Harmon Kardon retrofit S212

[Scrote]

Hello, after the success of my DAB retrofit, I am bored so now looking to DIY this, but I have nothing much to go on, so looking for info, hopefully somebody knows something and can answer some of these questions.. please..
1st of all is it even possible with audio 20 6 disc..
I presume the standard system drives all the units from the head unit, with no seperate amp...?
and I'm 99% sure the HK system has an amp with MOST connection, so I presume there is a different set of wires required which go from the amp to the doors etc. + there's a subwoofer.. anybody know if estate subwoofer same as saloon? and does this sub receive audio from the MOST, or the HK amp or where? are the amp and subwoofer two separate options in the coding.
Anyway I will go see some breakers and try to get the parts but I think it's going to take some time.
Seen various listings of parts on ebay but I'd rather get some wiring or at least plugs included..
Somebody else must have done this? tried a search but found nothing. I know the command.co.uk guys have but I'm talking DIYers as I wouldn't expect pros to reveal their secrets.
Also be nice to know the correct positions on the MOST bus, I currently have DAB positon1, UCI position2 as per OE. Turns out we have an Autel at work I can borrow.
Am I even barking up the right tree? help!
Cheers, Stu

 

[Scrote]

Ok don't all speak at once, I have changed my mind, ordered Audison component speakers for the front doors and gonna use an aftermarket 5 channel amplifier, using high pass channels for the doors, with extra sound deadening...., just wanna ask in case anybody knows, will the factory subwoofer sound ok on a normal amp or does the HK amp have an eq curve on the subwoofer channel? Plus where is the sub located on the estate and is it a different item to the saloon? Can't find any info on Google. Cheers

 

[PhilLinda]

Sorry, can't help you on this but will be very interested to know how you get on as I've got an S212 Estate and wondering how to improve the audio quality. I've got the Comand system on mine.

 

[Scrote]

Now ordered a jl audio 900/5 amp and gonna build my own quadlock to quadlock adapter to take off the high level inputs from the amp and feed back the speaker outputs. Got the door speakers out, and thinking of building a subwoofer enclosure into the rear left estate load area removable trim. Nicest option would be use an audison dmi to convert the MOST signal straight into a dsp with a delay on the front channels to account for the further distance of the sub, but that would be more expensive than I'd like to spend. Looking for recommendations on a sub, 10" probably , else I will probably go for a jl audio sub.

 

[Scrote]

Been weighing the job up today. During removal accidentally Crowbar’d the front off the audio20 so had to strip it down and reinsert the ribbon cable to get the front buttons working again.. but as I hoped the 8 pin plug for the speaker wires can be removed individually from the quadlock so i’m now just looking for a source for a male and female of those, will be more compact than using a quadlock to quadlock adapter...

 

[Alfie]

Ive done the HK conversion and various amp/speaker conversions in various Mercedes cars.

HK is good but you can get a lot better for a lot less money.

JL is good for the sub and it goes on the left in the boot. If you buy the boot carpet for a car with HK then it will hide the sub and the amp for you so the installation will be very discreet.

A bit worried you managed to crowbar off the front of the audo-20. You shouldnt need any force of that magnitude at all for any of the work.

 

[Markssl]

Hello, after the success of my DAB retrofit, I am bored so now looking to DIY this, but I have nothing much to go on, so looking for info, hopefully somebody knows something and can answer some of these questions.. please..
1st of all is it even possible with audio 20 6 disc..
I presume the standard system drives all the units from the head unit, with no seperate amp...?
and I'm 99% sure the HK system has an amp with MOST connection, so I presume there is a different set of wires required which go from the amp to the doors etc. + there's a subwoofer.. anybody know if estate subwoofer same as saloon? and does this sub receive audio from the MOST, or the HK amp or where? are the amp and subwoofer two separate options in the coding.
Anyway I will go see some breakers and try to get the parts but I think it's going to take some time.
Seen various listings of parts on ebay but I'd rather get some wiring or at least plugs included..
Somebody else must have done this? tried a search but found nothing. I know the command.co.uk guys have but I'm talking DIYers as I wouldn't expect pros to reveal their secrets.
Also be nice to know the correct positions on the MOST bus, I currently have DAB positon1, UCI position2 as per OE. Turns out we have an Autel at work I can borrow.
Am I even barking up the right tree? help!
Cheers, Stu

Dab retrofit- more info pics please?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Scrote]

Ive done the HK conversion and various amp/speaker conversions in various Mercedes cars.

HK is good but you can get a lot better for a lot less money.

JL is good for the sub and it goes on the left in the boot. If you buy the boot carpet for a car with HK then it will hide the sub and the amp for you so the installation will be very discreet.

A bit worried you managed to crowbar off the front of the audo-20. You shouldnt need any force of that magnitude at all for any of the work.

Thanks for the input, yes I thought that for the £1000ish HK would cost me to do properly I can end up with a nicer system, and it's all gonna be done so it can be reverted easily when I get rid of car.
Do you mean the 'side panel' on the rear left hand side , just the back section near the tailgate?
Don't worry about the head unit, I just pulled it too hard, no crowbar was involved and it all clicked back together fine...

Dab retrofit- more info pics please?

 

[Scrote]

Todays work, the speakers, amp and sub not arrived yet, so I set about sound deadening the doors

Inner skin:



3 layers thick in places on the outer skin



It seems to me the aperture on the door card is a weak point using 6.5" speakers, the grille seems to be optimised for the smaller HK speakers with 2 drivers in the lower door,
I put a bead of silicone sealant in this gap to help direct sound



put a bit of deadening in rear doors, didn't go mad on the inner skin, not sure whether to upgrade those speakers yet

 

[Scrote]

rear of audio 20 quadlock

 

[Scrote]

Anybody know if the 'MOST wakeup' signal is suitable for using as an 'amp remote' signal?

 

[Scrote]

Oh and speaking about sound quality, found out my audio20 (presumably via UCI) will play full size .wav files (but not .flac) from my 32gb usb stick and also bluetoothed from iphone, am I right in assuming the memory stick will therefore produce cd quality sound, but the Bluetooth transmission may involve some data compression?

 

[Scrote]

JL is good for the sub and it goes on the left in the boot. If you buy the boot carpet for a car with HK then it will hide the sub and the amp for you so the installation will be very discreet.

Alfie please can you tell me if this is the part to which you refer? If so how is the sound supposed to get out without sounding muffled?

 

[Alfie]

The part I refer to is the whole rear left side boot trim carpet. On cars with HK it is deeper allowing for space behind that opening panel to fit a sub. This is where the factory sub goes. It does not need venting. You will get plenty of low frequency from it. The MOST wakeup is NOT suitable for an amp turn on signal. MOST wake up is an oscillating signal and for amp turn on you will need a 12V feed. The DAB box you have has been well and truly butchered! Looks like it was removed from a car in a hurry! Whoever would cut fibre cables makes the cars fibre loom unusable.

 

[Scrote]

Thanks for the info on the wake-up signal, luckily my amp has a high level input signal remote powering I will use, I see what you mean about the rear left hand side, the grille at the top is ideal to allow airflow for the amp. I think the dab box was cut out of a Spanish hire car with scissors before hand-back. Cheers

Also, after listening to the standard speakers with the door cards off, I am convinced that the door grilles are half the problem, I think 13cm component speakers may give better sound than 16.5cm, I have taken to painstakingly drilling each individual blocked off hole in the grille to allow more air and sound through,, must've drilled about 500 last night but you can't tell u less you hold it up to the light

 

[Alfie]

Its not the grilles. Just put a decent set of 6.5" components (focal or Morel) in there, plenty of dynamat around them and you will be amazed at the improvement in the sound quality. The factory speakers, even the HK ones, are not very good at all.

 

[Scrote]

Ok thanks but I have already took delivery of audison prima app 165 so I will have to try those first, if I don’t like them I will move those to the back and buy some morels.

 

[Scrote]

knocked up a temporary sub box, angled to match the rear seat back







it's not pretty but it will do for now as I'm gagging to get it up and running. been listening to it on the bench and the sub sounds good

I'd already drilled out the grilles, here's it under strong backlight,



but undetectable from the front still

 

[Scrote]

dynamatted the drivers door



cut the original tweeters out and soldered little xt30 plugs





tweeters popped into original housings luckily

 

[Scrote]

magnet size comparison of original door speaker and replacement 6.5"