When Derek Kenney and the team at Sound in Motion in Allston, Massachusetts received this 1997 Mercedes Benz C230 for an installation, he and his team were delighted. It seemed as though the owner had literally just come off the street and decided to go "big." Well, as Kenney soon figured out, there was an interesting story behind the "Baby Benz" driving up to his store. You see, the owner knew absolutely nothing about the car audio world until she received an issue of Car Audio and Electronics magazine in the mail instead of Mademoiselle. She was a little puzzled, but realized it was just a mistake. Nothing to pout about; so she read it anyway. As she thumbed through the pages, she was intrigued with all of the installations. This led to a subscription and a desire to learn more about the numerous products available on the market.
For about a year, the owner researched products, the hot trends and shops, and various Internet sites. With so many products available, she had a little trouble deciding on a purchase because she did not know what was compatible with what. But she did not experience the same indecision when it came to choosing the shop. Sound in Motion (SIM) became the clear winner for her. She had seen several of their installations in numerous magazines and immediately fell in love with their work. It didn't matter that she lived in Rhode Island, either. She would drive to have the right people do the job. She wanted a system with a factory look; in other words she still wanted her Mercedes to look like one after the installation. She also wanted full use of the vehicle, including access to the spare and battery. When she arrived, she met Derek Kenney and the two were able to figure out the entire system. She also felt confident with the products that she chose after speaking with Kenney.
Neat and Simple
When all the logistics were worked out, Kenney and the team, which includes Don Funari, Jim Cavanaugh, and Mike Boutin, went to work. They started out by applying Dynamat Extreme sound damping material on all four doors, rear deck, fender wells, behind the rear seat, and trunk floor. Once finished there, they started with the dash by installing an Alpine CVA-1000 in the factory location. "This type of radio is becoming more and more common. You have one unit that has the ability to control several sources. Even better is the screen which easily notifies you to what is going on," explains Kenney. The hideaway unit to the radio was mounted with custom made brackets in the passenger side footwell. That is all that occupies the dash. With the unit retracted (in the off position), there is no trace of a big system. It just looks like another ordinary Benz.
Using Alpine's Ai-NET Bus system, an ERA-G100 hideaway equalizer unit and Alpine CHA-1214 12-disc changer are directly linked to the control monitor in the dash. EQ and DSP settings show up directly on the screen as well as information from the CD changer. The hideaway equalizer was mounted with the amplifiers. SIM wanted this piece to be as close to amplifiers as possible to keep wire lengths to a minimum. This avoids potential noise problems. The CD Changer is mounted on the driver's side of the trunk.
 The overall view of the front...  The overall view of the front passenger compartment looks relatively stock although several modifications were made. |  An Alpine CVA-1000 Mobile...  An Alpine CVA-1000 Mobile Multi Media station keeps the owner informed of what source is on. |  Monitors by Santeca were installed...  Monitors by Santeca were installed in each headrest for the rear passengers. |