A client from Vancouver recently visited Ralph’s Radio to inquire about options for upgrading the audio system in his 2018 Mercedes Benz Sprinter. This Sprinter has been upgraded with a bed and a small kitchen that includes a sink and cooktop. Since the client spends a lot of time in the vehicle, he wanted an audio system that sounded clearer and more detailed and provided better bass response. We scrutinized the vehicle to find locations for an amplifier and subwoofer and to see what options we had to upgrade the speakers. With a plan in place, we scheduled an appointment for our team of expert technicians to begin the upgrade.
Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Radio Upgrade
We started the project by integrating a Pioneer AVH-1550NEX multimedia receiver into the dash. This new receiver includes a 6.2-inch touchscreen display to make music selection easy and intuitive. More importantly, it includes Apple CarPlay smartphone integration. CarPlay allows the client to use the Siri voice recognition features of his iPhone to play music, send text messages, make phone calls or get detailed turn-by-turn navigation instructions to almost anywhere in North America.
Our technicians used an interface module to allow the signal from the factory-installed rearview camera to work with the Pioneer receiver. We also integrated the radio control buttons from the steering wheel with the new receiver.
The stock front speakers in the Sprinter measure 5.25 inches. After some inspection, our technicians confirmed that these could be upgraded to a high-quality 6.5-inch driver. The client wanted clear and detailed sound and chose the BLAM Live Series L165P component set.
A Helix M-Six six-channel amplifier powers the new speakers. We mounted this amp under the driver’s seat to be out of the way and well-protected. We dedicated a pair of channels to the tweeters, the second pair to the BLAM woofers and bridged the final pair to provide up to 200 watts to the system subwoofer.
A key part of improving the audio quality in this Sprinter was to add a subwoofer. There wasn’t a lot of space available, so we turned to JL Audio and their compact CP108LG-W3v3 enclosure. This subwoofer system features a carefully tuned vented enclosure with a high-performance W3v3 Series 8-inch driver. It’s small but delivers impressive output.
Vancouver’s Best Car Audio Upgrades
The client was thrilled with how the new audio system sounded and loved how easy it was to use his phone. If you’re interested in upgrading your Sprinter or a similar conversion vehicle, we invite you to visit Ralph’s Radio in Vancouver or Victoria. We can even work with your upfitter to create something unique to your application and performance expectations. If you can’t get to one of our stores during regular business hours, give us a call or send our team an e-mail using our contact page.