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- #161
New wheels for the LX. 34ft lbs forged beadlocks from MTD Wheels, with all the hardware and ring.
Build "Choyota" 2002 LX470 Thread
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Wait just a damn minute! Eric, I have been looking for this vehicle ever since I saw it on TEQ website. You built yourself a specimen, truly remarkable.
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- #163
Thanks! Just been focusing on the other aspects of the LX and had been completely ignoring my stereo issues…until now! Thanks for your help. There’s a big contingent of folks saying don’t use 4ohm speakers with the stock ML HU and amp, so been on the fence. What say you?
I deal with this issue when I do things for late model Audis with Bang & Olufsen, it is never optimal to use 4ohms when it requires 8ohms. Lets look at this debacle from a comprehensive angle.
Power Draw: The amp will attempt to deliver roughly twice the current to the lower-impedance speaker. Power output increases, so the amp will push significantly more wattage than it was designed to deliver at that load.
Thermal Stress: This is the core concern. The Mark Levinson amp in the LX470 is a Class A/B (naturally runs hot) design with fixed bias and passive cooling — it was not engineered for sustained high-current loads into 4Ω. Running a 4Ω load will cause: Higher heat generation in the output transistors, potential thermal throttling or shutdown via the amp's protection circuit and over time, degraded solder joints and component lifespan.
Distortion & Clipping: The amp may clip earlier into a 4Ω load because its power supply rails aren't designed to handle this type of load.
Protection Circuit Triggering: The ML amp has overcurrent and thermal protection — you may experience intermittent system shutdown under demanding listening conditions.
After typing all that out, will it work? Yes, it did for me. However, if you go above certain level, you will hear audible distortion and may/may not experience shutdowns. My first set up in my rig was cheapest Alpine speakers off of Amazon, Morel 254 mid-panel midranges and tiny Alpine tweeters which were held by a tape. Everything was 4-ohm ran by the stock amp for years, however, I never ran it at high volumes. Sub amp was the only upgrade in amplification regard. If you are concerned, I can reprint you new brackets and put something that is 8 ohms in them from PartsExpress. Also, I will say this, those Focal Crossovers, I would run my tweeters off of them. If the crossover/processor inside of ML unit fails and gives every speaker the full beans, your tweeters won't be blown.
Power Draw: The amp will attempt to deliver roughly twice the current to the lower-impedance speaker. Power output increases, so the amp will push significantly more wattage than it was designed to deliver at that load.
Thermal Stress: This is the core concern. The Mark Levinson amp in the LX470 is a Class A/B (naturally runs hot) design with fixed bias and passive cooling — it was not engineered for sustained high-current loads into 4Ω. Running a 4Ω load will cause: Higher heat generation in the output transistors, potential thermal throttling or shutdown via the amp's protection circuit and over time, degraded solder joints and component lifespan.
Distortion & Clipping: The amp may clip earlier into a 4Ω load because its power supply rails aren't designed to handle this type of load.
Protection Circuit Triggering: The ML amp has overcurrent and thermal protection — you may experience intermittent system shutdown under demanding listening conditions.
After typing all that out, will it work? Yes, it did for me. However, if you go above certain level, you will hear audible distortion and may/may not experience shutdowns. My first set up in my rig was cheapest Alpine speakers off of Amazon, Morel 254 mid-panel midranges and tiny Alpine tweeters which were held by a tape. Everything was 4-ohm ran by the stock amp for years, however, I never ran it at high volumes. Sub amp was the only upgrade in amplification regard. If you are concerned, I can reprint you new brackets and put something that is 8 ohms in them from PartsExpress. Also, I will say this, those Focal Crossovers, I would run my tweeters off of them. If the crossover/processor inside of ML unit fails and gives every speaker the full beans, your tweeters won't be blown.
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- #165
My preference would be the 8ohms I now think. Well, after re-thinking, reading, and talking to other folks. I just have to see if I can return these 4-ohm speakers for the front, I already butchered the brackets for the rear 4-ohm coax speakers, along with butchering the wiring for the OEM tweeters out back, which have that diamond shape. Since I butchered the rears already, I was thinking of moving forward with the 4ohm fronts, but really hesitant about it. I think I can still return those front speakers at least.
I found this from a user Hatch on here, are these the Parts-Express speakers you're referencing?
2x Front doors: Visaton BG17-8 6.5" Full-Range Speaker with Whizzer Cone 8 Ohm
2x Rear doors: Visaton R10S 4" Full-Range Speaker 8 Ohm
What do I do with the rear tweeters though, I already snipped the wiring off of them.....
Try them out as is. If thermal issues arise, it will shut down, and you can re-engage then.
Those Visas will fit in the bracket I sent you, and QTC is outstanding on them; they will be very happy in your doors. Normally, 8-ohm units from Parts Express are not happy with being used in autos due to their Pro-Audio nature.
As for the rear tweeter saga, if you stay with the OEM enclosure, then run a Coax with a tweeter in the center. It will have a separate tweeter hookup.
Those Visas will fit in the bracket I sent you, and QTC is outstanding on them; they will be very happy in your doors. Normally, 8-ohm units from Parts Express are not happy with being used in autos due to their Pro-Audio nature.
As for the rear tweeter saga, if you stay with the OEM enclosure, then run a Coax with a tweeter in the center. It will have a separate tweeter hookup.
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- #167
Thank you audio Yoda! I'll just give it a shot. If the 4-ohms don't work out, I'll just have to eat the cost, for the price of education.
Disclaimer: I am just passing along my knowledge and experience with this setup. These are archaic audio systems, so their internal safety mechanisms can misfire; proceed with caution. If you do not have Focals installed right now, after your next drive, get a baseline idea of what the amp temperature is under normal operating load. Check it by hand or with a thermo-reading device of sorts. After the install, do the same and see how much it differs. If you are not comfortable with how it is behaving, cease fire.