Mercedes-Benz W163 Bose Audio System

[FALKLAN]

Howdy everyone!

I have a SUV with a Bose audio system and I'm considering either a system upgrade, or purchasing a complete replacement system while bypassing the integrated Bose system.

On the Bose side, I have not found any specifications yet. It's a decent system but I'm, at a minimum, replacing all the factory speakers, head unit and adding an amp and two 8" subs. The Bose is a 2ohm system and I'm not certain about this point. In order to use a 4ohm set of speakers (component/loud), I would need to install 2 sets of 4ohm speakers wired in parallel to match the 2ohm Bose system. Is that correct? It's been so long I can't remember parallel or series. *** googled it after-the-fact *** Also this is a, I think, D2B fiber optic system which limits me to two channel input from the head unit to D2B converter.

Replacing the entire system doesn't concern the 2ohm Bose problem. 4ohm component and loudspeakers and 2ohm/1ohm sub configuration. I'll probably go with 2 amps if replacing the factory system.

Thanks much!

[stj]

4ohm will be fine - just slightly less loud at full power
2ohm sounds insane - i wonder what the amp chip looks like!

bit of advice - unplug the canbus or optical from the unit and make sure the car doesnt throw a code.
if it's optical like s-class your gonna need a loopthrough bypass adapter

[FALKLAN]

It's fiber optic to the amplifier and CD changer. All the fiber optic decoders I've seen only accept 2 channels (left/right). I don't like that one bit. However, breaking down the amplifier connector to get to the speaker wiring is something I would rather not do. Neither do I have any desire to run new speaker wire to 4 doors and two rear, what are they, D-pillars.

Installing a completely new system is the best choice. I'll simply have to clinch my teeth and bare it.

[CapLeaker]

Yes, the Fiber optics gonna be a pain in the butt. Probably better off to do a full replace.

[FALKLAN]

I installed a new audio system mid 2024: Boss BVCP9700A-FL 7" floating display head unit w/backup camera, (2) 10" DD Audio Redline subs, (2) Down4Sound 65 v2 6.5" midrange, (2) Pioneer ts-b401pro 4" tweeters, DD Audio D1100 monoblock 1100W RMS @ 1Ohm, D4S JP84 4Ohm Bridged 280W RMS 2 ch.





The system sounds great! I'm going to replace the head unit with a flush mount unit and install a radial arm to use a tablet as an audio source. This head unit, like most I believe, is incapable of doing much of anything with stored media (thumb drive). I will only read 999 mp3s, and if there are more audio files, it neither reads them or plays them. It only produces a fixed list of music files on the USB media, and you cannot manipulate that list at all. No sorting, no searching, no playlist creation/reading, nothing more than a fixed list alpha numerically sorted. Also the backup camera I installed only works well during daylight hours, which I'm installing some LED pods for reverse lights. The pods should illuminate the area well enough for the backup camera to function at night.