Adding bass to your 17 speaker Lexicon with new amplifier

[FrostedCatTurd]

There has to be something wrong with the wiring. Trunk has nothing to do with the sound system and its components.

Agreed, the wiring harness on the trunk strut for auto open-close ties into the factory amp wiring harness. Connection must be just good enough when the trunk is open then tension being pulled on the amp harness when the trunk closes makes that connection just bad enough to put the factory amp into protection mode. I guess?

 

[FrostedCatTurd]

After adding some length to the ACC wire and resoldering a few connections everything is working great!
Would highly recommend this setup - great quality bass but not rattling everything in the trunk too much. M3-10IB-S-Gw-4 Sub and MX300/1 Amp. Both are JL Audio and both are for marine use which is most commonly recommended for infinite baffle/free air use, amp has infrasonic filter to help keep from blowing the sub as well. Taking the seats, C pillar covers, and rear deck lid out were a pain but having 2 people helped tremendously. (Also a 90°drill was a life saver) Thanks again for the original write up to give me the courage to start this mod and saving me a couple hundred bucks! I do have the stock sub sitting around if anyone is in need...

 

[arcman]

Hey Turd...

Tho' I'm happy with the improvement an additional amp did with the stock sub, I'm curious as to why you'd go to the trouble to install another speaker considering the small opening? That looks to be such a restriction. Closer to 6" x 9".

Having the rear armrest down (like this forum member did below) is a crummy option but a lot easier and less restriction.

 

[Seancruise]

Hey all, Thanks for the thread kocyk123.

I've had my 2017 G80 Ultimate for about 2 weeks! Great car!, great value!, great warranty!, sub par bass (accidental pun).

About to join on the amp adventure. Quick question to anyone who could help:

I am going to get the kicker 400 watt amp kocyk123 linked only because I dont know anything about car audio and figure I cant go wrong with step by step instructions. However, do I still have other amp options that would use similar if not the exact same wiring steps? Is there a safer alternative to 400 watts to not accidentally blow the stock sub?

Thanks. First post, happy to own a Genesis. Super nice car.

 

[FrostedCatTurd]

Hey Turd...

Tho' I'm happy with the improvement an additional amp did with the stock sub, I'm curious as to why you'd go to the trouble to install another speaker considering the small opening? That looks to be such a restriction. Closer to 6" x 9".

Having the rear armrest down (like this forum member did below) is a crummy option but a lot easier and less restriction.

View attachment 30397

I wanted to keep the stock look and trunk space as much as possible but after tearing it apart it does seem to look like a 6x9 openening, but it is a bit larger. (Picture of the stock sub below) Under the rear deck lid is a foam sound deadening mat with that same shape hole and the speaker cover has a flange that comes down thru the mat about an inch or so to match the same shape. I cut the mat to a 10in circle and cut out the flange as well. The small holes in the sub cover that match that same shape may restrict the air flow a bit but I assume not too much to make a difference. It probably seems like more of a restriction than it actually is. Only trunk space I lost is where I had to cut out the top part of the trunk liner for the sub to fit through the opening. (2nd picture)

 

[BillySmalz]

Hey all, Thanks for the thread kocyk123.

About to join on the amp adventure. Quick question to anyone who could help:

I am going to get the kicker 400 watt amp kocyk123 linked only because I dont know anything about car audio and figure I cant go wrong with step by step instructions. However, do I still have other amp options that would use similar if not the exact same wiring steps? Is there a safer alternative to 400 watts to not accidentally blow the stock sub?

Thanks. First post, happy to own a Genesis. Super nice car.

First off...let me be the first to say welcome to the Genny fam. that amp, as kocyk123 has demonstrated, can potentially damage your sub, so be conservative with your settings.

 

[wchavisiii]

Thank you. You are absolutely right. Thanks for catching that! It was my mistake when creating this tutorial. You want to use 4 and 5 from Connector A and 22 from Connector B:
View attachment 28131


I am not the greatest with explaining things but I added more explanation to my drawings:
View attachment 28133

My connectors don’t match up with either diagram. I have a 14 speaker lexicon. Amp only has 2 connector in the end white and gray. I haven’t found anything that matches that will tel me what wires to jump to connect my new amp. Anyone????

 

[wchavisiii]

Hi All,

This mod has been performed on 2015 Genesis 3.8 AWD Ultimate with 17 speaker Lexicon system

I wanted to improve the bass without adding new subwoofer in the trunk for my 17 speaker Lexicon sound system. I was able to do it simply by adding amplifier to stock subwoofer speaker. Thanks to carguy75, dfyffe and arcman for your assistance! What you will need:

- Mono amplifier. I got the following:
View attachment 28086


- amp wiring kit 8AWG (I got 6awg since they only had that available in the store)

- RCA female to RCA 2 male adapter:
View attachment 28087


- speaker wires
- soldering iron
- heat gun
- heat shrinks

Step 1.

DISCONNECT NEGATIVE WIRE FROM YOUR BATTERY

Remove everything from your trunk. Remove the floor cover. Remove black plastic cover that goes along the bumper (where the latch is). Remove screws holding the carpet on the driver’s side where the oem amp is hidden. I didn’t remove it completely. I removed only the screws that allowed me to have opening big enough so I can fit both of my hands in there (sorry I didn’t take pics of that).

Step 2.

Unplug the three connectors (big white, big gray and small black(be careful with this one because it is fiber-optic)).

Step 3.

Locate your rear subwoofer + and – wires and ACC on connector B.
View attachment 28088
View attachment 28089

Step 4.

Once you locate both + and - cut them. Grab both ends from the plug side and and splice them into rca connector:
View attachment 28090

Once you have spliced them into RCA adapter, connect the adapter to your new amp input:

View attachment 28091

Step 6.

Grab your new speaker wires, grab the remaining + and - wires from the plug you cut (the ones that go to the subwoofer) and connect them accordingly to the amp:
View attachment 28092

Step 7.

Locate ACC wire on the plug (light pink - see chart in previous step). Grab new wire and splice it with the ACC. Run the new wire to the REM on the amplifier (this will turn on and off your new amp):

View attachment 28093

Step 8.

Add + from the battery using 8awg or 6awg cable with a fuse (once you get the amplifier you like, it will tell you what fuse it needs).
Add - (ground) wire, I connected it to the chassis. Make sure it is connected to bare metal.

Step 9.

Make sure your new amplifier is switched to HI input level:
View attachment 28094

Step 10.

Set your gain, x-over. Make sure to check the video below which explains best setup for gain and x-over:

Step 11.

Test and make sure everything works properly. Clean up wires and enjoy your new sound system!!

Please do not use tap a wire connectors. Cut the wires, and solder them together and cover with heat shrink. My first attempt to this project failed because tap a wire on the ACC wire would not work at all so my amp would never kick in.

Let me know if you have any questions.
PK

No diagrams match my amp. I have the 14 speaker lexicon system. My amp only has 2 connectors white and gray. Anyone that can help me with what wires to jump to connect a new amp and sub box?

 

[arcman]

Here's the only other amp in the service manual, but it doesn't have two connectors.

 

[wchavisiii]

Here's the only other amp in the service manual, but it doesn't have two connectors.

View attachment 30409
View attachment 30410

Here’s what I got. Look familiar or anything?

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[MCCSolutions]

Here's the only other amp in the service manual, but it doesn't have two connectors.

View attachment 30409
View attachment 30410

I think this is what I need because my experience has been terrible so far, The first(incorrect) wire diagram posted in this thread actually produced great sound but the factory amp will go in protect mode on startup if the RCA connectors were connected to the AMP. The second diagram sounds like crap(I wrote off as free-air sub freq) and does the same thing. I also noticed many of the wires dont match the diagram despite being the correct AWG for what they should be going to an do still produce sound.

Ive tapped several pairs with the same result of the AMP going into protection mode, I am using a high wattage class D mono amp(3500w) so it will have more resistance on the inputs but not enough that a sub channel tapped would produce a shutoff. I tried the NVX XPLOC2 ALOC in the mix and same result. Ive also tried reversing the pairs etc.

Im going to try Pin 13 and 26 on connector A of this amp thats located on the passenger side despite what these notes say, I know this because I found it first lol when I was looking for the other AMP. It also ties into the Trunk actuation system with connector B, note the "Actuation Test" in the notes. I thought it was weird that the actuator controller would have so many wires despite being a relatively simple circuit. I think what they have done is house different breakout boards with separate IC in the same enclosure, so the actuator system in all reality probably doesn't tie to any of the wiring harness thats used for the sound/navi.

The picture above below the diagram shows the other AMP, note the size and distance of the third connector from the first two, thats the fiber cable. The diagram shows the amp on the passenger side. It makes sense because the other AMPs pinout doesn't list 17 speakers it list the mids and the surround in the dash while the other one specify the door speakers. I think the way they "upgrade" the premium system is adding the second amp.

The Amp in the driver side appears to have two variations, one with the fiber for Amp A of the 17 speaker system, and one for the single amp for the 14 speaker system. While the premium system has the second amp B and Navi SMD to drive the additional speakers, hinse the "/" in the wire diagram to signalling dual purpose depending on the model.

Im going to test the other amp and report the results. Im also going to try a Hifonics BXIPRO1.0

 

[wchavisiii]

I figured out my wiring. Looking at both diagrams in this thread my connectors were 22 pins each which matched the 17 speaker system but ONLY have 14. My amp only had 2 connectors, WHITE and GRAY both 22 pins each. However they GRAY connector was NOT fully populated but the WHITE was. Using that, I figured the WHITE connector was power and line ins since pin1 and pin 22 were + and - respectfully. I tapped the pink wire off of the WHITE connector for the remote.

The GRAY connector was speaker out.

Off of the GRAY connector using the 17 speaker diagram in this thread I used the blue/org and the gray/blk + which would be the subs. This was the closest to my setup. NOTHING from the other connector match anything near mine. I tapped each of those wires to the +/- wires on the LOC to bring a low and cleaner signal to the amp. I plugged everything in, connected power to my amp and gave it a test. All works great. No cut out or any issues thus far. I drove around rock the system and all seems to be solid.

I did my final wire runs and cleaned everything up. I sub box fits perfectly in the hole and sung.

 

[kocyk123]

Awesome! Thanks for the details. I am sure a lot more folks with 14 speakers will be able to use our guidance.

 

[II Kings 9:20]

The quality is amazing. It makes me think that I have additional sub in the trunk. I took a sit inside G80 sport couple of weeks ago during auto show in Chicago and was amazed how great the bass is in it. Now I can say my 2015 is the same or even better. I would record the video but it will not do the justice. You can only image how good it is when I have my bass set to +3 out of 10. You can tune it even better on the amp itself but I want to be gentle.

Amp is not secured. It sits tightly in the wheel compartment. It is placed so it does not move around. Originally I wanted it on the trunk area mounted to the back seat but I love the fact that I don't see it when I pop the trunk.

Great work and fantastic write up. Thank you for your helpful contribution to the forum.

For others, if there's any concern about movement, a little Gorilla tape can work wonders. Not to cover it and build heat but rather on the mounting foot plates.

 

[stigxp]

No popping at start-up on my setup with a Precision Power amp. What are you using as your amp remote turn-on signal?

I'm using the same ACC wire #22 in the diagram. Wire tapped. I have a Rockford Fosgate R500X1D.

The even stranger thing, to me anyhow, is at times I get no sound at all after I start up the car. This happened after I upgraded to the newest MNSoft map in the past two weeks. I doubt it's a temperature issue as I can turn off the car, open my door to completely turn off the head unit and restart my car and get sound back. This works 33% of the time. When I get no sound at all, I will first hear multiple pops from my sub. . Whereas a single pop from the sub usually means everything is good.

The amplifier powers only the factory sub and no other speakers. The last time I touched audio in a car was high school 30 years ago, my experience is very limited. For now, to test, I've removed the rmt power wire to see if I consistently get sound to all speakers. So far yes, but it's only been one day

 

[kocyk123]

You must have a problem with the wiring. You are probably having remote wire intermittent signal which triggers the amp on/off/on/off/on. I would check your wiring and I would remove the wire tap and solder the cables together. Wire tap didn't work for me at all.

 

[MCCSolutions]

I'm using the same ACC wire #22 in the diagram. Wire tapped. I have a Rockford Fosgate R500X1D.

The even stranger thing, to me anyhow, is at times I get no sound at all after I start up the car. This happened after I upgraded to the newest MNSoft map in the past two weeks. I doubt it's a temperature issue as I can turn off the car, open my door to completely turn off the head unit and restart my car and get sound back. This works 33% of the time. When I get no sound at all, I will first hear multiple pops from my sub. . Whereas a single pop from the sub usually means everything is good.

The amplifier powers only the factory sub and no other speakers. The last time I touched audio in a car was high school 30 years ago, my experience is very limited. For now, to test, I've removed the rmt power wire to see if I consistently get sound to all speakers. So far yes, but it's only been one day

Mine does the exact same thing, and it has nothing to do with the acc line because ive tried with it untapped, it comes from mosfet protection on the speaker channel on the factory amp. Ive been working so I haven't had time to mess with it, im actually getting back on it this afternoon. Ill try and post something later. Its going to come down to line leveling, ive already tried an active 3:1 Step Down with the NVX XPLOC2, next im going to try an old fashioned pot and keep it isolated from the ground. Higher end amps have more impedance on the inputs to accept higher input voltages, I suspect this is why some are having issues and some airent. The factory amp can output as much as 40v while the low level inputs should max around 5v, thats why you should use a LOC with factory amps. However the result vary from each car manufacturer, im going to try again and I still have to find the correct pair because my wiring differs from the diagram in this thread. But I plan to add a potentiometer then feed into a DSP then to the AMP.

 

[arcman]

My $100 Rockville isn't so picky. I originally tried a PAC LOC and there wasn't a hint of it working. Sent it back for another and it did the same thing. I did check the speaker voltage with it cranked and it was in the 30's.

Out of frustration I tried running it direct from the speaker terminals to the low level input. Works fine. I do crank it on occasion and it hasn't complained yet. The only time it ever 'whumps' is when I cycle the ignition off and back on again quickly. I was seriously concerned about hooking it up this way but it's been months with no issues. I think Rockville wanted to see a limit of 8-10 volts.

 

[MCCSolutions]

My $100 Rockville isn't so picky. I originally tried a PAC LOC and there wasn't a hint of it working. Sent it back for another and it did the same thing. I did check the speaker voltage with it cranked and it was in the 30's.

Out of frustration I tried running it direct from the speaker terminals to the low level input. Works fine. I do crank it on occasion and it hasn't complained yet. The only time it ever 'whumps' is when I cycle the ignition off and back on again quickly. I was seriously concerned about hooking it up this way but it's been months with no issues. I think Rockville wanted to see a limit of 8-10 volts.

Maybe lower the bass level in the factory head unit then keep it on the low inputs. Im probably going to add a remote switch instead of tapping the acc also just incase but you could also go with a 12v delayed trigger, that would give the factory amp time enough to start up before the amp clicks on. Ive also used 12v relays in session for the (+) speaker outputs on the factory amp on a stubborn Mercedes sound system before. You can effectively sever the system all together until the head unit fully boots but it sucks to do all that, better to figure it out. But after you put a certain amount of time in it, it will make more sense to do the latter.

 

[MCCSolutions]

My $100 Rockville isn't so picky. I originally tried a PAC LOC and there wasn't a hint of it working. Sent it back for another and it did the same thing. I did check the speaker voltage with it cranked and it was in the 30's.

Out of frustration I tried running it direct from the speaker terminals to the low level input. Works fine. I do crank it on occasion and it hasn't complained yet. The only time it ever 'whumps' is when I cycle the ignition off and back on again quickly. I was seriously concerned about hooking it up this way but it's been months with no issues. I think Rockville wanted to see a limit of 8-10 volts.

++Diagram