w124 Coupe Front Speaker (component) replacement..

[charan_singh]

Hi everyone.

I want to pull out the original speakers of the dash, and install some component speakers if I can. I have seen this done before with the woofer sitting in the original coaxial hole, and the satellite tweeter simply sitting on the dash or a custom enclosure. HOWEVER - where does the crossover go??

AND what size of speaker can we get in? A bit of research suggests that a 5.25" / 13cm may get in (JUST)? Any thoughts?

Thanks & regards,

 

[scillyisles]

Rainbow custom fit front speakers for the W124 are the best solution. They fit perfectly without any mods and produce very good sound.

 

[charan_singh]

Cheers mate - wanted components in there as opposed to coaxials. Thanks for the tip though. Anyone got any experience with something aftermarket? JBL, Infinity etc?

 

[Sp!ke]

The fronts are an odd size in a W124 and as already suggested, Rainbows are the tried and tested route.

 

[GP801]

+1 for the rainbows. They really are better than many component sets. The dash aperture is an odd size so finding something else to fit will be difficult.

 

[mark130]

are the w124 speakers the same as a 190e item ?

 

[charan_singh]

OK -sound slike rainbows are the way to go....i need to have a listen. Any have any links to these speakers?

 

[Charles Morgan]

Ray Smith supplies them here. If you call and ask there is a special discount code for MB club members - some kind soul here negotiated this.

I have put in a pair in the front. They are better than the original speakers, but having lived with them for over half a year, if you really want good sound you will have to sort out a system with the full works. Which I am slowly doing.

 

[WDB124066]

Here is another option Charles.

BLAUPUNKT GTx402 4" 260W 2WAY

I have not seen a picture or listened to them, but I have heard they drop straight in to the front on a 124. I imagine the quality would be better than Rainbows......???

 

[scillyisles1]

Here is another option Charles.

BLAUPUNKT GTx402 4" 260W 2WAY

I have not seen a picture or listened to them, but I have heard they drop straight in to the front on a 124. I imagine the quality would be better than Rainbows......???

Ermm - these speakers retail for £26 - I would be very surprised if they sounded as good as the Rainbow ones which retail for 4 times this and are custom engineered for the W124.

I originally had the Mercedes Benz Special Headunit in my cab with normal speakers. I changed this to a Nakamichi MB75 headunit which improved the sound quality very well with just the standard speakers. I then changed the headunit to a Becker Cascade Pro 7941 which produces superb quality - I then changed the front speakers to Rainbow and the sound quality improvement was very noticeable.

 

[fuzzer]

Here is another option Charles.

BLAUPUNKT GTx402 4" 260W 2WAY

I have not seen a picture or listened to them, but I have heard they drop straight in to the front on a 124. I imagine the quality would be better than Rainbows......???

Rainbows are actually reasonable speakers dude..

 

[Pigpen]

I actually just fitted the Rainbow speakers back and front this morning, took about an hour with one screwdriver. I only lost control of my language a couple of times as well.

It's transformed the sound in the car and means I won't swap out original head unit & changer now. I recommend them.

 

[WDB124066]

Well there you go. Thanks for clearing that up.

Rainbows or nothing then, or is there a Super Rainbow out there somewhere......??

 

[krimat2005]

hi, is there someone in sussex or near who has them fitted so i could listen?

 

[bolide]

Swopping one pair of 4" speakers for another pair of 4" speakers can't give you a big upgrade in sound quality

Sure, the Rainbows are a step forward from the original paper cone speakers but they (the Rainbows) are rather gritty-sounding and don't take well to high volume levels

What a W124 needs is more bass punch (you'll need some 6.5"-ish or bigger speakers with big magnets for this), some real low bass (woofer somewhere), some real high end (tweeters) and some nice smooth midrange - which means moving the mids from the dash location under the windscreen

It's a nice environment in which to listen to music but it's not an easy one for audio installers

Nick Froome

 

[trapperjohn]

My buddy Aandyy has recently installed a Blaupunkt THb200A in my 124 saloon. It is currently just sitting propped up in the footwell of the passenger’s side (hidden by a mat!) In the fullness of time it will be put in a bracket and mounted looking down from under the glovebox as it were. Great improvement on sound quality.

Its one of these.
Blaupunkt THb 200A sub Active subwoofer 140W slim fit on eBay (end time 27-Feb-11 17:54:09 GMT)

 

[WDB124066]

Swopping one pair of 4" speakers for another pair of 4" speakers can't give you a big upgrade in sound quality

Sure, the Rainbows are a step forward from the original paper cone speakers but they (the Rainbows) are rather gritty-sounding and don't take well to high volume levels

What a W124 needs is more bass punch (you'll need some 6.5"-ish or bigger speakers with big magnets for this), some real low bass (woofer somewhere), some real high end (tweeters) and some nice smooth midrange - which means moving the mids from the dash location under the windscreen

It's a nice environment in which to listen to music but it's not an easy one for audio installers

Nick Froome

Nick, Have you got any good recommendations for front and importantly rear speakers for a 124 Cabbie keeping things relatively un-molested

 

[rumelk]

ive upgraded the sound system in 124, the front i used JL Audio 4" coaxials, with Infinity Kappa Tweeters mounted on the top of the A pillar. The rears are 5.25" and again JL Coaxials have been used with Infinity Kappa Tweeters mounted onto the parcel shelf.

I would recommend amplifying them too. I have 2 JL Audio XD400.4 Amps which are awesome and small, so they can be mounted pretty much anywhere, and pack a punch too. That would be enough to give you a very descent sound setup, however if you want bass then you would have to invest in a subwoofer. I have 2 JL Audio 13w7 Subwoofers in the boot with JL Audio 1000/1 amps. This setup has to be one of the best in terms of sound quality i have heard. Regardless to say, rainbow are also very good, however i think you should pick a better range from rainbow. I would recommend the ZR or XR components/coaxial by JL Audio.

The crossover would be mounted inside the speaker pod (inside the dashboard) theres plenty of room to play with.

 

[grober]

Best option is mount some bigger speakers in the front doors a la SL--- has been done I believe but considerable cutting/ trimming / modding required or even speaker pods constructed ---to achieve a tidy result I would imagine.

 

[grober]

Some door build projects.

How to build custom door builds

Merging builds with the door card


And lots more discussion here. http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/electronics/48217-w124-speaker-upgrades.html