Speaker fitment in a 116

[WGB]

In the newer Mercs most of the speakers are not easily visible.

My 211 E320 had a large subwoofer that took up most of the centre of the parcel shelf and vented through a linear mesh that ran from side to side.

My ML 500 with the Harmon Kardon Logic 7 system has a big subwoofer under the passenger seat.

If I ever give it much of a thought I would think that a subwoofer in the boot piped into the interior would keep the car looking original with some form of stealth tweeters to keep the original look of the doors/Pillars and then solid quality speakers in the original positions.

Bill

[gregdeklerk]

Cool!!!

So the next step, how big are they or rather, how big can we get in there as a modification?

Where is Nutz when you need him?

[gregdeklerk]

Is my name being taken in vain    Which car are we referring to anyway?

Mine! I was busy lambasting my self for being an originality freak!!

[gregdeklerk]

So you see why I don't want to cut my parcel shelf for rear speakers!

[BAR]

The front speakers are small and relatively flat.  To fit a replacement unit in there one must be mindful of this limitation.  Sony make a very powerful 2-way unit that works here, or if you are in Australia, you can find a 5" 2-way at Jaycar Electronics that sound excellent and will fit.  Just make sure that you fit the replacement units using 4 screws so that they don't vibrate when you turn the volume up.

You will find that when you remove the rear parcel shelf, there are to cut-out in the bodywork that allow for speaker installation into the parcel shelf.  You can buy a cutom wood formed box from most car audio shops that allow for the installation of a bigger 2-way unit and a separate tweeter and this can be mounted on top of the shelf.  The box is covered in vinyl and can be painted to match your car's interior.

Did this myself and bought some nice Blaupunkt speakers to improve the sound.

If you want to go higher up range and then install a sub woofer...try mounting a small one under the front seat and the amp under the other seat.

[Brian Crump]

Soundlabs in Sydey have had until recently, and possibly do still have, original speaker units.
Regards,
BC

[m_benz_drifting_01]

hello all my name is Stuart, i am 17 and i have taken over the reigns of my dads old 78 280SE. he upgraded to a 420SEL and the 280 was garaged for many months until i was able to drive it a couple of years ago. i am a so called ''audiophile'' and have since given the car a minor makeover, it can be split into 2 sections; exhaust and audio, both modified to create a fuller sound. i have contemplated the problem of the front speaker issue and experimented with  several setups but have found this to be the most effective; fashioning a plate for 2 6'' pioneer 4 ways to sit on between the front seats in the centre console. Pictures can be found on my cars page on cardomain;

i know most of you, as my father did, consider this sacrilegous; however to people my age, audio and exhaust sound are important . im sure i'll grow up one day.

[m_benz_drifting_01]

oops.....i forgot to paste the link. my  car can be seen here: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2378210

[m_benz_drifting_01]

I have heard stories that mounting a sub in a W116 boot is not particularly effective though, due to the boot being completely isolated from the car interior by sheet metal panels.

Opinions?

yes, it has to be a quality sub to have any effect; i am running a 12 inch pre boxed MTX Thunder 4500...... it rattles the dickenes out of the boot, but inside the car sounds very nice. also, care is needed if mounting an amp at the back of the boot....the fuel tank is about an inch behind that panel and i drilled through it and woke up the next morning with petrol in my boot......possibly the most dangerous and completely oblivious thing ive ever done.

[OzBenzHead]

Greg: I notice that the ribbed trim stops at the top edge of the seat, rather than continuing all the way over as in the 116s I'm familiar with.

Is yours an example of the slightly different interior trim on SA-assembled models? Does it go with "skinny" door trims?

[OzBenzHead]

Stuart (m_benz_drifting_01): Welcome to the forum.

Yes, some would cringe at such changes but, hey, it's your car - do what you wish to it!

And congrats for starting out on the road with a real car, one in which you're far less likely to become a morbid statistic.

Hang around, share, and learn!

Do I correctly guess that you're somewhere in Oz? If so, which corner?

Happy Benzing.

[gregdeklerk]

Greg: I notice that the ribbed trim stops at the top edge of the seat, rather than continuing all the way over as in the 116s I'm familiar with.

Is yours an example of the slightly different interior trim on SA-assembled models? Does it go with "skinny" door trims?

I am not sure if it is SA specific, but the early ones have this. The later 116's here have the trim that continues all the way over.

[OzBenzHead]

Thanks, Greg.  I'll check next time I see an early 116.

[116.025]

US cars have their front speakers on the top of the dash.

Just a note, this isn't limited to US cars.  All three Euro V8 116s that have been in the family are set up like this.  Only my 280s have had the other setup.

EDIT: check that, Mom's 450 and my 350 are like that, the 6.9 has the setup with the speakers lower.

[frikkie]

hello all my name is Stuart, i am 17 and i have taken over the reigns of my dads old 78 280SE. he upgraded to a 420SEL and the 280 was garaged for many months until i was able to drive it a couple of years ago. i am a so called ''audiophile''

Dude. No offence, but you cannot even begin to think of yourself as an audiophile. You may like loud sound in your car, but you are so far removed from an audiophile it is just not funny.

You DO realise that you will have absolutely no stereo audio in your car at all? You also DO realise that your left ear is going to get very tired/damaged being bombarded by cheapy Pioneer tweeters firing at it from the centre console upwards?

To call yourself an audiophile, certain requirements are in order:
1) You strive to attain the most faithfull audio reproduction as is possible within your budgetary and space constraints.
2.) You strive to, as accurately as possible, reproduce the very carefully produced stereo image recorded onto your CD's.
3.) All of the above has to be done with the introduction of as little distortion as possible.

Terms like soundstage, positioning, frequency response, harmonic distortion etc come to mind.

First and foremost, my W116 will have to provide a decent soundstage, with accurate stereo image, in other words, I would like to hear individual instrument positioning. I would like to have decent clarity, ie. not thumping, overpowering bass, but rather an even, balanced frequency response across the spectrum, with enough definition to be able to distinguish fine nuances in the music. Finger movement on guitar strings, hidden percussion that only comes to the fore on a faithfull enough system. Stuff like that.

Unfortunately, this ideal is very difficult to attain in any car - the acoustic properties of a vehicle interior just do not allow for the audio reproduction to  be anywhere near ideal. You can get close though, and this is what I'm attempting in the W116 as well - as good a system as what the environment will allow.

Oh, and needs to be able to go LOUD without any discernible distortion. I listen mostly to rock - relatively hard stuff like Linkin' Park, so enough volume is non-negotiable.