OGSUV's ML audio slow and low (budget) stereo “build/upgrade” (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Dec 18, 2004
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Location
Madison,WI
I am a car guy and an audio guy. I worked in car stereo many years ago for a decade. Even though I am older now, it is in my blood and still fun to me.

We bought this 05' Oct. 2021. I had not done much research on stereo upgrades (or GX's in general), but I was aware of the limitations with the factory nav head unit.

I have now gotten around to at least upgrading most of the speakers and thought I would share what I have done. These are the steps I took, with the cost and my opinions.

This is more about upgrading and prioritizing in small, inexpensive steps anyone could do, rather than building an elaborate system all at once.

I don't think the factory audio sounded very good at all. Maybe it did in 2005, but doubtful.

I posted a similar thread on Club Lexus under my screen name Sixbanger about my 2015 IS350 (over a 3 year period) which has similar head unit limitations and was surprised how many people have viewed (almost 50k views) Sixbanger's non-ML audio slow and low(budget) stereo build - ClubLexus - Lexus Forum Discussion

GX Florida driveway.jpg
Lex IS trunk stereo.jpg
 
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Upgrades to date: (more details to come)

Total spent to date = $443.52 this was really my goal to build a budget system for $500 or less.

Front door speakers- Focal Integration ISS 165 $135 (sitting in the basement for 2 years originally intended for a different car)- Crutchfield sale (I don't love these, but 100% improvement over stock)

Rear door speakers- Alpine SXE-1726S 6.5 Inch 6 1/2" 2-way Car Audio Coaxial Speakers $37- ebay - not bad for the price. Better than stock.

Center channel- Kenwood KFC-835C 3.5-inch Round Car Speaker $28/pr.- ebay -really impressed. The factory speaker must be extra bad.

Remove tailgate speakers and eventually unplug factory sub $0

Sound deadening-Stinger Roadkill- $100 I bought a 36 sq. ft. bulk pack a couple of years ago and it's enough for several cars

Subwoofer-8" Polk subwoofer (see later posts for details on stallation...............$43.52 in 2013


Misc. subwoofer supplies- 8" MDF rings, 3/4" MDF, Bondo, tan carpet, grill cloth, metal grill, etc....... $100

Bazooka BTA850FH $175 (not great, not exactly the output I was after and without adjustability of the crossover it is kind of a "one noter" where in some parts of the music is sounds great and others, sounds like it is not even playing. It is being returned and I have decided to go all in with the bazooka tube idea and exchange it for the most powerful 8" bazooka makes. Buying through crutchfield.com makes the exchange process easy. They exchanged, no questions asked) I returned all of this and going to go a different direction altogether




Optional : Bluetooth/Music streaming - USA Spec BT-Toy45 $225

gx xm.jpg

I listen to all kinds of music, but in this pic I was listening to XMs Hip Hop BBQ channel.

I fought the streaming thing for a long time and relied on CD for good sound. Then I subscribed to XM for my Land Cruiser for long trips, then got kind of addicted to the variety of music and being able to listen to the same stations on long trips. With my one subscription I also get streaming, which makes it so I can use my phone on my other cars to stream it.
 
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Front doors

I found the driver's side midrange and tweeter to be the weakest link and cause of most of my "listener fatigue", I wanted to address that first.

Because of their position high in the door, I felt like that is all I could hear. Vocals in any kind of music sounded flat and harsh. It lacked any detail and natural sound. I assumed this had to do with the fact that there is no HD radio tuning, but as I upgraded other items, I found that wasn't the reason.

I added a hefty amount of sound deadening behind the speaker and for most of the outer door skin.

GX components.jpg
GX components 2.jpg

I should have ordered a bracket of some kind to make mounting the woofer easier. I made do with what I had. The woofer is mounted solidly and most importantly for me I wanted it angled towards the dome light, or at least in the general direction.

I attached the tweeter to a piece of backstrap and again tried to get an angle up and back using the location that 2" midrange used to live.

When I fired up these speakers the first time, I was majorly disappointed in tweeter output. I like them a little better now, but I still wouldn't recommend this exact model.

I have never been a fan of tweeters mounted high in the door like the factory ones were. I filled those holes with just a little brown audio carpet I had laying around.
 
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Rear doors

The speaker opening is bigger than a 6.5". I made do, but should have used/bought a mounting bracket of some sort or used the factory mount on the factory speaker. No need to angle these at all. just slap them in. I added plenty of sound deadening on the outside door skin and behind speaker.


gx rear drivers side door.jpg
gx rear passenger door.jpg
 
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Center channel

Cheapest and easiest improvement! So worth the effort!

I thought I would not even need a center channel. I tried just unplugging it at first but didn't like the sound without it.

Once I got the cheap Kenwood speaker installed, I was amazed at the difference. This was what I was looking for to add some clarity to vocals and bring the sound stage up to the dash, especially at low volumes. Best $28 I spent.

Since this is a 4 Ohm speaker, it is much louder than the factory speaker was and that is a good thing here.

**please note, I did have the nav screen unit already out, I'm not sure you could mount the 3.5" speaker without removal**


GX center grill.jpg
GX center grill 2.jpg
GX center channel.jpg


I ended up bending and wedging one of the speaker tabs under the dash foam towards the hood. The other tab is zip tied to the front of the bracket. It ended up with a really nice angle towards the dome light. This a cheesy, but effective mount. If you don't want the hassle of trying to custom mount something, see below........

-------

I was surprised that there was a reasonably priced 2-3/4" kenwood drop-in option (Crutchfield)

I am sure this would have sounded as good or better than what I bought and installed, but I don't mind having to custom mount the 3.5" at a 1/3 of the cost. It actually worked out perfectly to get the angle towards the dome light I was looking for.
GX center option.JPG
 
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tailgate door- speaker delete
GX tailgate door.jpg

I've never been more excited to remove some speakers. These speakers are just not needed for a good sounding system in my opinion.

I also added some sound deadening (tailgate sounds less like a 2003 corolla now)

I added an inside emergency release for the door (I used a strand of copper 12-2 home wiring I had laying around), you can see it in the top right of the pic. There are some great threads on here on how to do this. I just followed their lead.
 
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Save for sub options

The factory sub is working and sounds relatively good for what it is, so will address this last.

I could do what others have done, upgrading to a 6.75" or 8" subwoofer and it would be an improvement, but I think I'll need more to be happy. I would do a 4 Ohm option, I wouldnt trust the ML amp to handle any lower than that.

.
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A powered bazooka tube would be a lot of bump for the buck, but I am thinking I'll do something a little more custom and at least a 10". Maybe something like this?
GX sub idea 2.jpg


Although I could share the bazooka tube between my wife's winter car (the GX) and her summer car-VW eos convertible. I would just order and install an extra wire harness. The bazooka tubes have a quick connector and I could easily move it back and forth between cars. hmmm....

gx bazooka 50 only.JPG



I usually have some old stereo gear to piece something together but I gave away the last of it last summer. Installed my MTX amp and sub in my friend's boat. Many of the items I buy I consider an investment and I just bring it from car to car or until it is really really outdated.

Whatever I choose, I will try to include a remote gain control


Reminder to myself.............unhook factory sub when I get the bazooka sorted out and installed
 
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GX470/Prado speaker diagram

**disclaimer, I understand that changing speakers to a lower impedance (Ohms) than factory can stress or damage the factory amplifier**

I am fully aware of this and have no problem taking this risk. In my experience the amplifier will clip or shut down when loaded down too much, long before damage.

gx speakers.jpeg

I just noticed that this diagram refers to some of the speakers as Squawkers. That is pretty much how it sounded.
 
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installed USA Spec BTY45-Toy for bluetooth and music streaming.

Install was pretty straightforward. I did not use the BT-TOYR and returned it. I set the dipswitches to CD.

How it operated was a little confusing at first, but ok now and seems to work well.

Announces "CONNECTED" every time you start it and will announce the full phone number when getting a call. Steering wheel controls are not the same as the factory ones. I think to pick up a call it is volume up and to ignore or hang up a call its volume down. When listening to XM or music on your phone, steering wheel controls still work (track up/down, volume up/down)

Ordered from Crutchfield.com and took a few weeks to ship.


gx usa spec.JPG
gx xm.jpg

 
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Phone mount (more details to come)

I've been experimenting with several different type Schosche brand mounts. I am shocked on how well the vent clips work. I have another magnet version that works equally as well. I really like the position of the phone high on the dash. It does block the vent a bit.



gx phone mount.jpg
 
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The fronts were not, I had to get creative with a mount, would have been easier with a vehicle specific speaker bracket kit, or if I had gone with 6x9's. It is pretty close to plug and play if you remove the factory speaker from the bracket, reuse the bracket and get a vehicle specific wire adapter.
Focal makes something very close to plug and play made for a Toyota. I think I saw posted somewhere that these fit fine in a GX even though Crutchfield says it doesn't. Pricey though.

The rears would be pretty close to plug and play also if you reused the factory bracket with a 6.5' or 6.75" speaker. Separating the speaker from the bracket can be tough without messing up the speaker. Or the 6.5' focal below made for toyota may work.

GX focal 6x9.JPG
gx 6.5.JPG


The USA Spec piece plugs into the back of the radio and then the factory harness plugs into the usa spec harness. It is pretty easy. It comes with a microphone that I mounted just right of the gauge cluster and the harness is long enough for the plastic box to go all the way over the passenger side kick panel.

I like it so far and am pretty satisfied. I have an occasional issue that others have reported where it does not connect automatically and requires restarting phone or turning car off and on again. A minor annoyance so far and may have something to do with when my wife and I are both in the car and it is trying to connect both phones, but haven't done much troubleshooting yet.

gx usa spec2.png
 
I am a car guy and an audio guy. I worked in car stereo many years ago for a decade. Even though I am older now, it is in my blood and still fun to me.

We bought this 05' Oct. 2021. I had not done much research on stereo upgrades (or GX's in general), but I was aware of the limitations with the factory nav head unit.

I have now gotten around to at least upgrading most of the speakers and thought I would share what I have done. These are the steps I took, with the cost and my opinions.

This is more about upgrading and prioritizing in small, inexpensive steps anyone could do, rather than building an elaborate system all at once.

I don't think the factory audio sounded very good at all. Maybe it did in 2005, but doubtful.

I posted a similar thread on Club Lexus under my screen name Sixbanger about my 2015 IS350 (over a 3 year period) which has similar head unit limitations and was surprised how many people have viewed (almost 50k views) Sixbanger's non-ML audio slow and low(budget) stereo build - ClubLexus - Lexus Forum Discussion

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Do you have specs on the ML amp? I'm considering my options for upgrading. Everything's on the table, from just re-speakering to you spent HOW much? I think I've identified most of the options, however upping the speakers and keeping the ML amp is problematic without specs.
 
I hear ya. Planning all options/costs is always fun. I haven't found the exact specs, but I found the sales brochure that at least gives us total power of 240 watts.

Let's just guess that the sub channel is 40 watts. that leaves about 15 watts per channel left. Take that rating for what it's worth, its likely inflated/overrated. All manufacturers do it.


GX ML specs.JPG
 
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I hear ya. Planning all options/costs is always fun. I haven't found the exact specs, but I found the sales brochure that at least gives us total power of 240 watts.

I am not sure how they are counting 14 speakers, but it's not that important. Let's just guess that the sub channel is 40 watts. that leaves about 15 watts per channel left. Take that rating for what it's worth, its likely inflated/overrated. All manufacturers do it.


View attachment 2914846
Do you know if I add a JBL BASSPRO 12 package (sub and amp mounted in box), do I need a LOC when tapping into the sub speaker wires? Or has the signal been split at the amp already?
 
That looks like a lot of bang for the buck. I'd be curious to hear how you like it if you end up going that route.

No LOC needed. I would suggest tapping signal at the ML amp for the rear speakers left and right and let the amp sum it using the high input. I assume the rear speaker signal is full range, but the factory sub output may have a xover. Borrowed this photo from another on this forum (thank you)
GX amp wiring.jpeg

JBL bass pro amp
gx jbl back.JPG
 
That's the closest I've ever come to obtaining pin-outs of the Mark Levinson unicorn.
 
Time to regroup on the Sub. The cheapest powered 8" bazooka tube I ordered was underwhelming. I almost re-ordered a more powerful version, but that would have been just me being impatient and frustrated by the cold weather making it less fun to be in the garage all day.

I have "procured" a polk 8" subwoofer from my Lexus IS350 awd Fsport and will be doing something with that. It served as a factory replacement for a couple years and prior to that it spent 4 years in the rear deck of our 06' Subaru Outback Sedan LL Bean 3.6R. I have a 12" sub in an enclosure utilizing the spare tire well in that car now so the 8" is not needed. This is more in line with the spirit of me building a budget system and looking at my most of my car audio purchases as investments to be used as long as possible. The GX is our 4th car and they all can't get a competition system.

gx 8 procured.jpg
GX 8 polk.jpg


maybe something like this? with room for a small amp next to it? whatever I do, I'll make sure I put the jump seat in while I am building it to make sure I dont get in the way of it's operation.
GX sub idea 3.jpg
 
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