Cleansweep question and shop recommendation needed

[GrnEydDvl 10+ year member]

I have a 2006 Mercedes c55 with the COMMAND / Nav that is in desperate need of a new system.

I will be keeping the factory head unit but will be replacing all of the other amps and speakers.

Can anyone confirm if I will need to use the JL Cleansweep or the similar Audio Control device for signal summation and to get line outs?

I had spoken to one car stereo salesmen at Digital City and his answer was, "You might." He didnt know if my particular year/model C Class would need it I didn't have time to push the issue. He mentioned something about my car possibly having fiber optic connections and if it did I would need the Cleansweep.

I didnt know what the cleansweep was at the time (I have been out of car audio for years now). After reading abot it it seems it doesnt have anything to do with that but is instead a kickass line converter with dsp to EQ out the volume dependent EQ that factory head-units apply. Sounds like a good idea regardless.

Also, can anyone recommend a good shop to do my install near San Jose? I am hesitant to let Digital City work on my baby as I really know nothing about their work.

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[bikejunkie223 10+ year member]

The JL Cleansweep is and awesome product for an application like yours- I actually prefer it to the audiocontrol units, and I think Audiocontrol is a great company that makes top-notch gear. Sorry no shop recomendations though for CA, but if you made the roady to PDX Avincar is a fantastic shop.

 

[slick316 10+ year member]

I have no Mercedes experience, too high end of a car for my market, lol. But we have installed Cleansweeps in a few cars in the past few months, and they have all worked out great.

Things to remember/consider about the Cleansweep. It comes with its own volume knob. You are basically supposed to set your factory volume to an acceptable level that doesn't clip the signal (lets say 3/4 volume) and then run the Cleansweep calibration. Few minutes later, its done. At that particular factory volume level, the signal is flattened/unEQ'd signal. You are then supposed to use the supplied volume knob (looks like the JL RBC-1 volume knob you can use with their amps). You can still use the factory volume knob, but lets say you configured your Cleansweep at 25 volume, if you lowered it to 20 volume, the factory EQ is probably going to come into play again and screw up the Cleansweeps output (all you have to do is put it back to 25 to make it normal again). Its a small inconvenience, but its worth it in my opinion.

I would also recommend an EQ to use AFTER the Cleansweep. The Cleansweep takes out the factory EQ, gives you a clean unequalized signal to work with, using an EQ will help you get that little extra out of your system again.

Next car I get will probably have a factory NAV, therefore it will have a Cleansweep //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

BTW, the Cleansweep does NOT do summing, you will have to buy the JL CL-SSI Summing device if needed.

 

[ilvwhtgrls 10+ year member]

cleansweep or lc8 into an audiocontrol eqs... we just finished up a 2006 ml and it turned out great.

 

[bigjus 10+ year member]

i'd heard good things about audio images in burlingame back when howard owned them. last time i was in there it had been sold to some of the old employees, spoke with a guy jeff and he seemed to be up on it. they carry JL stuff, too.

 

[GrnEydDvl 10+ year member]

Post install update:

I went with Digital City after talking to their installer for a bit and viewing some of their work. My install was your basic box in the trunk with amps mounted to the side and seperates in the factory locations so it wasn't anything too hairy. I was just concerned about getting the OEM radio to aftermarket amp interface issue done right the first time.

We ended up using the AudioControl LC8. Cheaper than the Cleansweep and had eveything I needed. Plus I got to retain my factory volume control.

No EQ yet but it will be my next purchase. I have definitely been re-bitten by the car audio bug. I can see this is just a beginning.