I just came across this yesterday and was wondering if any have used this adapter harness before? It essentially bypasses the factory amp and powers the 4 speakers directly from the head unit without the need for a MOST adapter that only preserves 2 audio channels which does not allow for time alignment or EQ'ing of audio.

https://www.dvdgpsnav.com/blog/mercedes-benz-w211-radio-removal-and-install-android-w211-navigation-head-unit/

I've emailed them but waiting for a response.

 

Yeah it’s the same basic thing I installed in my G55 and will at some point add to my E55.

 

thats a nice setup for your G. i will be ordered the harness from them now. they've quoted me 140 shipped, 80 for the harness and 60 for shipping. it also sets me up if decide to bypass use of the radio's amp for an aftermarket amp if i am need of more power.

how does the head unit do powering the factory speakers and factory sub?

 

It does ok but the G speakers aren’t great from the start. I have the factory sub off bc again it sucks. I do have a 12” Alpine Type R though and it works good.

 

You don't really need a specialty harness for this. If you're running a car-length harness from the head unit to the back of the car, any wiring will do. Get you a little roll of this:
I know some people get weird about cutting wires in the car, but meh... nobody is going to own my car after me, so I'm find splicing into the speaker wires. Once you have whatever wiring solution you need ran to the rear of the car, you the wiring is very straight forward, and all there at the plug that goes into the AGW.

In fact, if you're buying an android head unit, every one that I've seen, including the two that I've purchased for myself either come with, or have an option to add the 5meter cable as part of the purchase.

 

I'm still trying to decide on which Android to get, but I still am not sure if I need the 5m Cable if I'm not going to use the AGW (other than those rear surround L&R of the SubW, and maybe the front Mids in each foot bay) at all since I have 2 amps with 9 Channel output out of an Audison Bit Nove DSP? As such, I would need to get Full Range signal from the HU: actually from the AGW in the rear so as not to interrupt the MOST Loop.

If one were to bypass the MOST entirely (NAV,TeleAid, OnStar, CD Player, giving up all functionality of steering wheel controls etc.) the question is why must one connect all those MOST Loops? Will it affect the ability to start the car if the MOST is interrupted? If I had the ability to maintain the CD Player Function after install of an Android, then I can see the reason to maintain the MOST Loop, but that seems to be impossible so if your giving up NAV,CD, TeleAid, OnStar, Voice Connect etc, then why bother, that is, unless breaking the MOST Loop renders the car inoperable? Am I missing something here?? Or does it have to do with being able to view song info in the Display? Does that require the MOST Bus or the CAN Bus?

 

you'll need to install a MOST loop for any devices being eliminated as you mentioned. the harness i'm looking to purchase may come with a loop at the AGW side. if you do not plan to use the factory amp you can bypass all together, but still need to figure out how to power the head unit itself. with the harness power is being provided from the AGW back up to the deck. i plan to install a 13.3 inch android screen that i purchased from joying. with a MOST loop, diagnostics will show a missing/uncommunicatable device though.

only thing worth keeping for me was bluetooth calling, but at this point, i really just want a better setup with GPS etc.

 

for those of you curious how it went

 

so with the harness I purchased, it only supports 4 output channels as most if not all aftermarket radios only support 4 channel outputs. so with that in mind, i was not fully satisfied with the audio output and have ordered a Helix V Twelve DSP / Amplifier. This will allow me to utilize the TOS-LINK optical output to then correctly map all available channels to a line of audio. From there, I'll utilize the DSP to scale, time adjust, and frequency adjust each of the 7 separate channels. Could probably get away with a Helix V Eight, but wasn't sure how many separate audio channels were available before ordering. I guess thats why its called Logic7. what sold me was having a SINGULAR piece of hardware that does it all. also, in that if purchasing a DSP and amplifier separately, to have the same level of quality will cost 1.5x more. the Helix V Twelve is regarded in the audio community as the best consumer level product you could buy.


https://www.audiotec-fischer.de/en/p...ve/amplifiers/

 

HELIX V TWELVE DSP

The king of connectivity

That has never existed before – 12 highlevel inputs, 6 Cinch inputs, 14 DSP channels, 12 output stages with up to 160 RMS at 2 Ohms combined in an ultra-compact housing that has the footprint of just two envelopes. The new V TWELVE DSP is unmistakeably a technological milestone and the problem solver par excellence when it comes to upgrading multichannel premium sound systems in today's vehicles.

Connectivity redefined

What to do if a vehicle is already equipped with a premium sound system ex works, whose amplifier often already has more than 10 channels? In many cases, a replacement is no longer possible, so that only an amplifier with the same number of highlevel inputs can be considered for upgrading the system. The V TWELVE DSP is the first amplifier worldwide that offers 12 highlevel inputs and just as many amplifier channels, a digital input and a HEC slot. The integrated DSP can handle this easily, since it comes with the incredible number of fourteen (14!) separate channels.

Virtual Channel Processing – this is how signal routing works today

The adaptation to modern OE sound systems via an increasing number of inputs has a significant impact on the complexity of the signal routing inside the amplifier. Especially when several input signals are mixed together and then split again into multi-way systems, conventional routing concepts quickly reach their limits. Audiotec Fischer's new multi-stage "Virtual Channel Processing", in conjunction with the recognized user-friendly DSP PC-Tool software makes it easy to realize even highly complex system configurations. Besides, it allows to freely assign our proprietary FX sound features such as "RealCenter" or "Augmented Bass Processing". But thanks to its enormous number of channels, the V TWELVE DSP is also a prime example for applications in which a 1 to 1 routing (IOR) makes sense.

The plus in speed – thanks to ACO

Such a huge number of channels requires ultra-fast hardware – Audiotec Fischer's proprietary 32 Bit ACO platform takes over all control tasks and ensures exceptional speed especially for data communication with our DSP PC-Tool software, but also for lightning-fast switching between up to ten possible sound setups. The fantastic sound effects associated with the ACO platform such as Augmented Bass Processing, StageXpander or RealCenter are just as natural with the V TWELVE DSP as a 12-channel input EQ including our Input Signal Analyzer (ISA) for easy analysis and compensation of the input signals from OE radios.

Sound quality without any compromises

Separate AD and DA converters of the latest generation from Asahi Kasei with a native resolution of 32 Bit ensure optimal sound performance, best possible signal-to-noise ratio and minimal distortion. Concerns that the abundance of audio channels and the extremely dense design could have an impact on the sound quality are completely out of place for a HELIX product.

Features

• Up to 160 W RMS output power per channel into 2 Ω
• “Pure Class GD” concept for outstanding sound quality combined with best possible efficiency
• Extremely powerful 64 Bit “fixed point” Audio DSP
• ACO – Advanced 32 Bit CoProcessor platform for system and DSP features like:
  • ISA (Input Signal Analyzer) and InputEQ for easy analysis and compensation of input signals
  • SFX sound effects – Augmented Bass Processing, StageXpander, RealCenter & Co.
• High power 12-channel highlevel input with up to 32 V RMS input sensitivity and ADEP.3 circuit
• Two processed RCA / Cinch outputs
• 1 to 1 Input / Output Routing (IOR) – same number of highlevel inputs and amplifier outputs
• Virtual Channel Processing (VCP) allows even more flexible configuration for highly complex sound systems
• HELIX Extension Card slot (HEC) for additional input / output modules like Bluetooth® Audio Streaming, High Resolution Audio Streaming via USB etc.
• Compact design with low heat dissipation thanks to extraordinary efficiency

Special features:

Pure Class GD amplifier technology

Audiotec Fischers proprietary Pure Class GD concept takes the efficiency of conventional Class D amps to the next level. By varying the internal supply voltage depending on the amplifier’s input signals, idle losses are significantly reduced and overall efficiency is close to maximum at any time.
So heat dissipation is almost negligible thus allowing smallest heat sinks and most compact form factors. Besides that Pure Class GD amp outperforms conventional Class D designs in terms of sound quality by implementing a fully differential signal path and improved output filter design.

ACO – Advanced 32 Bit CoProcessor

The HELIX V TWELVE DSP incorporates an extraordinary powerful 32 Bit CoProcessor of the latest generation for all monitoring and communication tasks, both internally and externally. In opposite to the 8 Bit predecessor generation this MCU achieves way higher speeds with respect to setup switching and data communication with our DSP PC-Tool software. A further significant advantage is the integrated, native boot loader of the CoProcessor.
It allows software upgrades of all components of the integrated DSP in order to adjust the microcontroller-controlled ADEP.3 circuit for example to future requirements of the diagnostic system of factory radios or if the device will be extended with additional interfaces. In addition, thanks to the new flash memory, the ACO offers 10 memory locations for sound setups instead of the common two.

Smart highlevel input ADEP.3

Modern, factory-installed car radios incorporate sophisticated possibilities of diagnosing the connected speakers. In particular the latest generation of car radios are equipped with additional monitoring functions so that failure messages and loss of specific features (e.g. fader function) quite often appear if an amplifier will be hooked up – but not with the V TWELVE DSP.
The new ADEP.3 circuit (Advanced Diagnostics Error Protection, 3rd Generation) avoids all these problems without loading the speaker outputs of the OE radio during high volumes unnecessarily.

Start-Stop capability

The switched power supply of the HELIX V TWELVE DSP assures a constant internal supply voltage even if the battery’s voltage drops to 6 Volts during engine crank.

Power Save Mode

The Power Save Mode is incorporated in the basic setup. It allows to significantly reduce the power consumption of the amplifiers that are connected to the HELIX V TWELVE DSP once there’s no input signal present for more than 60 seconds. Please note that in many up-to-date cars with “CAN” or any other internal bus structures it may happen that the radio remains “invisibly” turned on for up to 45 min. even after locking and leaving the car! Once the “Power Save Mode“ is active the remote output and therefore the connected amplifiers will be turned off.
The V TWELVE DSP will reactivate the remote output within a second if a music signal is applied. It is possible to either modify the turn-off time of 60 sec. or completely deactivate the “Power Save Mode” via the DSP PC-Tool software.

Note: The Bluetooth® word mark and logos are registered trademarks owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of such marks by Audiotec Fischer GmbH is under license. Other trademarks and trade names are those of their respective owners.

DSP features

RealCenter

The “RealCenter” feature is an algorithm, developed by Audiotec Fischer, that emphasizes the music information which is present in both the left and right front channel to create an unique center signal. In contrast to common procedures, in which only the channels are summed up, the intensity of the center signal is also dynamically controlled by the stereophonic informational content of the left and right channel.
Sounds complicated but this effect is astonishing: That means if solely the left or right channel delivers an audio signal, the center channel will not reproduce a signal. In the case of common algorithms, the volume level of the center channel is only reduced by 6 dB (= half volume level). Audiotec Fischer’s “RealCenter” allows a unique, broadened sound staging for both driver and co-driver at the same time! Therefore, the disadvantages of a conventional center channel, such as an intrusive, small sound stage, are things of the past.

Augmented Bass Processing

Audiotec Fischer’s proprietary “Augmented Bass Processing”, consisting of the two revolutionary sound features “Dynamic Bass Enhancement” and “SubXpander”, has been especially developed to dramatically improve the bass reproduction of subwoofers.
The “Dynamic Bass Enhancement” ingeniously combines maximum deep bass and highest sound pressure – regardless of the music style or the tone controls in the head unit. Depending on the input signal, the “Dynamic Bass Enhancement” gains the lower frequency range and varies the cut-off frequency of the subsonic filter. The result is a significantly more powerful and deeper bass response at low and medium volume levels without the risk of overloading the subwoofer neither mechanically nor electrically at high volume levels. It is simply fascinating which bass performance is suddenly possible.
If you want an even lower and “darker” bass reproduction, the “SubXpander” can be additionally activated. Therefore, subharmonic tones are added to the fundamental tones in the frequency range between 50 and 100 Hz.

StageXpander

Depending on the speaker arrangement in the vehicle, a more or less wide stereo sound stage can be created on the front seats. A center speaker may limit the spatial reproduction of the music additionally. This is where Audiotec Fischer’s new “StageXpander” comes into play – a sound feature which seems to break the acoustic limitations and thus allows to create a way broader stereo base without negatively affecting the precision of the localization of voices or instruments!
The effect can be adjusted according to your personal preferences in four steps.

ClarityXpander

You are looking for more transparency and substance in the treble reproduction? With the “ClarityXpander” Audiotec Fischer is now offering the right tool. Properly adjusted (and therefore selectable in three steps) the feature adds additional harmonics in the upper frequency range – this is especially useful if the original speakers lack some brilliance in the treble response. The extra treble-kick is not only available for the two front channels but also separately adjustable for the center channel. Even better – the center channel allows to activate an automatic and dynamic control so that music with “loads” of treble doesn’t fatigue your hearing.

Technical data

Power RMS ≤ 1% THD+N
- @ 4 Ohms 75 Watts per channel - @ 2 Ohms 120 Watts per channel - @ 1 Ohm - - bridged @ 4 Ohms - - bridged @ 2 Ohms - Max. output power per channel* Up to 160 Watts RMS @ 2 Ohms Amplifier technology Pure Class GD Inputs 6 x RCA / Cinch
12 x Highlevel speaker input
1 x Optical SPDIF (12 - 96 kHz)
1 x Remote In Input sensitivity RCA / Cinch max. 4 V or max. 8 V
Highlevel max. 16 V or max. 32 V Input impedance RCA / Cinch 12 kOhms Input impedance highlevel 9 - 33 Ohms or 20 kOhms Outputs 12 x Speaker output
2 x RCA / Cinch
2 x Remote Out Output voltage RCA / Cinch 3 Volts RMS Frequency response 20 Hz - 22,000 Hz DSP resolution 64 Bit DSP power 295 MHz (1.2 billion MAC operations/second) Sampling rate 48 kHz DSP type Audio signal processor Signal converters A/D: AKM 32 Bit
D/A: AKM 32 Bit Signal-to-noise ratio digital input 107 dB (A-weighted) Signal-to-noise ration analog input 102 dB (A-weighted) Distortion (THD) < 0.015 % Damping factor > 70 Operating voltage 10.5 - 16 Volts (max. 5 sec.down to 6 Volts) Idle current 700 mA Max. remote output current 500 mA Fuse 2 x 30 A LP-Mini-fuse (APS) Additional features HEC slot, ADEP.3 circuit, Auto Remote switch, 32 Bit CoProcessor, Control Input Dimensions (H x W x D) 44 x 220 x 220 mm /
1.73 x 8.66 x 8.66“* In typical multi-channel applications (2- / 3-way system + rear + subwoofer)

Scope of delivery

1 x Amplifier HELIX V TWELVE DSP
1 x USB cable
2 x Allen key
1 x Mounting material
1 x Instruction manual

 

the website below walks through tackling similar for the W221 which has the same sound profile and speaker quality.

https://w221audio.wordpress.com/

This blog chronicles my experiences with upgrading the performance of the Harman/Kardon Logic 7 audio system that came standard in 2007-2012 Mercedes Benz S Class & CL Class. While I’m dealing specifically with the S Class here, the system in the CL is similar, and generally all Logic 7 systems in Mercedes of the same era share most components. The Logic 7 suffers from the following shortcomings:

• The midrange is over emphasized, resulting in a sound that is too bright, too thin and too brassy. Turning up the volume just exacerbates the problem.
• There is inadequate bass response, despite the car having three subwoofers. Overall the sound is weak and thin, and not in character with the car itself.
• There are insufficient tone controls in COMAND to compensate.

 

I’m wondering if your E63 has the Auto Trunk which seemingly completely covers the AGW? If so, how did you access the wires to the speakers?

 

with the trunk open, you'll need to remove all trunk paneling. once you do that, you'll remove the cage that houses your DVD Navigation, XM, Radio, and other control module. once that is out the way you'll have access to 1 nut and 2 bolt which is holding the factory Becker amplifier aka Audio Gateway. you'll need to release wiring connections from both ends of the Audio Gateway to allow the Amplifier/Gateway to be pulled out of the vehicle.

a lot of work, but not too difficult if you take your time.

the harness I have for my Android head unit runs speaker wiring from the head unit to the back to patch into the factory harness off the amplifier into the speakers with factory type connectors.

 

Hello again, but please let me know if your model E63 has the Auto Trunk Feature! Every DIY I’ve seen on the forums seemingly show W211 Class cars that Do Not?

 

what is that...yes my car has the electronic trunk for opening and closing. all E63's have this.