Hello all:

I'm getting tired of replacing the "Lexus Premium Audio" door speakers in my 1999 RX300. The foam surrounds rot and crack and it seems to be common to the Pioneer speakers. Has anybody replaced the base system Pioneer door woofers with the Nakamichi system woofers? Based on the pictures on e-bay, I don't see any Nakamichi woofers with rotted surrounds while half of the Pioneer woofers have cracked/rotted surrounds.

Also, for some reason, the speakers for the rear door appear to be less expensive than the front doors. Has anybody any experience replacing the front door speakers with those from the rear doors?

Thanks in advance

 

Keith:
Before you get drawn into the changing the brand, please verify the Ohmage of speakers of both brands.

With physical damage, you will not get the right sound reproduction, but don't expect substantial sound quality difference. The acoustics of the cabin makes a huge difference.

Try checking the special interest group of Club Lexus.
We had lot more discussion in 99-2001 .. when the model was new and you could have visited audio shops and listened to installed systems in RX.

At the end, I would say if you are an audiophile, nothing will make you happy in the RX and if you want reasonable sound, go with minimum expense. I would not touch the used/salvaged speakers. Get speakers of right size (dia + depth) and Ohm rating with some influence of power number. Finding efficient speakers would be a ++.

Salim

 

Thanks Salim: The reason I'm looking at the Nakamichi woofers is that they were OEM in this model along with the Pioneers. Both are 4 ohm but I don't know if they are the same efficiency. Given the nakamichis cover the same frequency range as the Pioneer (bass and midrange), I'm guessing that should be a better match than an aftermartket replacement(?)

An additional headache with this car is the rear plastic speaker adapters (which must be sourced aftermarket as they are an integral part of the speaker) and the front foam/cardboard ring baffles (which aren't available anywhere to the best of my knowledge). These make aftermarket speakers a bit of a kludge no matter where you go.

I'm not looking for an Audiophile setup, just a replacement speaker that matches the original as best as possible and doesn't buzz on every low note (speech and music)!

 

I would check with Crutchfield. Excellent products and tremendous customer service. They should be able to guide you regarding replacement speakers or anything fancier that you'd like to do.

 

I have been accused of being a Lexus/Toyota bigot (mostly correct), but there are few things where I think the vehicle manufacturer cuts corners and after market stuff is usually superior. Those items would be tires and speakers. I would include the whole audio system but that due to integration, I would say live with the OEM.

Salim

 

Yeah, like I say, I'm not so much trying to make it a better system, just trying to replace the buzzing speaker (the foam surround on the OEM speakers dries up and cracks and as that's the primary cone suspension, it flaps around and buzzes). I replaced the passenger front door speaker last year with the same problem.

Wish me luck, I ordered a used OEM speaker from Fleabay!

 

You certainly have my best wishes. The only thing about used stuff is that the age is against you. The flex portion becomes stiff and brittle and if you listen to stuff which has lot of cone movement, the flex portion ends up ripping.

Salim