Hi Guys, I am upgrading my speakers on my 1998 550 and have read your posting with great interest! I am replacing the OEM speakers with Polk DB 401, front, and DB 571, rear. So far, I've only been working on the fronts and all is going well! I plan to reuse the connector blocks from the OEM speakers and solder new wire and spades to connect them to the Polks. However, I'm concerned about the polarity. There is no indication on the OEM speakers. Mention is made of testing for polarity. How do I do this? BTW, my head unit is the original Sony XR-F21RDS. Thanks! Michael
Michael, a speaker is wired correctly when applying a DC voltage (a 1,5V battery will do nicely) causes the cone to move outward. Connect the new speakers, apply 1,5V to the rear speaker cables at the head's end (respecting polarity) and check the cones' movement. Stefano
Hello Stefano, Thank you very much! I'll try this, once things are connected. I also, just received this diagram from the OEM, Ask. So assuming the car was wired correctly in the first place, this should be straight forward! Regards, Michael Image Unavailable, Please Login
Sorry about bringing back an old thread but I was wondering if it's possible to mount 6x9 in place of 5x7 I have a morel tempo 6x9 lying around. I was thinking if I could convert this to the three way set up 6x9 mid bass 4 inch for the mid And tweeter. Thanks
Yup.. There's a few there. 2 550 barachetta are still there. There a blue one and red 550 with 575 headlights. Mines red and stock
I got round to fixing the audio after being totally pissed off. Mine wasn't stock the last owner didn't change the rears but they were lousy. I realised there is no way a 6x9 will fit! I couldn't find much decent 5x7 I think probably morel was going decent enough but they weren't available here and I had too many speakers in lying around but I found only a 5.25 inch was going to work. My morels Dls dynaudio were all in the wrong size so I was left with a jbl Carbon Fiber cone version. I have an inductor coil that I reckon would roll off that speaker pass 350 hz so that went in with the jbl But The jbl wasn't good enough for the full range so I had to use the head unit to cut off the bass at 50 with a steep 18db slop. And first 6db at 350hz The front with crossover of 200hz with 12db there is going to be some over lap that would adjusted with eq. The fronts were the mb quarts that were given to me. I did apply time alignment as well to make the sound acceptable. Still running using the amps from the head unit I really didn't want to add all those extra wire and weight. At least it finally go acceptable
Could you describe exactly how to access the rear speakers? I appreciate your post it encouraged me to replace the fronts and now the rear speakers rattle. FYI Polk no longer makes the 401 but the 402 fits just fine
I bought this adapter plate for the rear pkg Focal ES-130K 5.25" 80W RMS 2-Way K2 Power Component Speakers System + 5x7" 6x8" Adapter Plates (woofersetc.com)
Just an update for 2025 since I just did this on my 1996 550. I went with a pair of Polk Audio DB402 at the front and a pair of MB Quart XK2-168 for the rear. Only side modifications to each set, basically a slight slight modifications of the speaker tabs. That’s it. It just works great. I repurposed the yellow speaker connectors from the original Ferrari speakers For the Polk, I used some snips to make the tabs slightly wider and for the MB Quart, I used a drill to remove some excess plastic. At the rear, easier use some shorter screws or be very careful and slow as you reused the old screws. You’ll need to go a little deeper and might crack the fragile plastic / fiber. here are some links: POLK AUDIO DB402 DB+ Series 4"... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EYCTVUE?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share MB Quart XK2-168 5x7/6x8-Inch 200... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DB42RWDK?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share Good luck! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Just installed the same polk in the front today and will do the MB's in the rear next weekend. The speakers are not great (I will admit I am used to very high end drivers), but I just needed something that is listenable for long drives AND is 100% reversible (for a car we will never sell lol). The front stage was immediately improved after a lot of EQ tweaking (I installed the Power Acoustic Carplay at the same time) So far ... so good!
We just did 12 hours straight home from Carweek and I would have died without music and an audiobook. There is no thrill to an exhaust at 2000 rpm constant for hours.
I actually find the OEM stereo in my 575 to be quite pleasant. Is it high end/etc? No but the sound is clear, highs are well defined, reasonable lows without distortion. Its likely the best car audio of any my cars (not that its much competition) what is odd is I found the OEM setup in my 456M to be horrendous. Flat with poor clarity. Mind you both are using the same head units (OEM BE6111/6112) so its not that. The 575 has the OEM amp/hifi option while 456M did not come with any sort of amp. I am glad I started working with Scuderia Audio to help fix the system. I have Mike's upgrade swap-in subs and rear speakers in place. Next need to redo the door speakers and add his new/improved door triangle tweeter pods before finally adding a small amp to the system that is (very) discrete. That should fix it.
I can tell you even adding the cheap PowerAccoustic (Power Acoustik CP-71W 6.5" Touchscreen Radio with Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay & Android Auto - Walmart.com) unit, it made the stock speakers so much better. The original Sony head unit just suffered from no power and no ability to tune it with a decent EQ. But... we found out that one of the fronts and one of the rears had failed, so I had no choice but to replace the speakers. And glad I did, as the new ones are so much better. I would love better (like in all my other cars), but the stereo is not really super important in this car (as Taz alluded to). Every other car I drive has a 5-15K stereo, lol. So the 550 is really poor in comparison! It doesnt help that I used to have a car that I competed in car stereo competitions with when I was in my 20's! lol Spoiled me forever!
I think it depends on use case; I have never turned my radio on once in the many years I have owned my 512TR. I use it sporadically in the 575 when stuck in traffic but then I use it quite a lot on the 456 as its the most 'normal' general use car of the trio. I can't wait to have a better setup in that car.
Yea, I agree. The 550 stereo is not used often, but again, we take long trips in it. And on those trips, its nice! Also, the new head unit with carplay and waze navigation is awesome! Image Unavailable, Please Login
Agreed, having CarPlay in the 550 is a game changer for long journeys. Only shortfall is I can’t see the screen when in 1st, 3rd, or 5th gear… Image Unavailable, Please Login
