w124 coupe speaker options

[Deleted member 26392]

As I turn my attention to the interior I need to sort out the stero set up.

I would like to replace to dash speakers and have some door speaker pods made for the front door pockets... im sure I have seen hiw to do this on the net some where. Anyway. Some questions:

1. What size are the front ones?
2. What size are the standard rear one?
3. Has anyone done anything funky on the rear shelf that looks good (6x9's / sub) or ideally unnoticeable?

I dont want the boy racer in me to come out but would like some decent sounds.

Ideas by reply!

Scott

 

[bolide]

Have a look on talkaudio.co.uk. One chap on these had a W124 Coupe with woofers on the rear parcel shelf and front door builds. Certainly the best car stereo I've ever heard

Once you move away from the original dash speakers there are no short-cuts to audio in a W124. The front doors are an obvious place to mount speakers but it's not easy to fabricate a decent speaker build and mount it solidly.

The footwells don't have the space for speakers, and the dash has very little depth (about 2.5") and limited diameter (originals are 12 cm) so the doors are really the only option

Nick Froome

 

[Pottering]

As I turn my attention to the interior I need to sort out the stero set up.

I would like to replace to dash speakers and have some door speaker pods made for the front door pockets... im sure I have seen hiw to do this on the net some where. Anyway. Some questions:

1. What size are the front ones?
2. What size are the standard rear one?
3. Has anyone done anything funky on the rear shelf that looks good (6x9's / sub) or ideally unnoticeable?

I dont want the boy racer in me to come out but would like some decent sounds.

Ideas by reply!

Scott

Front dash speakers are 4", rear shelf speakers are 5.25" (or at least 5.25" speakers can fit into that space).

I just had Alpines put in front and rear replacing the originals. Sound improvement is good, though not spectacular.

I'm doing it a bit at a time to see how I like it. Next 2 options are to put in an amplifier and/or an under front seat speaker to provide the bass up front the 4" ones cannot.

Alpine Electronics of Australia 4"
Alpine Electronics of Australia 5.25"

Alpine Electronics of Australia Amplifier
Alpine Electronics of Australia Subwoofer

 

[GP801]

I have Rainbows in the dash on the estate. The clarity is excellent and a very "clean" sound but not much depth to them. A local installer told me it is possible to get a small subwoofer in the footwell by removing some of the plastic. Was not keen on the idea so make do with some 13cm speakers in the rear doors and tailgate.

 

[WDB124066]

What about these for the front, anyone tried them...?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002W81ZW/

 

[Prof.C.Benz]

Front dash speakers are 4", rear shelf speakers are 5.25" (or at least 5.25" speakers can fit into that space).

I just had Alpines put in front and rear replacing the originals. Sound improvement is good, though not spectacular.

I'm doing it a bit at a time to see how I like it. Next 2 options are to put in an amplifier and/or an under front seat speaker to provide the bass up front the 4" ones cannot.

Alpine Electronics of Australia 4"
Alpine Electronics of Australia 5.25"

Alpine Electronics of Australia Amplifier
Alpine Electronics of Australia Subwoofer

Could I run the Alpine replacement speakers on a new Head Unit and just add an active Sub without adding an Amplifier??

I want to keep things minimal. I cant seem to find a head unit that would power them properly, is that the problem?

I am a complete novice with Car Audio... Just trying to find the most cost effective way of making my car sound full.

1991 W124 300CE

 

[haggis2768]

Seen some custom fits on eBay.De.
Not sure what they are like though, but they are direct replacements for w124

 

[bolide]

Front speakers are not 4" - they are a custom size as stated earlier. The standard dash mounts limit you in terms of speaker size, which limits bass response and power handling. This makes a subwoofer essential

To get good sound in a W124 will require a separate amp, the best pair of front speakers you can fit and a subwoofer. Anything else is not going to be a significant enough improvement to justify the expense and hassle

I'd recommend something like a pair of Focal 100 or 130 mm front speakers in the standard dash location, tweeters in the sail panels on the doors and a 10 or 12" subwoofer mounted "infinite baffle" (ie not in a box) set in the back shelf

The amp can go under the shelf. A 4-channel amp would be ideal - channels A & B can feed the front speakers and C & D can be bridged to feed the woofers. You'll need an amp with built-in high-pass and low pass filters to be the crossover. Most decent amps have these. I'd use something like a DLS or Genesis amp bought secondhand. I definitely would not economise on the amp

It's difficult to do cost-effective on a W124. Places to mount speakers are the problem. I've done a few systems and the ones that utilise the dash mounts always end up being cheaper overall.

Nick Froome

 

[Niks]

If your on a budget and just want noticeably improved sound, then just upgrade the dash speakers, rainbows are a popular choice.

If your serious about it, it has to be door pods to house 6.5" mid/bass drivers and you can use the dash mount to install the tweeters (by making up a plate as a baffle). Unless if your going for 3-way, then use the sail panels as Nick mentioned for the tweets and mount the mid drivers (usually 3 or 4") in the dash mount. Just bare in mind some tweeters sound better placed off axis rather than facing straight to your head.

You can have one amazing sounding system in a 124 if the speakers are placed in the right places and the whole system is setup nicely.