1999 c280 sport
 

I Just bought a 1999 c280 sport but it does not have a cd changer. Do anyone know what model I will need to get also I want to install the phone. But again I am not sure what model it will be. Any Advice is appriciated

RE: 1999 c280 sport
 

original installation or after market?

RE: 1999 c280 sport
 

If you have the OEM Bose Radio head, you have the fiber optic cables for the CD Changer. You will have to buy a OEM changer. I got mine at a local stereo shop, who is lincensed to sell them. About $150 cheaper then from Mercedes. Look in the trunk right hand side, there is a well, pull up the floor cover that cover the spare and if you have tow orange wires wrapped up, they are the fiber optic connections. It is a easy DIY job with the correct changer. Look on ebay I've seen them for sale. BUT make sure they auction says FIBER OPTIC! Also do not cut the fiber optic cables you will ruin them, just connect the ends to the connectors on the changer, and hide the rest of the cable under the rug.

RE: 1999 c280 sport
 

Thank you C280 WIZARD. I have another question. I was looking to get another radio the Alpine CDA 9831. but I want to use it with the original factory speakers will I be able to do that. I was told that in order to use the same speaker I will need a radio with no watts because there is and amp with the original stereo. I am not sure what that means. But I hope you do.

RE: 1999 c280 sport
 

You don't need a radio with no watts, you need a radio head, that is a radio without an amp, as according to what year your car is, you either have an amp in the trunk, left hand side under the cover, or on earlier models each speaker has a built in ramp. My wife's car has an early BOSE system and to replace a speaker with a new one is over $900, a used one $600. Becker, Bose, make them. To our dismay, it is very difficult to get an aftermarket "radio" for a Benz, if you have the BOSE system, you really stuck with the radio head you have. Priority is the word Mercedes uses. I have heard some nightmare stories about folks trying to put a regular radio in these cars, general they don't work, or there is a conflict with the factory amp or amps and the amp in the radio. If you have the factory amp in the trunk you could pull it out and find a radio with plenty of RCA audio outputs, a complete rewiring job.

My wife car has the 4 back speakers out, the car is 10 years old, and only the 4 front speakers work. I went to various audio shops in the area to redo the system. The first problem was, no one had a radio that would fit without extensive cutting of the dash, and the best price I go was around $1500 dollars for radio and speakers and the store wouldn't guarantee it would work as well as the stock system, even with the rear speakers out. I did check the rear speakers on her car and they are all fused, I fixed one on the rear passenger side, by cutting out the old fuse and using an inline fuse, but I had to get a trip fuse, as the amps and speaker combo's get really hot. I know I wrote an epitaph, but this is my personal experience with German cars. Audi are the same way. Now my advice, if you are lucky and have the amp in the trunk I would upgrade the speakers; Polk, Bose Infinity make adaptable speakers, if you car has the center arm rest in the rear and no pass thru, which my C280 has I added a subwoofer, first I connected to the factory amp with a splice, not a good idea I found. So I got a small amp, you don't need a lot of amps to drive a small woofer, and after a day or so I got the whole system in sync and it sound very good, but you have to keep the armrest down. Take my word this is the easy, safest and cheapest way to upgrade your sound system. Also, the rear deck speaker are easy to replace, but unless you have a layout of the door panels, there a bear to take off. I might replace the rears first and see what the system sounds like, if this fits your needs then go no further. My 99 C280 came with the optional BOSE system which has 8 speakers and a bigger amp. The other W202 come with a different system, I think it is either an Alpine of Becker head unit. Do you have the radio pull tools? I bought a set and the first time I tried to take the radio out to see if had any extra outputs, I ripped the face place off. Cost me $800 for a complete new radio and that was with a 20% discount. So if you don't have any experience doing this, take it to a shop, they can measure the amps output and match the correct speakers. You might be able to fit a set of subwoofer's in place of the regular speakers in the rear, that might work well also. Sorry for all the rambling, but I've wasted a lot of money trying things that done work on these cars, so I don't want you to make the same mistakes.

RE: 1999 c280 sport
 

I wouldn't fart around with cramming anything down Bose's throat. It's Bose that's proprietary (not "priority"), not MB. If you want to upgrade, especially with a new head unit, trash the Bose crap. Bose systems sound terrible anyway.

A head unit is a head unit whether it has an amp or not. The guy that told you about the powered Bose speakers was saying you need a head unit with a pre-amp out plug. You connect the head unit to a self-contained amp through this connection. You'll have a hard time finding a head unit that will plug into Bose speakers, though. I doubt Alpine would bother.

I would get a four-channel Alpine stereo head unit that has about 200 watts total, built-in cd stacker, and a pre-amp out plug. Then I'd get a 200 watt mono amp to drive one 12-inch subwoofer or two 8-inchers.

You could get an Alpine head unit with no amp but with pre-amp out plugs. Alpine makes a five channel amp that works beautifully with it. It has four stereo outs and one subwoofer out in one case.

You'll need to buy new speakers for either setup. In either case, four speakers for stereo and at least one subwoofer.

Either one is a simple system that takes minimum space. They will will deliver very decent sound for a relatively good price. It will kick a Bose system's ass.

RE: 1999 c280 sport
 

Thank you guys for all the advices. I think I have an Idea. Thanks a lot.