options for stereo and speaker upgrades for w169

[Nickb23]

Hi all.

I have had my a180 w169 for a couple of months, and on the whole really like it.
1 of the downsides with the car has been the stereo system. I have had issues with low volume on aux in, even with a headphones amp. I have also had issues with interference which has been cut down a lot with noise reducing cables (still there a bit). I also find the speakers not as good as previous cars I have owned.

What I want to do is install a new head unit and speakers. I don't really care if it looks OEM, as function matters more.
I want to have the following functions.
Bluetooth audio from my nexus 5
Audio from USB stick
Bluetooth phone using the existing mic if possible
Steering controls use again if possible
DAB radio.
Single or double din. Not too fussed.

I use Waze on my android phone so sat nav is not needed.

Has anyone done one of these upgrades before? Any recommendations on speaker upgrades??

Thanks guys.

Nick

 

[richard]

Yes, speak to Alfie (Mercedes Retrofit Specialist - Comand.co.uk) - he has a W169 that does all of that (although has an OEM Comand NTG2.5 head unit)

Cheers

Richard

 

[Nickb23]

Thanks Richard.
I had a look at the website before and I just feel that I cannot justify that kind of cash.

I have had a look and Kenwood seems to do some nice double din head units. Some even have MHL / HDMI so that you can mirror the screen (for GPS) from an android device.

One question is with these aftermarket head units, are there cables that can be used so that you can use the existing mic and the steering wheel controls?

Thanks. Nick

 

[richard]

Hi

You can't use the existing mic as Mercedes mic seems to be a funny impedance. You can add an interface box so that the steering wheel controls work - but you lose the instrument cluster display of Audio/Nav related stuff.

We are a Kenwood installation centre, and yes, this year's model range is good. There is a nice unit with MHL, DAB, but no nav so you can use your phone for nav. For iPhone you need all the apple connecting/HDMI leads and then a MHL cable, its simpler for Android. Android also gets control (via bluetooth), but Apple just a display mechanism - but certainly a nice way of getting your phone NAV and other apps on the "big screen" and as you have a Nexus ....

Alpine also have an 8" nav unit which fits in the W245 nicely, but it is £££

Speakers, theres a big choice but most of the costs are doing a decent install with some sound deadening, so I tend to recommend a reasonable set of speakers. For us, we find Morel works very well in Mercedes, and even their standard speakers are out-standing.

Do pop in and see me or Mark - i'm not in until later next week though

Richard

 

[Nickb23]

Thanks Richard where are you.guys based?

Nick

 

[richard]

M3 Junction 3, which is 1 junction south of the M25
R