DaVitch

We have made one...we are still waiting to see whether any more will be manufactured.

How about Alpine's DVD navigation? Whole of Europe on a single disc and MUCH quicker... :)

Hey there, you will usualy need to intercept both pairs of rear speaker wires for most converters...this is not difficult. Simply splice into them with the four relevant wires from the converter and plug the amp into the other end!;) You may need a small RCA extension lead if you want to mount the amp on the side of the boot though...the power and ground will obvioulsy be needed...form the battery and boot chassis respectively, and the remote will have to be a relay job. If you can wait until you change the HU, you will find plumbing in the amp much easier. The subs should definitely utilise a ported or bandpass design to acheive the sensation of bass in the cabin...I used to run a pair of XLCs myself actually and they are great subs for the money. A DLS amp should do them nicely...what amp is it? As for Dynaudio, there is a UK retailer for them, and although they are some awesome speakers, there are better out there for the same or less money if you are interested. I would recommend the Digital Designs 6s and Neo 3 tweeters as they sound very similar to Dynaudios but with more output and for less cash. If you would like a contact number for either brand I can get you one...just LMK. Chris:cool:

If you can get one for ten grand Seamus, I say go for it !!! Definitely 19s this time...;) Just don't get one the same colour as Tim's! :D:D

No problem mate. Nice rubber by the way... :D:D:D

I didn't really make it clear...the amp is designed to put out its power into a load of around 2 ohms per hcannel. Most car speakers are 4 ohm drivers and their impedance can reach 16 ohms at times, especially when playing low frequencies, which also sap the most power. Also, the GS demo car is OUR demo car....L3X JG also had a an IS200 whcih we did a few things to...:) It had 6s as standard, but I think his is a Premium or something....I don't know much about the individual models mate. :?::D We have also had experience with the LS400, LS430 and RX300 if anyone was wondering. Back to what you were saying mate...6s will give you around twice the cone area of a 4"...this is definitely needed, especially for the better response at the bottom 4-5 octaves. A brighter sound will be achieved by changing tweeters, they deal with the high frequency sound...the fuller sound would be down to the material of the midrange cone and it's breakup characteristics during operation; the standard speakers in 99% of cars are very thin paper cones which will eventually wear out. Whilst it is good for the cones to be paper, they MUST be reinforced so that distortion is not induced when playing at high levels...this is again caused by cone breakup or flexing during heavy excursion. Unfortunately they must also be LIGHT or the transient response (speed and clarity of reproduction) will suffer. There is nothing else in your audio system that will affect the overall sound as much as the speakers...they are the most important and critical element fo any install. They should be chosen with care. Assuming you upgrade to a 6" speaker and you are getting components, i would recommend something like Pioneer TSC series components for a budget of £175, Rockford FNX1514s for around £230 or Digital Designs DDWs for around £350. For rears I would look at a pair of sub or mid bass drivers in a low Q infinite baffle configuration for around £200. There really is no need to spend much more than that as the Digital Designs speakers can easily match the sound quality of far more expensive speakers...they really are a bargain. If you want to read about the DDs you should beable to copy and paste this. www.termpro.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=13&t=000910 They're rather good mate. I can help if you need to know what speakers would suit your tastes if you like...I have had a listen to most of the stuff out there. Chris

Correct. The amplifier standard in a Lexus will still produce power, but less than it was making into the original speakers. (Assuming that all the speakers are nominally rated at 2 ohms.) I know that the subs used are 2 ohm units, meaning that their average impedance while playing will be around that mark...changing to a speaker which has a higher average impedance reduces the output of the amplifier. The reason that some speaker units can work in place of the originals is that they suffer less from improper power matching...that is, they have more excursion and a greater power handling, so do not produce impedance to the amplifier when being pushed hard. The amplifier also has a higher damping factor, lower harmonic distortion level and the output transistors do not produce as much heat, making it somewhat easier on the amp. Kinda evens things out. ;) However we have tried higher power speakers and anything of real quality does not fare well due to inadequate power...I am not suer if the amplifier in the IS is the same as a GS though. In GS300-2 demo car the factory holes are for 6" components up front and 6" coaxials in the rear...where did you see these fours mate? :) In any case, I just thought I'd comment on your dealers choice of speakers...the MB Quarts (or any speakers for that matter) NEED to be listened to. Sound quality is a purely subjective thing, which you cannot take anyone's opinion; in the case of the MBs the tweeters are a little sharp and they can be overly bright at volume...especially on axis, and the mids are not as capable for kickbass as most peoples offering for the same money. The only MBs I personally enjoy is the QSD range but they are not my choice for the money they cost. I think they're around £1000 in this country. What tweeter you use is crucial to the sound quality of any car as (due to ear canal resonance) the ear is most sensitive to frequencies between 3-4 khz which is where the tweeters begin to play...the wrong tweets will ruin frequency response in the crucial region...make sure you get a listen before you buy. Chris

Hi there, changing the factory speakers in a Lexus is not as simple as it seems. The stock amplifier is not up to the job of powering aftermarket speakers as they provide too much impedance to the AC signal coming from the amp. It is, however, possible to connect a speaker to RCA converter to the existing wires in the car which will allow installation of a power amplifier. The signal down the speaker wires is very small, barely a few hundred millivolts, so good quality amplifiers are needed as the input signal will affect the level the amplifier has to work at. A higher level of operation can cause colouration of the sound, anamolies in the signal and lessens the lifespan of poor quality amplifiers. It is preferable to indstall an aftermarket head unit with an RCA preout to run to the amp, but as yet no fascias are available for any Lexus models and the only way to replace the front is a custom build, so for now the only option is the converter. Once this converter has been installed and an amplifier wired into place the car will happily accept speakers of quite substantial size into it's factory locations. The choice of speaker will of course depend on the budget of the customer. :D Chris

Hey guys, my names Chris. I work with L3X JG doing the audio stuff in case anyone was wondering... We will definitely be looking at manufacturing Lexus fascias in the near future...only the logistics will tell us whether or not it is feasible. Rest assured, we will keep you posted on this as Autoleads have no plans to make a fascia for any Lexus and we feel that every owner should have the option of personalising that aspect of his/her car. If anyone has any questions regarding stereo upgrades I will be more than happy to answer them. Chris