Pic heavy stereo build & wanted to share it in case it helps someone in the future

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It is a 2001 LX & I think my head unit was a Toyota with a Mark Levingston amp and speakers. Yes, I replaced all the factory stereo stuff.
 
I just realized that I haven’t updated the thread after my newest tune.

I played with my amp gains & crossover points until my RTA looked as close as possible to the Harmon Curve. I then started my adjustment on the DSP & nothing is boosted more than 1.5dBs, amp overlap is only 3dB & no deep cuts either.

I am now very happy with how it sounds!!

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@KillerBox

Good lord, I am subscribing to this thread. I also have a 2001 LX 470, non-nav, mark levinson. Looks like I have tweeters in the mirror corners, mids about halfway up the door and the larger speakers down below on the doors. My subwoofer doesn't seem to work but I have done zero troubleshooting on it so far and I probably won't do any.

I did extensive research before buying a 100 since I have full intentions of replacing... well... everything audio-related at some point. I have a little deferred maintenance to do (timing belt, some fluids) but after that I'm planning on doing the stereo. I'd be surprised if I don't do the stereo before the end of this year.

Maybe you can clarify something from me, based on your obvious expertise in this area.

I would prefer to break my audio upgrade project into three parts:

-Part one, headunit and backup camera but retain the stock ML amp and speakers.
-Part two, I wanted to replace all of the door speakers/crossovers/etc and wire directly to the headunit (whether I use existing wiring and splice in some normal 4 OHM speakers in place of the 2's, or do a full rewire, I don't know).
-Part three, some kind of subwoofer in the back. Nothing crazy, maybe just a self-contained amp/sub or something around 10".

Do you have any suggestions regarding breaking the job up into these distinct parts? Obviously I'll have to pull the headunit to connect wires or a sub later, but in terms of the harnesses would it be a royal pain in the ass to break the job into three parts? Or can I pretty much do it this way? I have a kid/job/studying and my free time is limited, so I preferred to break the job up unless there's some huge reason not to.

Sorry for the long post but the stereo upgrade is going to be a big deal for this guy. Thanks in advance!
 
Are those 285's on your rock warrior wheels? No lift? Sorry to hack, just wondering the stance for comparison.
 
AussieRedneck said:
Are those 285's on your rock warrior wheels? No lift? Sorry to hack, just wondering the stance for comparison.
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The picture was taken at normal ride height. BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2 (LT, 285/70R17, 121R) purchased from my local Toyota Dealership for $850.00 for all 4. No lift and bone stock AHC with original globes from 2001. Only very minor scrubbing is when reversing with the wheel turned to lock and going over an incline.
 
Very cool build. What RTA system/equipment are you using? I need to get a mic and have been eyeing the calibrated mics that plug into a smartphone - namely from Audiocontrol. Any recommendations without breaking the bank?

Do you have any tips on time alignment? I think I can improve my center image, but haven't figured out how to do that well while running active 2 way components.
 
suprarx7nut said:
Very cool build. What RTA system/equipment are you using? I need to get a mic and have been eyeing the calibrated mics that plug into a smartphone - namely from Audiocontrol. Any recommendations without breaking the bank?

Do you have any tips on time alignment? I think I can improve my center image, but haven't figured out how to do that well while running active 2 way components.
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I find myself using my AudioControl SA-4140i more and more than my Coustic RTA-33. The AudioControl is just more user friendly & almost as accurate.

As far as setting up a DSP, search for Andy Wehmeyer the owner of AudioFrog. You probably can’t beat how he explains how to set a DSP.
 
KillerBox said:
I find myself using my AudioControl SA-4140i more and more than my Coustic RTA-33. The AudioControl is just more user friendly & almost as accurate.

As far as setting up a DSP, search for Andy Wehmeyer the owner of AudioFrog. You probably can’t beat how he explains how to set a DSP.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the Andy Wehmeyer recommendation! There are some awesome seminars posted on "knowledgefest.org" that feature him and others in the industry. The site doesn't seem setup for public viewing, but I worked through a few links and found pages with the videos from years past. Great stuff to listen to on my commute and while crunching data at work.

I need an RTA mic so I can tune for the actual output in my car. I think that's what I'm missing. It should at least be a big step in the right direction.
 
KillerBox said:
I am glad that I could help! Andy is a very knowledgeable guy and his AudioFrog speakers are second to none.
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I'm eyeing his subs. I have two unused (albeit circa 2008) Focal Polyglass 27V2 subs that might go in the Cruiser. I bought them as a package deal on craigslist with a bunch of other equipment so I just ended up with them.

Any idea how they might compare to the Audiofrog stuff? I've never heard any of the audiofrog subs and there's no dealer within 90 minutes of me. If it makes sense to go through the hassle I would sell the Focals and pickup some Audiofrogs.
 
suprarx7nut said:
I'm eyeing his subs. I have two unused (albeit circa 2008) Focal Polyglass 27V2 subs that might go in the Cruiser. I bought them as a package deal on craigslist with a bunch of other equipment so I just ended up with them.

Any idea how they might compare to the Audiofrog stuff? I've never heard any of the audiofrog subs and there's no dealer within 90 minutes of me. If it makes sense to go through the hassle I would sell the Focals and pickup some Audiofrogs.
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If you didn't already own the Focal's, I would say hands down buy the AudioFrogs. In my opinion in comparing K series Focal's to the GB series AudioFrogs: The Focal's have a higher sensitive but, the Audio Frogs go deeper, lower distortion and blend better.

I was to redo my system today and didn't own anything, the only changes I would make would be to buy exclusively AudioFrog Tweeters, Midranges, Midbasses and probably only use one GB 10" sub. My subs are turned down -10dB to -17dB (depending on the frequency) to blend in with the other speakers.

So to gain room back in my SUV, I would run one 10" sub, half the power and only loose around -6dB so I would still have to turn them down. But on the upside, running two subs turned down so low, my distortion is almost non existence. Look at my graph above, plenty of bass but, the subs aren't even moving an 1"!

The amps, speaker locations, DSP, headunit and everything else would probably stay exactly the same.
 
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