Want To Replace Stock With Dynaudio And I Need Help !
04-18-01 | 04:59 AM
#1
I want to replace my stock speakers with Dynaudio and I don't know anything about speakers.
I read ALL of the Q&A section very thorougly and I got the sizes and things of the speakers I need, but I went to Dynaudio's website, and I don't understand anything !
They talk about 2-way systems and 3-way systems and all sorts of other stuff I don't know anything about.
Can anyone help please?
I read ALL of the Q&A section very thorougly and I got the sizes and things of the speakers I need, but I went to Dynaudio's website, and I don't understand anything !
They talk about 2-way systems and 3-way systems and all sorts of other stuff I don't know anything about.
Can anyone help please?
04-18-01 | 08:27 PM
#2
Moderator - Electronics Forum
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 3,985
Likes: 12
From: Illinois
What do you need to know?
2 way. 2 speakers. One for midbass and one for tweeter.
3 way. 3 speakers. One for midbass, one for midrange and one for tweeter.
Percy
2 way. 2 speakers. One for midbass and one for tweeter.
3 way. 3 speakers. One for midbass, one for midrange and one for tweeter.
Percy
Originally posted by nanotech
I want to replace my stock speakers with Dynaudio and I don't know anything about speakers.
I read ALL of the Q&A section very thorougly and I got the sizes and things of the speakers I need, but I went to Dynaudio's website, and I don't understand anything !
They talk about 2-way systems and 3-way systems and all sorts of other stuff I don't know anything about.
Can anyone help please?
I want to replace my stock speakers with Dynaudio and I don't know anything about speakers.
I read ALL of the Q&A section very thorougly and I got the sizes and things of the speakers I need, but I went to Dynaudio's website, and I don't understand anything !
They talk about 2-way systems and 3-way systems and all sorts of other stuff I don't know anything about.
Can anyone help please?
04-19-01 | 03:14 PM
#3
I looked around Dynaudio's website and figured out the 2-way/3-way thing, the 3-way has a midrange in addition to the tweeter and sub.
For a GS, I think it would be 3 way since the door speakers are 4" (that's what it says in Q&A section), and the 4" Dynaudios are midranges.
This is what I have come up with so far:
Dynaudio 7 Speaker System
MD130 Tweeter (2) - $340
MD140/2 Midrange (4) - $780
MW190 Woofer (1) - $400
Total = $1420
That's to replace all the stock speakers in my car.
Now, would I simply be able to unplug the stock spks and plug in the Dynaudio ones? Or would I need different cables or something? And do I need an amp too? What about a crossover? I don't want to have a complicated system, but I do want good sound. I also read stuff about crossovers, are they necessary? What do they do?
For a GS, I think it would be 3 way since the door speakers are 4" (that's what it says in Q&A section), and the 4" Dynaudios are midranges.
This is what I have come up with so far:
Dynaudio 7 Speaker System
MD130 Tweeter (2) - $340
MD140/2 Midrange (4) - $780
MW190 Woofer (1) - $400
Total = $1420
That's to replace all the stock speakers in my car.
Now, would I simply be able to unplug the stock spks and plug in the Dynaudio ones? Or would I need different cables or something? And do I need an amp too? What about a crossover? I don't want to have a complicated system, but I do want good sound. I also read stuff about crossovers, are they necessary? What do they do?
04-19-01 | 06:18 PM
#4
Moderator - Electronics Forum
Joined: Feb 2001
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From: Illinois
Nanotech,
The arrangement wouldn't work out. A 4 inch midrange would leave a huge gap in frequency response. I'd recommend the MW160 7 inch midwoofer, the MD100 tweeters and the MW190 sub. Reason being is that if you go with the arrangement that was listed (md140/md130/mw190) you will have NO midbass and no frequencies from 80 to 500hz.
The MD140's are meant for MIDRANGE only. The typical human ear will hear (in theory) from 20hz to 20khz. So you should design a system that would cover the entire range.
I can understand why you went for the speakers that you did...purely as a drop in. With the GS, it won't work out this way. There is only one 4 inch round speaker out on the market that I'm aware of and that's by MB Quart. Stay away from them...they STINK. That's advice from having many sets of their speakers and practical experience.
You'll have to make a custom baffle for the MW160 woofers. Time well spent and the results quite rewarding. Remember...if you're going to do this only ONCE, then do it right.
You'll need a crossover for the front door speakers. The rears can be run full range, that is, no crossover. Same thing with the sub since there is already a crossover built into the stock amp. Crossovers are used to filter out and direct which frequencies go to which speaker. For instance, you don't want a 1 inch tweeter to be pounding bass...it'll burn out due to the small size and coil. And you don't want high frequencies to be reproduced in the sub...not a small enough speaker.
My first question to everybody new to car audio. What is your system goal?
Percy
The arrangement wouldn't work out. A 4 inch midrange would leave a huge gap in frequency response. I'd recommend the MW160 7 inch midwoofer, the MD100 tweeters and the MW190 sub. Reason being is that if you go with the arrangement that was listed (md140/md130/mw190) you will have NO midbass and no frequencies from 80 to 500hz.
The MD140's are meant for MIDRANGE only. The typical human ear will hear (in theory) from 20hz to 20khz. So you should design a system that would cover the entire range.
I can understand why you went for the speakers that you did...purely as a drop in. With the GS, it won't work out this way. There is only one 4 inch round speaker out on the market that I'm aware of and that's by MB Quart. Stay away from them...they STINK. That's advice from having many sets of their speakers and practical experience.
You'll have to make a custom baffle for the MW160 woofers. Time well spent and the results quite rewarding. Remember...if you're going to do this only ONCE, then do it right.
You'll need a crossover for the front door speakers. The rears can be run full range, that is, no crossover. Same thing with the sub since there is already a crossover built into the stock amp. Crossovers are used to filter out and direct which frequencies go to which speaker. For instance, you don't want a 1 inch tweeter to be pounding bass...it'll burn out due to the small size and coil. And you don't want high frequencies to be reproduced in the sub...not a small enough speaker.
My first question to everybody new to car audio. What is your system goal?
Percy
04-19-01 | 07:21 PM
#5
Thanks for the very helpful reply.
To answer your question, my goal is more bass without being too much, that is, I want to be able to hear the vocals too. And I want bass that is really deep, I guess that means more low bass? I don't want bass that is like loud knocks. I don't know how to describe what I am trying to say. Maybe this will help, I have an Infinity subwoofer at home and I like the bass that it sends out, deep and low but still loud, not "knocking" loud.
But like I said I don't just want bass. I don't want to take up any trunk room (if possible) therefore I definitely don't want a "boombox". And I don't want the sound to go outside too much, I don't want people to say, "hey, there's that car with those really good speakers", I want them to say, "There's that Lexus I was talking about, its fast, and by the way, his sound system is really nice too."
I think you know what I am talking about, my car's color is champagne gold (light gold), not black or silver.
Thanks in advance !
To answer your question, my goal is more bass without being too much, that is, I want to be able to hear the vocals too. And I want bass that is really deep, I guess that means more low bass? I don't want bass that is like loud knocks. I don't know how to describe what I am trying to say. Maybe this will help, I have an Infinity subwoofer at home and I like the bass that it sends out, deep and low but still loud, not "knocking" loud.
But like I said I don't just want bass. I don't want to take up any trunk room (if possible) therefore I definitely don't want a "boombox". And I don't want the sound to go outside too much, I don't want people to say, "hey, there's that car with those really good speakers", I want them to say, "There's that Lexus I was talking about, its fast, and by the way, his sound system is really nice too."
I think you know what I am talking about, my car's color is champagne gold (light gold), not black or silver.
Thanks in advance !
04-19-01 | 08:08 PM
#6
Moderator - Electronics Forum
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 3,985
Likes: 12
From: Illinois
You're on the right track. The Dyn subs will OUTPERFORM the Infinity subs by a nice margin. I would suggest the folowing manufacturers...
Diamond Audio (Hex series) ... pretty good.
ADS speakers...very warm and easy on the treble/high frequencies
Focal...haven't listened to these but they come highly recommended from Gene Reed (also a moderator)
And my all time favorite, Dynaudio.
Dyn components that you'll need are as follows...
1 MW 190 subwoofer. You can bolt this under the stock deck location with a custom made foam spacer ring. Taking out the old sub will entail some work and that's explained in an older message on this board.
1 set of Dynaudio System 240 MK II's. This has the MW160/MD100 combination with the crossover. Excellent.
1 set of Dynaudio MW160 7 inch midwoofers for the rear doors.
You'll also have to make custom baffles/mounting boards/spacer rings for the speakers. See older messages for procedures. When you're all done, you'll have a stock system with aftermarket speakers that will WASTE a Mark Levinson equipped system quite easily. Do the work yourself as I don't know of many shops that have worked on a Lexus GS.
Percy
Diamond Audio (Hex series) ... pretty good.
ADS speakers...very warm and easy on the treble/high frequencies
Focal...haven't listened to these but they come highly recommended from Gene Reed (also a moderator)
And my all time favorite, Dynaudio.
Dyn components that you'll need are as follows...
1 MW 190 subwoofer. You can bolt this under the stock deck location with a custom made foam spacer ring. Taking out the old sub will entail some work and that's explained in an older message on this board.
1 set of Dynaudio System 240 MK II's. This has the MW160/MD100 combination with the crossover. Excellent.
1 set of Dynaudio MW160 7 inch midwoofers for the rear doors.
You'll also have to make custom baffles/mounting boards/spacer rings for the speakers. See older messages for procedures. When you're all done, you'll have a stock system with aftermarket speakers that will WASTE a Mark Levinson equipped system quite easily. Do the work yourself as I don't know of many shops that have worked on a Lexus GS.
Percy
04-21-01 | 10:13 AM
#7
Driver School Candidate
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 33
Likes: 0
recommendation for Diamond audio
Percy,
I saw your recommendation for the dynaudio system.
What components would you recommend from Diamond?
I'm looking for the same performance as nanotech.
Is there a direct replacement for the lexus sub?
I want to do the least amount of customization as possible.
I have a 2000 gs300.
Thanks,
I saw your recommendation for the dynaudio system.
What components would you recommend from Diamond?
I'm looking for the same performance as nanotech.
Is there a direct replacement for the lexus sub?
I want to do the least amount of customization as possible.
I have a 2000 gs300.
Thanks,
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04-21-01 | 03:26 PM
#8
Moderator - Electronics Forum
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 3,985
Likes: 12
From: Illinois
Re: recommendation for Diamond audio
[QUOTE]Originally posted by silvaristo
[B]Percy,
I saw your recommendation for the dynaudio system.
What components would you recommend from Diamond?
Their HEX series are pretty good.
Is there a direct replacement for the lexus sub?
Unfortunately not. The stock GS sub has a wierd built in mounting bracket. Drop in may be possible but you'll have to tap some holes for the sub to mount in.
Percy
[B]Percy,
I saw your recommendation for the dynaudio system.
What components would you recommend from Diamond?
Their HEX series are pretty good.
Is there a direct replacement for the lexus sub?
Unfortunately not. The stock GS sub has a wierd built in mounting bracket. Drop in may be possible but you'll have to tap some holes for the sub to mount in.
Percy
04-21-01 | 06:08 PM
#9
I am not going to be doing this install, probably a pro. I would mess everything up. But I will stay there the whole time while the pro is doing the installation. What should I look for in a professional stereo system installer? There are only three gs's in town as far as I know, and they are all basic (gs300's with no spoiler, rims) so I am sure they haven't had any put in them either. So there is no one I could ask around here.
04-21-01 | 09:23 PM
#10
Moderator - Electronics Forum
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 3,985
Likes: 12
From: Illinois
nanotech,
My strong advice is to work on the car yourself. For one thing, you'll save $$$ by doing it yourself. For another, as the owner of the car will have much less of a chance of messing up on the installation by taking the time to do the installation right on the first try. You're not "on the clock" and there's no rush in getting the job done. You may actually have some fun doing the install and, IMO, it's quite rewarding once when you tackle the project yourself. Can you handle some basic powertools and handtools? If so, then you've got what it takes. It's not too hard to do and all the basic information of installation is on the board. Just read all of the related threads and you'll get the idea of what's going on. You'll save AT LEAST 400 dollars by doing it yourself, and that's money that you can use to upgrade your system. Don't throw away your $$$ on a so called "pro" installer.
If there are only 3 GS's around, then the installer will only have as much of an idea as you do. In fact, you'll have a much better idea since you have access to this board (and it's information). Just buy the components and do the work yourself.
Read all the related threads. There were some apprehensive people afraid to work on their own cars, but I'm pretty sure that they're not nearly as afraid to work on them now. A definite confidence booster once when the job was completed. The first and most important part is RESEARCH. Start reading and learn by doing.
Percy
My strong advice is to work on the car yourself. For one thing, you'll save $$$ by doing it yourself. For another, as the owner of the car will have much less of a chance of messing up on the installation by taking the time to do the installation right on the first try. You're not "on the clock" and there's no rush in getting the job done. You may actually have some fun doing the install and, IMO, it's quite rewarding once when you tackle the project yourself. Can you handle some basic powertools and handtools? If so, then you've got what it takes. It's not too hard to do and all the basic information of installation is on the board. Just read all of the related threads and you'll get the idea of what's going on. You'll save AT LEAST 400 dollars by doing it yourself, and that's money that you can use to upgrade your system. Don't throw away your $$$ on a so called "pro" installer.
If there are only 3 GS's around, then the installer will only have as much of an idea as you do. In fact, you'll have a much better idea since you have access to this board (and it's information). Just buy the components and do the work yourself.
Read all the related threads. There were some apprehensive people afraid to work on their own cars, but I'm pretty sure that they're not nearly as afraid to work on them now. A definite confidence booster once when the job was completed. The first and most important part is RESEARCH. Start reading and learn by doing.
Percy
04-22-01 | 03:51 AM
#11
Lead Lap
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 411
Likes: 0
From: California
Percy,
I would LOVE to do the install myself for my stereo, but I'm worried about tearing the doors apart and all that. I'm also not familiar with making baffles for the speakers. There are quite a few GS's in my area. So I know there are some installers who have had some work on Lexus'. The guy I took my GS to when I installed my subs knew EXACTLY how to take out the stock sub w/o me even having to give him instructions!!
For speakers I think I will just go to an installer I know, and watch/help as much as possible.
However, I would LIKE to install the head unit in my car. How difficult would it be to install a Alpine IVA-C800 (video head unit) and a 1-Din sized eq in the stock head unit area?!?! From what I know, it shouldn't be TOO difficult. Mostly just exchanging some wires. The only thing I would be sketchy on is building a new plate to go around it. How would I do that??
I have little to no knowledge about INSTALLING systems. Would you recommend I go to an installer?!?!
--JJ--
Platinum 2G GS4
I would LOVE to do the install myself for my stereo, but I'm worried about tearing the doors apart and all that. I'm also not familiar with making baffles for the speakers. There are quite a few GS's in my area. So I know there are some installers who have had some work on Lexus'. The guy I took my GS to when I installed my subs knew EXACTLY how to take out the stock sub w/o me even having to give him instructions!!
For speakers I think I will just go to an installer I know, and watch/help as much as possible.
However, I would LIKE to install the head unit in my car. How difficult would it be to install a Alpine IVA-C800 (video head unit) and a 1-Din sized eq in the stock head unit area?!?! From what I know, it shouldn't be TOO difficult. Mostly just exchanging some wires. The only thing I would be sketchy on is building a new plate to go around it. How would I do that??
I have little to no knowledge about INSTALLING systems. Would you recommend I go to an installer?!?!
--JJ--
Platinum 2G GS4
05-15-01 | 10:23 AM
#12
Driver School Candidate
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 33
Likes: 0
Dynaudio 240MK II
I'm planning to upgrade my speakers, and I've got two concerns regarding the installation of the subject speaker system in the front doors of my '95 SC300.
1) Why do I need to install the crossover when the stock system does not use them (or has them built into the amplifier)?
2) The tweeter installation sounds difficult (ie remove tweeter from casing..). Are there any other front door systems that might be easier to install?
Thanks,
Kevin
1) Why do I need to install the crossover when the stock system does not use them (or has them built into the amplifier)?
2) The tweeter installation sounds difficult (ie remove tweeter from casing..). Are there any other front door systems that might be easier to install?
Thanks,
Kevin
05-18-01 | 09:17 AM
#13
Moderator - Electronics Forum
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 3,985
Likes: 12
From: Illinois
Kevin,
The stock amp DOES NOT have a built in crossover. Rather, the simple crossover is inline with the wiring harness to the tweeter. Small capacitor.
There are smaller tweeters that may be easier to install but, IMO and IME, they won't give the same effect of the Dynaudio speakers. If you're going to do it right on the first time, I'd highly suggest the Dyns.
Percy
The stock amp DOES NOT have a built in crossover. Rather, the simple crossover is inline with the wiring harness to the tweeter. Small capacitor.
There are smaller tweeters that may be easier to install but, IMO and IME, they won't give the same effect of the Dynaudio speakers. If you're going to do it right on the first time, I'd highly suggest the Dyns.
Percy
05-18-01 | 03:27 PM
#14
Hey Percy, I want to play mp3 files through my factory speakers without the use of a cassette adapter or a FM modulator.
Someone told me if I had RCA inputs in my stock amp that I could do it that way, or do a line-level converter, what do you suggest?
Someone told me if I had RCA inputs in my stock amp that I could do it that way, or do a line-level converter, what do you suggest?
05-18-01 | 05:52 PM
#15
Moderator - Electronics Forum
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 3,985
Likes: 12
From: Illinois
A line level converter wouldn't work. It'll take an already small signal to an even smaller one...too small to be heard at times! LLC's should only be used in high level situations (amplified signal of over 10 watts). As for the RCA inputs, even if you could adapt the stock amp to do this you would need a switcher of some sort so that the signals of the head unit do not affect the MP3 tap in. In other words, if the head unit is already on CD or FM1/FM2 AND you're playing MP3, you'll get both of the signals playing. Gets kinda confusing. Better off to use the tape adapter or revamp the entire system.
Percy
Percy