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Guys, we have had this discussion before. Please stop with the ohms resistance. That is incorrect. Speakers are rated in ohms nominal impedance. Resistance is just part of the equation for calculating impedance. There is inductive reactance also. Putting something of similar ohm rating is not needed or advised. You cannot put an 8 ohm resistor in series with an 8 ohm speaker and get the effect you want. The total resistance of a speaker changes with the frequency that is being applied at the time. The OP should be fine with the speaker he installed.
Jabberwock, I used your quote just for effect. Not saying you are wrong.
Right ,Ohm is strictly resistance to pure resistive load. Anything who has reactance by capacitance or inductance needs resistance measured in Impedance.(Just DC vs. AC) When spec. woofer with 12 Ohm
impedance (which varies by frequency > nominal value)) with 8 Ohm one there is a chance woofer would get damaged because it can draw more current. This may also damage amp. if it's power handling is marginal. Some speakers can be procted with resetable fuse.
I also bought a sub from Parts Express, the Dayton Audio Model that I read worked well in the LS. I had it in there for a few days and it sounded good. I changed the head unit so I opted to take the factory sub out of the Levinson System and installed an aftermarket amp (with boost ****) and installed a Free-Air Pioneer that bolted right in without using the factory sub ring. I had no issues like @ShawnOK spoke of. I ran the sub output from the ML amp into the speaker level input of a Soundstream Picasso Nano Mono amp and this sub setup sounds great with more bass than stock. I replaced the rear speakers with Dayton 8ohm and the front lower 6X9's with Infinity Kappa 6X9's which also sound good. They are 4 ohms and this is primarily the reason I took the sub off of the ML system to eliminate some strain.
I have the Dayton sub sitting in the garage if anyone needs one.
I used a Polk Audio db840DVC 8-Inch Dual Voice Coil Subwoofer. By wiring the coils in series, it acts as a 16 ohm load. Much more bass than the puny, factory sub. Also refoamed the surrounds for the mid-rang door speakers. That got rid of the infamous SC430 speaker rattle.
I used a Polk Audio db840DVC 8-Inch Dual Voice Coil Subwoofer. By wiring the coils in series, it acts as a 16 ohm load. Much more bass than the puny, factory sub. Also refoamed the surrounds for the mid-rang door speakers. That got rid of the infamous SC430 speaker rattle.
Has been working great for about 6 years now.
Polk Audio DB 842 DVC (DB842DVC)
750W Peak (250W RMS) 8" DB+ Series Dual 4 ohm Car Subwoofer (DB 842DVC)
This is the replacement for yours.
With the 842, when you wire in series it shows an 8 Ohm load to the Levinson amp. Should be no problem using this speaker. The amp is probably bandwidth limited and otherwise optimized for the lower frequencies. (I would not run the speaker at 4 Ohms.) I would not worry about the Levinson amp being rated for 50 watts.
Current car audio electronics has its own set of "specs" because of the 12V limitations.
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This might be a good alternative because of its higher efficiency and lower nominal FR. How it fits in the trunk I have not explored. Dayton Audio makes good components, and have great customer service, IMHO.
The Lexus OEM subwoofer is 16ohm not 8ohm as you implied above.
I stated no such implication; the inference is yours. The nominal 16 Ohm factory driver, because of the materials it was made from that at the time, such as paper, had a limited life. Using Bextrene or some other material then available would have raised the price point. In retrospect, some might call the stock driver "puny"; Certainly Harmon/ML was "relying on a name" , They built a very good system "but to a price." It takes less power to move the light mass of a paper cone than a heavier material. Paper was the standard then....and their rubber surrounds etc. did fall apart over time.
I've been looking for an efficient 16 Ohm marine-grade replacement with a low, sensible corner frequency thus far to no avail. You were fortunate to get the Dayton driver you did my friend!
My point is only the later model Dayton, that you observe will yield 8 Ohms in series, is listed as the replacement for the dual 8 Ohm voice coil one you installed in series to nominally have 16 Ohms. From what I can see a dual 8 Ohm or a single 16 Ohm marine grade woofer is NLA from Dayton.
Between 8-16 Ohms nominal total load one should not have a problem; as VVIBob pointed out. Go much below 8 and the woofer amps cannot produce enough current and tend to fry themselves. One should stick to the nominal loads listed as stock for all drivers. This was not a problem with the Levinson system as it was designed as a system within the parameters of the day although they, having been playing on the name, perhaps did skimp on what was then available. Folks put luggage in their trunks then not blasters and zoom amps. Real subwoofers were for the home audiophile.
You might want to look at my link somewhere to the mighty Eminent Tech true subwoofer that goes down to ~1 Hz.!
Last edited by ivanj; 05-19-19 at 01:46 AM.
Reason: clarification
I was disappointed with the performance of the factory sub, even after changing the ML head unit. My solution was add a separate sub only amp and replace the sub with a more substantial unit. The amp I installed is rated at 3k watts 2-4 ohms and the speaker 600 w at 4 ohm.. You sure do 'feel' the bass!
07-17-18, 06:20 PM
