Hi folks,
I thought i would do a little review to help anyone else thinking of installing a new head unit in there CLK or considering a Becker head unit.
I really wanted an o.e look and if you have looked at my other thread you will know there are very few on the market. Becker for me is the closest you will get.
The reason i went for the GP7990 was for two main reasons firstly ipod integration and secondly bluetooth for hands free connection.
So what you get in the box is the head unit, mic and keys to release the locking pins. There is no cage as its built into the unit which i thought was excellent. I had the Audio 30 head unit fitted already which is actually made by Becker.
On the rear they look almost identical and as such the speaker and power plugs fit straight in. The disadvantage is that you lose the steering controls and classic handsfree nokia brick if this is installed too. I never used it and my phone had no cradle available.
The keys that came with the Becker 7990 also fit the old head unit and it was a 30 second job to remove it. I also chose to pop the cubby shelf out at the same time but this again is very easy to remove and just pops out and clips back into place.
The first tricky job is to decide where to put the mic, ideally is should be on the roof by the rear view mirror or inline of speech somewhere else. I decided that i would try it in the cubby tray for the time being but i have found theres no real difference where its mounted. The main thing is it works, people can hear me and its on par with the hands free kit i had in my old E46 3 series. (sorry for swearing
).
Anyway the next job was to fit the ipod lead (has to be bought seperately). I decided to remove the now defunct nokia brick and holder and have fed it through the centre console. Again a very easy job. Everything unscrews for the phone holder and can be eased out and unplugged. The panel around the gear stick simply clips of with a small amount of force but be careful not to pull any of the window switch wires etc... I also losend the centre console screws under the arm rest to make it easier to feed the wire.
I will be tidying it up a little bit more but i am happy with the end result.
So the head unit, worth the hassle???
Most definatlely, the sound quality, even through the standard speakers is awesome, crisp sound with a thumping bass enough to make your ears bleed if that takes your fancy lol.
It looks very nice and oem. The construction is solid and the plastics of high qulity. Everything is straight forward to operate and I havent yet needed the manual!
The IPOD control is excellent, you can scroll through all the menus and playlists and the track name is displayed on the screen. It also charges your ipod.
The bluetooth phone automatically detects and connects to your phone and you have full dialing control from the head unit.
Bad points? Well theres not many, i dont like the cage keys, its very easy to mark the plastic around the openings if your not carefull so i would not recomend removing it too many times. Lose of steering controls, im looking into this but i dont think there is any conversion kit done. Its not a major issue and i would rather have the phone and ipod control. Thats really about it!
I chose the amber coloured screen, theres a choice of four and you can adjust the brightness to match the Mercedes interior.
All in all i am very please, it looks spot on, performs like any german piece of hardware should and sounds excellent. I would definately have another one
Any questons? dont hesitate to ask!
The finished article...........
I thought i would do a little review to help anyone else thinking of installing a new head unit in there CLK or considering a Becker head unit.
I really wanted an o.e look and if you have looked at my other thread you will know there are very few on the market. Becker for me is the closest you will get.
The reason i went for the GP7990 was for two main reasons firstly ipod integration and secondly bluetooth for hands free connection.
So what you get in the box is the head unit, mic and keys to release the locking pins. There is no cage as its built into the unit which i thought was excellent. I had the Audio 30 head unit fitted already which is actually made by Becker.
On the rear they look almost identical and as such the speaker and power plugs fit straight in. The disadvantage is that you lose the steering controls and classic handsfree nokia brick if this is installed too. I never used it and my phone had no cradle available.
The keys that came with the Becker 7990 also fit the old head unit and it was a 30 second job to remove it. I also chose to pop the cubby shelf out at the same time but this again is very easy to remove and just pops out and clips back into place.
The first tricky job is to decide where to put the mic, ideally is should be on the roof by the rear view mirror or inline of speech somewhere else. I decided that i would try it in the cubby tray for the time being but i have found theres no real difference where its mounted. The main thing is it works, people can hear me and its on par with the hands free kit i had in my old E46 3 series. (sorry for swearing
).
Anyway the next job was to fit the ipod lead (has to be bought seperately). I decided to remove the now defunct nokia brick and holder and have fed it through the centre console. Again a very easy job. Everything unscrews for the phone holder and can be eased out and unplugged. The panel around the gear stick simply clips of with a small amount of force but be careful not to pull any of the window switch wires etc... I also losend the centre console screws under the arm rest to make it easier to feed the wire.
I will be tidying it up a little bit more but i am happy with the end result.
So the head unit, worth the hassle???
Most definatlely, the sound quality, even through the standard speakers is awesome, crisp sound with a thumping bass enough to make your ears bleed if that takes your fancy lol.
It looks very nice and oem. The construction is solid and the plastics of high qulity. Everything is straight forward to operate and I havent yet needed the manual!
The IPOD control is excellent, you can scroll through all the menus and playlists and the track name is displayed on the screen. It also charges your ipod.
The bluetooth phone automatically detects and connects to your phone and you have full dialing control from the head unit.
Bad points? Well theres not many, i dont like the cage keys, its very easy to mark the plastic around the openings if your not carefull so i would not recomend removing it too many times. Lose of steering controls, im looking into this but i dont think there is any conversion kit done. Its not a major issue and i would rather have the phone and ipod control. Thats really about it!
I chose the amber coloured screen, theres a choice of four and you can adjust the brightness to match the Mercedes interior.
All in all i am very please, it looks spot on, performs like any german piece of hardware should and sounds excellent. I would definately have another one
Any questons? dont hesitate to ask!
The finished article...........
