Hey everyone. I just bought an '85 Mercedes 300SD (a big body older
S-class), and the current sound setup consists of a 19-year old radio and
tape player, two 3.5" speakers in the dash, and two 4x6" in the rear deck.
It sounds nice, as the car was very high end in its day, but it's pretty
weak and very outdated.

Anyway, I thought I'd ask for some advice here about an upgrade. What I'm
looking for is a sound-quality weighted system that doesn't have to be too
loud, but still has some punch to it... and I'm on a bit of a budget. I'm
hoping for around $1,000-1,100 total for just the parts; I'll work out
installation later. So far PriceGrabber.com seems good at finding some nice
deals on new equipment, so I'm counting on that to keep prices down.

I don't know that much about mobile audio, but from the research I've done
so far I've come to like the Alpine 7892 and 9811 HU's, which seem to be a
nice balance of cost and quality (plus I like the 1214 changer) and Clarion
speakers seem like pretty good deals. But I've never heard them in person.
That's where you guys come in.

Because of the car's fuel tank location (upright between the rear seats and
trunk), a sub is impractical, and I don't really want one anyway. So I
intend to put a few 6.25" speakers in the doors... probably coax in the rear
and component up front, and I need something that is clean but provides fair
bass (for an interior speaker, of course). I run Polk coaxes in my other
car, and they sound great, but like I said, I don't have much experience.

So..
a head unit, a changer, four 6.25s, a couple of 3.5s, a couple of those
nifty 4x6 panels broken down into a woofer and separate tweeter, and one or
two medium-power (i.e. 50-75w/ch 4-channel) amps to drive them for around
$1,000, give or take a couple hundred. Can it be done?

I've heard good things about MB Quart, Diamond Audio, Eclipse, etc. but they
may be out of my price range. Tell me your experiences.

Thanks for any help,
Ian Blake