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DIY with pics Sub Woofer replacement MB QUART DS1-254 Discus Series 10
Been lurking since summer of 2018 first time poster.
Bought a 2006 GS430 back in August for the wife. Well the subwoofer blew.. doesn't help that the wife's a bass head lol.
Car has a Mark Levinson sound system
Looked into a Lexus replacement woofer...wtf $300-$400 for a paper speaker... I don't think so.
So looked into replacing it myself and this is what I came up with.
Removed stock speaker.
Dremel out speaker "frame"
Install replacement speaker (MB QUART DS1-254) into frame . Speaker is a 4ohm dual voice coil wired in series to make 8ohm.
Install speaker into car... Ran into a issue with new subwoofer vibrating the hell out of everything especially the rear deck.
Installed sound deading material.
So in all have probably less than a $100 invested into this.
stock subwoofer removed from car speaker removed from bracket.. more like torn from bracket dremel bracket cleaned up with dremel drilled holes in bracket to line up with holes in speaker. Wired new speaker in series to go from 4ohms to 8ohms New speaker installed.. Rattling the hell out of everything. Install sound deadening material Gratuitous car pic Gratuitous car pic again
how is the sound compared to the stock sub? I'm in the same situation and was going to buy a repair kit from ebay. Your solution is very practical and the total cost very reasonable. Keep us posted if any issues come up.
snakeo2 The new speaker is a lot more "bassy" if thats a word.
Takes a little more volume to get the bass to kick in but it works for the wife.
She has a pretty eclectic taste in music.. anywhere from Rob Zombie to Sublime to Rap
I'm not much of an audiophile so I wasn't looking to replicate the oem speaker.
MX73 I purchased 1 kit of sound deadening material and still had plenty leftover. I think I used maybe half of the kit.
I need this done so badly for my ML subwoofer but I’m not a mechanically inclined nor do I have the patience.
Questions:
1. Does the aftermarket sub work okay with your existing factory amplifier?
2. Must the ohms matchup perfectly?
3. Is it wise to have an audio shop perform the install without getting ripped off? I know the rear seat needs removing to install the sub so I can almost expect some shop to exaggerate to the labor prices.
1. Does the aftermarket sub work okay with your existing factory amplifier?
Yes haven't had it cut out yet. Its been about a month now.
2. Must the ohms matchup perfectly?
No..the ohms do not need to match up perfectly just close. The new speaker is a 4ohm dual voice coil. It is wired in series to make 8ohms
3. Is it wise to have an audio shop perform the install without getting ripped off? I know the rear seat needs removing to install the sub so I can almost expect some shop to exaggerate to the labor prices.
Thats a call your going to have to make in regards to a shop. I've been a home garage monkey for a couple of decades now.
The most difficult part and time consuming was cutting up the oem speaker bracket with the dremel and "fitting" the new speaker to it. Next would be the sound deadening material.
Removing the rear seat is probably the easiest part of the project.. about 5 minutes to remove.
Yep wife loves that red.. happen to luck out finding it when we were looking.
@bustabill thanks so much for the detailed response.
After reading your response to the drill portion of the install I got to wondering if there was a sub model that didn’t require drilling or alterations for our vehicles? Ya know, just drop n go without extra drilling? Additionally, it looks as though you made alterations to the factory bracket in order to make this work. The install looks labor intensive for a guy who lives in a condo without room for work tools. Will all of the aftermarket subwoofer brands require these mods (excluding the sound deadening) to make it work effectively? Anyhoo, thanks again for the response and a great install.
- btw, I was reading some of the the reviews on that sound deadening material and it appears people are quite satisfied with it. One guy used it to help quiet down his apartment near his doorway. I’m wondering if I can use this stuff to quiet some of the dash rattles on my GS?
Just a fyi.. the oem bracket and speaker are one piece. If you were to buy a Lexus replacement subwoofer the bracket would come with it. So hacking it up was a no brainer.. i.e. cutting it and drilling it.
I specifically looked for a 10" sub woofer that matched the diameter of the factory bracket. I did this to prevent from hacking into the rear deck and keeping the mounting of the speaker factory.
So to answer your question.. Yes, all aftermarket speakers will require modification to mount.. whether how I did it or an alternative method.
Funny you mention that review... I read that one too and chuckled. I had the same idea on the dash rattles.. but before that I am looking into rattle/friction tape..Stuff is pretty inexpensive for a roll.
here is a youtube link about it jump to 3:50
12-26-18, 11:03 AM
DIY with pics Sub Woofer replacement MB QUART DS1-254 Discus Series 10
