jarm

cmasten: Around what was the total cost of such a project? I want to upgrade but I am on a budget. What is a must replacement in order to get the best sound and bang for the buck?


jarm

cmasten

I think its all a must :-)

but in total with all the custom fiberglass work etc, about 3K. The hardware was about 2k and the install was several days full time at just under 1k including all of the materials, of which there was a lot.

The 3sixty is a must, replacing the front drivers with a new set and some good cross overs is a must, amp to drive the front is a must. You may be able to hold off on the sub and sub amp and just add that later, but without an install by people that really know how to put it in, you may be better off waiting until you can do it all right. Its an awesome car and houses awesome sound better than any car I have been in or owned.

I can tell you that an ML system would not touch the sound of this in any category. Its just flat out good. All in all 3k is actually pretty reasonable, but you could step down a bit on the drivers and perhaps Amps and go with Alpine etc and maybe get this down to 2k, I just really like the Focal product and believe its worth the cost.

Hopefully this gave some of you some ideas and if your in the market to upgrade the LS is the right car to work with.

If your in So Cal and want a team that knows from experience how to do this right, Josh and Justin at Al and Eds in La Verne are your team...

kattawar

I have priced out a similar type setup and it was just a bit over 3K. But that included swapping out the rear-door speakers + fronts + sub + oem-integration-unit/eq + 5 channel amp w/enclosure.... I must get in line behind cmasten on the focal speakers... they really are impressive. The trick to listening to them is to do it with a real amp driving them. Most stores will have the test-speakers hooked up to a normal head-unit which won't have the watts to drive it well... but when they are hooked up to a real amp; they absolutely smoke-it! They cost more, but they seem to be worth it. There are a few levels of them that do sound different; so some of that is personal choice... It is worth it if you can find a place that has some to listen/test out... Good luck..

cmasten

i got the 3sixty replaced today. The first was defective and I am very impressed with the low noise and infinite control you have over the sound. You can shape just about anything in the vehicle.

So far its all sounding as good or even better than I had hoped. The electrical bus system in this car is a bit finicky and you have to be very careful with your power and grounds and voltage matching on your amps etc, but that is par for the course on good installs. Its a perfect vehicle to put a great sound system in for those that like to go with aftermarket. If done right you keep all of your front end settings, including DSP and touch screen and wheel controls.

kattawar

For those interested; I got my upgrade rolling today. I ended up going with:

1. 13" shallow JL subwoofer; custom enclosure built into the deep inside of the trunk (kind of next to the back side of the back seats; it does cover up the little pass-thru area from the seats to the trunk. It should fit snug and look "blended into the trunk".

2. 900W JL amp. mounted up inside the upper part of the trunk in the open area up where the old sub was housed; but over to the side a bit so the opening is free for air to pass thru. 100 watts to each speaker (400 total) plus (500 watts to the sub).

3. Focal 3way components 165 VR's (kind of pricy; but Very Nice). In the front/doors.

4. Focal 100CA's 4" in the back doors. Not real pricy but an upgrade from what is in there by lexus.

5. AC-LC8I (Audio Controller); takes everything to RCA jacks and allows leveling of the sound to all speakers. Mounted up inside the trunk so it is hidden.

6. VIAS TECH Iphone adapter for Iphone hookup. taken right next to the AUX input from lexus (under the armrest-console).

7. hidden radar detector escort Q45 (I think that is the name). It is hidden with the controller located in the ash-tray; with plastic cover/holder..

I will try to get some pics posted next week.

cmasten

very nice set up, Im sure it sounds great. Look forward to the pics

CMasten

kattawar

holy toledo... I just got my car back today from audio folks at Custom Sounds and I can't believe how great this thing sounds.. absolutely incredible. The bass is probably a bit more than I needed (I have it turned down pretty far), but the clarity/fullness of the sound inside the cabin is better than anything I have ever heard (bar none). I am no expert, but the custom-sound guys tuned things with the LC8I unit and got it dialed in schweet... This thing cost more than I wanted, but I am happy with the outcome. I went ahead and splurged on a radar detector escort 9500ci which is hidden under the hood; and has a tiny little remote-controller that they installed inside the ashtray in the center console... Looks nice... The sound of this system is incredible. I thank Cmasten for the recommendation of the focal speakers... they are worth the price.

Will try to get some pics taken soon...

kattawar

forgot to mention... PROPS to the Vais-Tech guys. They got on the phone and helped the installers get the vais-tech unit sl2vi-package4 working. Looks like it was a programming problem... Looks/sounds GREAT! Solid product. I tried out the video as well. It seems to be a bit quirky, but I was able to play video from my iphone onto the NAV screen... Although you have to actually have the parking brake engaged... or you see nothing... I guess that is expected... I will probably look into that gadget from the Prestigous Society folks to bypass that... but I am hoping the price will come down some or maybe lexus will lift this restriction on the car...

cmasten

very nice! I have to agree, this vehicle when done right takes the cake, its so solid and quiet that great speakers just jump out and grab your attention.

I compared mine the other day to a friend with an 08, ML system.. he was speechless when I dropped in the same songs into each car and we listened to them all the way through, everything about the upgrade just stomps on what was there before, Premium or ML...

absolutely worth every penny of my investment.

Im glad yours turned out as well Kattawar!

jarm

Hello Kattawar:
I live in Houston and have not found anyone here that I like to do the install.
I went to River Oaks Stereo for a price but did not like what they quoted me. What location for Custom Sounds did you use since there are 4 in Austin? Who do I ask for that would know your install? Around what price am I looking at with Custom Sounds for the same install w/o the radar and I phone adapter. I am sure I will get a discount when I mention your name, Kattawar.

My wife and I are planning a trip to Austin for several days and stay at the Driskill Hotel. I would leave my car at Custom Sounds and let them do the job. I will call ahead and let them know everything. But since they did the great job on your car, I wanted to use them. Be sure to post some pics. Thanks to you and cmasten.

jarm

kattawar

Wow. Driskill will be NICE! Good times... I don't know if they give discounts or not. But you can give it a shot. They are the best in Austin. Roughly the costs were:

$3000 for the Radar detector (Escort 9500ci); Very Nice unit; clean install. Speed and Freedom ahead!!!

$3400 for the front/back speakers, sub, custom-enclosure, amp, audio-leveler, parts, labor... etc.. All Done.. I bought the Vais-Tech unit separtely online; it was 350 or so, but the Custom Sound guys installed everything.. It does audio and video.. I used the guys on Burnet Road.

I probably spent too much on the radar detector, but that darn thing does everything under the sun. You can let the 460 rip without being worried about cops (well mostly). They mount the controls inside the ash-tray.. Very cool.

jarm

Kattawar:
Talked to Jamie today at Custom Sounds. He remembered your car and is getting me a quote. Thanks for all your help. He was really nice and wrote down all the upgrades. I will let you know how everything is progressing.


jman

kattawar

That sounds great. Good luck. Jaime told me he spoke to you on the phone.. I took my car back to get them to move the GPS box (from the EScort 9500ci) to the back. They had it in the front right corner of the dash. I wanted it way in the back corner so no-one would see it. If you want some radar protection, that darn 9500ci is awfully nice. But very pricey... (around 3K once it is all done)... Good luck on the tunes, I am extremely happy with my setup. The only drawback (I don't see any way out of it..) is the lack of speakers in the back seats. For folks in the back, they won't get as much of the MOJO that the folks in the front get. But hey... the guy who is driving should get the bulk of the sound anyways... Let me know how it turns out.

marky2mark

Thought I would resurrect this old thread in case anyone else is interested in upgrading the stock "premium" audio. I went a little cheaper than these guys but still sounds FANTASTIC. Ended up costing me a little over 2k total. Thanks to Chris (cmasten) for giving me some info to get started.

I ended up going with the Focal 165A3 6.5" 3-ways in the front, Focal 100CA1 4" 2-ways in the rear doors. (these are the "entry level" Focals but still sound phenomenal)
JL 8" sub 8W1V24 mounted in the rear deck where the old sub was.
JL XD700 5 channel amp.
AudioControl LC8i oem integration.

Total with parts/labor/tax etc was 2200. Everything looks completely stock, Focals and JL sub fit perfectly where the old (paper) speakers were, amp and oem unit are hidden in the rear quarter panel where the stock amp is. Dial to adjust subwoofer is inside the center console below the aux input. Dropped the car off yesterday around 11 am and it was done by 7 pm. Couldn't be happier.

If anyone in SoCal is looking for a good stereo shop, I highly recommend Eric at Al & Ed's in Northridge. The kid really knows his stuff and is very eager to please. Really was a pleasure to work with.

cmasten

A note to those folks with older (3 years plus),Lexus models with ML or Premium sound systems. The cost of replacing some of the components in these vehicles is pretty steep, by Lexus' own admission they can fail and may need to be replaced, https://secure.drivers.lexus.com/lex...exus-July.html The basic warranty (4 yrs/50,000 miles) for your Lexus does apply to speakers so if you believe you have an issue, have your SA replace it.

There are many competent audio shops out there that can upgrade your audio systems with superior parts for about what it would cost to replace the stock items. Just food for thought if you find that your out of warranty and your amp or drivers have just died.