I posted this over at the LS400 forum before realizing that there is an electronics forum too, so I think this might be best posted here. I just picked up a '93 LS400 with premium sound but no cd changer. I don't want to dump a ton of money into the car but I would like to have a cd at least and some more bass. So for the experts here I have a few questions:

1) Is it possible without spending too much $ to add an aftermarket cd changer to the stock Pioneer radio?

2) What about purchasing a used Lexus cd changer on ebay and trying to hook that up? I would probably need a wiring harness? How much would that be? And is the Lex cd changer that goes with the pioneer system different than the one that goes with the nak?

3) Other solution is to just swap out the Pioneer deck with a new cd/mp3 deck. Can I retain the factory amp to run with the new deck or do I have to scrap that too?

4) JL makes a free air sub that would seem to fit as a replacement for the factory one. Does it indeed fit and how much improvement would I get running the factory lead to it?

Thanks in advance!

 

I'm not familiar with the LS, but I do have a little bit to add here. You could use an aftermarket changer with an FM modulator so it plays through a radio station. This is a less than ideal setup and would require finding a place to mount the changer controller. I don't know if there are dash kits and wiring harnesses for an LS to easily add an aftermarket HU, you might want to check with your local stereo shops and see if they can get them.

Do you have the factory sub in the rear deck? If so, one thing that would make a big difference in the performance of any sub mounted there would be to seal the deck with sound deadening mat. If the front and back wave of the speaker aren't seperated it will have a negative effect on the performance of the speaker. Sealing the deck would take care of this.

 

Thanks for the reply Kyle. I have never actually listened to an FM modulated cd setup. I've heard good and bad things about it. The biggest drawback would be that I would loose the dynamic range of cd. I would have VERY clean FM though!

I had not thought of sealing the deck. That's a great idea. I guess I could just lay on a layer of dynamat or similiar stuff and silicon the new sub when I install it.

That's a great idea!

 

What I'd do with the rear deck would be to use an MDF ring to mount the sub to if possible. Once you've deadened the deck, you can cut a ring out of 1/2" or 3/4" MDF that will be cutout for the sub with a 1" or 2" ring that can mount to the deck. Then you can seal the wood to the deck with silicon or the like, and still be able to get the sub out easily if you need to. I've always been real hesitant to silicon a speaker in place, since it would be a little bit of a messy pain to get it out should you need to. The screws for the sub can go right through the wood into the deck and hold the whole thing in.

If you really want to get that deck solid, and are comfortable doing it; I'd use fiberglass. That should get it real stiff and strong. I'm planning on cutting my deck with the sub firing through it, and will probably be doing the 'glass on the remaining deck. Sound deadening would probably still help on this, probably do the cosmetic panel too so hopefully that won't rattle. One more thing, don't pay for name brand dynamat, there are much cheaper alternatives out there that will do just as well. Look on E-bay for Dynamat and there should be some generics out there. My favorite is RAAMmat, it's like Dynamat Extreme, works very well, extremely sticky, and pretty thin. I paid about $85 shipped for 50 square feet, although I've heard he's now selling about 64 sq. ft. for $100. Great product at a very good price.

There was an FM modulated changer in my car that the previous owner had installed. It wasn't bad, better than nothing; but like you said you lose dynamic range and it's not quite like a quality CD HU. I'm sure the difference would be much more apparent on a high end system than stock speakers and amp, but if you want to do it right the first time I'd get a new HU; that will also give you a base to extend from should you decide to upgrade the rest of the system.

 

Thanks Kyle. Those are great suggestions!

I have a feeling that if I do change the HU, I'll have to rewire the whole system anyway, so then I'll just run an input from a new trunk mounted cd changer.

Do you know if it is particularly difficult to replace the stock 4" door speakers with something a little larger or if it's just too much work? There don't seem to be very many quality 4" drivers on the market.

 

You can often use the same MDF baffle technique I talked about above to fit a slightly larger speaker in the doors. If you have enough room behind the plastic panel to build a baffle out far enough that the basket/magnet of the larger speaker will fit through the stock hole, then you can cut the baffle to a 5 1/4" and mount it to the door. It can be hard to know for sure if this will work, it will depend on the space you have, and possibly the speaker itself, the basket of some speakers may fit while others wouldn't.

You are right that it is almost impossible to find a 4" capable of decent midbass performance, a 5 1/4" will play a little lower. A 6.5" or 8" would be ideal, but that would be a long shot in a 4" factory hole, unless you're willing to do some cutting on the door.

Components in kickpanels would be another option if you're willing to put a little time into it. It isn't as hard as it seems to make a nice set of kicks, and they'll sound much better than door speakers, plus you don't have to worry about what you can fit in the stock location. I can help you with kicks if you're interested, I have a step-by-step of the set I did in my old car on a Sounddomain site.

The same deadening principles will apply to the door as did the deck, this will make a big difference in the performance. You'd want to take off the plastic seal and deaden everything you can get to on the outer skin, and then use the deadening mat to seal the inner skin. The plastic panel may also need a little work to stop the rattling.

If you add a new HU and compatible changer, the results will be much better; you won't have to have the drawbacks of FM modulation and you'll be able to control the changer from the HU.

I hope this is helping and if there's anything I need to clarify or haven't explained well, feel free to ask.