Bonsai

So, I've been reading the forums here for about 3-4 days and trying to get a consensus regarding the max speaker depth on the LS 430. The Mark Levinsons in mine are trashed (and have been since before I got the car). I've been dealing with them for about 2 years and rather than refoam, I was thinking I would replace.

Obviously, because of the way the speakers were designed, there are problems replacing them, ie they're 8 ohm speakers. Basically I limited my search initially based on impedance and then on size. I've found a number of different statistics regarding what sizes would work in diameter and ended up going with a 6.5 inch speaker.

My main concern now, pre-installation is that the mount depth of these speakers will be a bit too much. Although I'm sure I saw the number prior to purchasing, for some reason it did not register. They're kind of huge. I figure they will either fit and sound great or won't and I'll return them. They appear to have a max depth of 3.3" according to the web, although when I measure them they appear to be less than that. Regardless, we're going to pull the door panel off this weekend and see if they're fit in there. I will keep you guys posted.

If you want to see the speakers I ordered, you can see them here: http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=290-700

I'm not sure if I have link privileges yet, but if you need to look it up, they are Eminence Eminator EM 1506.

If you know for a fact that these won't fit and are too deep, I'd appreciate it if you could post here regarding your experience trying to fit other speakers into the doors. I wish the ML system sounded as good as it did when it was new, but with two blown door speakers and a blown sub, it sounds horrible.

VIPDrizzy

Never even herd of this brand is it any good?

Bonsai

Honestly, I'm not sure. I read a number of posts all over these forums that said you should ensure that you get front speakers of either the 6 or 8 ohm variety in order to work properly with your stock ML amp.

Almost all car audio speakers I ran across were of the 2 or 4 ohm variety. By initially limiting my search to 8 ohm speakers I was able to cut the field down to 6-8 different models that were available.

I ended up going with these Eminence ones not necessarily because I had heard of the brand, but because all the reviews of them said that they were solid. You can see their website here if you're curious: http://www.eminence.com/

There was one review on Amazon that only offered 3 stars, but the criticism was that the speakers didn't put out enough bass and that if you're only using them for mids, then they'll work for you. I think he intended to be sarcastic, but in a set up like the ML that I have, I am using the mostly for the mids and just a bit of bass. Given that they're 8 ohm speakers I'm relatively confident that they'll work with the system (again based on all the different reading that I've done), the real question for me is whether they'll fit in the door without running into the window or other important parts.

Hence my question regarding the maximum mounted depth of the front door speakers. If I don't get an answer from someone by this weekend, I'll try putting one in. If it works, great! If not, well then I know and I send them back. Based on the measurements people have listed in some forums, the bolt pattern looks like it might almost work with the stock set up. Again, I won't know until I get in there. I kind of just wish that the system would not have blown all on its own.

I'm not saying it was audiophile quality sound or competition sound for that matter, but I had a 98 Maxima for about 7 years prior to this car. I never once had a problem with the stock stereo or speakers. It didn't have a sub, but they provided enough bass that I was satisfied because I could turn some rock or even a little hip hop up and have decent thump. I don't need houses to shake, but I like some volume sometimes. I've had my LS for 2 years, it came with 1 blown speaker (Front Passenger) and a blown sub. I tried the silicon solution for the sub and it worked for a while, but eventually it rattled loose again. Apparently at some point, I managed to blow out the driverside front door speaker as well. Again, it's not like I'm listening to anything at max levels, but I like turning a song up occasionally.

My hope is just to get everything working well with the stock head unit so that I don't have to pour more money into it. I like how it drives, but the maintenance costs on this thing are outrageous.

Jabberwock

Not sure if they will fit. Eminence is a well respected brand particularly well known for making excellent guitar amp speakers. Your best bet is just to try it and see if there is clearance. They do have a huge magnet structure so its not just depth that you have to worry about but overall size. And don;t be shy about adding a spacer if necessary to move the speaker out some. You just need it to clear the speaker grill in front so you may be able to create a spacer (usually made of plywood or some flexible material) to make some added space for the mount. But in the end it may be just to massive to fit. You could alternatively take to a custom shop where they have no qualms about building custom mounts and cutting some metal as necessary to make things fit.

Bonsai

I had considered that it might end up being the best bet to take it to a custom audio place. I just sort of dread the costs of something like that.

There is actually a competition audio place right here in the plaza that my office is in. People with ridiculously loud subs always roll by and shake the windows on their test drives, but I'm sure they could do a simple install for me.

It may come to that because apparently you have to remove the entire door panel to get at the speakers, which seems like a pita just to be able to do some quick soldering/mounting, but maybe I'm just lazy.

Bonsai

Guy at the audio store said that the stock speakers are 3 inch depth, so fitting these shouldn't be a problem. However, the guy offered to install both speakers and the sub for 150-190 depending on whether they had to fab anything. I was like uh.... do it.

I'll post results in a different thread I'm starting regarding my research and swap decisions.