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Thanks. Does anyone have the speakers’ specs like frequency range, sensitivity?
Doubt such specs are publicly available, would be nice. You're going to want speakers with at least 89db of sensitivity and try to avoid plastic cone speakers this material needs a fair bit of power to make them sing. Morel uses treated paper for most of their stuff, Focal pressed flax. Carbon fiber is great but $$$$. Factory speakers are usually paper or thin poly with soft butyl surrounds (or foam) and have high sensitivity most aftermarket speakers will not play nice and could sound worse.
Interesting. I had no idea factory speakers had high sensitivity but that totally makes sense.
any idea what the power output is for the HU? Is it all distributed evenly across all channels. I was thinking of upgrading the 8” speakers to get a bit more punch. However that may not make a lick of difference without an amp.
I think ML in my IS is not the most amazing system I've experienced, but for people like me who don't plan to change it, it's a must. It's got far better bass and midrange/treble clarity compared to the base system.
the system is really good but I feel you really have to crank it up high in order to enjoy the speakers qualities. And I personally don't really like listening to music too loud in my car. When I would have it lower it did not sound as good. The factory stereo is my 2021 IS sounds just fine.
Personally I think the the ML in my 2017 IS350 F-Sport sounds great. I've owned two IS 350 F-Sports (2015 & 2017) and have always been big on the audio in the cars I buy. Although I have never heard or owned an IS with the stock audio system.
As to this comment, I agree that a big speaker box in the truck is not an elegant solution, and and bigger sub is not really needed, depending on what type of music you listen to and your preferred amount of low range sound, but there are options for a a sub without a big box if you desire it, keeping your trunk space, like this:
Or as mentioned by me above, you can just upgrade the rear deck speaker to a moderate level 8" sub, or just keep the OEM one and power it with the new amp, which will make it sound better.
Thank you @whoismiked for your contribution to this discussion. I might take your suggestion and just upgrade the oem amp and the oem sub for now.
In addition, if anyone resides in the New Hampshire area Wicked Cas would be glad to utilize your 2021 vehicle for R&D.
Last edited by Dc5nomore; Aug 16, 2021 at 01:19 PM.
Just upgraded the 4 door speakers myself. Used 6 1/2 for front doors, fit fine with bracket set for free from Crutchfield. Didn't realize that there must be a crossover setting up the front doors, as the tweeters do not work. Also, the Non-ML cars should have 10 speaker Premium system, 3 front dash, 4 in the doors and sub on back deck, where are the other 2?
Just upgraded the 4 door speakers myself. Used 6 1/2 for front doors, fit fine with bracket set for free from Crutchfield. Didn't realize that there must be a crossover setting up the front doors, as the tweeters do not work. Also, the Non-ML cars should have 10 speaker Premium system, 3 front dash, 4 in the doors and sub on back deck, where are the other 2?
If there is a sub on the back deck of non-ML cars, I have yet to hear mine! Bass response is absolutely non existent. I would be surprised to hear anything coming through those speakers that would even mildly resemble a frequency under 125Hz. If they did have at least a small sub, the system would probably not be all that bad.
Just upgraded the 4 door speakers myself. Used 6 1/2 for front doors, fit fine with bracket set for free from Crutchfield. Didn't realize that there must be a crossover setting up the front doors, as the tweeters do not work. Also, the Non-ML cars should have 10 speaker Premium system, 3 front dash, 4 in the doors and sub on back deck, where are the other 2?
If you hooked up to the factory amp (not recommended) then your front doors are being filtered by the crossover in the OEM amp, because the OEM front door speakers are midrange 8" speakers. It's one of the many reasons if you are upgrading the factory speakers, it is advised to use an aftermarket amp.
So I do feel a separate amp would be better, but did not want to get into that wiring in the new car, and risk screwing something else up. I can leave the 6.5 in the fronts, and utilize the cross over, as it seems I have plenty of highs as it is. And the aftermarket will still work better than the stock 8's. And yes, it states that there is a 8" sub on the rear deck, and a separate amp for that speaker. I also replaced the 2 front deck speakers, but not I have tons of highs, which sounds clear, but at a loss for bass. May need to upgrade the subwoofer to add some bass, which should balance the system. Although open to options, without major changes.. Also, my vehicle states 10 speaker Premium sound system on the window sticker itself. That's why I asked....
So I do feel a separate amp would be better, but did not want to get into that wiring in the new car, and risk screwing something else up. I can leave the 6.5 in the fronts, and utilize the cross over, as it seems I have plenty of highs as it is. And the aftermarket will still work better than the stock 8's. And yes, it states that there is a 8" sub on the rear deck, and a separate amp for that speaker. I also replaced the 2 front deck speakers, but not I have tons of highs, which sounds clear, but at a loss for bass. May need to upgrade the subwoofer to add some bass, which should balance the system. Although open to options, without major changes.. Also, my vehicle states 10 speaker Premium sound system on the window sticker itself. That's why I asked....
That's understandable, running amp wiring can be a pain, especially if you are not experienced with doing so. It would cost a little more but you could have a car audio shop just do it for you if you are wanting to push your audio system to the next level. Lucky for me I had tons of practice and experience in my younger years and really desired upgraded sound, so I went for it. Does your current setup using the OEM amp with upgraded door speakers at least sound better than stock? Genuinely curious.
It's odd your sticker states 10 speakers, what year and model is your car? As far as I was aware the non ML system has the same speaker locations as the early 3rd gen non ML systems, but I don't have hands on experience with newer models, just going off what I've read and my hands on experience with the non ML system in a 2014.
Last edited by whoismiked; Aug 23, 2021 at 12:10 PM.
I did many upgrades also, but always had it installed for me. They system sounds better with the newer speakers and a cleaner sound, but again, too much higher tones, and is in need of the lower bass tones. I can hear the bass kick in a bit at higher volume, but lower is missing the "full" sound it should have. I was also told the speakers need to "break in" a bit to appreciate the potential. In digging deeper, there is an amp in the trunk, easy access, but not sure if that runs all the speakers, or just the sub and rear speakers, as I had read in a forum. Also, if I replaced that, would the HU be able to handle it, or would something overload.
I have a 2021 IS350 F Sport.
Thank you @whoismiked for your contribution to this discussion. I might take your suggestion and just upgrade the oem amp and the oem sub for now.
In addition, if anyone resides in the New Hampshire area Wicked Cas would be glad to utilize your 2021 vehicle for R&D.
glad to see they are doing r&d because this box will not fit the 21. I bought this car December 2020 and had this old style box from my 14 IS. So yes I been waiting. Glad to see some movement
My two cents? You really have to use the surround sound function. It sounds much better that way, at least to me, subjectively. Also, it's hard to take advantage of it without decent quality audio. Finally, I had to experiment with EQ for a few weeks to dial it in. It's actually quite neutral with every frequency band in the middle, if slightly bass-heavy.
I agree, it's not the best sound system I have ever used, but it is by far the best in a car I have actually owned. The only other "premium" sound system I've had in a car was the Fender system in the GTI, which was actually a great system. It doesn't quite have the mid-tone clarity of the ML but otherwise is 90% as good. That could be explained by the IS being a generally quieter vehicle.
I also just went from 2016 GTI to 2022 IS350. I really enjoyed the artist alert feature in GTI Sirius radio. IS350 doesn't have this feature. Any suggestions for upgrade radio or Lexus contact to address this problem. I think it's a programming issue not rocket science. Thanks.
The only other "premium" sound system I've had in a car was the Fender system in the GTI, which was actually a great system. It doesn't quite have the mid-tone clarity of the ML but otherwise is 90% as good. That could be explained by the IS being a generally quieter vehicle.
