In the Mark Levinson versions anyway? Why change the speakers? They are the weakest point of any stereo system and from what I've heard in the cars, are freaking outstanding! Their clarity and response are about as close as one can get to the real thing and in fact, better than the majority of home systems I've heard in my 54 years .

Are you guys actually finding better, more accurate sound with the aftermarket speakers compared to the Levinson stuff???

 

Have you seen the pictures of the ML speakers that some people have posted? They are buying a $250 replacement speaker from Lexus that I can get from Parts Express for $5.99. Just about any quality aftermarket speaker system will sound better. Elemental Designs, DLS, CDT, etc all have great component sets. If you feel adventurous, the guys at DIY Mobile Audio can help you build your own with Dayton RS series, aluminum coned mids and Morel tweeters. The custom crossover will take some time and money but you can always go fully active and not have to worry about that. That's what I'm thinking about doing.

And if ANY car system sounds better than the home systems you have heard, then you haven't heard a good home system. And I'm not talking about something with Krell amps and Eggleston speakers. Or even Mark Levison home systems. My home theater uses Dayton (by Parts Express) speakers and custom built subs. It is + or - 3db from 20,000hz to 17hz. I'm going from dual 15" subs to quad 18" subs so that my subs will reach at 10hz or lower with authority. And this isn't an ultra expensive setup either. The parts for my 7 speakers cost less than $100 each. My 18" subs were about $200 each. $300 for a sub amp. $400 for a Pioneer receiver. Heck, my $1,500 projector was the most expensive piece of equipment and it doesn't do anything for the sound (but high def football is great on a $75 DIY, 103" screen).

Aftermarket audio in both car and home is about doing your research before you buy.

-Robert

 

ML stuff is engineered to endure the harsh environments of a car, whereas aftermarket stuff is not. ML speakers will last the life of the car while aftermarket will only last a couple of years.

I can't speak for some of the older ML stuff, but the new ML speakers are fantastic (neo motors, CMMD cones, aluminum baskets) and outperform many aftermarket speakers in sound quality. They are generally not engineered for high power like a lot of aftermarket stuff is.

 

I'm flabbergasted!

For reference, my home system uses electrostatics for the mains and the Velodyne 18" sub, along with the Denon 5800 receiver. It has better sound than the Adcom 5800 power amp.

The home theater projector is a 3 tube crt, an electrohome 9500

 

hehe some people are just audioholics, some people just like to be louder than others. Some people wish their audio can perform even better than what they already have. its really hard to say. i swapped all my audio stuff inside my UCF20. so i can add a little bit more punch, and have more clarity inside. maybe its all fo show. who knoes hehe

 

A lot of it is in the tune of the car. They are tuned for the average person. It's pretty rolled off after 3-5k. Now if you had acess to the DSP in the amp, that would solve all your problems and the audiophiles wouldn't have to change out any speakers.

 

i bought my car with stock speakers. it was not mark levinson though. i had all the stuff left over from my old car. i got my two sets of components, 4ch amp, sub amp, alpine deck, and sub for about 600 bucks total. it definitely sounds a lot cleaner then stock and not to mention louder too.

this is my setup:
alpine cda-7998 dead head HU
infinity kappa perfect front components
infinity reference rear components
polk 400.4 4ch speaker amp
polk 500.1 mono sub amp
kicker cvx 12" sub box

its not high end by any means but its definitely better then stock and the price cant really be beat.

btw the speakers is the older infinity stuff when they were decent and before they sold out

 

ML vs. Aftermarket:

 

How much adapting was needed to install that Elemental Design subwoofer? Tks.

 

That member hasn’t been on here in about 5 months it looks like, they did do a write up on the install though. Just search that member and threads started. That was for a 2GS and was an infinite baffle. I notice you have an RX though so unless you’re building some crazy wall an IB setup won’t work.

 

Haven't disliked my ML's in my RC-F but I did go ahead and add two Memphis 10's with a ported JL Audio box paired with the JL JD 500 watt amp.
The extra bass didn't ruin any clarity or anything, everything paired together very smoothly.
Before the Memphis subs though, I did have the JL W010's but somehow they managed to blow..
I'm not a crazy bass head like I use to be but for my coupe, the 500 watts is still just enough to rattle my gas cap -_-

 

I know this is a little old... but it made me laugh.
I've got aftermarket stuff that has lasted decades, while OEM stuff fails in a few years.


BTW.
Got a LS430 in my yard right now... sounds like ALL of the ML speakers are blown out.... but the car isn't in the junkyard yet.