happy1977

I'm checking our car in tomorrow, will update this with info by sat if they're able to finish all the installation in one day.

apple2004

re:happy1977
waiting for your review after you have done the installation, but I just plan only add the subwoofer in rear. change all speakers is too costly for me.

happy1977

Update:

Installer found out that the fronts are NOT 6.5" (2010 models) but 6.9". Will update the first post when everything is done monday.

They had to make a custom grill on the rear for the tweeters coz there weren't any holes.

Trev232

Are you sure they didn't mean 6x9 (6"by9") and not 6.9". I believe the rears doors are 6.5"

You may want to watch out adding in 3way 6x9's as it could effect your imaging and make it sound like the music is coming from the floor. Depending on how good the existing 6x9 is you may just be able to add an amp with a little more power and have a great sounding speaker. But then you might need a EQ/Crossover to help imaging again.

CDT makes a 6x9 subwoofer, but I'm not sure about the depth in the doors, as you sometimes have to watch out for the window in the down position hitting the magnet of the speaker or other things like power door locks.

In reference to the custom rear tweeter grills, I always wondered what it would cost to just order that piece (of plastic) from Lexus as they already make one With a perforated grill for the ML version. Might be cheaper and stock looking, just a thought.

happy1977

Sorry, I meant 6x9. And yes, the rears are 6.5. Got all the speakers in: all 6.5 plus tweeters and so far no problem with the windows down. Sound is much better than the factory. I still need to play with the tweaking and have the break in period.

Problem right now is that after the install, my cruise control won't work anymore plus the female voice that talks when using the phone control is not working anymore. I have to take the vehicle back coz of these problem.

This is the installer: http://www.soundsationalaudio.com/

kitlz

happy, losing the nav voice was one of the downsides of going AM in my 330. Not that I cared for her that much but I wanted everything to function normally. I never bothered my installer to find out what he could do to get her back. Cruise control was not affected on mine. Hope they can figure it out for you.

What brand speakers did you wind up getting?

GavinTyler

Now I'm having second thoughts about upgrading, I don't want to lose those features esp the navi voice. Did they mess with the car's cpu? I thought this is pretty much a plug and play thing?

kitlz

Gavin, like I said I never pursued losing the nav voice with my installer. He did put in a lot of equipment. The other part of his business was certified Lexus body shop so I figured he knew more than most people about the vehicle inside and out. I went with ML this time around on the 450h because I'm hesitant to make changes for maybe some improvement. No disrespect meant, happy. I was never 100% satisfied with my AM setup. Expensive as hell too. My new installer already has ideas on what to do I need to stay away from him. For now, ML is just fine. I'll sit back and admire what every one else does.

GavinTyler

Anita, I understood that you didn't pursue it. I was actually commenting on the drawback of upgrading the audio in general, should anybody pursue it. My question now is, if I were to upgrade the speakers only mainly on the rear passenger, is there a risk of losing other electronic features or do you only run that risk when you mess with the amp or integrated navi/audio player? Has anybody upgraded their system successfully without losing any of the car electronic functions?

happy1977

@Anita, I listed the units on my posts on the first page. I'm satisfied with the audio quality so far and pretty picky when it comes to AQ, you just need to tweak the settings on it. They still need to show me how to tweak the amps and the cleansweep.

@X-men, we just didn't have the option at that time to pick the ML as we wanted an Osidian black with black interior and to have an ML option might take more time and that was something we didn't have in getting the RX, the dealer had to have the black/black shipped from Chicago and there were some delays.

We had our 03' solara totaled, and our car rental from insurance was gonna end in 2 days so we needed to have ride ASAP as we only have one vehicle. If we had the time and luxury of shopping around like just adding a vehicle, we would have gotten pretty much what we wanted.

I know it's a hassle to go through this but I'd rather go through this than listen to these measly standard factory speakers.

kitlz

happy, gotcha. I had two 9" JL Audio subs, they worked great. Definitely have the installer tweak the cleansweep. I recall something about setting the right volume on the radio. Mine was around the mid 30s I believe.

Any other plans or do you think you're done? My biggest problem was I never knew when to stop

kitlz

Happy was probably the first one to upgrade to this extent. I recall Tex Lex added an amp and subwoofer on his RX without any problems. I don't believe anyone just replaced speakers. You'd probably want to add a subwoofer anyway since the RX lacks bass, even on ML. Nothing's simple

Sorry, I know it's not an answer to your question.

happy1977

So far, I'm satisfied with the way it sounds, I only have one 10' sub as I'm not into thumping sound. I'm not done yet, LOL, we still need to get the wind visor from carson.

kitlz

But then you don't have seat massage I know, it's not about shaking the neighborhood when you drive by. Glad you're enjoying the upgraded system. Keep us posted on the nav and cruise control issues.

happy1977

Will do, and BTW, I don't have the nav, just that female voice from for the handsfree controls.