Finally, some bass! DIY JBL basshub install w212 E63
Please thank with the "LIKE" button!
I was never really impressed with the either the B&O or HK system in my e63s, I opted for this hidden sub to really balance out the system.
Unsponsored review
Link for JBL sub: amzn.to/3ypepgk
Link for Install Kit: amzn.to/3T2S1kG
heat shrink crimps: amzn.to/3CDCDWx
18 gauge steel wire
amzn.to/3eBGRVA (many things work for this, paperclip LOL)
00:00 Hk vs B&O
01:16 Stock sub range
01:53 Overview
02:30 Wiring w212 amp
06:28 Running wires
07:25 w212 Amp imputs
09:30 Finished install
10:11 Review of jbl basshub
12:15 JBL bass test
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You are doing God's work for all the w212 owners, thanks man!
Keep the w212 videos coming, great content.
This is definitely going to be my next mod. Thanks for another great video!
A pretty easy and clean install. Have a great day.
I can't thank you enough for makkinig this video. Longtime car audio guy here but had been on a hiatus for several years (including all years as a merc owner). Was kicking the idea around idea of adding bass to my w212 '16 e400 and this vid filled in all the gaps/saved me a ton of time. I also ended up getting the passive model (600w rms instead vs 200w on the active/built in amp). Lucked out and found a new open box '06 ish kicker zx750.1.. couldn't have found a better match. Day 1 and this thing pounds/sounds amazing. Looking forward to breaking it in and playing with the level/xover more. Couple notes on my install experience for others looking to take the plunge. 1) The small/med sized paperclip I used I ended up not being thick enough to catch snuggly in the harness plug.. so I used pliers to hook around the tip of the paper clip. Made for a much more snug fit into the harness (did same as the video, left the stock amp unplugged and went in from that open side). 2) Noticed under my spare there was foam spacer that cushioned the spare tire. I left that in and it still sounds fantastic; have not tried it without it but also don't feel the need to change it up. 3) Mounted amp to back of the smaller rear seat section.; ground spot nearby using the bolt of the cargo latch mount. Unbolted, lifted carpet, left plastic flooring, sanded around bolt holt, plastic flooring back down, ground ring above the plastic but still flush on the shiny frame then bolted/latch back down onto it. 4) already had a extra cup holer/phone holder thing on my front passenger side (slides between pass seat and center; has usb ports and fits a cup/phone eta, lights up). Bass remote knob fit perfectly in that so am going to drill a hole on the back of it to run the remote cable. Looks good/ergonomic/don't have to drill or adhesive it to the actual car. 5) oem plastic mount sitting in cetner of spare tire.. jbl bolt fits it and you have enough room to screw it down without having to cut/shorten the bolt.. but if you overtighten it the oem plastic mount may pull out and you have to start over. So make it tight but know it may pop loose if you crank it down too hard. My merc is sounding tip top. Thanks again for the great vid. Hope more like me get to ultilze this.
Nice!, I considered the passive option as well, glad to hear it worked out great
I just finished adding this to my 2013 E63. I think I paid about $375 for a Black Friday sale (it sat in my garage for a while). For the money, it’s a great addition. I used to have big systems in my car when I was young, and with this, I don’t need anything else. Thanks for the great video!
You and I sound the same, I just want good clean balance sound, I don't need to blow out any windows anymore
Sitting in my e350 wagon and it rocked me until 14 ..
Unbelivable, long story short I was doing an ILS headlights on my 212, looking over the mbworld and other forums when you uploaded an explanation video with your old 212 about a year or so ago. Which, by the way, helped a lot. Now, about week ago I started learning about an add-on amp and sub installation, also reading all the forums about getting the signals and stuff. Guess what? You're dropping this video today. What a coincidence!
Haha, sweet! Glad I could help.
This is perfect, thank you for sharing
Another great DIY video! Messing with interior is my favorite part to do stuff in the car myself. Made my weekend morning🙂 Thanks for sharing❤
Thank you for the great video. Saved me a lot of time on researching the pin outs on the harness etc. This little active sub is the best $350 I have ever spent on car audio. This thing sounds like 400 watts not 150. The woofer must be super efficient.
This was so professionally done. Sir I need to bring my w204 to you
That's man, appreciate it!
@@ExoticCarDIY did it rattles in the back? Like I am not mega bass head but at the same time I want to have decent bass. Thinking of installing it in my C350. I guess the install is pretty much same right
@@sharanpreet5559 no rattles on mine. The install should be very similar. For the best sound, it's best to tap into the sub if you have one, if not you can just use those speaker level inputs
@@ExoticCarDIY Yeah I will do that and I might throw some sound deadener as well because why not ;)
@@ExoticCarDIY Did you have sound deadening to your doors? By the way your e63 is super sick. It's a complete package for some inner peace
Man i love your videos. Life saver❤. Any luck or thoughts on the apple carplay yet? Anxiously waiting for that, i have the same car same year
This video just made fitting my sub so easy 🙌🏻
Awesome, great to hear. You get yours dialed in yet? Took a few weeks of tweaking to get perfect for me, but I love it
No I’m still tweaking it at the moment 😂 But it’s a so much better than the original harman kardon. Can you do a video of upgrading and replacing the standard cold air induction hoses that perish all the time Mine need replacing again 🤦🏼♂️
Amazing 🤩
Nice mod sound install no need to cut OEM harness and such. Simple and clean 👍. Might consider doing the same for my 2016 E400 W212 facelift which you know is very similar in body style and interior. However, my E400 came with HK it does sound good but as you mention there is always room for slight improvement. BTY noticed you install the ambient lighting as well. Very happy with mine working perfectly thanks to your previous video on that subject. Noticed when doors are open for extended period of time lights change colors on their own. Actually find that pretty cool. And although DMP car design did send me front and rear foot well extensions , I might install the front ones at a later time. Again awesome video thanks for sharing!
I found that the hk and even the b&o... sometimes it would sound pretty good, and other times not. So far upgrading from the 6x9 factory to the 11 seems to have completely balanced the system and I can always get it to sound great.
just did this in my 2016 e400 w212. Well worth it/improvement to the HK.
Awesome video!
Thanks man, my stock sub is crackling bad rn
Looking at it, it seems like the wagon comes with a better sub as standard compared to the sedan.
Classy install, you do things same as me, I like the ability to return back to 100% factory if need be and no ghetto. Evidently not all the HK systems are the same, my interface looks very different bal/fad EQ, and Logic 7 are all on the same screen, plus mine has no mid control, just bass and treble.
Great video
I want to do this so bad I have a few things like a head gasket and centrifuge but! I’ll get there I’m adding this to the list
Thanks bro just hoooked up 2 12s today 😊 definitely need bass knob 😂
I bet that pounds!
@@ExoticCarDIY yes very much so gotta get used to it 😂 gotta buy another amp the one I have gets hot and shuts off I have it wired under the spare tire.
Great Video mate and well explained, to bad i can t find anything so detailed and simple for a W219.
Well a 213 will be me next car, your 219 is much the same
@@ExoticCarDIY in my case i think i have to get speaker line-in for RCA on the original amp and the remote on the rear fuse box, lucky me main battery in the back too.
Great video, if I might add something to make your and others install easier with this unit. The speaker wire input or "high level" is just that, instead of cutting an RCA cable and tapping into the OE harness you would just extend speaker from that plug and tap it into the harness. Not only will it save time but the input is designed for high level signal so it will perform better.
There was a thread on MB world discussing this, they actually tested the sound using the high level input as well as the rcas from the low level input. Everyone said hands down the RCA's provided much lower frequencies and better sound. It may be easier. Anyway,that's where I got my information from
I'm late to the party on this but will say the low level input on the stock amp plug (as shown in the video) is VERY easy to get to. Didn't have to remove any panels.. just unplug, poke, zip tie and done. Would have been open to high level inputting but didn't see any stock speaker wire that eays to get to. Also regarding what OP saw on the forums, my guess is singal is full range going to the amp and maybe oem amp has a SSF filtering out the low lows.
Nice video! My set up is sub and sub box, the sub is facing through the rear center console. When you pull down the arm rest, it exposes my sub. The only thing is it went from a really big trunk, to big trunk😂
I bet that sounds great!
Great DIY mod and definitely worth the money spent to get better base. I have the B&O upgrade and wonder if this will be significantly better or just a bit better?
Having had the b&o... I will say significantly. The only con is, yes you do have to occasionally do a little fiddling with the base level. If you've ever had an aftermarket sub, you're probably familiar
@@ExoticCarDIY Will need to look into this for sure. Thanks and keep up the awesome vids on the E63s beast!!
I replicated this on my 2016 CLS63s.. and I’ll say everything worked out exactly as shown here. I tapped into the wire harness and kept my stock subwoofers as well.
Sweet, were you able to dial it in to your liking? It took some tweaking, but mine is perfect now, I almost never have to mess with the bass
Did you try it with & without the stock subwoofer & see which sounded best? 🤔
Is this new sub still benefiting from the DSP in the factory setup? thx man
min 5:37 what kinde of wire is good and did you use solder?
Great video man, thinking about doing this soon and had a quick question… Would it be possible to de-pin those three wires from the factory amp connector and add in those ‘paper clip wires’ to the connector? Similar to what you did in the Inter cooler mod video? That way I can have both the factory sub and the basshub working simultaneously? Thanks!!
Yes, absolutely
@@ExoticCarDIY thanks for the reply. I’ve already done the oil solenoid mod from your video. I’ve never messed with anything audio related but your video makes me super confident that I can do it myself!! I would prefer both subs running but if I can figure it out I’ll probably be satisfied with the JBL!!
I have a 2011 Lincoln MKZ would that fit perfectly in the spare tire
Awesome step by step. Sadly it looks like my s212 e63s has a completely different amp. I had an audio shop looking at my setup and they said that I won't be able to connect it the same way as you did since my HK is using fiber optic. No plug-and-play for me then...
I think your stereo shop is wrong. Its identical to the sedan, just different locations. Check out this post... mbworld.org/forums/w212-amg/768633-jbl-basspro-hub.html#post7965535
I followed your instructions to the letter, great tutorial! You're really good at this! But there is one odd thing I can't figure out. When I connect both RCA's (ala the blue RCAs from the amp connector to the red/white RCAs on the sub), I get no sound from the sub. When I connect only one RCA (doesn't matter which), the sub works. ???
That is odd, I'd have to think about that. Initially, it just sounds like one of your rcas is wired in reverse? You verify with a digital voltmeter?
@@ExoticCarDIY Yup! You're correct. Crazy thing though...I used your link to buy the EXACT same install kit with the blue RCA cables. I assumed I could trust the wire colors would match what you identified. But they don't! For example, Yellow is negative in my RCAs, Yellow is positive in yours. Go figure...
@@gregmatherly LOL, glad you got it worked out. Good old typical Chinese junk
Ah me trying to do the same in a w169 A class, i have to take off the carpet on the passanger side in order to get closer to the battery
I would like you install this in my audi q5 I don't know if will work you very profesional great video
Again, in theory of this works in every car, does the Audi have a factory sub in the back, you could either use the line inputs directly from the sub speaker wire, or better get if you can find the input to the sub amp you'll get the cleanest sound. If not you can just tap into any wires just follow the line in instructions instead of the RCA version
When you order it did you have to measure the spare tire rim to get the right size for the perfect fit ?
I didn't measure, it's smaller than most modern brake rotors, did most spares. Three only issue might be the height. For my cars it's perfect, but that's the main one that main concern you
Could you please do a apple carplay install on w212?
Hey . Is this only compatible with HK sounds systems or will those without HK system have the amp/plug in the rear ?
Is there supposed to be some kind of cover above the spare, but below the main trunk floor (the one that you lift in the video)? I don't see one, and there isn't one on my car either. But it seems like there would be some intermediate panel and you wouldn't just lift one thing and see the spare and aux battery.
No, I've had a couple e63s and there is nothing between the space and the main floor cover
I wonder how good it would be if you pair the bass hub pro and a pair of bass pro sl’s I think it would kinda feel like a 12 inch
Might sound great, yeah if you're looking for more base than what the base hub produces, it might actually be easier at that point just to get a nice quality single JL 12 in a box, as long as you're okay losing a little bit of trunk space
How you you recommend tapping into the harness while plugged into the AMP? It sounds like the rear shelf speakers don’t work when the harness isn’t plugged in.
Not sure what's going on there... My rear speakers still work.... Minus the factory sub of course
@@ExoticCarDIY I probably should finish the video first, but oh well lol if I get this installed in my Subaru Legacy Limited with the 12 speaker HK system with the Subwoofer, would installing this JBL stop the stock HK sub from running??
@@halvorson566 @Halvorson I don't think it would, you're simply just splitting the inputs, unless you're actually cutting a wire or unplugging something, that factory sub should still function as normal
Also Cerwin Vega makes the same sub for half the price. VS12 is the model number
So I noticed the display when you were messing with the EQ…. Is that coded or is different on other w212s? Mines a ‘14
The 2016 have a slightly different head unit called the ntg5.1. Basically just different graphics
@@ExoticCarDIY oh ok gotcha. I’m still learning. Will the head units interchange and do you offer coding ?
@@blade08gt i dont think so. I dont offer coding with the exception of maybe a local ILS headlight activation. You can try either benzninja or the admin of the FB group w212 owners
@@ExoticCarDIY thanks for the info!! Keep the vids coming
Hi can I connect the jbl to my Audi’s already existing spare tire subwoofer wire via high line to bypass having to mess with the head unit in the glove department? My car already has a passive six inch subwoofer with no level control in the mmi settings which is pure nonsense
Yes, you should be about to do that with the line in or a line in to RCA device
Do you or anyone know if the HK system in the MB W212 have bass rolloff on the bass/subwoofer frequencies? I would like to use your method instead of a LC type input converter as my installer has recommended.
I've read about the rolloff, but have no experienced it yet. Sounds great at all volumes
can this be added to a w212 with a stock sound system. my car doesn't have a sub.
Yes, but you likely won't use the RCA inputs, you'll pain then line of from then rear speaker's
Hi i dont see the amplifier on the back. I have a w212 e250. Ill have to tap from the speakers?
This might be a silly question idk - but my AMG GLC Coupe didn't come with a spare tire...can i use this in the same rear compartment without the tire? Is there a way to still bolt it down without one?
I've never looked in the back of a glc, the way the sub attachment works is simply that threaded rod goes into the factory threaded hole where the spare tire is. I'm not sure if the g l c has that attachment or not
Hey, on the off chance you might see this. On your H/K system do you get any distortion at higher volumes while using a Bluetooth device? Specifically the speakers in the dash?
I've had it pretty loud and no distortion
@@ExoticCarDIY hmm. I must have something going on with my dash speakers then. I have a 2015 E63 with H/K an every time I turn it up above half way I get distortion in the dash speakers and tweeters. Not all the time just on some notes during songs (higher pitched notes mostly) checked all the settings. Have it turned down a little on my phone. No difference. 🤷🏽♂️
@@ExoticCarDIY and also thank you for the swift reply!
@@madddogg5671 but only on Bluetooth?
@@ExoticCarDIYhonestly, I haven’t tried with a CD because I don’t own any anymore and every time I see one it never crosses my mind to use it lol. I do hear it slightly while listening to the radio but definitely more prevalent with Bluetooth. I’ve also tried multiple phones and same thing.
If I would like to keep the stock sub connected, is it easy to plug the wires on the other side of the connector? Just push in?
Exactly, some people use t splices, but you only have about an inch of harness to work with on the backside. I didn't even want to splice it so if you get the correct gauge wire, you can just plug it in the back, just make sure they stay in place
@@ExoticCarDIY maybe any idea what gauge would fit so I could order it straight away 🙏?
So I've used wire, I've used uncoated thick paper clips... My wife just so happened to have a roll of 18 gauge galvanized steel wire that I used for this particular install, it seems to be the perfect size to snuggly plug into the clips.. amzn.to/3eBGRVA
@@ExoticCarDIY thank you. Just ordered those connectors, multimeter (yes I didn't have one 🤦♂️) and will get some wire now. Thanks for the replies 👍
@@ExoticCarDIY Hi again. So I did all the cables like you in your video. Just on the sub connector I don't have yellow cable just green. If you could please when you have 5 sec to look at the video I just uploaded on my KZhead as I'm not sure if I did something wrong or my sub is dead(it's old one was sitting in garage for few years). When I use the remote from 0 let's say to 50% u can hear bass, not very loud but let's say clean, but when more than 50% it's starts to make strange noise. Not enough power? The speaker itself it's gone? I didn't plan to keep this one just wanted to check if it will make any difference but it doesn't have power.
But was it worth it ? Would you really recommend it ?
For my goal, yes... It's near perfect. Some people may want more, I would suggest a single JL 12" in that case... The amp would be wired the same
I installed too on my car, but the remote wire îs not working. The sub îs on all the Time, even the remote wire îs on air...any ideea?
Wait couldn’t you have depinned the pins yo needed?
Yes, you absolutely could. I tried for like 15 min and gave up lol.
Still waiting on car play for this car
Human ear can do 20hz
Fun fact the human ear can hear from 20 htz to 20,000 htz
80k car, cant afford a 30$ heat gun.