Copying Sound System

[R32Abuser]

Hi all,

After my parents purchased a new SLK 350 Mercedes, i have come to like the sound system arrangement they have.

To my knowledge it utilises harman/kardon setup, but havnt been able to find the speakers, amps etc for sale. JBL are the harman/kardon car audio equivlelent but can anyone point me in the right direction/tell me what speakers etc that this car uses to achieve this balanced sound?

I have searched (google, mercedes forums etc) but to no avail...any help will be greatly appreciated!

Cheers, David

[Joe Bellissimo]

I presume they achieve that result through the use of MANY speakers including smaller subwoofers. Any good system would be balanced but I'm sure you could achieve similar results with one good set of speakers in the front with a good quality installation along with a nice subwoofer in the back.

[and3_3]

yer just get good splits in the front and good 6's in the back and a nice sub, need a good amp and head deck too

[Carbon 34]

HK are ok, but you can do better for cheaper

also remember the merc is a lot less noisy to start with , so it wont turn out the same without sound deadener etc

[Chris Rogers]

give me $3k and I can build somthing that will out do the HK system. its not that special.

[Cplus]

where are you located in Adelaide mate?

I can let you listen to my Audison/Focal/Alpine setup which I reckon would shit on any factory system from a great height.

CR's budget gets the thumbs up. could be repeated for around the $3K mark if you spend wisely.

i'm close to the city, happy to go for a drive anytime!

[Joe Bellissimo]

In all honesty, your budget will define how close you will get or how much better it will be.

Realistically, what sort of budget would you have in mind to achieve the results you are looking for?

[R32Abuser]

Thats the thing...im not after an absolute shitload of bass that your typical systems have...just a nice clean sound, enough bass but not over the top like some of the setups i have heard.

Budget...is not all that huge, however it depends....i havnt decided whether i will leave it in the car once i sell it-if i do i will be willing to spend more

1K is probably all id be looking at spending.

Yeh by the looks of it, they utilise a mini sub woofer, split and tweeter all in the front front doors....but i cant be too sure..

[Shiraz200SX]

what sort of car?

[R32Abuser]

sorry forgot to say...R32 Gts-T

[Joe Bellissimo]

I don't doubt that its possible.

[Chris Rogers]

Thats the thing...im not after an absolute shitload of bass that your typical systems have...just a nice clean sound, enough bass but not over the top like some of the setups i have heard.

Budget...is not all that huge, however it depends....i havnt decided whether i will leave it in the car once i sell it-if i do i will be willing to spend more

1K is probably all id be looking at spending.

Yeh by the looks of it, they utilise a mini sub woofer, split and tweeter all in the front front doors....but i cant be too sure..

$1k wont do it. the speakers I'd use (rainbow) would be near that alone. the HK is 3way active and for me to do that properly would mean a set of 3 way rainbows , decent amplifiers and a LOT of fitting/fiddling to make it work. as I said $3k min.

[Shiraz200SX]

okay you need to be more clear with what you'd like. If you've had a set of good splits (eg focal, dls, alpine.. etc) you need to spend more than 1K. however, if you've never had a massive system, you'd probably be pretty happy with gear from the alpine type r range. the speakers make a lot of mid-bass, and the tweeters are quite large, which makes for a lively front stage, and are suited to most styles of music. the subwoofers are outstanding, they sound great and make a lot of volume, so if you want to set it up for your personal preference you can, however, if your local audio store has a sound off you can go and have a stab. We've made 138db with a single 12" r type with a crappy panasonic amplifier driving it. So you get good quality equipment with good sound.

you can look at the following for packages, this is off the top of my head, and your local alpine dealer may be different.

part 1

1x spr-17s R Type 17cm Splits

1x spr-17c R type 17cm co-axials

1x mrp-f600 V-power 100wrmsx4 amplifier

rrp 1357 package deal is $999

thats your amp and speakers sorted

Part 2

1x Sbr-122V

1x Mrp-m500

RRp is $1000 package deal is about $699 usually.

so if you cant afford the whole lot at once, you can buy/layby in stages.

you still need to take into account:

- Wiring $350 AT LEAST

- Fitment (dont want to spend all that money just to have one of your mates or some idiot burn it all up on you, or clip the asshole out of everything and ruin it in 6 months time)

- and a source unit.. least 500 there too.

so its kinda difficult to dream of $1000+ front speakers, when you need to look at the whole system, which is looking around the $3k mark already, without and ultra flash splits..

go down and check out an alpine dealer if you want firm pricing and to have a look/listen to the gear. It may not sound as good as your parents Harmon kardon system, but after all, its a merc, they're probaby old, and they arent going to wring the guts out of it, like most of us younger guys tend to, while we're wringing the guts out of the car...

BTW- I dont work for alpine or any other audio company, it's just my personal opinion. Unlike people who work for these companies but dont tell you, but still tell you that their equipment is much better.

[Cplus]

you still looking to do this?

I potentially have some gear for sale that will be close to your budget, blow away the merc system and fit into an R32 no worries.