I've been reading the the LCD on the head unit can be hard to read under sunlight and was wondering what current owners think of this.

Is the head unit any good, does it have any special/unique features which would stop me fitting a new unit in?

Cheers MARK

HURRY UP NOVEMBER

 

I think the first thnig I'm going to do is swap out the stock headunit for a fold out screen with navigation. I love navigation, can't live without it. I also need an aux input for my iPod. As far as the stock headunit, I haven't really heard anythnig good about it, besides that it sounds decent enough. Very vew features on it, buttons very small, dim dislpay, 10 seconds to start up when you start the car. Pretty much a dissapointment. Changing the stock head unit should be very easy and only require a new wiring harness I believe. Not sure if the one for the SLK works though.

 

The LCD is not visible under sunlight. Service manual says illumination is constant, so no adjustments.

As for features, well, no frills except for the fade in and fade out transitions between stations and modes.

Sound quality is good but the bass can get a little heavy for my tastes. I haven't spent enough time with it to really put it through its paces but so far, imaging is good for door mounted speakers, sound stage is high even though there aren't any dash speakers.

Hip-hop sounds better than my stock 300M's speakers, probably because of the 2 subs.

The buttons are ok for me but using the right **** to skip tracks is a little "unprecise".

I'm looking into SLK head unit with the V60 phone attachment, if I get any information, I will post.

 

The SLK head unit with the V60 attachment would be cool, except it wouldn't match the silver color of the interior at all. It would have been nice if the Crossfire had the UConnect feature of the Pacifica, where any phone that is bluetooth capable can work through the car without wires. You can voice dial through the car, the phone works through the car speakers and other useful things. One more feature missing from the Crossfire.

 

UConnect might be an available "non-factory" option. It's an option as well but factory option for the Pacifica, mine doesn't have it because I don't have a Bluetooth phone.

Neat concept though but Bluetooth phones are still limited in the US with typically 1 or 2 models available from each provider.

The first released pictures of the Crossfire actually had the SLK head unit on it with the numeric keypad on the right side and the joystick on the left. Pity they switched it to the Modulus.

Do you have a nav unit in mind Mightyjlr? The Alpine with the fold out screen?

 

Yes, I was looking at the Alpine with the fold out screen. Model number IVA-D900. That seems to be the best screen available, very nice resolution. The Alpine navigation also seems to be good, although I'm not sure if it has the birds-eye feature that some other navigation units have. Not the most important feature, but still very neat. Nissan and Infiniti cars have this in their navigation systems, and it is pretty impressive. Instead of a flat map, it shows the map from an angle, so you see the details of the terrain, and some buildings.

 

Another unit to look at is the Pioneer NAV-SYS910DVD.

This package include the nav unit and the DVD/Screen in-dash unit.

It also has the 3D angled view of the road.

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/Pi...,92955,00.html

 

I've seen the Pioneer, and I generally like Pioneer head units. The screen for the Alpine is half an inch bigger and has a much better resolution though. I'm not sure about the different features of each headunit, but maybe I can find a dealer that sells both to check it out.

 

There is a P7300DVD head unit that is also compatible with the Nav unit from Pioneer. It costs a little more but it is 7" like the Alpine. I'm not sure about resolution.

These things are pretty darn steep in price still, I can get a serious laptop with a 15" screen for less. Of course getting a nice installation for it will be tricky.

So I guess I'll have to pay for the slick looks.

 

Where can I find details of a SLK head unit?

 

I was going to go into the local audio install place here which does a lot of work on Mercedes vehicles.

I'm figuring that some of their SLK customers certainly may have switched out their heads.

I also have someone I know at a Mercedes dealer so that's the other avenue/

 

It is definitely difficult to read. At first I thought it was because I had the running lights on (and that the instrument lights had dimmed - like on my 300M), but that's not it.

 

Yup, only one level of brightness on the Modulus, lights on or off.

There are some nice features it has though... It does support RDS data and the Auto FM tuning is great on roadtrips.

It also seems to remember the bass and treble settings for each CD and radio station I'm using, either that or it is defaulting to 0-0 each time. I haven't really played with it fully and I haven't totally digested the manual.

I'm not sure but I think it has adaptive volume too, could just be my imagination.

 

I'm surprised that the head unit is not Sirius ready either..I'm going to opt for a new head unit that is either sirius or XM..I have both in other vehicles..xm seems better financed at the moment, but you'd think that an 04 would be satellite ready

 

Dear Mark,

I was looking at the following link and found some pics and the link to www.slk32.com. I belive there are interior shots of the dash apart.

Also, notice how the dash is like the CrossFire. Which is good since it gives us a hand in working in that area.

Also, I have noticed a head unit from MB that has a touch pad on the right side. It looks like a phone and radio connection?

The guy that runs slk32 has a nav mod but it looks like it replaces the MB cup holder in the slk320. Right above the center vents. That would be a good place for us if we had that MB cup holder so we could mod a video/lcd spot.

Take a look and hope that helps.

Click Here

 

The 320 SLK head unit has an integrated Motorola V60 hookup. They dial-pad is an actual phone dial pad.

I might end up not switching my head unit after all but rather doing something else to incorporate some other technologies into the car's interior.

In the process of designing right now but stalled since my car isn't here.

 

Thanks Farscape

 

take a look at Technical page for lots of info on the radio unit