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I've been in the car audio hobby/industry for over 25 years and I always upgrade/replace the audio gear in my cars. This being my first Lexus it posed a problem, the source unit is not replaceable. So I set out with a few goals in mind, I wanted clean clear sound, as well as a moderate amount of bass. I come from a background of SPL competition, from db drag to IASCA including a few world records and as a world champion in 2016. However, as I said my goal was much different this time, I was going for a more Sound Quality oriented system with the ability to get a little loud if I wanted.
Here is a list of all the components used in my 2017 ES 350.
All factory locations where used for the speakers with the exception of the tweeters, those were flush mounted in the A-Pillars. The single 12" subwoofer was installed in a ported enclosure tuned around 35Hz, and all the components (DSP, Amps and Line Driver) were installed in the trunk behind panels. 0 Gauge wire was ran from the new front battery to the rear of the car to the rear battery. The Audio Control Line Driver was used on the sub stage amplifier as the output line voltage from the factory source unit was not enough to support the 4 channel amp and the sub amp. Before any of the install was done I removed all the rear trunk paneling and applied a single layer of 80ml sound deadening, this was applied at about a 75-80% coverage rate, additionally I put deadener on the trunk lid at about 40% coverage and then applied closed cell foam over the deadner. The install was handled by a shop a long time friend of mine works at Migraine Kustoms in Edgewater, FL.
I plan on doing more sound deadening in the doors, behind the rear seat and the rear deck. Overall the sound is MUCH MUCH better, the DSP give me full control via my laptop to adjust the EQ and time alignment for much better staging. The sub can get pretty loud but is also firing forward to avoid as much rattling as possible in the trunk.
Here are the photo's I have from when I did the trunk deadening and then shots of the sub and the trunk.
Very nice! Did you replace the 3 front dash speakers, or just omit them? I’m in the process of getting quots to install new speakers on my GS, and the guys are saying it would be best to use component speakers and put the 2 tweeters in the dash. So I was just wondering how it sounded if you didn’t replace the dash speakers .
That Lexus logo on you sub was an awesome touch.
Last edited by Shawn350; Aug 22, 2018 at 07:22 PM.
Very nice! Did you replace the 3 front dash speakers, or just omit them? I’m in the process of getting quots to install new speakers on my GS, and the guys are saying it would be best to use component speakers and put the 2 tweeters in the dash. So I was just wondering how it sounded if you didn’t replace the dash speakers .
That Lexus logo on you sub was an awesome touch.
The 3 way components up front used all factory locations so the A-pillar for the tweeter, 4" in the dash and 6.5" in the door. The only dash speaker not used was the center one.
Audio Upgrade Completed.
