clk554me

Hi Folks,

I recently had installed Reus Audio's Upgrade to the factory Bose system for my SL55. It is Ten-thousand times better than the factory audio. Reus Audio is very professional and I am pleased with them. I am enjoying the upgrade, but I am ticked off that you spend this kind of money for a SL55 and the Audio system is not on par with comparable or even lesser automobiles. You then have to spend even more to make the system decent. If you have never had a great system, then you may not notice the difference. But once you have had an excellent audio system, you will notice the difference.

My daily driver is a Lexus with the Mark Levinson system. While this sounds pretty good, I have to tell you that neither system sounds as good as the upgraded premium Dolby Pro-logic system from my old school 1998 Volvo S70. What a shame. I sure hope in the future Mercedes corrects this.

Does anyone know if the Harmon Kardon system now in the SL is noticiably better than the previous Bose?

rebel823

Glad to hear that as I have bought the upgrade, but not yet had it installed. I'm still waiting on delivery of the car in late March. Did you drive it up to them? And how long did it take them? Also do you find the spare tire less accessible or convenient?

niwayama

Congrats on improving your audio.

Did the Reus installation take up any significant room in the already small trunk? I recall when I spoke to Reus, that they asked me to find out the size of the spare, so I was wondering what they need this for. When I had a Boxster, their subwoofer attached to the spare in the front trunk.

clk554me

You loose approximately a few inches in depth, but otherwise the trunk will look the same, just not as deep. They use the well of the spare for the sub-woofer and they build a covering for it that can be easily dissassembled.(sp??)

Clk554me

"Carpe Diem"

clk554me

You can bring it to them, or they can come to you. In my case they came to me. It only takes a few hours.

Clk554me

"Carpe Diem"

rebel823

thanks for the information.
Did they replace your main Bose speakers? Rick told me that when their speakers are out of Beta testing, they will, free of charge, replace the mains as part of the basic audio upgrade.
Did you get any feel about using Reus to upgrade the Nav system , or install a Radar detector?

clk554me

I have not done anything about the Navigation yet. I assumed that would interfere with the stock head unit, something I do not want to do. I did inquire about the Radar detector and may still do it. Just have not gotten around to it. Presently I think that I am going to have my local dealer add the IPOD kit. This will allow me to plug the ipod in and leave it in the glove compartment and control the tunes via steering wheel controls.

CLK554me

"Carpe Diem"

BMS

I had Reuss install the system and they came to me. Lost depth in trunk so that golf clubs no longer fit with medium size bag. Lost approx. 6 inches (he-he) but worth every penny for sound improvement. May upgrade radio to Eclipse(better sound) at later date. Don't know if he does radar detectors but I switched from hard wired Valentine1 to K-40s and defuser and am happy so far. I can tell you with the Reuss system Sirius sounds much better but still not as good as as a high def broadcast from a local station or your own burned CD's (not computer burned). I would highly recommend the Reuss system. They will upgrade the Nav system and there are pictures if you do a search of Reuss on this site.

rebel823

Still wondering about your main Bose speakers? Did Rick at Reus replace them. He told me when he's done beta testing on his he will replace the mains free of charge as part of the basic audio upgrade.

Xeron

I hate the stock system

hbluthi

I prefer to hear the sound that comes out of the back of the car versus the sound in the car. It's music to my ears.

clk554me

My Bose speakers are still there. Rick also told me about the Beta testing that they are doing on the new speakers. I look forward to them being installed.


Clk554m3


"Carpe Diem"

2thfixr

I had the full Reus SST system with McIntosh amps and the optional mid bass driver in my old 996 cab. Phenomenol system that could be cranked as loud as you could stand it. I think Rick offers different levels of systems in the MB. Without main speaker replacement, you haven't heard what a Reus system is all about! The imaging and soundstage is something that has to be experienced.

clk554me

Thanks for the input! There is only one solution that Rick has for the SL. So that is what I have. I anxiously await the new speakers so that I may also appreciate the system properly.

Clk554me

"Carpe Diem"

jmf003

I got to see and hear Mike's (forum name = BMS) Reus audio system over the weekend. It was terrific. The only negative is that you lose a few inches in the trunk as Mike and others have mentioned. If you can live with the reduced space and don't mind the cost, it's a no-brainer of an upgrade.