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| Welcome to the Mercedes 190 forum Welcome to the Mercedes 190 owners forum, the place to be for all owners and lovers of the Mercedes 190E, 190 and 190D cars. Including Cosworth (2.3 16v and 2.5 16v), EVO 1 and EVO 2 models. Modified and concourse, track cars and daily drivers, all are welcome. This free UK based club was started back in November 2005 to serve the w201 community and now has over 4000 members from all around the world and 340,000 + posts. The members welcome you and encourage you to stay a while and have a look around. We offer you friendly chat and access to some very useful information as well as tutorials with photos and videos for many common repair and maintenance jobs. Whatever your needs there is a good chance you will be able to find what your looking for. Such as our Mercedes 190 buyers guide Sign up to gain access to all areas including for sale / classified areas and country wide meetings and events. Many forum features and sections are only available once you sign up. Join our us at mercedes190.co.uk! If you're already a member please log in to your account: |
| some much needed advice | |
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| Topic Started: Fri Sep 11, 2009 2:17 pm (115 Views) | |
| D Merc | Fri Sep 11, 2009 2:17 pm Post #1 |
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Hi all, I've been a member for a few months now and I have followed your advice on a number of little jobs I've had to undertake on my '92 2.0 190...and you have not steered me wrong so far...now I need some advice on my car stereo as I know very little tbh. The bottom line is that I want a nice sounding system which is not too loud (no need for 1000 watts) I would just like to listen to my hip hop, reggae etc with a bit more bass...with this in mind I have started to think about what to go for, with an eye on keeping it low cost too. Here's a few questions that I need answers to before going much further: 1, I have been given a passive 90watt subwoofer (with built in crossover) which I wanted to install, being passive means it needs its's own power right? but where does it get power from? I see only spk connections (it's a Dantax sub 2000 btw). 1 set of spk conns has a picture of an amp next to it and the other set has pictures of spks next to it... 2, my Blaupunkt (Calgary) MP3 stereo has 4x45 watts max power output, does this mean it could power my passive sub in any way, or just that it can power speakers up to 45 watts (if 4 speakers were used)? 3, am I better off buying a cheap amp just to power my 90w passive sub? and if so what power should that amp be? I may also want the amp to power 2 speakers in the rear shelf btw. 4, should I just get an active 10" sub and have the cabin speakers (front/rear) run off of the head unit? Sorry for the lack of knowledge and many questions, but I have little or no understanding of such things....as usual your advice and know-how would be much appreciated, cheers. guys. D Merc |
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| Richy190E | Fri Sep 11, 2009 10:17 pm Post #2 |
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I would buy a cheapish monobloc amplifier of around 125w rms. You will need to run a power cable of roughly 8swg with a fuse from the front of the car to wherever you mount the subwoofer. You would then have to run phono interconnects from headunit to amp and speaker cable from amp to sub. The beauty of the sub you have is its fairly small enclosure so undershelf mounting may be an option. Option 2 is a 4x channel amp with 4x50w rms and run a bridged pair to the sub and a pair to each of the rear shelf speakers. Option 3 is an active woofer mounted below the rear seat bench. Compact and stealth yet not intrusive. Plus is acts as a damped enclosure. It still needs the live feed of appropriate gauge and phono/high level inputs. I hope that helps a little. |
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| D Merc | Sat Sep 12, 2009 5:28 am Post #3 |
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Hi Richy, thanks for the advice...I see things a lot more clearly now. Just one more question...the guy who I got he sub from said it could run without an amp, as long as I had a decent head unit, is this true? or would you still recommend going for the cheapish amp anyway? D Merc |
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| Rich27 | Sat Sep 12, 2009 7:06 am Post #4 |
If it has tits or an engine it will be trouble
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Err No. Passive means that the sub has no power and will just filter out the low frequenceys and send them to its dedicated speaker while the higher notes go to the other speakers and not amplify the signal The 90w rating is just what input power it can handle. |
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| Richy190E | Sat Sep 12, 2009 8:34 am Post #5 |
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It will need an amp. |
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| D Merc | Sat Sep 12, 2009 1:56 pm Post #6 |
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Ok, Got it now...thanks guys! D Merc |
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| sportline_stu | Sun Sep 20, 2009 7:30 am Post #7 |
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Hi there. I know you have had some advice but here is my thoughts based on my own 190 experiences! 1. You need an amp as mentioned. Some head units have pre-outs for RCA cables to send a signal to the amp. Other amps will accept a high level input from the speaker cable but you will lose quality if you do it this way. 2. No it wont power the sub enough. It will sound quiet and rubbish. Subs need more power. Basically the more air a speaker can move the more sound it can make. Thats why subs are big. But this take more power to drive them. Your head unit will power any rating of speakers for the cabin. 4x45 is pretty good for a head unit and means most decent speakers will work well with it. 3. Yes get an amp. I cant advise a cheap amp sorry as I do believe you get what you pay for. For example my sub when powered by a 'cheap; Fusion amp rated at 2x100w and 200w when bridged' to mono to power a sub sounded ok. When I ahanged the amp to an Alpine 2x180w therefore 360w when bridged it sounded sooooo much better. I dont just mean it was louder I mean it sounded deeper and fuller even at more moderate levels. Most 4 channel amps will power either 4 speakers or 2 speakers and a sub BUT ONLY IF one of the channels (ie front or rear) can be bridged. 4. Depends what you want. Most active subs sound ok but the amps are usually low powered. If you went this route where would you install it. A slimeline sub fitted under the glovebox would be good as the sound is in the cabin. If you remove the first aid box and flap from the parcel shelf then it could be fitted in there if you built an enclosure underneath. The sound really needs to get into the cabin. The 190 is so well insulated that in my experience a sub in the boot just sounds 'boomy' and needs so much power to get the sensation of bass through into the cabin. Most modern cars that have decent stereos have the head unit powering the full range speakers in the cabin with tweeters in the dash to bring the soundstage up from the flloor. They sometimes have small active subs to bring the bottom end up a little and they sound ok. It depends on what you want really. Best option is to cap the cabin speakers around 80htz so they don't handle any deep bass and get the speaker from your sub firing into the cabin through the first aid box hole. Do you intend to change any other bits or do the best with what you have? Stu. |
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| D Merc | Tue Oct 6, 2009 8:31 pm Post #8 |
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Hi Stu, First of all, many many thanks for the advice and for taking the time to reply to my post...that's what I like about this site, I have had my 190e for nearly a year now and I've tackled all of the little jobs myself (and I'm ham-fisted when it comes to cars)...all thanks to good advice and folks like yourself taking the time to help out a fellow 190e owner...it's really appreciated! Anyway on with my plans...it looks like I'm already on your wavelength regarding an amp...I tried hooking up the sub I have without an amp just to see if it even worked...it did, but just as you stated, it was 'there' but it was quiet and rubbish...and when I actually sat in the cabin (the sub was in the boot) I hardly heard anything from the sub, so I then decided to take the earlier advice in this thread and started to look for an amp/sub...I spotted a local ad for a 1000w Fusion amp and matching 1000w sub with a pair of 6x9 JBLs thrown in all for 60 quid...seemed like a bargain and I heard it in the car when I went to pick it up...it is QUALITY and it is LOUD! Although it's way more power than I wanted, it looks like this will be my setup...and I'm gonna build an enclosure in the boot and 'funnel' the sub through the first aid hole in the back...it's a 4 channel amp so I'll bridge 2 channels for the sub and have the other 2 powering the 6x9s in the cabin...with my current head unit powering the dash spkrs...which are blaupunkts (10cm)....I'm also considering some tweeters as you suggested to lift things a little what really impressed me was when I heard the setup on low volume in the seller's car (a bmw 7 series)....it had the sound I was looking for...even on low volume you could feel the bass and hear the rest perfectly...which suits the way I roll really...I like my choons, but not at 100 decibles all the time.....whatever the volume, I want a quality sound...I've got a knowledgable mate installing it all with me in a couple of weeks and I'll let you know how it all works out....with pics too. once again, thanks to everyone that contributed their advice/opinions.....can't wait to have a good sounding system at last! D Merc |
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