akinder

I hope this one hasn't been done to death, but I'm wondering if anyone has a recommendation on a power amplifier that will work with the stock radio.

I have a 01 E55, I want to keep the standard radio and hopefully the speakers as well.

I'm disappointed though with the volume of the radio. I don't want to 'thump', I just want to be able to listen to radio/CD's louder, whether it's hard rock or country.

Are there any special requirements? I heard the CD changer had to be special MB brand, so I had that dealer installed.

Can I take it to the local Circuit City or Best Buy and have it done or does it require special skills?

Anyone done this?

kaneman

You won't be able to keep the speakers but you WILL be able to keep the stock radio. I put a stereo in an '01 CLK55 and the systems are largely identical (and identically awful). I replaced the speakers, disconnected the stock subwoofer and added a 10" sub in a small isobaric box along with two amplifiers to drive everything (one had a crossover built in that I used). I also added a parametric EQ to cancel out some of the equalization in the stock Bose setup. The result was VASTLY improved sound. Higher highs, lower lows and lots of clarity. I recommend a fairly large amp, at least 50 watts per channel and 150-200 for the subwoofer (Infinity makes a great sub called the Basslink that's amplified and does a fine job).

jimmydagreek

kaneman is exactly right. You will not be able to keep the factory speakers if you replace the amp. Do you have a Bose system? Those amps and speakers run on 2ohms and the standard car audio systems run on 4ohms. Mixing the 2 will cause the sound to suffer.