LX470 ML with no low end sound (1 Viewer)

[dgamby]

So I just took the plunge (today!) and picked up a 2005 LX470. The first obvious problem to attend to is that there is absolutely no low-end coming through the audio. I went into audio settings and saw the bass was turned up on the EQ, but nothing much was coming through. There also was no rattling or anything which I would anticipate happening if there were a blown speaker. I know these Mark Levinson systems can be a royal pain, so I'm honestly not sure where to start. If there is a thread that has dealt with that and I've missed it, my apologies. I couldn't seem to find one, other than some general ones about sub and speaker repair or ones on Tesla style screen conversions etc...

 

[cryptyk]

Use a CD if possible to get better source quality than the radio. Then check fade and balance and go to each speaker to see if they're even all working. Then start pulling speaker grills to see if things somehow got disconnected or destroyed to the point where they can't even rattle anymore.

It's most likely the speakers, then the settings, then the amp, probably in that order.

 

[dgamby]

Use a CD if possible to get better source quality than the radio. Then check fade and balance and go to each speaker to see if they're even all working. Then start pulling speaker grills to see if things somehow got disconnected or destroyed to the point where they can't even rattle anymore.

It's most likely the speakers, then the settings, then the amp, probably in that order.

Once I remove the coin that is keeping the cd changer from getting inserted...I'll try all of that.

Rookie question here. Can the grill come off without removing the entire door panel? Most other vehicles I've owned had to have the panel off first.

 

[jsloden]

It's more than like the foam for all of the speakers is gone. That is the problem on about 95% of these things. The cheapest solution is to by the refoaming kit. You can get them on ebay fairly cheap. In my opinion this is the best and cheapest option. The kit will come the foam to redo the four large door speakers and a fifth one for the subwoofer in the back. Yes, you have to take the door panels off to get the speakers off. Mine sounded the exact same, no bass whatsoever. The ML actually sounds pretty good once you repair the speakers.

 

[trdcorolla]

Similar to when I bought my LX, didn't hear the sub at all. While troubleshooting I found a few things. The sub gets it's signal from the rear, so if your faded to the front only, then you'll get no sub output. The foam on mine was intact but if I push down on the subwoofer, it would work, so I had a bad voice coil. I replaced it. This was years ago, now some people are finding cheap 6.5" replacement subwoofers that fit and sound good too.

 

[Pucker5]

Put your hand on the grill and turn your music up (something with bass). It’s a small speaker but you should still feel something If the rear signal/power from the ml is working and connected. If it were a old/blown speaker it would likely make noise.

 

[dgamby]

I'll get the door panel off soon and take a look. I'll also try feeling at the grill and see if anything is happening. Unfortunately, I'm stuck with just the radio as a sound source. I got the coin out from where the cd changer loads, but it still doesn't work. When I push the CD cassette down it locks in place for about two seconds and then pops itself right back up!

Thanks for giving me some places to start.

 

[Joe422]

On my '04, all the speakers needed refoaming (SimplySpeakers.com) which was easy... and the mids/highs sounded ok, but bass was pretty pathetic.

For some low end... Following some tips from Mud, I threw on a SAS Bazooka 8" tube (8ohm, DVC) and spliced the wires to a switch from the stock Sub speaker. It actually sounds pretty good... Good amount of bump to get you through a long road trip, especially for the minimal amount of work/part/cost. The stock sub amp output is on a 3way switch so I can still activate the stock sub, if I ever need to remove the Bazooka for whatever reason. Otherwise all the power only goes to the Tube, and stock sub rests.

For a source, I'm using a Soundlinq3... its very basic, but streams Blutooth well.

Overall, it sounds better than most modern factory stereo system now...

 

[dgamby]

Put your hand on the grill and turn your music up (something with bass). It’s a small speaker but you should still feel something If the rear signal/power from the ml is working and connected. If it were a old/blown speaker it would likely make noise.

I did this today, not sure if the fm station was sending a ton of bass, but I held my hand up next to what I think is the sub location (drivers side, right next to the jump seat in the way back) and felt no vibration or anything. In the other spearkers I did feel some vibration so I suspect those just might need to be redone, but fear something else may be going on with the sub...

 

[dgamby]

On my '04, all the speakers needed refoaming (SimplySpeakers.com) which was easy... and the mids/highs sounded ok, but bass was pretty pathetic.

For some low end... Following some tips from Mud, I threw on a SAS Bazooka 8" tube (8ohm, DVC) and spliced spliced the wires to a switch from the stock Sub speaker. It actually sounds pretty good... Good amount of bump to get you through a long road trip, especially for the minimal amount of work/part/cost. The stock sub amp output is on a 3way switch to I can still activate the stock sub if I ever need to remove the Bazooka for whatever reason. Otherwise all the power only goes to the Tube, and stock sub rests.

For a source, I'm using a Soundlinq3... its very basic, but streams Blutooth well.

Overall, it sounds better than most modern factory stereo system now...

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Thanks for posting all of this. That's a great setup. I'm not sure I'm going to add a new sub, as I don't need that much boom, and we are still using the way back for kids etc... I will get a door panel of soon and see what the speakers look like, I'm guessing I probably also need to do some digging and find a write up of how to access the sub so I can at least see what things look like back there.

 

[Pucker5]

I did this today, not sure if the fm station was sending a ton of bass, but I held my hand up next to what I think is the sub location (drivers side, right next to the jump seat in the way back) and felt no vibration or anything. In the other spearkers I did feel some vibration so I suspect those just might need to be redone, but fear something else may be going on with the sub...

If you didn’t feel any movement then it’s probably something else

 

[dgamby]

If you didn’t feel any movement then it’s probably something else

I tired again later in the day. I put the fade all the way in the back, turned the bass all the way up and dropped the treble and mid all the way down. When I did this I thought I felt a little vibration from the sub enclosure. I guess there is a possibility it is something else, or all the other speakers were causing vibration I could feel back there. It seems that refoaming the speakers is the cheapest place to start and then I can see what I'm working with after that.

 

[dgamby]

I haven’t tested yet but pretty sure I found the culprits! I repaired the front two speakers and the second pick is them fixed and the rear waiting to be fixed. Still haven’t dug out the sub yet. I found a little more evidence of water in the door than I anticipated but the drains are clean so I’m not sweating it. I don’t think surface rust on the magnet should matter much.