I just replaced the OEM stereo system on my 2000 LC and need some advice on replacing or modifying the existing subwoofer in the quarter panel.
Music sounded pretty good from the front seats, but my passengers in the back said they just heard bass back there.
I sat in the back seat to hear what the music sounded like and was surprised. The second row speakers had low volume and no definition, and the sub woofer just sounded like mud. Playing with the bass and treble controls didn't really help.
I removed the OEM speakers and was really dissapointed. They were just 6.5 inch paper cone one way speakers and looked cheap. I think they're full range speakers but the definition that I heard from the front seat came from the small tweeters on front door jam.
The subwoofer hidden in the rear cargo back panel were two small 4" paper cone woofers built into a plastic ported housing. I'm sure they did this due to restriction of space, but 4" subwoofers seems very limiting.
I replaced the four speakers in the door panel with 6.5 inch composite 4 way speakers, and wanted to keep the OEM 6 CD changer head. (I had to cut out the old speakers and the back cage of their plastic frame to be able to mount the speakers on the existing frame.) However, I found that this even sounded worse. The deck just sends audio signals to the factory amp that's under the front passenger car seat, and that amp is greatly under powered. It was too weak to drive the new speakers and they sounded distorted.
That amp also seems to have crossovers built into it, so the front speakers had full range sound, the middle row speakers seemed to have only mid range, and the sub woofer in the back produced the muddy distorted low end.
I ended up replacing the OEM deck with a new one that playes CDs / MP3s and had a ton of other built in audio control features.
For the best value and best sound / features of the decks I listened to, I choose the Pioneer DEH-P7800MP deck ($330 list, $198 online) and two pair of Pioneer TS-A1680R speakers ($110 list, $58 online). The deck had ample juice to power all the speakers clearly and loudy. I played Alan Parson's "Eye In The Sky" and was thrilled to hear the crisp full sounds that I didn't hear before. The deck has great EQ built into it and I could also control how much sound went to which speaker. The sound was a great improvement over the factory system.
The only problem I have now is the factory two 4" subwoofers assembly in the back quarter panel. I wish I could put a bigger subwoofer in the quarter panel, but the subwoofer space is so small. I don't want to install any extra subwoofer cabinets because I want to keep the storage cargo area clear. I'd like to keep it looking as factory as possible.
I decided to bypassed the OEM amp and found an old Alpine 70 watt (35 per channel) amp in the garage. I installed it and had that drive the OEM subwoofer. This turned out to be a great improvement as well. It does not handle the super low end as well as I like, but for 4" speakers, the bass is full and tigher with the Alpine amp and not as muddy as before.
The deck has independant control for how much power and volume goes to the subwoofer, so I've been able to tailor the sound.
I was thinking of cutting out the two four inch speakers and replacing them with just one 6 X 9 speaker (the space is short and wide, so a 6 X 9 speaker may barely fit in the existing casing). I thought that this might be able to produce more punch in the low end and move more air, but I'm not sure if the casing is specifically designed to port just for 4 inch speakers.
Has anyone else gone through this yet, or have any thoughts on getting better bass sound without having to use up the cargo area space and still keeping it looking factory?
Music sounded pretty good from the front seats, but my passengers in the back said they just heard bass back there.
I sat in the back seat to hear what the music sounded like and was surprised. The second row speakers had low volume and no definition, and the sub woofer just sounded like mud. Playing with the bass and treble controls didn't really help.
I removed the OEM speakers and was really dissapointed. They were just 6.5 inch paper cone one way speakers and looked cheap. I think they're full range speakers but the definition that I heard from the front seat came from the small tweeters on front door jam.
The subwoofer hidden in the rear cargo back panel were two small 4" paper cone woofers built into a plastic ported housing. I'm sure they did this due to restriction of space, but 4" subwoofers seems very limiting.
I replaced the four speakers in the door panel with 6.5 inch composite 4 way speakers, and wanted to keep the OEM 6 CD changer head. (I had to cut out the old speakers and the back cage of their plastic frame to be able to mount the speakers on the existing frame.) However, I found that this even sounded worse. The deck just sends audio signals to the factory amp that's under the front passenger car seat, and that amp is greatly under powered. It was too weak to drive the new speakers and they sounded distorted.
That amp also seems to have crossovers built into it, so the front speakers had full range sound, the middle row speakers seemed to have only mid range, and the sub woofer in the back produced the muddy distorted low end.
I ended up replacing the OEM deck with a new one that playes CDs / MP3s and had a ton of other built in audio control features.
For the best value and best sound / features of the decks I listened to, I choose the Pioneer DEH-P7800MP deck ($330 list, $198 online) and two pair of Pioneer TS-A1680R speakers ($110 list, $58 online). The deck had ample juice to power all the speakers clearly and loudy. I played Alan Parson's "Eye In The Sky" and was thrilled to hear the crisp full sounds that I didn't hear before. The deck has great EQ built into it and I could also control how much sound went to which speaker. The sound was a great improvement over the factory system.
The only problem I have now is the factory two 4" subwoofers assembly in the back quarter panel. I wish I could put a bigger subwoofer in the quarter panel, but the subwoofer space is so small. I don't want to install any extra subwoofer cabinets because I want to keep the storage cargo area clear. I'd like to keep it looking as factory as possible.
I decided to bypassed the OEM amp and found an old Alpine 70 watt (35 per channel) amp in the garage. I installed it and had that drive the OEM subwoofer. This turned out to be a great improvement as well. It does not handle the super low end as well as I like, but for 4" speakers, the bass is full and tigher with the Alpine amp and not as muddy as before.
The deck has independant control for how much power and volume goes to the subwoofer, so I've been able to tailor the sound.
I was thinking of cutting out the two four inch speakers and replacing them with just one 6 X 9 speaker (the space is short and wide, so a 6 X 9 speaker may barely fit in the existing casing). I thought that this might be able to produce more punch in the low end and move more air, but I'm not sure if the casing is specifically designed to port just for 4 inch speakers.
Has anyone else gone through this yet, or have any thoughts on getting better bass sound without having to use up the cargo area space and still keeping it looking factory?
