MarinRX

I've been searching around and have not been able to find a good guide to upgrading the audio system in the 3RX with a standard (no touchscreen, no ML) audio package. I did see a post outlining what one owner did using a JL Audio Cleansweep processor and unfortunately I've been out of the car audio game long enough that I'm not sure what is required anymore to integrate with the (generally) unremovable stock head units (I did a lot of car audio work about 15 years ago when the standard 1 or 2 DIN head units were in basically every car so it was pretty straight forward to yank out the stock one for an upgrade and directly attach the amp to the low level RCA outputs).

To sum it up - what is the base requirement to either bypass/replace the stock amp and plug that low level input into a new amp to run to the speakers or take the high level output from the stock amp and run that to a new amp and run that to the speakers? Last step being to upgrade the stock speakers and possibly put a very small hidden sub in the back somewhere.

Appreciate any advice here - not trying to put in anything over the top but I haven't been too happy with the performance of the stock speakers so really looking to make some small changes to improve the sound quality.

mac12

I have a 2013 RX with the middle priced audio system(9 or 12 speakers, sub, etc.). My wife drives it mostly, so I haven't been concerned with the quality of the sound. That brings me to what I want to pass on to you. I have a 2014 crew cab Ford truck that has crappy speakers and I have been doing lots of looking and research on what seems to be one of the better brands of replacement speakers. It turns out that Infinity speakers are the winners. Look at the "sensitivity" ratings of new speakers. The higher the number the better sound quality as the volume increases. I'm ordering mine today. Good luck.

rj4510

So long as they are 4 ohm speakers you can do the upgrade. Most generally though, they are a combination of ohms and or combined (woofer, mid tweet) to reach an impedance value. This makes it almost impossible to upgrade without some pain and expense. My GX had an a 5 ohm sub with woofer mid and tweets adding up to 3 ohms. If I put in an after market sub, I'd over drive the amp. If I upgraded the trio, I'd have less volume. The only option was to bypass the factory amp, add a new one and replace all speakers. The other issue you may run into is a factory EQ'd head unit, so even if you did the above, the sound is only marginally better, because the output of the deck is matched to the old speakers, so you can't take advantage of the full sound of the new speakers.

What may work best is to add an aftermarket powered sub, wired to the factory sub wires, then turning off the deck's surround and sound leveling settings, adding some mid and highs, and controlling the base through the new sub. This will likely be the cheapest option as well. Good luck.

MarinRX

Appreciate it! Infinity was always one of my go to brands back in the day, glad to know they're still
one of the top to consider!

Appreciate this. I'm still wary of using the factory amp though - past experience was always that they just didn't perform well with aftermarket speakers. I may start with this, though and then go from there.

Going off your comment of the combination of speakers to reach an impedence level - I was wondering how to handle the mix of tweeters and mids in the doors. I'm assuming these are each 4ohm so as long as I aligned with 4ohm replacements that should be ok? Or are the tweeters and mids in each door combined to 4ohms?

rj4510

Tough to tell what has need done, short of measuring, unless someone has posted already. With my wife's GS they were 4ohms all around. With my GX, they were 8 and 2 if I remember correctly. Basically there was no way short of rip and replace.

MarinRX

No worries - appreciate the information! I can always hit them with my DMM if they aren't stamped with an impedance but I agree just matching the "stock" levels will probably be the best path forward for now.