BROCKES300

Hello!

I want to share the results of my completely unscientific speaker comparison testing. This thread is simply to share information, which I find interesting. I am NOT saying you should or should not do anything based on these results. This thread is not meant to discourage anyone from building a custom audio system. I do not claim to be a sound engineer. I do not claim to be an audiophile.

Ever since purchasing my beloved 3ES in December of 2019, I have been on a journey to make the "Lexus Premium Audio System" sound the way I imagined it should... When I bought my car, the from woofers both had ripped surrounds. However, the tweeters, rear speakers, and sub were all intact and working great.First, I replaced the speakers with a pair of Sony Xplode two-way speakers with sensitivity of ~96 (if memory serves correctly). That was a TERRIBLE decision! The OEM tweeters, and the tweeters in the Sony speaker must have been fighting with each other, because it sounded like some sort of whispery hissing match. I then purchased a set of Sony component 6.5" woofers. Immediately after install I was let down. The sound was pretty good, but not really crisp, airy and clear, like I wanted.

After more reading, I realized my initial research (prior to purchasing the 6.5" woofers) had led me astray. These speakers are rated 45w rms @ 4ohm ~92 sensitivity. Somehow, prior to purchase I had come to the conclusion, these would be a good match for this system. Looking further into it, I believe they would need to have about double the wattage given by the Pioneer OEM amp. So, after spending about 6 months researching and sifting through every article, I could find on building an audio system... I thought to myself almost every single aspect of this car is of extreme quality and engineered to perfection... I wonder what the original speakers sounded like, before the surround dissolved??

Being the slightly younger, dumber person, I was in 2019 I threw away my original set of broken OEM speakers. So, I had to wait for a 3ES to pop up in the junk yard. By sheer luck, after about 6 months of waiting, a 2001 Platinum edition ES300 had shown up in one of our local yards. As per usual, with all clean junked Lexus vehicles around here... by the time I arrived on the scene the interior had been COMPLETELY gutted, save for anything broken or worn. However, the front speakers were still there, and just as bad as the ones I had thrown out before. Thankfully, this was some sort of unicorn, because it had AVS and the base Pioneer audio system. I bought them for $5 a piece and purchased a foam speaker surround kit for $5 on eBay and installed the newly restored speakers.

But before install I decide to compare the sound of the underpowered Sony's with the restored OEM Pioneer speakers. I recorded the first 30 seconds of a song on all 6 of the CD's in the changer. The music spans a wide range of time and multiple different mastering/recording processes. All recordings were recorded on a Sony stereo audio recorder placed on the center arm rest, with the mic facing the front of the car. All songs on both sets of speakers were played with the ignition on, engine off, all accessories off, volume at exactly half, and all adjustment dials in the middle notch. Below are the side by side wave lengths, and a video link with the sound.


Wave lengths of test songs

Cut wave lengths of video track

Sound Comparison

It is hard to tell just how truly amazing the OEM speakers sound, in that video. At least you should be able to tell they are much louder. In person the sound is immensely clear, and distortion free all the way up to max volume. The sound stage is unbelievable, and the instrument separation is superb. You may think I'm full of it, but this is absolutely the best sounding car audio system I have ever heard. Second place would be a 2012 RX350 Mark Levinson with NAV, and third a 2015 Camry stock. Granted I haven't lived with those systems, but I've cranked them up... They sounded thin and hollow compared to the warm wholesome clarity of my 2000. I don't dare to even think of what a NAK system must have sounded like, when it was new. This is just another reason, I LOVE this car SOOO much!!

I hope someone finds this info helpful or at least interesting. Most of you with properly functioning stock system won't see this as news. However, for those of us with less than mint examples, or over 150k, or just anyone contemplating stereo upgrades... I hope this helps. At the very, very least it show cases the importance of properly matching speakers to amps.

LeX2K

Very interesting test this confirms what I've come to learn most aftermarket speakers are dreadful. Problem with replacing speakers in a tuned factory system is finding a speaker that closely matches the original. I strongly considered using the Pioneer amp and speakers out of a 3ES for another car I mapped out the wiring here
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/es-...and-specs.html

I couldn't make the amp sound decent with outputs from an aftermarket deck audio was way too low even when using a deck with 5 volt outputs. Sound in general was also tinny and flat. I gave up.

Pioneer did a great job of tuning the amp and speakers and the roll off into bass is excellent. That's the rub the system is specifically tuned so when you replace speakers you're messing with that balance. I have some Nakamichi speakers including the sub out of an LS the sub sounds great with my Hertz amp the other speakers are VERY bright hurts my ears. But I'm sure the Nakamichi amp is tuned exactly for that and the sounds great.

tl;dr: I've spent a considerable amount of money trying to get a balanced, pure system like the Pioneer (it is underrated as you say) am not quite there yet. The funny thing is I've listened to expensive professionally installed systems in cars and thought they were terrible, so shrill and grating. But they play loud. Yay? On that note (sorry) never, ever get hung up on specs moar watts doesn't mean better sound.

For those that say you must have the highest end speakers with exotic materials this is not the case at all. Best speakers IMO are simple with paper cones. Don't think so? Go listen to the audio setup in a Tesla it is phenomenal the best I've heard in a car. Here are some of the speakers they use.

BROCKES300

Thanks for your appreciation!

What head unit and vehicle did you try to swap this system into? Back when I still had my '98 Camry I was thinking of putting a 3ES amp, changer, and speakers into that car. I was going to keep the factory Toyota (single din no CD) head unit and get creative with an amp bypass kit. But, although I liked that car, that was really a silly endeavor. The interior had been beaten to hell, and it ended up blowing its head gasket anyway...

Now I'm contemplating the purchase of a first Gen Prius, and have the same Idea for it

I have no doubt paper cones sound great... (the rear sub in the 3ES is paper) However, in an automotive application, especially in humid climates, longevity would seem to be an issue. I'm sure the cones are coated and treated for that sort of thing, though.

Thinking about it a little more, and Googling photos of a few Toyotas OEM speaker sets confirms it. Toyota seems to put paper cones in the rear deck and vinyl cones in the doors. Cost savings? Durability concerns?? Whichever the case, they must sound good enough, or they wouldn't ship with them...

Below is a photo of OEM speakers out of a 2002 Prius.


Left (Front Door), Right (Rear Deck)

LeX2K

1990 Camry wagon. I'm now running 2 amps and 4 speakers plus sub will be going to 6 speakers and a 3rd amp the extra speakers for mid bass.
For the doors yes for sure they go with plastic due to moisture issues. But still the best sounding speakers are paper IMO. Is anyone here running Focal speakers? They are using some type of paper made from flax, pricey things.

Almost all speakers now are have plastic cones.