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350 SE rear speakers

Started by powerglide, 30 August 2009, 08:22 AM

powerglide

I copy this from my earlier post:

What speakers should be fitted to the parcel shelf.  The present (inadequate) speakers are Blaupunkt simple paper cone 5 1/4 inch items that were evidently dealer-fitted and mount by 4 screws to the parcel shelf board only. The recesses pressed into the steel underneath the board on either side have provision for a speaker of similar size with three fixing screws only (I have never seen a car speaker with only three screw mounting points). Speaker size is limited by the depth and volume of this recess pressed into the shelf steel, and I don't want to go cutting metal. Has anyone been able to fit a 5 1/4 or 6 inch speaker with a decent size magnet in the stock recess so it clears everything?
Powerglide

Big_Richard

the original speakers that go in there are made by Becker, they are 3 screw designs and are absolutely nothing to get excited about in the way of sound quality or clarity by today's standards ;)

I have 6 inch speakers in the rear as a temporary measure, and to mount them properly i think it would be preferable to have spacers under them as there really isn't much room back there.


TJ 450

With a lot of high quality speakers, you will find depth to be the issue. Some manufacturers, such as Focal, offer 5 1/4" coaxials and component speakers with special shallow baskets and magnets. Another alternative is to fit a more substantial 4" speaker with an adaptor.

Generic 5 1/4" speakers will also fit, but you should really confirm the overall depth beforehand.

Tim
1976 450SEL 6.9 1432
1969 300SEL 6.3 1394
2003 ML500

powerglide

Thanx a lot guys.  It looks like I go for Pioneer 5 1/4 co-ax speakers that will match my period Pioneer component system. The only remaining problem with that is how do I get the power antenna to go up and down automatically without a separate cable dedicated to the power antenna?
Powerglide

TJ 450

There should be a blue wire to the antenna, that supplies the relay with +12V. The original Hirschmanns had this and it is the same as all modern automatic antennae.

Tim
1976 450SEL 6.9 1432
1969 300SEL 6.3 1394
2003 ML500

koan

Quote from: TJ 450 on 01 September 2009, 06:28 AM
There should be a blue wire to the antenna, that supplies the relay with +12V. The original Hirschmanns had this and it is the same as all modern automatic antennae.

And it's active all the time so the antenna goes down when ignition is turned off. Control is from radio on another wire, +12V up, 0V down. My electrical manual shows US cars had a different setup where antenna could be inched up and down, more wires and complication.

koan

Boogity, Boogity, Boogity, Amen!

Papalangi

Quote from: koan on 01 September 2009, 04:02 PM
Quote from: TJ 450 on 01 September 2009, 06:28 AM
There should be a blue wire to the antenna, that supplies the relay with +12V. The original Hirschmanns had this and it is the same as all modern automatic antennae.

And it's active all the time so the antenna goes down when ignition is turned off. Control is from radio on another wire, +12V up, 0V down. My electrical manual shows US cars had a different setup where antenna could be inched up and down, more wires and complication.

koan



I've got the US version with a center off rocker switch and the fully automatic (power on a wire to run it up, power off to run it down) version of the antenna.  Needless to say, it doesn't work too well.

Michael
'83 300SD, I'm back!  It's the son's new car (12/2020)
1976 450SEL, 116.033  Sold it to buy a '97 Crown Vic.  Made sense at the time.
1971 250C, 114.023
1976 280C
1970 250/8

peterq

My 450SLC has the "manual" electric antenna set up - you move it up/down with a console switch. Its not hard to adapt one of the automatic antenna to work with that, I've done it on a couple. As I recall you open up the antenna and remove/bypass the electronic switching bits so you're left with 2 wires to the motor which you connect to the wires from the switch.

Big_Richard

half height positioning would be handy for using city carparking complexes with low clearance.

Full height or no radio and all the way down is rather inconvenient in such situations as i do not listen to music at all during the day, that 5 minutes of silence is deafening ;)

I guess its time to upgrade to on window antenna elements, removing the hirschmann & welding up the antenna hole - as if, 70's hirschmanns are cool ;)

koan

Hirschmanns that are part way up (or down) allow water to run down the mast into the works, fully up or fully down they seal and there is no water path.

Always assumed those antennas that have manual control were of a design to prevent this... but maybe not.

Quote from: Patrick Bateman on 05 September 2009, 09:28 PM
70's hirschmanns are cool ;)

They are brilliant inside, like something The PMG's (try Google) department would make.

Conngrats PB on 3000 posts, always to the point and mostly informative and enjoayable.

koan
Boogity, Boogity, Boogity, Amen!

Maat1985

i got some 5 1/4 inch rockford fosgate speakers the fit snugly but very well and sound absolutely awesome....

the prob i have is getting 4inch for the front that sound even half decent.....
DRIVER - 1977 W116 280SEL Orange....
PARTS - 1977 W116 280SE White....
DECEASED - 1977 W116 280SE Maple Yellow....
DECEASED - 1976 W116 280SE Green....

TJ 450

It really depends on what your objectives are, but there are some decent 4" speakers available. I have a pair of Soundstream coaxials in there at the moment... they have a nice silk tweeter and a reasonable crossover.

Otherwise, I would try and get the 4" coax version of these to fit! ;)

Link

Tim
1976 450SEL 6.9 1432
1969 300SEL 6.3 1394
2003 ML500

Maat1985

i had some cheap ones in and they didnt have much sound quality in them.... i replaced them with some kevlar responce speakers and they have great sound reproduction but cant handle very much volume and i have to fade the system to the rear to be able to avoid this.....
DRIVER - 1977 W116 280SEL Orange....
PARTS - 1977 W116 280SE White....
DECEASED - 1977 W116 280SE Maple Yellow....
DECEASED - 1976 W116 280SE Green....

Papalangi

I have not looked under the carpet back there, what is the issue with speaker depth?  My W114s had about 3 feet of clearance but didn't have the fuel tank or vacuum tank to deal with.

Michael
'83 300SD, I'm back!  It's the son's new car (12/2020)
1976 450SEL, 116.033  Sold it to buy a '97 Crown Vic.  Made sense at the time.
1971 250C, 114.023
1976 280C
1970 250/8

craigb

I have a Pioneer set up with 4ch amp, 4inch splits with the little one on the dash at the front and 6inch sitting on spacers in the rear. The spacers just allow the magnets to sit down in that speaker cavity. I am really dissapointed with the base out of the system, say compared with very standard late model cars at work like Nissans and Mitsubishi and the wifes Pug. I went back to the place who just wanted to sell me a sub, but I don't want that much base (just a fuller sound), or it sitting in the boot and don't know how my gas tank affects it in between. He confirmed my suspicions that the issue is with only having a small box of air behind the rears and no real box at the front with them being in the dash. I don't know if he is right but what he said confirmed what I thought.

So I have delayed my solution, because it sounds ok but I have already removed the original first aid kit rear shelf because it looked a bit daggy and replaced with a piece of mdf and carpeted. I figure I can sit my vac tank in the rear side boot well and then cut a couple of 6 x 9 holes that go into the boot cavity. I think that is strictly illegal in our state to cut metal out of cars, but given the benz is rigid enough to have a plastic tray that is bigger than the speaker in the rear tray, I don't think it is a safety issue and I can't imagine the cops bothering a relatively old man like me about such things.

If I knew I could get a decent base sound out of a speaker that was many times the price but could operate with the small air space behind it, then I would go that way. The hifi guy reckons it wasn't possible and since I was showing him "an open chequebook" I figured he had no reason to mislead me.

But really interested if others have advice.

And I expect the front speakers would perform better if using the air cavity of the door, but I wouldn't dare chop up my lovely period door trims.
1980 280s