[RamaGLA]

Hi everyone. A lot of people are dissatisfied with OEM sound, particularly in the GLA with the base sound system. Not a lot of info is available online for those wanting to avoid permanently modifying the car or wiring. However, after a TON of research I have found some great resources to guide you on your way.

Disclaimer: I am not an expert nor have I attempted to do this myself (yet). I take no liability. Please verify info yourself if you have doubts.

speaker connectors: the GLA uses the same connectors as the W204 C-class. Here’s a link to some I found. Other options are available for the tweeters from the same distributor.

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for the actual installation and tips, Raymond Urias’s video on YouTube is very helpful in showing the steps for an install without changing your amp.

Another video, for a total overhaul, is linked below. It’s absolute terrific, probably the best instructional video I’ve seen on YouTube. Unfortunately, it’s all in German, but the video is so good you can reference from that alone.

A lot of plug and play speaker options (from Audiotec-Fischer Match, Focal) for other MB models should be compatible with the GLA as long as you verify the connector is the same and the size is correct (5.5-6.5in according to @Whiterabbitt).

I am assuming the connector for the second generation GLA is the same as the W205 C-class, available from the same source as linked above.

Hope this helps anyone looking to upgrade their sound!

 

[mamelas]

Dear RamaGLA,

Indeed the built-in sound system sucks and I am very disappointed from the audio performance of a 50K+ car.

I remember, back in 2021 while ordering my GLA, the Mercedes Sales Manager telling me that he could not give me any delivery date in case of ordering the Burmester Sound System due to the shortage of the chips.

I have eventually regret for not placing the order for the extra sound system.

My GLA is a 2022 model and even with the sound at Maximum Volume you can hear the voice of the passengers.
I was owner of Wagen group cars and the audio performance was way better even for models of the 1/3 of the price of a GLA.

That said, I am the type of person who likes the factory look of a car so I am not planning adding amplifier, subwoofer or extra wiring in my car but I am thinking replacing the speakers with a better ones from JBL, Bose, Harman Kardon etc.

If anyone from the community has already replaced his speakers or if knows a Maker/Model who is compatible with the existing wirings and connectors would be a much of help to post here.

 

[RamaGLA]

Dear RamaGLA,

Indeed the built-in sound system sucks and I am very disappointed from the audio performance of a 50K+ car.

I remember, back in 2021 while ordering my GLA, the Mercedes Sales Manager telling me that he could not give me any delivery date in case of ordering the Burmester Sound System due to the shortage of the chips.

I have eventually regret for not placing the order for the extra sound system.

My GLA is a 2022 model and even with the sound at Maximum Volume you can hear the voice of the passengers.
I was owner of Wagen group cars and the audio performance was way better even for models of the 1/3 of the price of a GLA.

That said, I am the type of person who likes the factory look of a car so I am not planning adding amplifier, subwoofer or extra wiring in my car but I am thinking replacing the speakers with a better ones from JBL, Bose, Harman Kardon etc.

If anyone from the community has already replaced his speakers or if knows a Maker/Model who is compatible with the existing wirings and connectors would be a much of help to post here.

MATCH by Audiotec Fischer makes plug and play speakers for many MB models. So does Focal and Eton. otherwise, you can buy the W205 speaker connectors from Connects2.co.uk and use them for any speakers of your choice. I'd advise you chose entry-level speakers or ones designed for factory amps (JL C1, Infinity, etc.) since many high end speakers will not sound good without the correct equipment.

 

[mamelas]

Thank you for your prompt response!!
I will try to contact some of the above mentioned Makers.

Meanwhile, if someone has already upgraded his sound system it would be very helpful to post his experience and overall outcome

 

[Whiterabbitt]

not sure on a 2022, BUT, if it has any similarity to the older generation I can offer some advice.

This is all true for a 2015. You'll have to explore to see how much applies to a 2022:

#1 - The door speakers are riveted in place. From the backside. To drill out the rivets you have to remove the door insert.
#2 - The door inserts are also riveted in place. With burly rivets. 10 of them (I think 11 in front, 9 in the back, or vice/versa. That is PER door). They suck to drill out. Dealer rivets are $1.50 a piece. I see no reason to get them from the dealer next time.
#3 - Center and rears are super-easy to deal with. Panel comes out, speakers come out. Done.
#4 - The center channel is also the emergency system. The speaker is a dual voice coil. If you replace it with a standard aftermarket unit, you will lose SOS.
#5 - For speaker plugs, there is no reason not to use t-taps with a 3" line using spade terminals. If you are in the anti t-tap camp (for door speakers), more power to you. do what you like.
#6 - Since the door speakers are riveted in place... from the backside.... with plastic rivets... on a self contained spacer... You will need to hog out the hole and add your own spacer to make an aftermarket speaker work. Or use a 4" aftermarket speaker to avoid hogging out the panel... but still on a spacer... Which means you won't be able to go back to the OEM speaker. Which means it's not a problem to just cut the OEM harness and crimp on spades anyways. Or not. It's up to you. Basically, it's going to be a one-way street unless you accept tinny sound from a smaller than OEM speaker. I'm pretty sure that's not what you're going after.
#7 - The tweeters in the doors are ganged up on the mains down low on a bass blocker. So if you have a passive component set, you have to either run a new set of wires in the doors, or place the crossover inside the door. I opted to run one extra set of wires through the grommet.
#8 - the factory system is equalized to the speakers currently installed. If you think you will improve the tonality with only a speaker change, you are mistaken. You may be able to make it louder though which for most people, is enough. Especially if you drive an AMG!

Good luck dude. I can offer more advice too (same caveat from 2015 to 2022) if you want to consider amplification and signal processing, and have something similar to the HK setup of the older gen. But for doors, that's it.

 

[mamelas]

Dear Whiterabbit,

Thank you so much for your post and your provided details.

I do not have the skills to do this job on my own and on top of that the car is new so I will consider twice letting anyone to perform such upgrade.
Thus, I would prefer the replacement to be done from a Mercedes Service Station (if possible) in order to have “maker’s” best practice and guarantee .
(from the other side I know that a small car audio shop who has a passionate Engineer may provide better results)

I understand that just upgrading the door speakers will improve the sound quality but it is not the best option.

So, one option is to keep the factory system and replace only the door speakers (but I have to find a speaker maker who is compatible with my car model) and the other option is to also upgrade the amplifier to improve the sound quality (in that case also, I have to find a recommended amplifier and a compatible set of door speakers/tweeters)

 

[Whiterabbitt]

OK, I can confirm it. 2022 GLA, it's 9 rivets front door, 11 rivets rear door:

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[RamaGLA]

Dear Whiterabbit,

Thank you so much for your post and your provided details.

I do not have the skills to do this job on my own and on top of that the car is new so I will consider twice letting anyone to perform such upgrade.
Thus, I would prefer the replacement to be done from a Mercedes Service Station (if possible) in order to have “maker’s” best practice and guarantee .
(from the other side I know that a small car audio shop who has a passionate Engineer may provide better results)

I understand that just upgrading the door speakers will improve the sound quality but it is not the best option.

So, one option is to keep the factory system and replace only the door speakers (but I have to find a speaker maker who is compatible with my car model) and the other option is to also upgrade the amplifier to improve the sound quality (in that case also, I have to find a recommended amplifier and a compatible set of door speakers/tweeters)

Mercedes is unlikely to agree doing any work with aftermarket components. They may agree to retrofit Burmeister if it’s possible, but may not be due to different wiring. Even if they could, it probably won’t be worth the price.

since you’re still in warranty and seem to want to start with just a drop-in speaker replacement, I would advise against permanent modifications like enlarging the holes in the door panels or cutting/soldering wires, etc. since it is impossible to go back to factory standard should you wish to sell the car, change speakers, or any other reason including voided warranty (electrical system failures due to a poor install by a workshop, wiring errors, etc.). I have had experience with the dealer voiding warranty due to an aftermarket installation, it was a difficult process to get the car back to their standard and they blame electrical issues on aftermarket parts immediately. It’s not worth the hassle.

take a look at the options I mentioned, I think they are likely to meet your desires. If not, you can always progress from there with a guarantee that you can always take a step back if needed. MATCH audio makes comprehensive kits for the GLA, including amps, tweeters, mids, wiring harnesses, etc. that allow for modular upgrades without modifying the car itself.

 

[Whiterabbitt]

I can assure you both that the wiring is 100% the least of your worries when installing door speakers. 100% the absolute least of the worries. Here is a door from 2015, the 2022 is likely to be nearly identical based on the ebay link from above:

You can see the factory wire to the factory speaker. Just cut that wire 3 cm above the head, and keep it with the speaker when you remove it. That way it never gets lost and is always available.

From the raw wire ends, you strip them back and crimp on two red or blue spades. If you want to get fancy, you use 0.062" molex pins on a 2 pin connector, or an equivalent Mate-N-Lok connector.

On the replacement, your pigtail gets the opposite gender spades or molex or MnL connector. If you want to look at putting the factory speaker back, assuming you can re-rivet them easily (they are PLASTIC rivets holding the speaker in, so I'm not sure if a pop rivet tool can handle them or if they are partial-melt for install), then you just put spades on the pigtail you clipped off the speaker, or molex or MnL, and off you go.

-------------------------------

Seriously, it is the lowest concern item.

Of FAR, FAR greater concern, in no particular order:

1. Drilling out 10x substantial rivets, without marking up your door, munching on the hole, spinning the rivet core preventing drilling the housing out, or generally messing up your door frame.

2. Re-installing 10x rivets, you need a substantial rivet tool, a small hand-held one isn't going to do it. It is borederline for a non-pneumatic powered tool.

3. Door insert modification to fit a proper size speaker. You are doing this in the name of "sound quality", and you aren't going to get there if your replacement speaker is substantially smaller than the one that is coming out. Insert modification will:

3a - Require a speaker ring. You can't get around this. The flange is not universal and it's too close to the window. A wood or plastic ring is needed to interface with the door panel, raise the speaker position away from the window, and convert the shape to round for speaker interface.

3b - PROBABLY require widening the hole. The only way around this is if you find a speaker that:
3b1 - has a small basket
3b2 - has a small magnet (neodymium)
OR, has a smaller surface area to fit, but of course that reduces the frequency range of the speaker, you may as well just put a bluetooth speaker on your dashboard at that point.

----------------------

All of these will worry an installer much, much more than making the wiring work. Compared to these, the wiring is frankly a non-issue.

Good luck!

 

[Whiterabbitt]

Found another better picture, this time my front doors. It looks like I used 0.093" molex pins for my own install, not 0.062".

This is before I wrapped the connectors with a bit of closed cell foam with spray glue to prevent the rattles. You can see that in the rear door image above.

 

[mamelas]

Dear Whiterabbitt,

Your are hilarious!!!

Thank you for the time you spend to write all this info; and you are right I will look for MATCH or Focal or JL in order to keep the factory installation and guarantee.

I will post the results once I perform the upgrade.

 

[Whiterabbitt]

I hope hilarious is a good thing!

(I'm a Focal fanboy. I run the Focal Be3 in my center channel)

 

[RamaGLA]

I can assure you both that the wiring is 100% the least of your worries when installing door speakers. 100% the absolute least of the worries. Here is a door from 2015, the 2022 is likely to be nearly identical based on the ebay link from above:

View attachment 28312

You can see the factory wire to the factory speaker. Just cut that wire 3 cm above the head, and keep it with the speaker when you remove it. That way it never gets lost and is always available.

From the raw wire ends, you strip them back and crimp on two red or blue spades. If you want to get fancy, you use 0.062" molex pins on a 2 pin connector, or an equivalent Mate-N-Lok connector.

View attachment 28313

On the replacement, your pigtail gets the opposite gender spades or molex or MnL connector. If you want to look at putting the factory speaker back, assuming you can re-rivet them easily (they are PLASTIC rivets holding the speaker in, so I'm not sure if a pop rivet tool can handle them or if they are partial-melt for install), then you just put spades on the pigtail you clipped off the speaker, or molex or MnL, and off you go.

-------------------------------

Seriously, it is the lowest concern item.

All of these will worry an installer much, much more than making the wiring work. Compared to these, the wiring is frankly a non-issue.

great guide, but I am curious why you’re so intent upon cutting the wires and making your own connections. The pre-made adapters are pretty cheap honestly and make the installation and removal jobs a lot easier. To each their own, but it seems that @mamelas isn’t planning a huge audiophile-grade install and is simply looking for something a few steps up. A drop-in speaker job is very common, simple and reversible job for an audio shop and I’ve seen many videos of it being done on these cars.

As someone who has dealt with the finicky electrics and service dept. and warranty complications, I can only advise what I would be willing to do on my own car. I would not go through the extra time, energy, potential cost and risk involved with what you are suggesting.

I am not questioning your expertise and clearly you are much more knowledgeable than me on this subject, so I am simply curious. Thanks!

 

[Whiterabbitt]

There's no wrong way, to a degree. If it works for your design plans, it's great!

I once worked on a car from a guy, there were burn marks on his leather. They were from a soldering iron he fumbled. Asked why he wanted soldered connections vs t-taps. "because they are better" he said. Were they worth your leather? I asked. No answer...

So yeah, nothing wrong with the connectors if you want to buy them. Electrically, they are just as valid as taps. Or solder, if you don't drop the iron

--------------

One more perspective though. Quick googling says CT55-MB01 costs 8 euro. Let's round that up to a solid $10 US, shipped. Per pair. Let's use some hyperbole to illustrate the point (knowing it lacks accuracy). Assuming that plug fits everywhere, and wanting a complete replacement, you will need 6 pairs. That's one per door (mid and tweeter), one pair for the C-pillars, and one pair (one used) for the center channel. That's $60 worth of plugs. A bag of 0.093" molex plugs is <$10, plus tax.

Obviously the truth will be less than $60 (due to less plugs, but the cost per plug will be more than $10...) BUT, you need to replace those rivets also. If you want the plugs @ $10 per pair, you'll want Benz genuine rivets too, right? At the time, I sure did! They cost $1.50 each. 40 needed for the 4 doors, that's another $60 to do your doors! I can tell you, I made SURE I could replace my speakers from the front this time, so I could avoid drilling out $60 worth of rivets again! (in the future I'd use any old aluminum rivet at a quarter a piece...)

We're at $120 in parts now for the doors. Need rings ($15 per pair on amazon, 2 pair needed), materials for the center and rears (free if homemade...) $20 worth of wire and $5 in fabric tape to integrate the passive crossover networks... We're at $175. How much were these speakers again? It's a tiny cost of the install if your component speakers are $1000, but for my preferences, it's $60 I don't need to spend, and I hate buying online when I can avoid.

so yeah, there's nothing wrong with buying the plugs, for sure! But there's also no problem using taps, or cutting and crimping or soldering. Well done is well done.

I don't normally say, but you asked

 

[mamelas]

Hmmm, well it seems that the word hilarious is not the proper word in the sentence.
So, the proper one is that you exceeded my expectations with how detailed you were in your answers.

Back to the connection thing, for someone who wants to keep the car intact the plugs are better.
If someone is planning to make a huge change like opening bigger holes and adding a bigger speaker for example, then soldering of cables is not a big problem.
And of course for someone who has experience, nothing can go wrong (almost)

Another issue is that we you tear down parts of your car and after you assemble them again, it is highly likely to hear various noises from the vibration while driving; and with around 900$ I could have bought the Burmester option and be factory installed but the Salesman stopped me as if he was going to pay for the extra cost.

It is sad to see a Maker of the size of Mercedes to deliver this audio system in order to save some extra money from the total production cost…

 

[Huey52]

great guide, but I am curious why you’re so intent upon cutting the wires and making your own connections. The pre-made adapters are pretty cheap honestly and make the installation and removal jobs a lot easier. To each their own, but it seems that @mamelas isn’t planning a huge audiophile-grade install and is simply looking for something a few steps up. A drop-in speaker job is very common, simple and reversible job for an audio shop and I’ve seen many videos of it being done on these cars.

As someone who has dealt with the finicky electrics and service dept. and warranty complications, I can only advise what I would be willing to do on my own car. I would not go through the extra time, energy, potential cost and risk involved with what you are suggesting.

I am not questioning your expertise and clearly you are much more knowledgeable than me on this subject, so I am simply curious. Thanks!

We're all products of our knowledge and experience (which hopefully equates to some wisdom ).
I'm admittedly ol' school so often prefer getting down to exposed wire & solder, even when confronted with made-up connectors. Case in point, recently I got a cold weather kit for my fixed home generator. Its wiring harness came with pre-made pin connections that should have mated with the generator's poke-home terminal block. However the tolerances were off so did not. So I cut and exposed the bare stranded wire, twisted & tinned it with solder, and installed with no issues. But I wasn't around expensive leather seats with my soldering iron.
btw: I'm also an advocate of as few breaks in a wiring circuit as possible. However I'm now tending to more use "WAGO" connectors then wire nuts, so I do at times embrace new school.