WHY?
A returning customer contacted us with a new vehicle of his looking to improve the sound system, without being intrusive on the vehicle. We had previously installed a full audio system in his Ford Raptor, which he enjoyed before eventually selling that vehicle. Although he enjoyed that system, he wanted something more refined for this new vehicle, a 2018 Mercedes Benz G550.
He recently purchased this G550 and the factory audio system was lacking clarity, depth, and impact, everything just sounded good enough. We decided to focus our attention on improving the front stage in the vehicle since the rear seat was rarely going to be utilized. We were able to design a system that provided high-fidelity audio, without sacrificing space or altering the appearance of the vehicle’s interior.
WHAT?
Upgraded the Front Stage Components – It’s tough to beat how incredible the Morel Supremo component speakers sound. Featuring a combination of powerful neodymium magnets with Morel’s EVC motor topology, a 3″ diameter Hexatech aluminum voice coil, and a proprietary carbon fiber and Rohacell sandwich cone, it’s no wonder the Morel Supremos deliver unbeatable sound quality when paired with the proper power and tuning. These speakers are hand-crafted at Morel’s factory in Isreal, so you can be assured that the utmost care is put into building and assembling your components.
Added a Class A/B 4-Channel Amplifier to Power the Front Stage – When using a speaker of this quality, it is imperative that the speakers are paired with an amplifier of the same quality. A class A/B amplifier is will produce less distortion than a class-d amplifier, but also have much more control over the speaker’s movement. You can look at an amplifier’s damping factor to determine how well it can control a speaker’s movement back and forth accurately. We used the Helix C Four amplifier to power our front stage actively, meaning we are using a separate channel for each tweeter and each door woofer. This Helix C Four amplifier is a great match for the Morel Supremos. The C Four has a damping factor of 1000+, meaning this high-end class A/B amplifier has 5-10 times the amount of control of the speaker as compared to most good class d amplifiers.
Added a Mono Amplifier to Power the Added Subwoofers – To keep everything within the same family, we used the Helix M One mono amplifier to power our pair of JL Audio 8” subwoofers. The subwoofers in this system were added to compliment the front stage and the Helix M One paired with the JL Audio 8W3 subwoofers were a perfect pairing.
Fabricated Custom Enclosure – We needed to fabricate an enclosure that did not take up cargo space, but also that seemed cohesive with the vehicle’s interior. We decided to use a pair of 8’s to keep the enclosure shorter, to still allow use of the cargo area cover and also to keep the subs below the rear side windows. A custom cover and grill was made to protect the subs and attached in a way that is ultra-sleek, with custom grooves in the enclosure making it appear as if the enclosure and grill are all one piece. We used a black vinyl that matched the factory closely to cover the box, and black acrylic surrounds the pressed grill to add just a touch more of a high-end feel to the enclosure. Lastly, the enclosure is mounted with machined hardware to ensure it never goes anywhere.
Added a Helix Ultra DSP – We chose a Digital Signal Processor in the Helix DSP Ultra that matches the rest of the components in terms of quality. The Helix DSP Ultra is a high-end DSP that allows us to tune the system using the most advanced DSP software available. DSP’s allow us to tune a system accurately using a microphone to analyze the sound in real-time, while using a computer to make necessary adjustments to the sound curve. We can fix issues that may be presented simply by the location of the speakers. In this application, we were using an OEM head unit with minimal EQ adjustments and keeping the speakers in factory locations, so the quality of the DSP is even more crucial.
Helix Director in the Console – The Helix and Brax DSP’s utilize the Director for control of the DSP. The Director allows for things such as selecting between different tunes, digital volume controls, and subwoofer level adjustment. We fabricated a black acrylic plate to house the Helix Director and it pressure-fit into the bottom of the console, so no new holes needed to be made for mounting.
HOW?
Elevated Audio is known first and foremost for our customer’s overall experience from beginning to end. Winning the North American 2018-2019 Customer Choice Award in the 12-volt industry validated our commitment to provide trusted interactions between our store in Denver and our customers. Luckily, we also have a 2019-2020 Top 12 mobile electronics technician working in our shop, Phil Cantu.
Here’s how we performed the installation.
FRONT STAGE SPEAKERS
As mentioned previously, we used the Morel Supremo components for the front stage in this G550 and they did not disappoint. These speakers are incredibly clean and smooth, in particular the highs from the Supremo Piccolo tweeter. The Piccolo tweeter is essentially acting as the mid and the tweeter in this setup, and it does the work of both impeccably.
SOUND DAMPENING
When installing upgraded speakers in the doors and providing the proper power to them, it’s extremely important to sound dampen the area around the speaker to prevent any energy transfer that may cause rattles and vibrations in the door panels. We applied a full roll of Sound Shield in each of the front doors of this Mercedes Benz to ensure the Supremo woofers could perform at their best.
WIRING
We utilized NavTv’s Zen module to grab a clean signal from the factory audio system. This Zen module also allows us to use a fiber-optic connection from the factory signal into our DSP. Using fiber-optic when possible helps prevent the chance of noise getting introduced into the audio system. For all of our fiber optic and RCA connections in this system we used, as always, Audio Quest premium interconnects.
Power is supplied to the amplifiers utilizing our four gauge pure copper wiring. Never use copper clad aluminum (CCA) if you want the best current flow!
MOUNTING AMPLIFIERS
The vehicle did not offer many spots to mount the amplifiers but were able to find a spot to hide them under the rear seats. Both amplifiers were able to fit cleanly under the rear seats without any wires showing, and the location of the battery in the vehicle allowed for a short power run.
All wiring is wrapped in Tesa tape or tech-flex for a factory look and feel. The wiring routes in factory channels throughout the vehicle and is not merely “tucked” under panels, which always find a way to wiggle out after a few months. It’s our goal to make it hard to differentiate factory wiring from aftermarket.
CALIBRATING THE AMPLIFIERS
Amplifiers are useless unless set up correctly. Elevated Audio always sets the gains of our amplifiers by using an oscilloscope. This tool allows us to read the clipping point and set the amplifier to play up to that point but never beyond it, protecting the entire system and your ears!
LEVEL CONTROLLER
The Helix Director in the center console allows for level control of the subwoofer in this vehicle.
SUBWOOFERS
As mentioned previously, we used a pair of JL Audio 8w3 subwoofers in this build. We fabricated a custom enclosure for the subwoofers.
DSP & TUNING
We used the Helix DSP Ultra for this setup, which was the perfect pairing for the Helix C Four and the Morel Supremo speakers. The Digital Signal Processor allows us to perfectly time align the audio system for the driver, as well as accurately EQ the system to sound best in the tuned position. The system still sounds great for the rest of the vehicle, but it sounds perfect for the driver (or another tuned position).
THE RESULT!
We strive to provide the best possible service at Elevated Audio, but also we want to ensure we make your equipment perform as well as it possibly can. This system was not the loudest system ever, nor did it have window-shaking bass; however, the clarity and accuracy of this audio system are nearly untouchable.
In addition to how well this setup performed and sounded, the enclosure in the cargo area was a piece of art. The enclosure blended well with the vehicle’s interior, while still adding a slightly upgraded look and feel.
Please contact us for your own Mercedes system design consultation because, while this is an fantastic setup, it may not be what you need. We tailor each build to our customer’s needs and expectations, so we must build something special just for you.
Music. It’s What Moves Us.
-Elevated Audio
