

 

Thanks so much for that advice!

 

Just fyi this radio has may issues I bought it for a sl55 2003 . Reception awful, every time you turn car on you need to wait for reboot , no fast start like ,alpine,kenwood.
bluetooth hit or miss. looks great , I am having too ship mine back to china for replacement at a cost of 90.00 after buying it for full price.
So I would look on the forum about reviews for this radio.

 

Haven’t you failed to hook up the constant 12V+ lead?

 

NO, i did that too. did not help, even external antenna that I bought did not help.
Reception is a huge issue on these, also if you have the top down you cant see the screen
due to the sun really big issue.

 

Thsnks for that info.

 

Duckmoor, what did you decide to do? I'm looking at a 2005 with a bad COMAND unit and I'm wondering what the options are. Basically, I assume they boil down to:

1) Straight swap for another COMAND-APS NTG2 (2005-2008) unit --- I assume this is plug-and-play?

2) Aftermarket swap. Basically need a new head unit + the AVIN or Secane fiber interfaces mentioned earlier in this thread? Relatively straightforward?

3) COMAND-APS NTG2.5 (2009-2012) unit? Is this a possibility?

(I'd like to keep the stock look if at all possible)

 

Yes, though I think you need to make sure you get the right version. I know in the W209 world, there was an internal difference in units that had a "SRV" button vs. a "SYS" button. Get the wrong one and your clock would not set. I do not know if this same issue exists with the R230.

Yes, or, bypass the factory amps with your own analog audio wiring and use your own amp (or the new head unit's amp if you are satisfied with its output).

I do not believe that is possible as the NTG 2.5 units require SCN coding which is basically where MBZ encrypts the car's VIN into it and must be done with a "virgin" unit and a live/licensed copy of SDS. There may be a way to do this, but it would be fairly complicated with lots of hacking involved.

 

Can you please help me with how can the Radio be converted to USA for GPS MAPS ETC. Or does it automically converts? Thanks in advance.

 

I decided to replace the stock system and go to an entire new system. What are you going to do?

 

Duckmoore -

I also have a 2007 SL550 and was looking to upgrade the functions in the stereo system. For various reasons (especially the trim around the HU), I decided against the Chinese Android units. I ended up biting the bullet and had a Kenwood unit installed, but left the stock Bose amp and speakers.
My post here explains what all I had done.
https://mbworld.org/forums/sl-class-...d-kenwood.html

It's been a couple of months since your post... What did you end up doing for your sound system?

 

Glad to hear from you. I was on hold purchasing one. But since you have done something I’m going to certainly take a look at your upgrade! How do you like it? How much did the system cost and installation?

 

All in, my setup was $2880.

The 12th and 13th posts in my thread (mentioned above) are my 7-day and 3-month mini reviews. In a nutshell: I love it and am very happy I did the swap. The dash cam has already saved me $1650 in body & wheel repairs.

Feel free to hit me up with any questions about my upgrade.



Hit & run damage to LR. Mostly cosmetic.



Hit & run damage to LR wheel. Had to be re-surfaced and painted.

 

I have the same vehicle as you. I have purchased a dash kit from Spiral Audio with the antenna wiring. I purchased a M.O.S.T. analog to optic unit. I now need to determine which unit to replace it with. So far my out of pocket costs are $100 for the MOST converter, $90 for the dash kit and antenna accessory. I would also like to retain steering wheel controls but I'm not sure if that would be a separate wiring harness or come from somewhere after the wiring of the MOST. It appears that the diaganol measurement is approximately 8 inches. Would you be able to make any suggestions on radios and any other wiring I might need?

 

Yes you may not be able to have all functions working on the steering wheel, but it’s worth it with an updated sound system. I recommend a Pioneer because of its high rating. Hope you well. Please let me know what you decide.

 

JPS! Thank you so very much for this info. I am looking at buying the same unit. I sent you a PM, but thought possibly others will be interested in whether you are still happy with this unit. So here was my message:

 

the screen on your command can be replaced for less than $500

 

OEM Android 12.0 for 2001-2011 Mercedes Benz SL R230 SL350 SL500 SL55 SL600 SL65 Radio with Bluetooth 9 inch HD Touchscreen GPS Navigation System Carplay support DSP

this is the one made to support our units.

 

I know this post is a bit old, but I looking to do the same to my 07 SL550. I have some questions:
1. Were you able to retain steering wheel controls.
2. Where did u make new head unit power connections
3. Did u have to do anything with fiber after removing stock components.