ONE & THREE/EIGHTHS RULES = LX450 Speakers

[4xoddic]

Attachment 249312aka Diamonds in the Rough



My THANX to those who've commented on how to get around The Sacred Measurement = shallow depth of 1 3/8 inches at the point where a speaker's magnet in the OEM position would rub the window track due to the addition of side door reinforcements for 96-97 models.

I did give some thought to using spacers & actually cut out a spacer (see pic for the results of One-Eyed Man's ability to jigsaw.



That spacer is close to 1 in., & a test fit confirmed I would lose the OEM grille AND still be firing into the side of the dash.

1. A thinner spacer might position the woofer OK, but I would still need to ream out the door panel as much as possible within the diameter of the OEM grille.
   
2. IF that didn't work, I'd use the Diamond grills; but with the plastic grill mount's thickness I might find the grill smashed by the dash the first time I closed the door.
   
3. Still need to mount the tweeter = by door handle (lessen front staging?); A-pillar ala mkfour's XL example ( nixed this as too obvious & didn't visualize me painting the tweeter to match the interior)

I pondered how to mount the components with the least destruction of the OEM LX450's door panels. I settled on the following; which could be reversed with the purchase of door pockets.

I decided to mount the tweeter in the OEM woofer spot & considered just glueing it to the basket of the Pioneer woofer, since the diaphragms were removed anyway.

Then realized it would be easier to make a plate from plywood scrap & mount in place of the OEM woofer. I didn't get any tweeter mounts in my eBay buy, so used hole saw & Dremel sanding drum to mount the tweeter in the plate.



I'd cut the OEM woofer electrical plug & soldered new leads, which join the tweeter's leads in the spiral wrap & run behind & through the door panel via a hole cut with the smallest hole saw in my set.



Those wires join up with the woofers & run to the Diamond crossover inside the pocket. I likely will add some padding/sound insulation later in the tuning process; as well as some black velvet to hide the pocket's contents.



The Diamond is much less efficient than the OEM Lexus Pioneer woofer; I had to tilt the balance knob far to the left & raise the volume level to hear anything from the Diamond components.



I also have not yet disconnected the OEM in-dash tweeter. I imagine the sound will clear up when that's done.

I have Error Code 23 from my CD changer from time to time; today is one of those times. So testing was done with a cassette recorded with Dolby.

A great deal of improvement over the OEM woofer with its loose diaphragms. LOL



I have some 4 inch Polk component woofers to put in the back seat door panels. The Diamond crossover accepts & reduces the output to rear speakers.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to put the CD changer out to pasture with the Lear 8-Track & 33 years of cassettes recorded from LPs & CDs. Install a new Head Unit & figure out how to operate the 8 GB nano freebie I got with my new 24" iMac. We've been doing everything in our power to turn the economy around . . . .

[Highspeed]

replace the pocket with a woofer enclosure and cover it with something that matches your interior. it will sound 100 times better... and look factory if you do it right.
Love those Diamonds!!! I hope you've got a nice amp to run them.

[4xoddic]

The Diamond is much less efficient than the OEM Lexus Pioneer woofer; I had to tilt the balance knob far to the left & raise the volume level to hear anything from the Diamond components.

I also have not yet disconnected the OEM in-dash tweeter. I imagine the sound will clear up when that's done.

I have Error Code 23 from my CD changer from time to time; today is one of those times. So testing was done with a cassette recorded with Dolby.

A great deal of improvement over the OEM woofer with its loose diaphragms. LOL

I have some 4 inch Polk component woofers to put in the back seat door panels. The Diamond crossover accepts & reduces the output to rear speakers.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to put the CD changer out to pasture with the Lear 8-Track & 33 years of cassettes recorded from LPs & CDs. Install a new Head Unit & figure out how to operate the 8 GB nano freebie I got with my new 24" iMac. We've been doing everything in our power to turn the economy around . . . .

[4xoddic]

Originally Posted by Highspeed

replace the pocket with a woofer enclosure and cover it with something that matches your interior. it will sound 100 times better... and look factory if you do it right.
Love those Diamonds!!! I hope you've got a nice amp to run them.

Hmmm, like leather from those 3rd row seats, maybe?

NIB 5-channel amp in closet for 6-7 years now.


does 90% of = I get control of the entertainment.

[ed97fzj80]

Good job, way to think outside the box.

[Lka1988]

Originally Posted by 4xoddic

The Diamond is much less efficient than the OEM Lexus Pioneer woofer; I had to tilt the balance knob far to the left & raise the volume level to hear anything from the Diamond components.

You need to enclose the woofer....Open-air speakers are not the best sounding.

Edit: just read more of the thread... Still.

[4xoddic]

Originally Posted by Lka1988

You need to enclose the woofer . . .

. . . . hmmm, the Ported Map Pocket ?

Sonic testing is limited when the Heat Index is 105 to 110 F. . . . the RF door panel comes off at sunup.

Once I brought the balance back to where I could hear the OEM, I started looking for the BASS. The Diamond 5.25 surpasses the OEM Lexus sub.

Still, I've yet to listen to an entire tune.

[mooker82]

I Diamond Audio components in my 80 as well. Great sounding speakers. I was able to put mine in the stock location using a spacer but did change the speaker grill. I think they would fit with the stock grills but I did not care.

[4xoddic]

Care & Feeding of Door Panels

As I do 90% of the passenger seat occupancy in our new LX450, I was determined to make some improvements to the OEM stereo. I have a penchant for imaging based upon 2 early-adulthood experiences:

1. Being forced by my Music Appreciation prof to attend at least ONE Wichita Symphony Orchestra performance. Having cut my concert ears on Eric Burden & The Animals' "Sky Pilot" at 16 in The Cotillion Ballroom; experienced Alice Cooper's I'm Eighteen at 18; turned my Jimi Hendrix Experience 8th row tickets in for a refund when Wichita couldn't sell enough tickets to fill the joint; Stones in '75 at Arrowhead; etc. = I thought I already knew how to appreciate music. Sitting there at The Symphony in the free student nosebleed seats, I focused on the tympani. I suddenly picked up on a tapping sound keeping pace. Hmmm, don't these folks know it's customary to remain quiet at a concert? I began to seek the source of the tapping . . . . seems to be coming from the stage . . . . DANG, that's the conductor tapping his shoe on the hardwood!!!! This place has impressive acoustics.
   
   
2. A number of years passed & I found myself on spring break in Yellowstone NP. I spotted a trio of Big Horn rams on a hillside, parked my '75 SR5 Pickup, and got my camera into position as I rolled down the window. Crack! Crack! sounded like rifle shots . . . . Crack! It was 2 of the rams running head-on into each other, the only sound in the wilderness (Tourism Tip: go to YNP in the WINTER when nobody, I mean nobody, else is there.)
   

Both these audio pleasures taught me that you can't beat the human ear for picking out a frequency & convincing your brain to marvel at that frequency to the exclusion of all others. Ever since, I've been a fan of FLAT response from speakers, whether in my Home Theatre (5 Polk RT7s & Velodyne CT-120) or on the road, I want to hear the audio as it was recorded, Thank You.

Thus, Project LX Stag Sound:






Once the Heat Index was no longer being reported, I started in on the RF door panel remodel. I used my cheapo HELP!-label door panel tool to remove the LX's panel. Time for the Diamond Audio M551 components, with huge crossover.




Here's the reason I cut the OEM F15 connector off the Pioneer woofer ->



there's no slack for splicing into the stock speaker wires, unless you want to remove the plastic barrier on the door. No matter how many times I've done that, I never succeed in not tearing the plastic. With this installation there was no other need to gain access to the door interior, so I'd decided to use the connector off the woofer & make it a reversible mod.




I'd previously made 2 plates for mounting the tweeters where the woofers go in the doors; so I used a hole saw to cut a mounting hole for the tweeter. This Rigid set is a godsend for this One-Eyed-Man. I also cut another hole for the wiring from the Head Unit & the tweeter to pass thru. My wife suggested I tape the tweeter in even though it was a pressed-fit ( what if it falls out? do you have to remove the door panel again?).






I unscrewed the door pocket from the panel, and pulled the myriad of staples securing the carpet to the pocket's backside.



The carpet was lightly glued onto the front of the pocket, and pulls off easily. It also goes back into place easily, as you get a firm grip & pull it back under the edge of the upper door panel's plastic. I used the woofer's grille ring as a template to mark a cutout; drilled a small starter hole for the rotary tool's router bit & sliced around the mark. I've read where this bit is said to cut plastic like butter, and it sorta does;



at the same time it will build up melted plastic on the bit, which will burn your fingers if you grab quickly enough. Pulls off easily with needlenose pliers.




I used a sanding drum on the rotary tool to smooth out the hole.



Duro spray adhesive on both the panel & the back of the carpet; a few staples hold the carpet down on the backside.




An Xacto-type tool was used to cut the carpet, using the edge of the hole in the plastic as a guide.




The grille ring was used as a template to drill the 4 mounting holes for 8 X 32 machine screws, washers & nuts to hold down the woofers. NOTE: The Diamond's grille ring is HEAVY DUTY, and IF you torque it down too far it will bend to match the curve in the pocket. I found this out on the LF panel when I couldn't get the grille to snap in because the ring was bowed. The woofer really isn't going anywhere in this install, as it's pinned by the pocket against the door panel. If you're installing speakers with flimsier grille rings, watch out! I'm sure some would snap as you torque them down on the pocket's curvature. I used the smallest hole saw to punch thru the door panel & route the input & tweeter wires into the pocket.


Reinstall the pocket on the door panel; panel to door; and wire up the components to the crossover. Even the MACHO Diamond Xover fit into the front portion of the pocket.
From initial testing with a Nicolette Larson (RIP) tape (recorded with Dolby C) it sounds great. I intend to use a sound level meter to do additional fine-tuning with the OEM head unit; and I have begun to play around with pocket dampening: