1983 W123 240D - Correct head unit & speakers.

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rayfenwick

Member
Joined
Jun 22, 2011
Messages
31
Location
Moscow
Car
2003 W203 C220 CDI Estate
Hello all.
As I promised last week in my introduction thread, I'm a newbie with a lot of questions regarding my first MB - a 1983 W123 240D.

At present it has a Kenwood cassette HU and Kenwood speakers in the parcel shelf - and I know that's not right!

As I understand it, my car should have had a Becker Europa as the stock HU, with the option to upgrade to the Becker Mexico, although I've seen some on a well known auction site with a Blaupunkt unit in them advertised as 'original radio'...

So, what is considered the correct HU for my car, and what's the deal with rear speakers? Were any supplied as options, or are all rear speakers owner add-ons?

I could put my Blaupunkt Woodstock DAB54 and a 100x4WRMS setup I have in another car in there, but part of me wants to keep it looking original.

I'm not a chav/boy racer, and if I did add an active subwoofer to the system it would be for cohesiveness and quality, not for rattling the body panels or charming the undergarments off Vicki Pollard-esque types, and for this reason I'm thinking that a sub in the boot would be pointless (only really useful if car is a hatchback) and might use a spare slimline active Blaupunkt I have for under the rear seat, perhaps.

It's all just ideas at the moment, and I'd welcome input :)

Thanks
Ray
 
Nobody has any ideas at all? Have I inadvertently broken some forum rule I don't know about? :$
 
I thought older cars didnt come with a headunit as standard, the buyer would choose from whichever ones the supplying dealer had available. I think most tended to fit Blaupunkt. My uncles W123 he owned from new had a Blaupunkt from new as far as I remember.
 
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There was nothing as standard on UK cars until the W202 and W210 series. No speakers, no HU and no aerial. All were options from the factory or dealer fit. Most factory options were Becker head units. Many can be found on e-bay. If you want a CD player then there are plenty of more modern Becker units that look in keeping with the original fittings. Some units such as the Indianapolis or Cascade include sat nav and bluetooth but they are pricey. The display colour on the cascade is variable. the others are fixed so be sure you get the version in the colour you want. Sound quality and radio performance is excellent.
 
Thanks guys. It's good to know there's no wrong or right answers to this one. I have period Blaupunkts in my 2 Citroen CXs, and a slightly anachronistic Blaupunkt DAB54 in my XM. A Becker would be good, as they seem to be the preferred choice for older Mercs. I'll play music from my iphone's TomTom car kit, so a cassette or even radio-only unit is no problem.

Has anyone got a good contact (other than the bay) for period Beckers?

What speakers did Beckers usually come with? I've never seen any Becker branded speakers for sale....

Thanks
 
Ebay is best for Becker units especially the german site. New units are no longer made but some old stock may be around still. There is an Ipod lead for the more recent units. No becker speakers but they are part of the same group as Harman Kardon/Infinity.
 
Thanks for the advice. I'll look around and see what I can find, :)
 

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