[W126 Coupe] Becker Radio, iPod, and Cassette Adaptor

[Steve Nervig]

I suspect that your Becker does not have an Aux Input, but I'm not an  
expert. But I think that BeckerNorthAmerica can modify your radio to  
accept input directly from the iPod. I have had mine modified this  
way. Cost was ~US$100. It is set up so that if the iPod is plugged  
into the radio the iPod works when the radio is set to Tape Mode.  
Unplug the iPod and the Tape Mode works normally. Becker provides an  
adapter and cable and plug which you can place where ever you want,  
eg, glove box, console, etc.

I've done this installation and have a few photos here.

Regards,
Steve
1992 300CE Sportline


On Sep 15, 2006, at 7:28 AM, Dawid Loubser wrote:

> Based on the fact that there is no button on the head unit to  
> "select aux input"
> or anything along these lines in the user guide, I deduced that  
> there is no aux
> input, otherwise I would definitely use it. I've never pulled the  
> unit out to
> look at the back.
>
> Does any Becker expert know if the model 839 (Mexico Diversity) has  
> an aux input?
> And how do you select it?
>
> Dawid
>
>
> On 15 Sep 2006, at 4:20 nm., Shayegan, Richard wrote:
>
>> Doesn't the 10 speaker system have some aux-in's on the back of  
>> the head
>> unit? You could always go with something like this
>> http://www.logjamelectronics.com/blitzuii.html if it has aux- 
>> inputs. It
>> pulls from the bottom of the ipod, instead of the headphones, so the
>> ipod volume and equalizer have no intereference in the sound, plus it
>> gives a better sound to pull from that bottom port rather than the
>> headphone plug. I was going to do an install in my car, but  
>> decided CDs
>> are fine with me and I turned away from wanted to cut up my coin  
>> tray to
>> make a slot for the ipod hookup. I still have the blitzsafe sitting
>> under my coin tray in fact....
>> Richard
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: mbcoupes-bounces at mbcoupes.com
>> [mailto:mbcoupes-bounces at mbcoupes.com] On Behalf Of Dawid Loubser
>> Sent: Friday, September 15, 2006 10:12 AM
>> To: Mercedes Coupes Mailing Lists
>> Subject: [W126 Coupe] Becker Radio, iPod, and Cassette Adaptor
>>
>> My car has the original Becker 10-speaker sound system, and also  
>> had a
>> Sony CD Changer in the boot (with FM modulator which goes through the
>> antenna) fitted very early in its lifetime.
>> I have always been playing CDs, but never *quite* happy with the  
>> sound
>> quality - which I always attributed to the age of the system in  
>> general.
>> My previous car (MINI Cooper S) had a somewhat better-sounding stock
>> system.
>>
>> I have a large music collection, of which a large portion is  
>> mirrored to
>> my iPod (4th gen, iPod Photo 40Gb) which I actually don't use that  
>> much
>> these days, since I'm a bit of an audiophile and though I prefer the
>> sound of Vinyl, for digital music, FLAC (lossless compression) is the
>> way to go. Nevertheless, I have a huge MP3-based collection (also  
>> a lot
>> purchased in that format at places like www.emusic.com). Furthermore,
>> nobody can hear the difference in the car anyway, so I decided I  
>> wanted
>> to integrate my iPod with the car, but without gutting anything. The
>> iPod radio transmitters are a no-go, they sound terrible, and they  
>> just
>> can't seem to get through the thick shell of the SEC, no matter where
>> you put it, especially in the city with all the frequencies pretty  
>> much
>> taken.
>>
>> I decided to give the Cassette Adaptor a go (I had never used my
>> Becker's cassette before) and I must say, I am *SO* pleasantly  
>> surprised
>> at the sound quality. It's a 10x improvement over the CD changer
>> (provided you play with the Becker equaliser settings, I had to  
>> move the
>> bass to full neutral, and treble
>> +2 notches up).
>>
>> Granted, I have heard better in my life, but I do think I know a  
>> thing
>> or two about music, and the SEC (mine is a 1990) has a truly  
>> fantastic
>> sound system, provided everything works, and is adjusted  
>> correctly. The
>> thin black cable running out of the tape deck can easily be routed  
>> into
>> the (unused) ashtray, and then into e.g. the glove compartment or  
>> change
>> tray, quite unobtrusively. I plan to route it into the glove  
>> compartment
>> soon.
>>
>> Usually have terrible bass and treble (they sound muddy) but I tested
>> with artists like
>>
>> (Electronic)
>> * Felix Laband
>> * Juno Reactor
>> * Logic Bomb
>>
>> (Jazz)
>> * Miles Davis
>>
>> (Rock)
>> * Maroon Five (Live Recordings)
>>
>> and they all sound great My advice is, if your sound system sounds
>> weird, don't replace it! Rather play with the settings, or if  
>> something
>> is broken, fix just that component.
>> Most sound systems sound best with everything in the normal position
>> (and most decent sound equipment have no bass/ treble adjustment to
>> begin with) but you have to play with the Becker. What I really like
>> about it, is that it automatically maintains two different  
>> settings for
>> radio vs. cassette, surprising for something this age.
>>
>> This may be a useless post, I just wanted to share that I think the
>> stock sound system has some amazing capabilities. This is the best  
>> tape
>> deck I've heard :-)
>>
>> Dawid
>>
>> P.S> I know that I can run a line output from the iPod directly  
>> to, for
>> example, the fader control in the centre console. But I do not  
>> want to
>> pull things apart, and to get this working smoothly may require some
>> additional electronics fidgeting, not to mention that you effectively
>> bypass the pre-amp and rely on the iPod's volume control - not  
>> ideal for
>> me.
>>