M T L T L

How would you rate the speakers in the RL ? I was thinking about changing the 4 speakers that are in the doors with Energy or Klipsh speakers. Is there going to be any significant improvement over OEM speakers. Keep in mind that I only want to swap out speakers, No after market amp.

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

you will still have the same frequency ranges, power, and signal so you may not see much improvement unless yours are blown.

M T L T L

No they're not blown but wouldn't the above mentioned speakers deliver the signals in a better way ?

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

Signals come from the air waves, into the radio, through the amp, and out of the speaker.

So in short, no.

If you had an aftermarket amp you could get a broader htz range and then the speakers would need to change.

getakey

What? Speakers can make a difference. Not sure about the specific one's mentioned.

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

I like being educated, so please help me understand how sending the same signal from the amp/radio will be enhanced by adding a speaker?

I'm not disagreeing that there will be improvement if the speakers are old/damaged.

oo7spy

There is some amount of response and structural integrity in the speaker that will help any signal to sound better. However, I agree that the weakest link in this chain is likely the amplifier. (I think that is what you said.)

OP, your best bet would be to swap the speakers and amplifier.

getakey

I agree it is the same signal, but every speaker reproduces the signal differently. Some speakers produce a much cleaner sound, while others are muddled. Obviously, there are differences in the signal range that a speaker can reproduce. For example, you would not want a tweeter to try and reproduce a bass signal or vice versa. Go to a stereo store and listen to different speakers, ideally setup form same source and amp.

getakey

What again? The weak link can depend on many things. Obviously, source is one. Radio versus XM vs CD vs DVD-A. The amp can have its own shortcomings as well as the speakers. I agree that if its a bad source, bad amp, then speakers are not going to make much of a difference.
But, we don't have a bad amp, maybe not a high end amp, but certainly not bad.

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

I think we are all saying similar things here... I'll digress.

oo7spy

I never said it was bad. I was saying that I think you will get better performance and response from a high quality amp with stock speakers than you would get from the stock amp with high quality speakers. Obviously, we can't know for sure until someone tries, and even then, their measure of performance is open to debate. Obviously you have to isolate the signal source from variation to determine which is truly the limiting factor.

M T L T L

Anyone ever opened the door covers to see who makes the RL speakers ?

037

I thought the RLs had Bose speakers...at least Bose speaker covers in the back.

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

Nope

rl.acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=876219

037

No bose speakers...

I wonder what my 17 Lexicon speakers are really made of

oo7spy

Bose will take crap products (like Alpine head units and cardboard speakers), "tune" them, and take all the credit. Really, all their products are extremely cheap to build but sound good out of the box. The 2G RL speakers had cardboard cones.

(Alpine isn't a crap company IMO, though.)

Heavy, your link sucks. https://acurazine.com/forums/showpos...37&postcount=1

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

my bad

ParaSurfer1979

Okay I'd like to opine. If the BOSE system is the way the saying goes "no highs, no lows it must be BOSE", here's what I'd do. And this is ONLY if you'd like heightened clarity and tighter mid-bass. Not building a booming let's wake up the neighbors because I don't give a F#&K (I used to own these I admit) option. The mid-bass drivers in the car (4x6.5") are full-range. Swapping these for 2-way drivers that are 2-ohm plus adding dynamat will enhance the clarity plus add more mid-bass frequencies for vocals. Some of you may find this funny but I think it works. Put in your Demo CD and listen to a JAZZ track and you'll be able to really hear what sounds/tones you want more of before you decide the right direction to go. Oh and while you're at it, swap the full-range center-channel 3.5" driver for a 2-ohm 2-way 4in (it'll fit) driver. This while add to the front stage. Don't yell at me too much... ;-). It's just my .02... Any other questions for my, I'll gladly try to opine.

Carbon Legend

ive heard great things about factory systems just by adding the JBL MS8 Processor. alot of BMW/Lexus guys seem to be gaga over it.

M T L T L

And how exactly does that procedure goes on ?

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

now, that will make a signal improvement for your new speakers.

oo7spy

There are no 4x6.5" speakers in the RL.

M T L T L

Yea, the combination seems to be a winner.

EL19

iTrader: (4)

no, he's saying there are four 6.5" speakers in the RL which I believe there are

oo7spy

OIC. There still aren't any 6.5" speakers in the car. They are 6".

ParaSurfer1979

Odd size. the TL has 6.25" drivers. the 6.5 work while also giving u more midbass. when I do mine, im dynamatting the stock sub to tighten up the stock sub. I'm just doing the most I can on a budget. doing infinity/jbl 2ohm speakers.

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

6.5 give more bass than 6.25? Pretty wild if thats true.

If you are going with a speaker, get a mid driver with a tweeter in the middle if it will fit in the door and also get a set that includes crossovers. (assuming they will work in the set up we have)

oo7spy

That's what I did on Legend #1 but with Sony 3-way speakers. It was a wonderful improvement.

db22

YAO - I used to build custom, high end component audio systems for a living and I presently work with professional audio.
My old rule of thumb was to spend 50% on speakers and 50% on all of the other components combined, that's how important the speakers are.
Modern day electronics typically has very little audible distortion with power in abundance so the speakers maybe even more than 50%.
The problem with the RL is that the system has been tuned for the RL's interior and that sometimes means that deficiences in the speakers may be compensated for by changing the frequency response of the amplifier or the head unit. Therefore, if you only switch out the speakers you have lost the "system" compatability by having, perhaps "flatter" response speakers. This is where the JBL MS8 comes in - it gives the listener, not only the ability to bias the frequency response to his/her liking but also to compensate for incompatability of the components from source to ears.
I am also a proponent of "systems" I.E. there is no point in putting $3000 into speakers if your source is bandwidth limited by some other electronics of dubious quality. If you are going to the lengths of installing an MS8 then you should definitly swap out the speakers. If you only want to swap out the speakers then be prepared for some portions of the audio spectrum to be exagerated or attenuated.

OK - that may have been 3 cents worth.

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

You lost me at YAO

db22

I would hate to lose you

Yet Another Opinion

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

thanks for the concern, lost is a territory that I'm familiar with.

Ahhh, when I googled it all I got was this guy and I figured that wasn't right.

stefce

the size of the speakers in the doors is 5.5"..
by the way the audio in the car is crap..
if anybody wants to upgrade it should be new speakers,new wires to them and new amp.. and of course use the OEM signal to power the new amp..
i will be doing this in the future.. got dynamat to insulate the doors and than ..but i have no time ..and i will get to this in future..now i am trying to put the custom full exhaust into place,than later will see if i will have time to change the stereo.. the oem Twidlers (center and back ones) are ok and are not worth upgrading.. i have had them professorially measured and i will post the measurment.. i was thinking of changing them with vifa since vifa size was most plug-play type..
btw the picture of the speaker size is mine..

stefce

Ps..
I forgot to add.
i was thinking between the Scan speak signature series thats sold on madisound and 5.5" fits perfectly in the oem speaker cups and if i want to use the larger 6.5" model which is almost no price difference,you have to make new speaker cups,2 x 5cm and 2 x 3cm (front and back door spacer for the spearkers)deep to match the oem cups and also some of the doors metal hole needs to be cut.. to make the hole bigger for the air behind the larger speaker to pass as same as the 5.5" sized one.. the reason you can go 6.5" is that the opening on the door panel is this size but you have to work on the door frame to do it right..
i will install my polk MM6 in the front and rear doors at first and when i get the cash to get the 2 sets of the 6.5" signature scanspeak i will change them with that..
i will post pictures when i get around to doing this.. next few days i will install the new exhaust and will post pictures.and sound..

phishfood

Interested.

I was under impression speakers used in RL bose system were uber low ohms and finding replacements with matching resistance is futile

oo7spy

^We've heard that many times here. 2 ohms this, 2 ohms that... I have a hard time believing it. My 1200W peak power 12" subs are 4 ohms. Putting a 2 ohm coil on a 5.5" speaker is stupid and will only kill performance. Since we don't actually have proof and just have word of mouth, I'm going to call until proven wrong. BTW, using a lighter load (higher resistance) will only hurt overall power. Sound quality will increase. As long as all of the speakers are the same resistance, you can just turn up the volume to compensate for lost power.

To the OP, don't put Dynamat in your doors. Dynamat is a CLD with its only purpose being to reduce vibrations. You want a mass loaded vinyl barrier to reduce noise.

This place has loads of information. http://www.sounddeadenershowdown.com/

Delta88105

I currently live in West Palm Beach, FL. I have spent buckets of money on automotive audio systems in the past. I have a 2005 RL, and it is stock in terms of the audio system. I reviewed the JBL MS-8 unit, and it sounds like my Integra home system; meaning wonderful. Can you suggest additional appropriate components to the stock head unit which has the GPS, XM radio options. And or a reasonable better option. Your 4 cents would be appreciated. Thank you, have a great day. Frank.

shahram72

Yep, makes perfect sense to me. The factory system is quite good as far as factory systems go. I have always had self built systems in all my cars and this one while not having the volume or bass, has WAAAAYYY better imaging and clarity than any system I have had. It's amazing what they do with crap drivers. I'd be willing to be that each driver is time delayed for the driver's position. I wonder if this is in the HU or AMP. I would be very interested in SPECIFIC driver recommendations for replacements as one might work well while another might be worse. Impedance is very important as well as sensitivity for the balance to work. Frequency response is also important. Adding a post processing unit is great but that's for a full system overhaul using the stock head unit. Nobody is getting that and running stock amp and speakers. Also, who would want to lose the multichannel surround? I love it. I might add a sub in the future, but not without a knob up front that I can tweak. Sometimes more bass is not what's needed.

M T L T L

I was looking for a quick fix for something that was not broken. I think I'll stay away from touching anything audio in this car unless its a complete overhaul which is not in my intentions. Thanks everyone for ur inputs.