Leaf Speakers Replacements

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Phil,

Thanks for the info, I think I'll do mine too.

By "surrounds", do you mean that you cut some MDF to make spacer rings for the fronts, like the existing spacers built into the back speakers?

Did you apply the window flashing rubber tape to most of the interior of the exterior door skin in "dynamat" style? Was there any other coating already on the inside of the door sheet metal?
 
I used dense ply as my mounting ring/baffle. Here's the passenger door, all ready to go:

pic


You can see the Nashua 6" tape applied everywhere. I removed and discarded the existing clear plastic before installing this, and I was generous with the overlap so I got a lot of material on the door. All the rattles and "boinginess" go away once this is treated.


Here's what the prepared ring looks like:

pic


I made a pattern from one door, and it fits all 4 just by flipping it 180.

-Phil
 
Perfect, thank you very much. I'm hoping that the slightly larger cone and bigger magnet on the Infinity's will help the low end.

Was that half-inch ply? Did you have any trouble with the spacer-speaker stackup being too tall to fit behind the door panel?
 
It's actually 11/16" thick with like 12 layers! There is still a gap between the speaker and door panel. I filled it self-adhesive with weatherstrip foam.

-Phil
 
I like all the information about upgrading the speakers. I'm thinking about doing this and will probably do it myself. I'd like some clarification on a few things to help me...

So all of the 4 door speakers are 6-1/2" in size. Why do you need to re-use the rear speaker plastic or create your own? Is it a fitment issue for the screws or a depth issue for the new speaker (or something else entirely)?

Once it's in, is it straight forward how to wire it up? I have seen the OEM speakers and their plug but don't think I would know which wire to wire up to what.

I actually took the OEM speakers out and put sound deadening behind them when the door cards were off getting leather put on. Would have been a good time to put speakers in but I didn't have the foresight to have speakers at the ready, just some left over sound deadening material :)
 
EricBayArea said:
I like all the information about upgrading the speakers. I'm thinking about doing this and will probably do it myself. I'd like some clarification on a few things to help me...

So all of the 4 door speakers are 6-1/2" in size. Why do you need to re-use the rear speaker plastic or create your own? Is it a fitment issue for the screws or a depth issue for the new speaker (or something else entirely)?

Once it's in, is it straight forward how to wire it up? I have seen the OEM speakers and their plug but don't think I would know which wire to wire up to what.

I actually took the OEM speakers out and put sound deadening behind them when the door cards were off getting leather put on. Would have been a good time to put speakers in but I didn't have the foresight to have speakers at the ready, just some left over sound deadening material :)
Click to expand...
The fronts will hit the glass w/o a spacer, and if you don't use something reasonable and rigid, your door/speaker is more apt to rattle and your bass output will suffer as well.

There's 2 wires. I cut the OEM connector off with enough left should I ever want to replace them. Looking at the OEM speaker, with the cone facing up, the left terminal in the connector is positive. (on ALL of them) It's critically important to get the polarity correct so all speakers are in-phase, or it will sound horrible.

-Phil
 
I had a look at the Kappa 63.9i's, and can't tell why they would be better than the 62.9i's at $10 less.

The only "spec" difference I can see is that the 62.9i range extends to 25KHz, while the 63.9i goes to 30KHz. I'm pretty sure I would not be able to tell the difference - I haven't heard 22KHz since I was a teenager.

The 62.9i is also slightly shallower, so a thinner spacer ring should be OK.
 
As long as 62.9i's are a 2-ohms. Buyer beware...
Remember though, you always get what you pay for.
 
Just had my speakers changed to Infinity 63.9 upfront and 62.9 at the back. $80 and it took the installer Mark from Pacific Stereo 45 minutes. It seems like an easy work. He re-used the old speakers' plastic spacer to ensure that the speakers will not hit the glass. It sounds much better than the crappy factory speakers. However, the bass is still not enough for me comparing the sound to my other car's stereo. I am thinking of adding a powered sub - let me google what's good with the Leaf.
 
Quick question. The ones that have the Infinity speakers installed, are the fronts way louder than the rear? I have to fade more to the rear in order to get a balanced sound. If I leave fade in the middle! I only hear the front speakers.
 
FremontRider said:
Just had my speakers changed to Infinity 63.9 upfront and 62.9 at the back. $80 and it took the installer Mark from Pacific Stereo 45 minutes. It seems like an easy work. He re-used the old speakers' plastic spacer to ensure that the speakers will not hit the glass. It sounds much better than the crappy factory speakers. However, the bass is still not enough for me comparing the sound to my other car's stereo. I am thinking of adding a powered sub - let me google what's good with the Leaf.
Click to expand...
I could use a tad more bass at low levels (a loudness function or EQ would probably suffice), but I will say that adding the thick wooden baffle and the elastomeric door treatment helped a LOT. Bass is negatively impacted anytime the front mounting plane isn't rigid or air can otherwise "get around" from the back to the front. The problem with "cheating" and using the crappy plastic rings from the old speakers is less low-end bass performance. I'll be happy to let you have a listen to my system anytime you want to stop by Berkeley.

That being said, in my Prius the system was underpowered even though the speakers were decent, so I added one the under-seat self-contained subs. It helped quite a bit! Problem is this option is not available in the LEAF because there is not enough space under the seat (battery pack reduces clearance).

Here's my bass treatment:

pic


pic


-Phil
 
Just received four 62.9i speakers for my Leaf upgrade. I decided to go with them instead of the 63.9i - if I can't hear it (30KHz top end), I'm not going to pay for it. Also, the 62.9's are a little shallower overall due to a shorter tweeter assembly.

They are beautiful speakers. I can see why Nissan put lesser units in the Leaf though - the Infinity's are heavy.

BTW I once replaced a door speaker on a big Lexus with Nakamichi audio - still the best car audio I've ever heard. The speaker was a rather ordinary looking 5" piece, paper cone, and magnet about 1 inch in diameter. But it was sealed against a closed plastic baffle of a presumably carefully engineered characteristics.

What I'm saying is that you don't necessarily need much of a cone or magnet for great audio.
 
As you are changing out the speakers, are you doing anything to disable the pillar-mounted tweeters? Not sure about this car, but they are usually a cheaper piezo-style tweeter, which tends to have more of a metallic sound, and doesn't match the 'color' of the sound of the nicer Infiniti speakers.
 
I didn't disable the Tweeters, if anything they are a tad underpowered, but don't seem to add any bad coloring. They do seem to help imaging somwehat, so I kept them.

-Phil
 
What should I do with the crossover/input block? I was thinking of wrapping it in foam with a tie-wrap and letting it rest/dangle inside the door.
 
DeaneG said:
What should I do with the crossover/input block? I was thinking of wrapping it in foam with a tie-wrap and letting it rest/dangle inside the door.
Click to expand...

The installer of my speakers used a plastic tie strap and tied it tightly to one of the small holes in the sheet metal. No noise from it.
 
Anyone have a recommendation for an installer in Silicon Valley, ideally someone who has already installed a set of Infiniti speakers in a Leaf?

(Or should we try to have a speaker upgrade clinic at a future BayLeaf meeting?)
 

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