Mercedes-Benz GLK350 Audio Upgrade for Apex Client

At the suggestion of a friend, this customer contacted Adrenaline Autosound in Clayton about a 2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK350 audio system upgrade. The owner was impressed with the system we integrated into his friend’s Toyota Tundra and wanted something similar for his SUV. Our consultation went much faster than normal since the client wanted performance similar to what we had created for his friend.

Industry-reference Audiofrog Front-stage Speakers

The special OE version of the Audiofrog tweeters was a perfect fit for these pillars.

Threaded inserts were riveted into the door to allow us spots to bolt in our speaker adapters.

Plastic was used for the speaker adapters to ensure a life-time of service.

After running new speaker wires into the door, we began creating a set of mounting adapter brackets for a set of Audiofrog GB60 woofers. The adapters are created from HDPE plastic so that they will never swell or become moldy if exposed to water. We inserted nutserts into the door to improve the serviceability of the new speaker installation. A layer of SoundSkins sound-deadening material and a set of foam speaker baffles completed the construction process for each door woofer. The GB10/OE tweeters we used in this system are mounted in the factory sail panel location using custom 3D printed frames from Audiofrog.

Spare Tire Well Subwoofer Enclosure

To maximize the space available for the Audiofrog GB12D4 subwoofer, we created a fiberglass and MDF enclosure in the spare tire well. Once the fiberglass foundation was complete, we carefully measured the available airspace and began construction of a 3/4-inch MDF top. We used laminated layers of MDF to provide strength and rigidity, and topped the enclosure off with a layer of black carpet before installing the subwoofer.

Mercedes-Benz GLK350 Audio System Amplifier and Processor

The JL Audio processor allowed us to fully tweak the audio system.

The wiring for the amplifier was neatly routed.

We used a JL Audio TWK-D8 digital signal processor (DSP) to integrate with the factory head unit and provide the signal filtering, equalization and delay adjustments we would need to achieve the performance we wanted. We mounted the DSP on an ABS plastic adapter plate alongside some of the factory electronics at the rear of the trunk. We installed a DRC-200 controller in the center console to provide easy access to the subwoofer level and switch between different tuning variations.

The output from the DSP feeds a five-channel JL Audio XD1000/5v2 amplifier that we mounted on the left side of the trunk. We secured the HDPE amp rack in place with threaded inserts. We tapped the mounting panel and secured the amplifier with stainless steel 8-32 fasteners.

The customer was thrilled with the performance of his new Mercedes-Benz GLK350 audio system. The sound quality and level of integration we were able to achieve impressed him a great deal – in fact, he gave us several 5-star reviews online.

If you are looking for better performance from your audio system, drop by Adrenaline Autosound or use our contact FORM to reach us.