bollywood2

I recently bought a 07 Lexus LS460 3 weeks ago and overall am happy with the car. I have made several changes to the car which include:
Window Tint - last week
Hard Wire Radar - this weekend
VAIS ipod audio upgrade - this weekend. Planning on keeping my extra ipod permanently in the car. Electing to install in the glove box.

Lastly audio upgrade. I have the stock Stereo (no ML) and to be honest it is disappointing. I thought I could live with it, but it is bothering me. I am by no means an audiophile but it is flat. I typically listen to hip hop, top 40, and at times mellow music.

I don't want to have too much BOOM BOOM in the car, but something with more power that is clear at higher volume. My local audio dealer recommended the following:

JL Audio XD 600 sub amp
JL Thin mount 13.5 inch sub
Custom box mounted in the back. Flush mount....should be clean install and take up minimal trunk space.
Remote bass control **** by driver

The installer indicated the problem is with the AMP and subwoofer and not so much with the speakers.

Replace or not to replace the speakers. If I replace the speakers, I will probably double the cost from $1,400 to probably $3,000. TBD. I saw a number of posts indicating members replaced the speakers.

What are your recommendations?

jstjohnz

Obviously only you are in a position to know what it's going to take to make you happy.

You say you don't want a lot of BOOM in the car but your first level of upgrade is nothing but more boom.

The thing is, even your low-end estimate is probably more than what you would have had to pay for an '07 already equipped with the ML system.

OTOH, if 600 watts into a 13.5" sub is your thing the ML system probably wouldn't have made you happy either.

cmasten

its a high grade car, if your going to replace the audio, you need to replace it all, as its all relative to each other. Just save up and pay to upgrade it all. The quality of sound that you can get in this car is stunning. If you are into Hip Hop then you need some clean thump and that takes power and quality drivers both. You will also need a processor if your going to keep your head unit and the controls that come with it, which I recommend.

If my link is working, http://gallery.me.com/cmasten/100244 will show you what can you do within your budget, it also shows you the garbage that is in there now.. its by pioneer but honestly is embarrassing that Lexus even put it in a vehicle of this caliber.

jarm

I have just gone through the same on my car. I have a 2007 LS with the premium sound which I did not like either. I too wanted quality high volume and little distortion so I replaced everything too. I shopped around for someone that install what I wanted at a reasonable price. I got my whole system done for around $1700 but you can spend as much as you would like. I replaced my amp with a alphine PDX-5 with 5 channels (4 channels 75w each and 300 watt sub woofer. Plenty of power but is small enough to mount. I also had the alpine 12" sub woofer mounted flush mounted in a custom enclosed box too. The stock amp is worthless so definitely get a a new amp. With the extra watts per channel please change the speakers. Quality speakers are the most important aspect of the change. Speakers are subject to preference as I was happy with somewhat less expensive speakers while others are not. I would say listen to several brands and pick what sounds best to you. You can use component or co ax. I replaced six speakers with alpine co ax and sound great but Focal speakers sound great too. I researched the speaker reviews on the web and picked ones with quality reviews. I am not a BOOM BOOM kind of guy either. So let the installers balance the bass for you after the work is done. Listen to several songs that you like for your bass adjustment. (I had to turn down the bass to 45%) It does not matter what kind of amp, speakers, sub woofer that you put in your LS it will sound far better than the factory system.

jarm

cmasten

good advice Jarm, there is always another road that works

bollywood2

Thank you for you input. I am definitely going to replace the audio system and based upon your input I will be replacing the speakers.

CMASTEN - Was your 10" sub a thin mount? Could your sub have been installed where the factory sub was installed? The final product looks great!!

JARM, CMASTEN or whomever - When you replaced your speaker did the installer have to make additional cuts or was it a simple unplug the old speaker and replace with new ones.

Regards,
Bollywood

cmasten

no thin mounts.. if you want to add a sub and get some clean bass, you will want the real deal, doing that requires moving air. There is so much volume inside the LS that you will want to have someone build out a box that is tuned for the driver that your using (this is important) we took the rear deck sub out and built a custom fiberglass enclosure in the back corner so I didnt loose much space, but you could put it anywhere. Once you have the sub sealed in and the trunk the next piece of gear you will need is a processor. I chose the Rockford 3sixty2 which taps into your existing amp and then handles all of the eq curves etc. From this device you can additionally "tune" the bottom end to your liking. It allows all kinds of adjustments from crossovers, slopes, time delays etc to help tighten up your system. You then keep all your controls and head unit. Its configured with a blue tooth connection from a laptop inside.

The most important set of drivers to buy are are the front ones. I chose Focal, but Alpine, Boston etc all make much improved sounding drivers to what is in there. The front mids and tweeters are an easy mod, with the xross overs going into the kick panels below. The mid-bass drivers are more work as the retaining plate in the door is for a 6x9, I would recommend a round 6.5 as I dont care for the sound of a 6x9. There is also a bass controller for the 3sixty2 that we put in the center console next to the aux input it has a nice blue led with it so easy to see and adjust in the dark if need be. Once I got mined tuned I have made slight adjustments, but for the most part i just get in and enjoy it.

I used the Focal amps, I took a 4ch and biamped the front xross overs so that the mid-bass has one discreet channel and the mids/tweeters have the other. The sub gets its one dedicated amp. The rear doors only have a mid, and the stock ones are fine for just filler and some imaging from the rear, they are easy to tune into the system with the processor, I dont expect too much from them, and decided to just leave the stocks and let the processor take most of the work load. Its turned out to sound really nice, most people that have listened to it have been stunned by the clarity and visceral impact from the drivers. The Focal 6.5s in the front if amped properly have a lot of quality bass, they need to be sealed really well into the doors, but with the ultra low from the rear deck its a great experience. I listen to the gambit outside of classical and usually feed high quality cd's or lossless sources into the head unit through the aux. SAT is ok.. but most channels sound like fm or worse. You really need to include good source material to make your system stand out.