Aftermarket Speaker and Amplifier install pictures

[pinebaron]

http://www.systembiz.com/W211Speaker...lifierinstall/ I am making the above link available from my W211 HK Speaker Upgrade Thread to give people an immediate opportunity to view pictures without having to read all the details from the earlier thread. Vim

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[bheng]

so the blue wire is the turn on wire from the amp.

[pinebaron]

Originally Posted by bheng

so the blue wire is the turn on wire from the amp.

Correct. Make sure you select the single 18# blue wire and not one in a twisted pair; it may take a few moments to locate it but it is there.

[M-bENZ]

this should be a sticky...good write-up.

Andy

[pinebaron]

Originally Posted by M-bENZ

this should be a sticky...good write-up.

Andy

I guess a moderator needs to decide. The web site is mine so it will always be up.

[jbondox]

I wouldn't ever do it that way... looks kind of cheesy the way the RCA butt splice is in line, not knocking you, but I would never recommend anyone to do it that way ever...

[pinebaron]

Originally Posted by jbondox

I wouldn't ever do it that way... looks kind of cheesy the way the RCA butt splice is in line, not knocking you, but I would never recommend anyone to do it that way ever...

The intention was to use easily available off the shelf components.

RCA butt splice was used to permit insertion and easy independent removal of Crossover (attached to door panel) required for midrange and tweeter and also permit detaching from OEM speaker connector while removing door panel. It worked very well.

RCAs (especially gold plated) offer very low insertion loss while providing durable and solid connectivity. A splice of some type was required for the install. I was not keen to use female RCAs; these gold plated RCAs were easily available at Radio Shack. I always think of corrosion resistance.

[bheng]

pinebaron: do you know what color wire leads to what? do you have a chart or something?

jbondox: how would you wire it up? im looking to do it in the near future so im getting all my research done first.

[pinebaron]

Originally Posted by bheng

pinebaron: do you know what color wire leads to what? do you have a chart or something?

jbondox: how would you wire it up? im looking to do it in the near future so im getting all my research done first.

I subscribed for a day to STARTekinfo; I think it cost me $18 and I was able to make print out pdfs with the wiring diagram for my 07 320 Bluetec. Though it is possible all cars may have the same colors but it is safer and worth subscribing to STARTekinfo for a day.

[bheng]

is that the epc stuff? that mercedes uses?

[pinebaron]

Originally Posted by bheng

is that the epc stuff? that mercedes uses?

You need this link http://www.startekinfo.com/StarTek/home.jsp

[Kardacian]

Have you heard of a pyro fuse? I read somewhere that its best to grab power off the main fuse block using the pyro fuse. The main reason so that it will ensure if there is a fault in the electrical system the pyro fuse will ensure nothing has any power. In addition the dealer ship will see an error if power is being drawn directly from battery.

While all this sounds reasonable I would think adding an amp to the fuse may just push it over the edge. Your thoughts? I am concerned about warranty since I have a few years left.

[Kardacian]

I bought the service cd and the wires in your pictures match the schematics I have from the CD, right down to the power wire.

[pinebaron]

Originally Posted by Kardacian

Have you heard of a pyro fuse? I read somewhere that its best to grab power off the main fuse block using the pyro fuse. The main reason so that it will ensure if there is a fault in the electrical system the pyro fuse will ensure nothing has any power. In addition the dealer ship will see an error if power is being drawn directly from battery.

While all this sounds reasonable I would think adding an amp to the fuse may just push it over the edge. Your thoughts? I am concerned about warranty since I have a few years left.

An 800 watt amp will push the pyro fuse over the edge; traditionally it is safer to use the fuse that comes with a commercial car audio amp power kit; I used a 4 gauge setup that came with an 80amp inline fuse.

I have no idea if the dealer will see an error if power is drawn directly from the battery; my car is under warranty too.

[jbondox]

Originally Posted by pinebaron

The intention was to use easily available off the shelf components.

RCA butt splice was used to permit insertion and easy independent removal of Crossover (attached to door panel) required for midrange and tweeter and also permit detaching from OEM speaker connector while removing door panel. It worked very well.

RCAs (especially gold plated) offer very low insertion loss while providing durable and solid connectivity. A splice of some type was required for the install. I was not keen to use female RCAs; these gold plated RCAs were easily available at Radio Shack. I always think of corrosion resistance.

I am not knocking you at all however it is not what I would consider professional and definately not what I would expect MB to do let alone a professional shop. I can understand your thinking on some, but not all things. I will point out what would be the minimum expected for this install as I gotta be somewhere soon.

wiring for the speakers:

With the RCA's, most and especially radio shack are 20-22 gauge, which is way too thin to conduct the power needed for the speakers.

using a decent 16gauge speaker wire will be better, as it is usually 90% pure copper, which is about the same as all the wires in the vehicle used by MB. so corrosion is not going to be an issue

The wires going to the door are at least 16 gauge and more than enough to handle the power coming from the RF amp and the wires originate at the gateway/amp in the trunk.

since the problem of getting the speaker wire into the door is already solved by MB for you and is decent quality and thickness, insert the passive crossover into the door, not the side that is exposed to the weather. there is plenty of room to get that xover into it. I recommend a decent velcro also so it is removable.

the plug that provides the power to the speakers needs to be cut, a single speaker wire soldered to it and it is now your feed for the crossover. speaker wire out of the crossover (midbass) goes to the factory mid location where the speaker is mounted. obviously I would reuse the OEM plug and solder the speaker input terminals of the focal speaker to the OE plug. plug the male plug into it and presto, mid is in just like OEM.

as for the tweeter, just solder a speaker wire to the tweeters end, run the wire straight to the crossover. no interuptions in between in the line. since you velcro'd the crossovers a tech can pull it off, and unscrew the connector to the tweeter if it needs to be removed for some reason

reassemble the door

also the striped wires are ground

as for the putty... no, never! go to home depot pr lowes and get the 1/2" or 1/4" foam gasket material, window aisle, one side is sticky... obvious how to put on.. and it will set you back about $5

as for the inputs into the converter, which is really a bummer that you have to use a convertor because none of the RF amps have hi-level inputs... mental note to anyone else looking into doing this.. find an amp that has hi level inputs ... Audison is what I recommend

anyways, all the little splices with quick connects is horrid, there is no reason to do it, you already bought the solder, I seen a picture of it. solder the wires (extension) into the hi level converter

since you are using the OEM speaker wire it will be cut at the gateway/amp... again striped are the negative polarity


with the output of the amp, solder some speaker wires to the wires going to the front speakers at the gateway

hope that makes sense to everyone... if the gateway needs to be removed for a problem, it can still be removed as you are making your connections on the output plug of it

[jbondox]

Originally Posted by bheng

pinebaron: do you know what color wire leads to what? do you have a chart or something?

jbondox: how would you wire it up? im looking to do it in the near future so im getting all my research done first.

see above

[jbondox]

and get rid of the mic... since you will be cutting wires it is the white wire with a brown, and a shield... somewhere near pins 3 and 4 I think going into the gateway

or disconnect it at the front... it is the little slit in front of the SOS button

otherwise your sound will be all over the place... was that in the write up?

[pinebaron]

Some good generic advice by jbondox though mine is based on an actual install you can see

The following items (and several others) were purchased from Radio Shack
http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...ductId=2104018
http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...ductId=2102569
http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...ductId=2062665
http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...ductId=2104093

Crimp on connectors are 16-14 guage and not 22 guage. 16 guage speaker wire was used for interconnections. I would not permanently solder the wires since cables are very tight at least if not removing the gateway.

What I incorrectly refered to as putty is actually modeling clay, a favourite for sealing speakers; you can purchase in an arts and craft store. If you must use foam, use Speaker Acoustic Foam.

I would not get rid of the mic and it does not mess up the sound; sound is awesome.

[jbondox]

I was talking actual experience, though anytime I post a reference amdeustche deletes it and then bans me for a few days. generic would be the RCA's, and as for modeling clay being a favorite... I have yet to hear that in a mobile environment, home environment and a pro audio environment... must be something new, might need to call B&W and let them know...

as for the mic, it is what causes the amp to scale back power when compared to the road noise. it compares the road noise to to what the amps output is/and signal then makes the necessary changes. DRO is what MB calls it... look it up...

[sunny_j]

great info

[sunny_j]

im thinking of putting a sound system in. if i tap into the stock sub wires and put RCA connectors on the side going to the aftermarket amp will i still need a LOC?
i dont think i will because the signal going to the OEM sub is already a low fq signal.

[jbondox]

yes, frequency isn't the issue, the current/voltage potential is...

would you hook up a RCA to a speaker wire of your home theater system (5 x100 watts) then run it into the aux input of a portable MP3 player.... melt down!

the LOC is transformer based with high impedance resistors so as not to put a heavy load on the LOC, change the impedance of the factory audio system... and the transformers step down the voltage so it is usable for the amp.

If you buy a quality amp, some have speaker level inputs such as Audison

[sunny_j]

Originally Posted by jbondox

yes, frequency isn't the issue, the current/voltage potential is...

would you hook up a RCA to a speaker wire of your home theater system (5 x100 watts) then run it into the aux input of a portable MP3 player.... melt down!

the LOC is transformer based with high impedance resistors so as not to put a heavy load on the LOC, change the impedance of the factory audio system... and the transformers step down the voltage so it is usable for the amp.

If you buy a quality amp, some have speaker level inputs such as Audison

good point
thanks

[pinebaron]

Originally Posted by sunny_j

im thinking of putting a sound system in. if i tap into the stock sub wires and put RCA connectors on the side going to the aftermarket amp will i still need a LOC?
i dont think i will because the signal going to the OEM sub is already a low fq signal.

Did you decide what you will be installing?

[BrabusMan]

Originally Posted by pinebaron

Some good generic advice by jbondox though mine is based on an actual install you can see

This might be one of the funniest things I have EVER read on the internet!

Do your homework Pinebaron! JBondoX is a VERY talented, experienced and professional installer with MANY years of experience. Your install, while functional, is far from professional and "clean". While it may work properly (not with that mic, though) and suit your needs it is clearly done from an amatuer/hobbiest refrence point.

Nobody uses modeling clay & acoustic gasketing foam is the same as the stuff from Lowes. You probably read somewhere about some IASCA guys using modeling clay (non-hardening) and that is for DAMPENING the inside of kick-panels to add mass in order to reduce resonance and/or tweak net volume of the enclosure to gain the optimum frequency response.

Besides, if you really were that anal you would have built a new plastic ring from ABS stock using a CNC router as we would

If you'd like to see some pictures of how true professional installers would integrate the same system shoot me your e-mail address and I will gladly send you some photos.

So again....your install might work for you, and if it does, God bless, but it should not be refrenced as a "how-to" article.

P.S. -- NEVER, EVER use an LOC. They do nothing but mess with the signal. Use a MOTUS M.O.S.T. fiber-optic interface :-)