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Surprising, those pioneer drivers look to be fairly high quality. Not bad for a stock sound system, makes me wonder what the ML drivers look like and who makes them.
I believe ML is owed by Harmon Industries. So they could be a version of a JBL or Infinity speaker. Or just something they have manufactured and labeled as ML.
They look decent until you turn them over... Huge difference in the magnet structure on the stock vs a Boston.
I went a head and added some CDL to the trunk lid. I will finish the trunk at a later date.
To remove the dash grills, insert a panel tool and carefully pry up from the front.
Once the front is up, just pull away from the windshield. There are 2 tabs at the back that hold it in place
Although the speaker looks big, it is only the small section in the middle. All of the rest is just plastic housing.
This is what I am replacing them with. These have a wider frequency range than the Boston Tweeters and sound really good. They are a nightmare to work with and have been discontinued. The set screw is so small that the allen wrench used to tighten them is the size of .7mm pencil lead and strips very easily.
This is how they came out of my 4Runner. I won't need the crossover in this install.
None of the adapters that came with the tweeter will work, so I fashioned my own out of plumbing hanger.
To wire them up, I had to create an adapter for the harness. There isn't enough room to cut and splice. I have heard there are some old GM adapters that will fit with modifications. I stole another members idea and used these to create the adapter.
I just cut one in half, straightened it out and soldered it to the ends of the speaker wires.
Then I shrink wrapped the ends, inserted them into the harness and taped them together.
wow that looks like a lot of work. on a scale of 1-10, what do you rate the "before" and what do you expect to rate the "after" in terms of sound?
I would give the stock system a 4.5 (with a good sub, maybe a 5.5-6) and figure this will be near an 7.5-8.(the stock head unit being the limiting factor) You have to spend some money to get a 10 in SQ.
It will have much cleaner highs that are capable of reaching 35,000 Hz (probably 15,000 Hz higher than stock).
Mid-bass will have a much more solid punch, especially with the dampening on the door.
Bass, well there will be no contest there. Even if I go with the little JL Micro-sub, there will be 10x more bass.
And the ability to adjust 30 bands of EQ vs 3 can make a huge difference.
I would give the stock system a 4.5 (with a good sub, maybe a 5.5-6) and figure this will be near an 7.5-8.(the stock head unit being the limiting factor) You have to spend some money to get a 10 in SQ.
It will have much cleaner highs that are capable of reaching 35,000 Hz (probably 15,000 Hz higher than stock).
Mid-bass will have a much more solid punch, especially with the dampening on the door.
Bass, well there will be no contest there. Even if I go with the little JL Micro-sub, there will be 10x more bass.
And the ability to adjust 30 bands of EQ vs 3 can make a huge difference.
interesting. what do you make of these claims by ML?
CUSTOM-TUNED ENVIRONMENTS
Mark Levinson engineers have spent thousands of man-hours collaborating with Lexus engineers to achieve the precise Mark Levinson Sonic Signature for each vehicle. That means determining the optimal system architecture and placing speakers so that each passenger hears the full concert—a three-dimensional orchestra from the front to the back of the car.
interesting. what do you make of these claims by ML?
CUSTOM-TUNED ENVIRONMENTS
Mark Levinson engineers have spent thousands of man-hours collaborating with Lexus engineers to achieve the precise Mark Levinson Sonic Signature for each vehicle. That means determining the optimal system architecture and placing speakers so that each passenger hears the full concert—a three-dimensional orchestra from the front to the back of the car.
Can't say. I listened to a ML in a 2013 GS for about 5 seconds with XM. Sounded terrible. Source material, not the systems fault. But even the ML system lacks bass from what I have heard from others.
I don't have an ML system and so am limited to the speaker placement of the stock speakers in the premium system. (8 as opposed to 15) I don't know how to do custom fabrication.
This system will have a wider frequency range and far more tun-ability than an ML system. Whether it sounds better is in the ears of the listener. Every person hears differently and prefers a certain type of sound.
It will have much cleaner highs that are capable of reaching 35,000 Hz (probably 15,000 Hz higher than stock).
This is an excellent thread, so please don't take this the wrong way.
You say your keeping the stock head unit. I'd be surprised if it was capable of producing sound anywhere close to 20kHz. Even if you were able to extend the range beyond human capability, what would the benefit be? Going below 20Hz is another story, as that can be felt, not heard.
Please feel free to educate me. This is what I was taught MANY years ago. Also, at my age, I'd be lucky to hear anything above 15kHz!
Actually the head unit does produce signals in the 20K Hz range. How much further I don't know as that is where my analyzer stops. I would love to swap out the head unit but not willing to pay the thousands it would cost to redesign the dash.
Now the fact that the head unit produces signals at the 20K Hz range, does not mean the stock dash speaker is capable of cleanly reproducing these frequencies.
It's the same reason why it is better to have an amp that produces more power than your speakers can handle. If your amp is 100 watts and your speakers are 100 watts, if you drive that amp to max power, you are producing distortion. If your amp is 150 watts, and you push it to 100 watts, you still have headroom and are within the clean power reproduction range of that amp. You speakers will sound better and will live a lot longer.
I don't know what range of the tweeters I am using, but I do know that because of their range and their edge driven design, I can hear parts of the music that I can't hear even with the Boston tweeters, let alone the stock mid/tweeters.
I am not doing this thread to try to convince anyone they should do this. It is a lot of work and can get really expensive fast. I do it because I enjoy it. I have been installing stereos in my cars since 1982.
And current out of pocket expense on this project is less than $500. I really enjoy music and sometimes I drive a lot so I like having good sound in my vehicles. I could have just added a subwoofer to fill in the missing bass and called it a day, and the stere would have been fine. But when I am done. I am hoping it will be more than fine and that I will look forward to driving just so I can immerse myself in the music, not only hear it but feel it.
Just a quick followup on this. I have not had time to do anymore work on the system. I have it tuned to where it sounds decent on most songs, but I think I want to upgrade to some newer speakers. Looking at maybe the new Infinity Kappa Perfect series with the 6x9s for more upfront mid-bass. Anyway, I am currently trying to purchase a house so this project must sit on the back burner for a while.
Just thought I would post a pic of the current state of the trunk assembly.
I didn't go as far as you did on my ES but had all the speakers replaced with Polk dB series speakers. It made a world of difference but I was never able to eliminate the tinny surround sound that is built into the Lexus premium system. I think the Lexus speakers that came out are unworthy of a car named Lexus.
ML worth not more than 500$. I'v heard how it sounds and it's not something i will pay 2000$ on top
sorry to thread jack jack but does anyone know if there is a plug and play upgrade for the subwoofer on the Non ML system? I am ok with the sound just feel like it could do with just a bit more bass.
sorry to thread jack jack but does anyone know if there is a plug and play upgrade for the subwoofer on the Non ML system? I am ok with the sound just feel like it could do with just a bit more bass.
Nothing plug and play. They use a proprietary connector. You would have a hard time finding a sub with the same ohms rating and higher efficiency. (I think some people have used Pyle subs but not sure how they sound)
I believe the sub only receives about 33 watts which isn't much for a sub. I would look into an amplified sub or something similar or replace the stock sub and add an amp and processor. Neither way is extremely cheap.
sorry to thread jack jack but does anyone know if there is a plug and play upgrade for the subwoofer on the Non ML system? I am ok with the sound just feel like it could do with just a bit more bass.
JL micro sub+ That's the one I am looking to install
01-18-17, 10:42 AM
