If you are doing all that, if it were me I would change out everything. These are 20 year old components. Good quality substitutes are available.
LX470 Mark Levinson front door speakers: conflicting info on OHMs (1 Viewer)
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If you are doing all that, if it were me I would change out everything. These are 20 year old components. Good quality substitutes are available.
As John Young said above, if you were going to do that, I, too, would simply remove everything and start from scratch; there's virtually no point in letting the ML amp do it's job, then attenuating the signal by passing it to a high-level input on another amp just to re-amplify it. Typically, the only reason to use a high-level input is when adding an additional sub-woofer amp, where fidelity is far secondary to brute force and power.
Another point to consider, however, is that components being 20 years old has precious little to do with their quality, especially in the world of audio. Yes, foam speaker surround where out and need replacing. Other than that, as long as the amp and head unit have not been exposed to moisture or otherwise abused, they are of great quality and worthy of keeping up in my opinion. I still have not heard a more natural sounding system in any vehicle than the ML system in my LX. Louder, yes. Better, no. If you're having trouble hearing lyrics clearly, try some of the various eq and processing options present w/in the menu structure of your head unit.
As a life-long obsessive audio aficianado, and semi-professional recording engineer, my goals are always to keep the signal path as simple and as short as possible and use the best gear I can afford. "Stacking" amps in your suggested scenario is just not a good idea; it might make your system louder (and it might not, depending upon what you use), but it will almost assuredly make it sound a lot worse. Not only will you be adding additional distortion, but you'll actually be amplifying the unavoidable (and admittedly minisculse) distortion that ALREADY exists.
My suggestion? Get the proper surround repair kit(s) and experiment with the processing settings to find the sound you like. If there's something truly wrong with the amp, get it repaired. OR.. take everything out and start from scratch. Of course, what I think doesn't really matter... just giving my opinion. YOU should do whatever makes YOU happy!
As John Young said above, if you were going to do that, I, too, would simply remove everything and start from scratch; there's virtually no point in letting the ML amp do it's job, then attenuating the signal by passing it to a high-level input on another amp just to re-amplify it. Typically, the only reason to use a high-level input is when adding an additional sub-woofer amp, where fidelity is far secondary to brute force and power.
Another point to consider, however, is that components being 20 years old has precious little to do with their quality, especially in the world of audio. Yes, foam speaker surround where out and need replacing. Other than that, as long as the amp and head unit have not been exposed to moisture or otherwise abused, they are of great quality and worthy of keeping up in my opinion. I still have not heard a more natural sounding system in any vehicle than the ML system in my LX. Louder, yes. Better, no. If you're having trouble hearing lyrics clearly, try some of the various eq and processing options present w/in the menu structure of your head unit.
As a life-long obsessive audio aficianado, and semi-professional recording engineer, my goals are always to keep the signal path as simple and as short as possible and use the best gear I can afford. "Stacking" amps in your suggested scenario is just not a good idea; it might make your system louder (and it might not, depending upon what you use), but it will almost assuredly make it sound a lot worse. Not only will you be adding additional distortion, but you'll actually be amplifying the unavoidable (and admittedly minisculse) distortion that ALREADY exists.
My suggestion? Get the proper surround repair kit(s) and experiment with the processing settings to find the sound you like. If there's something truly wrong with the amp, get it repaired. OR.. take everything out and start from scratch. Of course, what I think doesn't really matter... just giving my opinion. YOU should do whatever makes YOU happy!
Ditto, and I defer to MC's much greater expertise in this area. BTW I sort of accidentally bought a used ML amplifier when I thought my the ML amp in my 2001 LX470 was bad. If someone is hard up for one of those. I was told it was working when it was removed from another Lexus
Would you really get that much distortion from the ML amp feeding secondary amps? The load that the ML amp would see would be minimal. The ML amp would run cooler which is good for it's life time.
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I think I will install an after market amp and sub though.
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Sorry to revive an old thread but is the foam the most common failure when people say a speaker is "blown"? I am looking to buy an LX this Friday. The front speakers and subwoofer sound like trash. I don't want to replace the Mark Levinson system with aftermarket speakers but do not want to spend $1200 on three speakers either.
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Parts express is your friend, 8 ohm replacement drivers for days
A refoam is the way to go with the Mark Levinson system unless you want to replace all components. Replacing with random drivers is a gamble and is more expensive. Aftermarket speakers also require modifications to the door and/or mounting brackets to get a proper seal which may also hurt resale value of the vehicle. I personally wouldn’t buy a vehicle that someone hacked up to install aftermarket speakers with the factory amp and head unit. A refoam is a no brainer if you are content with the factory system and all drivers function. Everything was made to work together and if you start replacing individual parts in the system the sound will be unbalanced.
Parts Express has a great selection of nice sounding drivers and I’ve used them in home audio speakers. I would not use them in my LX unless I was replacing everything. There is no doubt you could build a superior system compared to stock, but this would involve more than a speaker swap. The ML system isn’t loud, but it is balanced and sounds good IMHO.
Parts Express has a great selection of nice sounding drivers and I’ve used them in home audio speakers. I would not use them in my LX unless I was replacing everything. There is no doubt you could build a superior system compared to stock, but this would involve more than a speaker swap. The ML system isn’t loud, but it is balanced and sounds good IMHO.
if there’s an in-line crossover somewhere or there’s separate speaker inputs on the amp then all that matter is he swap the driver that is faulty with a driver of equal impedance.
Read the first review on the second link. Direct replacement success. The first link is a bit cheaper and has a higher sensitivity so it should move on less power since I’m not sure what the levinson amp puts out.
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Visaton W170-8 6.5" Woofer 8 OhmVisaton's 9063 W170 6-1/2" woofer is designed to be a high performance replacement speaker at a budget price point. A foam surround and ribbed, treated paper cone offer longevity while capturing that classic sound from the golden era of loudspeakers. A healthy 2.0...
www.parts-express.com
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Visaton W170S-8 6.5" Woofer with Treated Paper Cone 8 OhmVisaton's 9025 W170S 6-1/2" woofer features a coated paper cone, durable rubber surround, and a bumped back plate to allow all 4.25 mm of Xmax to be used with an excursion limit of ±10 mm. A very balanced and extended frequency response...
www.parts-express.com
Read the first review on the second link. Direct replacement success. The first link is a bit cheaper and has a higher sensitivity so it should move on less power since I’m not sure what the levinson amp puts out.
There is a big difference between a faulty driver and a driver that needs a refoam. Pretty much all speakers with a foam surround will need a refoam at some point and it is much cheaper and easier to do this than replacing the driver with an aftermarket driver that wasn't designed to work with the existing system (crossover, amp, mounting locations, etc.). If the driver was faulty and didn't work, I may consider trying to find a suitable replacement before paying an arm and a leg for a ML replacement speaker.
Regarding the speaker sensitivity, if the sensitivity of the replacement aftermarket speaker is more efficient it will unbalance the sound by being louder than the factory speaker it replaced. This is not good as it will make the sound too midrange forward if we are talking about the midrange driver. Also, I can't comprehend why anyone would replace a Mark Levinson driver with a Visiton driver from Parts Express just because the foam is rotten... Mark Levinson is known for making very high end home audio equipment and is well respected and known for making some of the best home audio amplifiers of all time. I'm sure the Visiton is a fine sounding speaker, but I would much prefer to keep the ML speakers that were engineered to work with the existing system if I had the choice. I'm not saying ML used their highest quality components in a mass produced vehicle for Lexus, but they have built a well thought out system with each component working together.
I've done two refoams in the LX470, and the worst part is removing the foam surround and adhesive which can be time consuming. Other than that, it is a simple project and will make the system sound as good as new.
Regarding the speaker sensitivity, if the sensitivity of the replacement aftermarket speaker is more efficient it will unbalance the sound by being louder than the factory speaker it replaced. This is not good as it will make the sound too midrange forward if we are talking about the midrange driver. Also, I can't comprehend why anyone would replace a Mark Levinson driver with a Visiton driver from Parts Express just because the foam is rotten... Mark Levinson is known for making very high end home audio equipment and is well respected and known for making some of the best home audio amplifiers of all time. I'm sure the Visiton is a fine sounding speaker, but I would much prefer to keep the ML speakers that were engineered to work with the existing system if I had the choice. I'm not saying ML used their highest quality components in a mass produced vehicle for Lexus, but they have built a well thought out system with each component working together.
I've done two refoams in the LX470, and the worst part is removing the foam surround and adhesive which can be time consuming. Other than that, it is a simple project and will make the system sound as good as new.
Understood. I would just like to buy parts in advance of removing the door panels. I prefer to keep the stock units as well. Bolting/unbolting parts is easy. Delicately removing foam is probably not a job I have the patience for.
I cut the wires to the stock subwoofer and made a subwoofer box with two 6" speakers. They are each 8 ohms and are wires in series so I get 16 ohms. The box is ported and tuned to approx 37 Hz. It's tiny and only takes up 1 cubic foot. The deep bass I get out of this box is insane and is of an appropriate gentle volume. It's ported, but there is very little distortion and the bass is very tight. The approx. 25 watts of power goes a long way. You would be surprised.
I combined this with new 8 ohm woofers and tweeters. The sound is insane. the dynamat treatment was worth it. car is super quiet.
The mids didn't need replacement. The only speakers that I could find that would fit did not sound as good as the 17 year old mid range speakers.
I combined this with new 8 ohm woofers and tweeters. The sound is insane. the dynamat treatment was worth it. car is super quiet.
The mids didn't need replacement. The only speakers that I could find that would fit did not sound as good as the 17 year old mid range speakers.
What is factory amp impedance for the sub channel. Is that why you wired 8 ohm drivers to 16?
Factory sub is 16 ohms impedance, 12.3 real ohms
This is sub gives like +30 dB to your 47Hz bass notes.
The factory sealed box has a cut off around 105Hz, this ported box has a cutoff around 37Hz.
I have it set up with a quick disconnect so I take it out when needed. I used 1/2" mdf since we are only dealing with ~25 watts. Ports are 1" x 8" and are 17" long, they combined together for a 2" x 8" opening in the front.
This is sub gives like +30 dB to your 47Hz bass notes.
The factory sealed box has a cut off around 105Hz, this ported box has a cutoff around 37Hz.
I have it set up with a quick disconnect so I take it out when needed. I used 1/2" mdf since we are only dealing with ~25 watts. Ports are 1" x 8" and are 17" long, they combined together for a 2" x 8" opening in the front.
Thoughts on refoaming these?
ramangain
Clarksonian disciple
Nice paper weight
Why do you say that? I’m not a music expert by any means but I have the mark levinson system and hear refoaming is the way to go.
ramangain
Clarksonian disciple
I'll not get started and pass on the soapbox. My entire ML system is collecting dust in a closet.
Anyone else willing to actually give me some insight as to why to refoam/ not refoam them? I am not into music. Just want a working stereo.
I did the refoam kit on the subwoofer and it made it sound as good as new.
