My apologies if this has been addressed before but I tried searching for the answer to this question and was unable to find a clear answer. I have an 02 MCS with a stock head unit. Can the Harmon Kardon Amp be added to the system? If so what does it require, just the amp, or are there other bits and pieces that need to be acquired? If it can be done does it require a trip to the dealer for programming? Any help is appreciated.

 

You could ... but unless you buy parts removed from another car, and do your own wiring harness, it would be extremely expensive.
You'd be far better off going to a good aftermarket stereo install company.

 

From your statement I would assume that you would need an additional wiring harness to include the amp. What wiring is missing?

 

Harness, amp, and speakers. It is not an easy or cheap task to retrofit the HK.

 

Just out of curiosity...why?

 

At the very least, you'd need the H/K-specific harnesses that connect the head unit to the amplifier, and the amplifier to the speakers. There may also be differences in the main body harnesses between the H/K and non-H/K cars.

We have the H/K system in both of our cars, and it's nice, but it doesn't really add anything besides more power, marginally-better speakers and some DSP modes, which I've personally never found much use for in *any* stereo system. Selecting "Stadium", "Jazz Club", or "Acoustic" is pretty cool when you're playing with the system for the first time, but there are too many button-presses involved to make it convenient to change the DSP mode to match a particular song, especially if you listen to a lot of different music.

It's not hard to add amps and speakers to the standard "Boost" radio, and unlike the H/K amp, aftermarket amps have standard input/output connectors that won't require special harnesses.

 

Certainly cheaper to go after market.

 

You could call your dealer to confirm, but I just looked at www.pelicanparts.com, and their price for just the H/K amp is $925!

The speakers aren't that bad - $280 for all six (although they're not exactly "high-end" speakers).

I haven't found a part number yet for the wiring harnesses - I'm almost afraid to find out.

EDIT - Well, I just found out. The main vehicle wiring harness that's installed *at the factory* has the audio wiring incorporated into it to match whichever stereo the car was built with. You can buy retrofit audio harnesses for the various stereo setups, -but- you also have to buy a new main vehicle wiring harness that comes without audio wiring.

In other words, the only way to duplicate the factory harness that would have come with a H/K-equipped car is to buy *two* new harnesses - one main harness that's not stereo-specific, and then one "retrofit" harness to make the main harness work with whatever stereo you're upgrading to.

The retrofit harness is "only" about $350, but the required main harness is $2500.

It sounds like going from the standard "Boost" radio to the H/K system, using all OEM parts, is almost as much expense/trouble as Edge is having going from H/K to DPSM using all OEM components/harnesses.

 

LOL, I'll repeat it...

Certainly cheaper to go after market.

 

Cruising ebay I came across a listing for a H/K amp. I didnt know if it was plug and play. If it was then it would be a reasonably cheap upgrade to a little more power with a known amp that would work and that would have a custom install. Thanks to the members who posted on this list I can easily see that the cost for the wiring is WAY more than the upgrade would be worth, not to mention the hassle of changing the wiring itself.

Thanks everyone for the info. Clearly it would be easier to sell my car and buy another with the system rather than add it now.

 

Hey, leave those for we vultures with the H/K system who want a spare so we don't have to pay $925 if the sucker rolls over and dies.

 

Well, considering that even if I bought the amp for cheap I am not going to spend another $3K on the rest of what I need I dont think you have much to worry about from me. And, incidentally, without revealing to much, you might want to surf on over to ebay for your spare...hint, hint.