Streamliner

No matter the source, with the possible exception of the nearly impossible to find DVD-A discs, I find the high and medium tones to be ridiculously harsh and brittle. At any decent volume level, the sound is actually painful to my ears. There is no excuse for MB to have not fixed this problem before the 2014 models were delivered. They knew they had a huge problem in 2013, but proceeded to leave the system virtually unimproved, through the 2020 model run. Yet, we still bought them. Goes to show how great the rest of the car is, at least to us.

jmattioni

For me anyway the sound system wasn't a major factor in the decision to buy the SL. The absolute worst system I ever heard in a car was my wife's S2000.

jmattioni

Did some quick research on Wikipedia about Sirius. The Sirius audio is compressed with an old format precursor to MP3. Both formats are lossy, meaning they lose information in the content considered to be inaudible to the average person. The signal is also just two-channel stereo. So it's probably not even as good as a typical FM station, which doesn't compress the audio. Then again FM seems to broadcast more commercials than music. I have a lot of music in the car on the hard drive, but that's in MP3 format and doesn't really sound any better to me than Sirius.

Panama

I have heard about some disc that helps with the audio in the SL..right???.. I am old school and this is my first SL. Would you please give me a link where I can learn about this disc and what the heck it is, what it does, how to use it, and how to get my hands on one if I need it. I keep seeing the mention of it, but never a detailed description for "dummies" on what and how and where it is or if MB has one etc.

I recently saw someone said something again about it...and I have read some on it....but it is evidently alien to me or any car I ever owned...I never needed some other disc before....can it be copied??? I don't understand what it is or when or how to use it... Why the heck wouldn't they just put in a decent system....I know --- beating a dead horse.

thanks.

​​​​​​​

Streamliner

I’m not the big authority on this subject t, but as I understand it, the systems in the R231’s, both the B&O & HK, were designed to work optimally with a technology that was “hot” back in 2012. Part of this was the ability to play what are called DVD-Audio or “DVD-A” discs. Unfortunately, the technology pretty much died around 2014 or so and was not built upon or enhanced after that. Instead of doing the right thing and immediately changing the audio systems in the R231’s, MB continued to market the outdated and defunct technology. Honestly, there should have been a class action lawsuit brought against MB, requiring them to replace the audio systems in the 231’s. Oh well. A handful of DVD-A discs were produced and can be found on eBay, but the selection is extremely limited.

Streamliner

Also, the cars came with a disc for demonstration purposes. If you have one in with your books and such, you can get an idea of how the system SHOULD sound. If you don’t have it, no great loss in my opinion, as you listen to it once and probably never again.

Panama

Thank you for taking the time to answer...I appreciate it...
This is just sad and a bunch of cr@p as we say down here..... I don't want to give the car to some Best Buy $12 an hour tech to take apart and I don't think I am capable of doing it myself (fix the audio I mean). This car intimidates me I think more than anything I ever owned. I thought about some good bluetooth speakers but I have problems with that too.... And I really don't like the existing audio.

wickedwahine11

Just replying to this thread to see if anyone yet has found a reputable master installer for the Alpine at a Best Buy (or another audio provider) in the Los Angeles/Orange County area. I'm picking up my car in a week or so and trying to line up all the things I want to have done to it once it arrives - already ordered my dark brown Lloyd's mats to replace the beige OEM ones. I'm hoping to get the Alpine amp installed but would much prefer taking it to someone that knows what they are doing rather than wasting time driving somewhere they are too nervous to work on it.

Streamliner

I tried to find a Best Buy Master Installer in the greater LC/OC area and was unsuccessful. I would love to upgrade my sound system, but am freaked out by the idea of someone pulling huge sections of my interior apart. In addition, for the more substantial audio modifications, most of the shops can’t really tell you how the system will sound, after you have spent $4K to $5K on it. Without a doubt, “THE” only really significant problem in an otherwise near perfect car. What a shame that MB never really addressed it, when curing the problem for MY14 would have been so cheap and easy for them.

ejvette

you folks are right about the satellite radio when i plugged my old ipod into the usb I cranked up unchained melody by the Righteous Brothers and I was surrounded by beautiful sound what a difference !

Question for those adding the Alpine amp are you just feeding the rear speakers off the AMP. ?

NIguy

Here in the UK we have DAB Radio (which is a free Digital Audio Broadcast). I had quite a lot of sound coming from the rear when I was listening to our local pop station!

akrein62

How do I get the changes made in the engineering menu to "take" I've selected Bal/Fade but it does not show up as an option in Audio Settings, just Balance. I've powered of/on the audio system as well as the engine. I make the change in Aux mode with the engine off. What is the save and reboot procedure? Is there a save option in the engineering menu, like making changes to a PC's BIOS? I see a software update selection but was afraid to select that. What is the save and reboot procedure? 2014 SL550 if that makes a difference. Thanks,

jmattioni

COMMAND needs to reboot. If you let the car sit overnight it should appear when you start up again. If not, double check in the engineering menu that you actually set the option.

wickedwahine11

This post is a bit delayed as I had the Alpine amp installed in my car last week, but I have been on a work deadline all week and this is the first chance I have had to write this post. So long story short, it did make a big difference in the audio quality in the car. But was it worth all the headache to get it done? Probably, but it wasn't easy...

Long story now: I bought the Alpine KTP-445U amp and had found a guy on Yelp (going nameless here) that did audio work on high end cars. The Yelp page had shown him working on Maseratis, Porsches, and an S Class Coupe. So I booked him to come and install it at my house (he had a mobile service) at his first appointment a couple of weeks later. He showed up and after a few minutes promptly told me that there were no speakers in the back of the car. He said an amp would be useless as there are no speakers and he would have to install some. We quickly began to argue as I tried to get him to look at the posts on this forum about the fix that people had done (which he lied to me about being able to do and understanding when I booked him). He said he was going to install the amp to make the front speakers more powerful to compensate for the lack of the back ones. I told him no way was he touching my car and offered to pay him for his trip to my house. He refused any money and angrily drove off, leaving me the amp with the wires already connected to it.

I then began scouring around and found a stereo install place that also assured me they could do it - they had a Lamborghini in the shop when I drove by to talk to them. He told me it would take about four hours to do the work. I had not been sure the other guy had left me all the parts for the amp I needed, so I tried to buy a second one but could only find the Alpine KTA-450 available in time. I gave both to the stereo shop and told them to install whichever they thought was best. I left the car at 9am on a Tuesday and when 1pm rolled around and he hadn't called, I called him. He told me they would have to keep it overnight and the job would not be done until the next afternoon. I begrudging let them keep the car (what else could I do at that point) and waited to get it the next afternoon around 1pm.

When I showed up, he played the radio for me. It sounded better but maybe my expectations were a bit too high as it did not blow me away. Still, it is a marked improvement, as the back speakers are actually now more powerful than the front. They ended up installing the KTA-450 but they threw away the box for the KTP-445U so I couldn't return it, even though it had all the parts after all. They said the KTA-450 was more powerful and would sound better so they opted for that. Unfortunately, I'm now stuck with a KTP-445U that I don't want or need and no way to return it since I no longer have the box. (I paid $199 for it on Amazon, but will probably try to sell it for $100 somewhere).

One weird thing is everyone I have seen with the H and K stereo had theirs installed in the smuggler box behind the driver seat, but mine was installed in the trunk under the removable tarp. I was actually happy about that as I didn't want to alter the smuggler box as I keep the manual, masks, etc. in there usually. They said they would take good care of the car interior as it is beige, and for the most part they did, but I did have some scuffs to have to clean up (luckily they came right off with my Chemical Guys cleaner).

On the whole, I'm glad I had it done. As my spouse noted, it is an improvement because now that the back speakers are louder than the front, you can carry on a conversation while music is at an enjoyable level. But the stereo shop told me to use it for a few weeks and then I could come back and they could alter it to my liking. I'm thinking I probably would prefer it a bit more balanced. So moral of the story, I would recommend folks get it done to their car - it makes a big difference in enjoying music while driving this car. But it wasn't easy to find someone to do it, and now I'm stuck with an extra amp I don't need...

Still, I've now gotten a WiFi converter for my Carplay, tinted my windows, added the amp and ordered a personalized license plate. I think my mods for this car are complete and after owning about 15 vehicles, I've never loved a car more.

wickedwahine11

I just want to reiterate the difference this modification has made. I was in my mom's SL for the first time yesterday after having had the alteration done to my own SL. It took going "back in time" for me to truly realize the power of the difference in the audio output. I guess I had gotten a bit used to the upgrade in my car, but being back in hers, it was a drastically lesser listening experience. I don't know that I can convince her it is worth it for her (at 72 years old and driving a whopping 5-10 miles a week) that she should invest the time and money in the upgrade. But for anyone that spends any length of time in their car, or is even a bit of an audiophile, it is well worth the effort. Enough for me to insist we take my car anywhere else we go together...

Gabebey

I just want to thank you for this thread of over 230+ post. I write and record music and as my mixing engineer and I were listening to my latest creation, we did the car test.
We jumped into my 2013 SL 550 and slipped the MP3 over BT, and immediately we turned our heads as no sound came from the back of the car. I never noticed this before but it got me thinking that I had no rear speakers.
We then jumped to his BMW where we heard immaculate sound and praised the recording, and could praise our mix...

That began my search to improve my inferior sound and found your post. Thanks to you and the many contributors I have a low cost solution for the noticeably poor sound performance of my luxury car.

So I wanted to thank you for this solution. I have ordered my Alpine Ktp-445U Power Amplifier and purchased my audio installation at Best Buy for next week.

You can find my song "Come Together" on YouTube , but I will be releasing it on Spotify and Apple Music under 'Gabriel Bey' in the very near future.

Again, Thank You.

fun33

My Alpine amp was also installed in the trunk, My amp only controls the sound to the rear speakers. There should be an output volume control located on the amp that can be set to balance the front and rear to your preference. The downside of this setup is you cannot adjust the front and rear balance while driving. We were able to balance the sound to our liking and although not perfect, it is a major and noticeable improvement over the inexcusably inferior OEM installation.

jrupp

I have the amp ordered as well. Had been on the fence about having this done and the owner of the local car audio store was leery about touching it. His main install guy just took a new job at the university where I work and says he's done the job before and can tackle it without an problem. I installing a new center speaker as well. Cautiously optimistic, will keep you posted.

Streamliner

If you might like to become an instant celebrity on this site, do a video showing what needs to be disassembled, how to disassemble it, exactly how to hook up the amp, etc.

jrupp

I realize how helpful that would be but I'm not sure I've got the courage to ask the installer if I can do a video of him working. He has retired from the install business and is doing this more as a favor than anything else. I sense if he had his druthers he'd just as soon pass on the job, not because it's tricky, but because he's just moved on.

billvp218

sounds horrible, if that song came on, I'd want all the speakers muted

Steinhart

wow, I started this thread in 7/2016 and still going strong!

glad to see so many people getting better sound from their stereo!

Russj

I have a 2013 SL63 with HK/Logic 7 and want to do this mod.
I've entered "Engineering Mode", enabled the balance/fade control and read through this entire thread (several times!).
However, I'm still not clear how the Alpine amp should be wired...
Is it;
1 The output going to the front speakers is tapped into, fed to the Alpine amp and then connected directly to the rear speakers, thus by-passing the Mercedes amp rear output completely.
or
2 The Alpine amp is installed between the Mercedes amp and the rear speakers such that it just amplifies whatever is already being being output to the rear channels.

One of the reasons I'm asking this is that the Alpine 445U or 450 are very difficult to find here in the UK. I may have to use Pioneer or Sony Class D amps which are very similar but do not have a gain control built in.
Thus option 2 above appeals because I can use the cars built in balance and fade to vary the rear volume.

Hope this makes sense and would appreciate any help.

Russ

jrupp

I was talking with my co-worker, an engineer, about my plans to upgrade my SL550 sound system with the Alpine power amp. While waiting for it to come in he suggested burning some CD's in the DVD audio format. I did that using songs in my iTunes account and there was a HUGE difference in the sound. It really was remarkable. Not sure how close this comes to the way the system is supposed to sound, or if installing the Alpine power amp will make it sound even better but I wanted to pass it along in case anyone else wanted to try it and then report back on what they thought. Cheers.

Streamliner

Perhaps you could give us old guys here a little tutorial on how to burn DVD Audio tunes. Do your rear speakers come alive with these DVD Audio discs?