very first stereo system very first car need help
 

Hello everyone i am new to the car audio thing and i really would like a nice car system and need advice and help cause i have no clue what i am doing lol.

I recently bought a 2006 mercedes benz CLS 500 and want to get rid of the stock harmon kardon system , i believe its 7 speakers including the stock subwoofer and the head unit is a navi mp3 deck and its just a terrible deck.

I went to a car place and they said its crazy expensive to remove stock deck and wire for a alpine head unit cause its fiber optic wires and its incorperated into the heater and needs a component to grab the signal and blah blah blah and quoted me $2500 canadian just for install

So im not sure its a good idea but someone told me to keep the stock head unit "wich i hate" so if any of you have advice on what i should do "keep or maybe find somewhere more resonable" let me know.

Now for the system i am very new and been scouring websites looking for something pretty decent "not insane" and even though i dont know much i kinda narrowed it down

I can get this jl CLS113RG-W7 JL Audio Enclosed Car Subwoofers http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAudio/p_20360_JL_Audio_CLS113RG-W7.aspx for $780 and a JL Audio 1000/1v2 http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAudio/p_18475_JL_Audio_10001v2.aspx for $750 so $1500 total

OR i can get this ebay package deal for half the price and have money for cap and mids tweets and wiring

KICKER DS12L5-2 DUAL 12" L5 SUBS + ZX1000.1 CAR AMPLIFIER
http://cgi.ebay.com/KICKER-DS12L5-2-DUAL-12-L5-SUBS-ZX1000-1-CAR-AMPLIFIER-/390248084954?pt=Car_Amplifiers&hash=item5adc9935da
for $750

So is the kicker 2 12's and amp almost as good as the way more $$ JL stuff
and would the sound difference be crazy noticable and how would each system sound in my mercedes?

Thanx so much for any replies

With this car I would go to Audiolines and do whatever they advise.

if its crazy expensive to remove the stock deck, you should look into a JBL MS-8.
it will do wonders to transform any system into an awesome system.

personally i like the JL alot more than those kickers. with that being said, the w7 still isn't my favourite sub.


regardless of the sub setup you choose though, those are both high powered setups, and your front end is most likely not going to be able to keep up at all. i'd be keeping this in mind, because upgrading one thing will make you unhappy with another.

if you aren't opposed to two subs, think about two w6's. much nicer sounding than a w7, require less power, and will hit just as hard.

you can also find many amps that can power them for less than the 1000/1's pricetag.

any suggestions on amp that sounds as good as the jl 1000/1 but cheaper?
or even a awsome setup for $1000 would be nice

also they have 2 JL Audio CVS212RG-W6v2 in a jl prowedge box for the exact price of the 1 13" w7 in prowedge box
so the 2 12" sound as good as the 1 13" w7?

Also since this a canadian forum maybe someone can suggest to me a fair priced car audio specialist shop that will do a
good job and have the equiptment for me to buy would be nice. I live in surrey B.C. so its also close to vancouver , coquitlam , langley

lol duhh someone suggested one already

Audiolines won't be cheap but they likely see more of those in a week than any other shop does in a year. Familiarity is very important with Euro cars.

Soundsgood Auto in Coquitlam has a good bunch of guys there and have always treated me well. Just another one to check out.

be very very carefull with what you do.
Right now you probably have steering wheel control etc. You will lose all that unless you pick HU that can handle after market Steering wheel control interfaces. And yes it is mostlikey fiber optic MOST system from HU to amp in trunk somewhere. Plus you have all the active antennas to interface. THis is not going to be an easy install.
Why do you hate the HU so much? I ripped mine open and it is similar to most aftermarked decks in terms of ICs etc.
see my posts in MB forums
Audio 20 Brain Surgery: Adding RCA outputs! - Benzworld.org - Mercedes-Benz Discussion Forum

I also suggest you browse that telematics forum first before you commit.
There is also another option. There are aftermarket adaptors that convert the Digital Fiber optic signal to analog preamp outs. Not cheap but you retain all the stock HU interface and looks.
All that aside, a Benz is a great platform for audio, the door panels and everything is rock solid! and a very quiet ride

i have a similar car to that i have a bmw same harmon kardon stuff that headunit will be pretty pricy to take out at any shop but i suggest soundsgood auto in coquitlom

Do they still do car audio? I heard their focus has really changed to home audio & boats. I'll call Patrick Tuesday to ask him.

You're correct about the quiet ride though. My BMW is killer that way too.