Ok it originally started out with my 12disc not working and 3 blown speakers. I go today to get 2 speakers for up front and 2 for the rear. I find out I can't do this. The guys at the shop say if I upgrade the speakers it will sound like **** with the factory nakamichi amp so they tell me I need a new amp. Then if I want a new deck they say thats powered by the amp as well so Id have to run a new deck off a new amp as well and will loose my factory subwoofer. They told me im looking at around $1000 for everything. Thats ridiculus. All I want is some new speakers and possibly a new deck. So then I call Lexus to see how much the factory speakers are. The rears are $113 each which I wasnt thrilled about but the front two speakers are $270 each. I was about to have a nervous breakdown. Ok so here is my question. I need 2 new speakers up front(tweeters are fine) and two rear speakers. Is there anything I can get that will sound good without having to buy a new amp as well? Also does anyone have extra stock speakers they will sell? What should I do? Thanks

 

The oe spkrs are crappy 4" paper cone anyway, don't bother. Get yourself some poly cone spkrs with a decently constructed surround, and don't let the shop con you into spending a grand when all you want is speakers, there's plenty of room for improvement.

 

new decks are not powered by any amp, they're powered by a single line from wherever... i wired up my new deck with no problem... if you have the schematics and are comfortable soldering, you won't have any problems at all...

wiring the new deck to the old amps wouldn't be a problem either if you had 2 rca outs on the deck too, although upgrading the amps wouldn't be a bad idea either

it's up to you, depending on how much you want to spend, if you just want sound, just go get new speakers, i doubt they'll sound super horrible with the old amps... but i can't gaurantee anything

 

I think you can expect a decent rise in quality just by changing the original paper cone speakers (assuming your head unit/amp is operational), 4" splits in the front, try to get a 6.5" on the rear deck or just stick with the 4" replacement. Using a decent speaker set-up now will also give you some scope for future upgrades and will not cost the earth, (JBL GT range is good & inexpensive and would handle an amp upgrade in the future).

Replacing the sub is not so easy I believe all the Nak subs are 2ohm but it can be done.

 

Better speakers alone will improve your sound. Don't take the salesman or the dealership's words to heart, they want your money. I would have laughed at that salesman's face and made him feel stupid for trying to play me. How could upgraded speakers make your system sound worse? Anyway, just get some nice Bostons, MB Quart, Dynaudio, or other quality speakers and not only will you hear a new level of sonic clarity, but you'll notice the power handling will improve vastly as well. Remember, the front speakers are more important than the rears, so if you must splurge, splurge all your money on the fronts .

 

All you need to do to hook up an aftermarket deck is run 3 wires (constant power, on/off power and ground) and then hook up the antenna and then the wires out to the amp. Always remember, the job of the salesman is to make it look like you need as much stuff as possible. I just wish more of them were honest about what you really need. One guy told me to replace one part I had to pull the whole system. I knew he was full of crap so I went to a different store, they gave me my options so I replaced everything except the stock deck. Saving for an in dash DVD next year.

 

what are the sizes of the front speakers and rear speakers? Im pretty sure the rears are 6.5" but what are up front? Thanks

 

The fronts are 4" and the rears are 4"

You can easily upgrade your rear 4" with a 6.5" if you create a new housing out of MDF. The fronts I just replaced with 4" speakers because I couldn't be bothered to make a new housing. The 4" fit up front with minimal adjustments to the actual speaker housing that is attached to the new speaker. (Drill new holes; Lexus angles their holes differently)

Again, don't let the salesman fool you. You can spend less than $150 for a decent pair of 4" AND 6". Then you can drive by the dealership and audioshop with your music blasting and laughing your head off!

Do a search for "rear seat removal" that will link you to a page which has DETAILED instructions for reaching your rear speakers.

 

the rears are 6.5 not 4

you probably want to get a set of components for the front, so you can put the tweeters where the stock tweeters are... the stock tweets are .75" but i fit 1" tweets in there

good luck

 

If I kept the factory tweeters(still in good condition) and replaced the fronts with some 4inch speakers and the rear with 6.5 will it still sound good even though I have the factory tweeters?

 

Actually the rears are (4inch) not 6 1/2. If you remove the OEM mount, you probably can mount most 6 1/2"s in there, but not Focal!!! Just got through rebuilding the whole back dek lid for a Dynaudio (12) and Focal 6 1/2 components. Yes, the twelve fit, but took a lot of work. For free air, it sounds far superior to the Pioneer and JL that I had in there previously. Like everyone has already said though, changing out the speakers will work out fine. Making a MDF baffle for the front doors is also easy to mount a 6 1/2 there. Good Luck.

Shane

 

You certainly are looking for a lot of reassurance!

You can't go wrong- almost ANY speaker you buy at a decent car stereo shop will sound as good or better than the stock speakers, and they'll work with your tweeter.

If you're still cautious, keep the receipt so you can return them.

 

Funny you say that, when I got my car, all 4 speakers weren't working, all i had was the tweeters and the woofer (nakimichi) but I went down to my local "tweeter" and took out the stock speakers and the bracket they fit in. I tried out 5 or 6 of there speakers till i found one that fit, they were bostons 3 1/4 inch i believe, maybe 3/4 inch, don't remember but I could get a model number if you'd like... and I put them in, and on top of that wired it with regular house hold speaker wire, so now not only does it sound perfect, but it's way nicer than stock in my opinion and it's a crystal clear sound and the speakers have more power handling than the stock system provides, therefor i have no fear of blowing them and they sound great! Forget everything they told you, do it yourself, I spent about $170 for 4 speakers, about 3 hours of work, and done! let me know if I can help anymore, thanks!