[IdahoDoug]

Wow, I should start by saying I was on both Toyota's and Lexus' Stereo Evaluation Committee so I've done a bit of automotive audio comparing.

Skillet posted a great thread on replacing your stock worn out speakers with Pioneer poly cones for around $80 for front and rears and I did the fronts this evening. Easily the best improvement to the sound system I can imagine achieving for $80/2hrs.

Just for grins, I 'evaluated' the stock setup before making the changes, again with one fresh Pioneer vs the opposite factory speaker, then again after both fronts were in. The fronts are 6.5" Pioneer TS-G1641Rs

Of course the stock setup was poor - muddy bass, no real high end treble at moderate volume that quickly becomes gritty if you push it a bit, and a feeling the speaker was simply unable to keep up with reproducing a complex musical piece. When you open it you'll see why. Huge and definitely NOT acoustically transparent plastic piece over a reversed cone that actually fires into the door, not into the passenger compartment.

One fresh vs the old speaker. I did this using the balance and fade so it isolated one front vs the other front. This is not a perfect comparo because stereo music is separated and one part of the music may not go to the other speaker. Nevertheless, I could immediately hear the brightness of the new one though I was concerned its bass was notably weaker. Punchier, but still weaker and this bummed me a bit. Back to the brightness, an excellent example was a song that has a cricket in it during a quiet passage. On the old factory speaker side it sounded like an electronically produced chirp sound, but switching to the other side it was clearly an actual recording of a cricket and you could hear all the aspects. Made me anxious to put the other one in.

With both fronts in and still with the fader playing only the front speakers, I was amazed. The whole musical piece came alive. There are too many things to comment on positively so I'll just say that everything was improved. Interestingly the bass was now MUCH stronger than the factory speakers - punchier and with more power. Must have been that the old/new speakers were a bit out of phase with each other and the bass had issues due to that. Anyhow, bravo!

Someone also mentioned to tighten the screws on the back of the trim panel while its off to reduce squeaks and rattles. There are about 25 on each panel and it was a good call - an annoying sound is now gone and about 5 on each door were loose.

Then I checked what the rear speakers were doing. Nothing, basically. They're literally just there to provide a bit of noise for the rear seat passengers. I have the 4" model Pioneers (4" Pioneer TS-G1041Rs) on the workbench and will put them in tomorrow.

So, thanks for taking the time to find speakers that fit. They're well matched to the factory outputs and well worth the time and meager money to add. Makes me wonder if I'm going to enjoy this so well the Scion stereo that arrived a few days ago may gather dust for a while.

Regards,

DougM

PS - Best Buy has these on sale 20% off right now.

[-Spike-]

Put those in the wife's cruiser before a road trip a year ago. Vast improvement over stock, and fitment was not an issue. The rear mounts have to be modded just a bit, but nothing major. The PO put Sony XPlodes in my ride, they certainly sound better than stock, and have slightly more bass than the Pioneers, but the Pioneers sound a little cleaner. FWIW, the Sonys are also a direct fit, don't know the stock number.

-Spike

[RoddQLD]

Can I just confirm that you placed the front speakers in the doors. My 97 has the front speakers in the dash.

[IdahoDoug]

US model 97s have a speaker in the front doors, and a speaker in the dash next to it. Are yours different - you saying zero speakers in the door??

DougM

[sdcrzr]

Doug,

Are these a direct fit replacement that still lets you use the factory door panel speaker grille?

Thanks,
John
http://www.sdtrux.com

[sdcrzr]

Sorry, ....dah.

I guess it would help if read your heading.
"behind stock grille"

Johnhttp://sdtrux.com

[Cruisin'Carolina]

Where were you two years ago when I thought Eclipses were the only that that would fit?

Bastid....

I think I've blown the F DS, again......or it could be the trim making noise, but I doubt it

[CodyRx7]

These are direct replacements? Just remove the old stock speaker and these fit in their place without mods (for the front)?

Ive been wanting to replace my door speakers since the passenger side door speaker seems to be blown.

[IdahoDoug]

They require only 4 holes be drilled in the door metal close to the existing ones, and you mount them with a strip of 3/8 thick rubber foam weatherstrip. The drilling is because the screws from the factory speakers are huge and their heads would touch the speaker's gasket, so you use the smaller screws in the speaker kit.

The weatherstrip is because the magnet actually touches the window channel, which would cause a slight (1/16th inch) gap as the speaker edge can't *quite* touch down for a bit of the rim. Filling the gap maintains maximum base and speaker responsiveness.

As mentioned, the factory grilles remain and the difference for 90 minutes work is phenomenal. Didn't get time to install the rears yet. Soon.

DougM

[CodyRx7]

Does this weatherstripping "kit" come with the speakers when you buy them, or something you purchase seperately?

[RoddQLD]

Originally Posted by IdahoDoug

US model 97s have a speaker in the front doors, and a speaker in the dash next to it. Are yours different - you saying zero speakers in the door??

DougM

I just checked to make sure!! No speakers at all in the front doors of my 1997 40th Anniversary. There are only front speakers in the dash, rear speakers in rear doors, and one speaker in the cargo area!

[-Spike-]

Originally Posted by CodyRx7

Does this weatherstripping "kit" come with the speakers when you buy them, or something you purchase seperately?

Seperately, in my experience. At least, I didn't get no damn weatherstrip with mine.

-Spike

[tomatopants]

I put in Pioneers, and honestly, I couldn't ask for better sound quality. Their prices are really low, but the crispness, and loudness of the audio is amazing. If you're willing to break out a drill, and spend around 100 bucks for new front and rear speakers, it'll make your audio experience increase tenfold.

[Rookie2]

I'm wondering if anyone with a 450 has done this mod. Curious if the improvement would be the same, or if the 450's came with a little better speaker package.


Rookie2

[tiorio]

Originally Posted by Cruisin'Carolina

Where were you two years ago when I thought Eclipses were the only that that would fit?

Bastid....

I think I've blown the F DS, again......or it could be the trim making noise, but I doubt it

Again? Jeez, I liked the eclipses in my old truck and was going to put them in the cruiser but you've blown 2?

[murf]

Heres one for you... When my stereo guy installed my system, he removed the original speaker grills and mounted the Pioneer grills from the outside. This enabled the rear speakers to be 51/4 from the original 4". He had to drill new holes in the rear door sheet metal to secure the speakers and that made it rattle free as well. The fronts are 61/2 and the dash speakers are 4" coaxials. Truly enhanced the sound factor. New deck, amp, and 8" kicker in a tube. Enclosed some pics to show what I mean. I agree with the above, for the money, the Pioneer sound is fantastic. You dont notice until they are changed that what youve been listening to was weak!

[Grench]

Originally Posted by RoddQLD

I just checked to make sure!! No speakers at all in the front doors of my 1997 40th Anniversary. There are only front speakers in the dash, rear speakers in rear doors, and one speaker in the cargo area!

Huh? Could you post a picture of one of your front doors? The inside with it open please.

[murf]

here is a picture of the drivers door open...

[murf]

sorry, that previous picture was the drivers rear door - here is the drivers front door...

[john_eckels]

I just picked up a pair and mounted one in the passenger side door of my LX450 which does have an upgraded sound system. I sat inside and played with the balance control. I found the highs to be crisper. The mid range was lacking and the bass wasn't as good as the Lexus speakers. I did check to make sure it was wired correctly. For my test I played an MP3 of Whats Up by 4 Non Blonde's and the chick's voice was too shrill and sort of fatiguing with the Pioneer speaker. MP3's in general lack mid-range and cut the bass a little so I was probably getting a double serving of highs.


I did read IdahoDoug's post regarding the installation of both speakers to get the best sound, so I am not sure if my evaluation is accurate or not. I have grown accustomed to the "flat" sound with my home stereo. I have always owned Boston Accoustics which are notorious for being flat. I may just stick with the stock speakers for the current time.

[IdahoDoug]

Wow, added the rears this afternoon and re-evaluated everything. Used Skillet's mounting and for those without a dremel you can also use an ordinary soldering iron with the blade thing (they all come with one) to cut the plastic baskets.

The rears were single cone speakers from the factory like the fronts. They were putting out really awful stuff - not contributing anything but filler noise. Like the fronts, the new Pioneers are two ways so there's a much nicer stereo separation going on and it just crisped up the sound a bit. Now when I compare the fronts and rears the rears are actually adding a quality sound vs just a melange of sound. Very nice addition. The big bang is still with the front installs, but the rears complete the package. Remarkable, really.

I'm an AM talk show junkie as well and cannot believe how much better I can understand the words, tonal inflections and such.

That Scion head unit just got moved to a shelf in the garage.....

DougM

[keithf]

Happy 4th!

I see IdahoDoug did this to his '93 LC. Has any-one been successful in doing this particular front speaker replacement to a later-model LC? I'm having no luck with my '97 LC Collector's Edition.

I suspect Toyota changed the front stock speaker grill in later 80 models, and maybe even the available speaker depth for the magnet.

There is no-way I can get the front door panel to fit over the 6.5" Pioneer TS-G1641Rs without a bulge appearing - the yellow clips above and below the speaker will not even engage wthout significantly bending the panel.

I tried it both ways with 3/8" worth of spacers to keep the magnet off the window channel - using small screws and drilling new holes, and also with the factory holes with longer screws. I even tried a 1/4" of spacers, with the magnet tight against the window channel - still no luck.

The rear 4" Pioneer TS-G1041Rs's fit just fine as IdahoDoug/Skillet have outlined.

Bummer on the fronts though -any thoughts? Thanks! Keith.

[stayalert]

Thanks to this thread I went to best buy and got the fronts and rears for $87.98

Installed the rears easily. The fronts are out of stock but I get to pick them up in a week or so.....The sound is really improved...can't wait to put the fronts in...

my trucks a '94 for what its worth....

[ginericLC]

Originally Posted by keithf

Happy 4th!

I see IdahoDoug did this to his '93 LX. Has any-one been successful in doing this particular front speaker replacement to a later-model LX? I'm having no luck with my '97 LX Collector's Edition.

I suspect Toyota changed the front stock speaker grill in later 80 models, and maybe even the available speaker depth for the magnet.

There is no-way I can get the front door panel to fit over the 6.5" Pioneer TS-G1641Rs without a bulge appearing - the yellow clips above and below the speaker will not even engage wthout significantly bending the panel.

I tried it both ways with 3/8" worth of spacers to keep the magnet off the window channel - using small screws and drilling new holes, and also with the factory holes with longer screws. I even tried a 1/4" of spacers, with the magnet tight against the window channel - still no luck.

The rear 4" Pioneer TS-G1041Rs's fit just fine as IdahoDoug/Skillet have outlined.

Bummer on the fronts though -any thoughts? Thanks! Keith.

There is no 93 LX only Cruisers until 1996. I'm wondering if the LX panels are slightly different due to the extra soundproofing they supposedly have?

[keithf]

Doh, I just realised I had typed LX instead of LC. I fixed it in my original thread.

Anyhoo, if some-one want to buy these (1 week old - fitted once then removed) front 6.5" Pioneer TS-G1641R speakers from me for half-price, let me know.

I'm now searching for reasonably priced front speakers that will fit the 97 LC door panel with factory speaker covers.

[stayalert]

Originally Posted by keithf

Doh, I just realised I had typed LX instead of LC. I fixed it in my original thread.

Anyhoo, if some-one want to buy these (1 week old - fitted once then removed) front 6.5" Pioneer TS-G1641R speakers from me for half-price, let me know.

I'm now searching for reasonably priced front speakers that will fit the 97 LC door panel with factory speaker covers.

Dagnabbit - I'd have jumped on that offer as I'm cheap bastidge..oh well....

[nakman]

Originally Posted by keithf

Doh, I just realised I had typed LX instead of LC. I fixed it in my original thread.

Anyhoo, if some-one want to buy these (1 week old - fitted once then removed) front 6.5" Pioneer TS-G1641R speakers from me for half-price, let me know.

I'm now searching for reasonably priced front speakers that will fit the 97 LC door panel with factory speaker covers.

did you buy new? Can't you just take them back? I too am looking to upgrade, and this is what I'm considering.. but if they don't fit they'll be going right back to the store for a full refund/exchange/whatever.. if you didn't use them why take the loss?

[keithf]

Originally Posted by nakman

did you buy new? Can't you just take them back? I too am looking to upgrade, and this is what I'm considering.. but if they don't fit they'll be going right back to the store for a full refund/exchange/whatever.. if you didn't use them why take the loss?

Yes I bought them new from BestBuy after I saw this thread. Be sure to not do what I did - going on this thread I assumed they'd fit, so went ahead and destroyed the packaging box they came in when I cut out the speaker template on it .

[Cruisin'Carolina]

Originally Posted by tiorio

Again? Jeez, I liked the eclipses in my old truck and was going to put them in the cruiser but you've blown 2?

I have an Alpine head unit that is 25WX4, don't recall what the RMS # is, probably around 12.

I have an Alpine amp bridged mono hidden behind the rear cargo panel where the stock subwoofer was. I cut a small piece of the cargo pocket out so I can take the access door off and adjust the amp when needed.

I blew the first one (front DS) within a couple of weeks, and then the next one (same location) a couple of months later.

I'm guessing I'm not getting enough power to it, and making it work to hard.

or probably something else.

I might buy these, the rear Eclipses are doing fine, but I'd like to get a smallish amp to get the power any brand really needs.

[airlaird]

Keith, sounds like your going to have to use the Eclipse model for your 97'. I have the Eclipse model on my 1995 and they fit perfectly with my stock grill. I don't recall the model number...but I believe it was mentioned in this earlier thread above.
airlaird