Mysterious ML Tweeter Crackle (1 Viewer)

[al3xh]

Hi gang,

I've got an issue with the Mark Levinson system that's beyond just deteriorated surrounds as I've commonly read here and am wondering if anyone can help me troubleshoot, it's driving me nuts! Long story short, both my tweeters (topmost speaker on front doors) crackle at high volumes. I have a 2005 GX470 with navigation and Mark Levinson sound system.

My surrounds are cracked on the subwoofer (which I'm going to fix), but I have isolated the annoying high pitch crackle to the tweeters. It only happens in certain parts of songs when the volume gets loud and there's more high frequency sounds? Not a sound guy but it tends to do it consistently for piano songs. I got desperate and even ordered a brand new replacement tweeter (part number 86160-0W600) from the dealership but to my surprise the crackle persists!

At this point, I'm convinced that it's either the headunit, amp, or hopefully just loose wiring/bad ground somewhere. Has anyone had this issue before and can shed some light on what might be wrong?

 

[AthensCruiser]

Hi gang,

I've got an issue with the Mark Levinson system that's beyond just deteriorated surrounds as I've commonly read here and am wondering if anyone can help me troubleshoot, it's driving me nuts! Long story short, both my tweeters (topmost speaker on front doors) crackle at high volumes. I have a 2005 GX470 with navigation and Mark Levinson sound system.

My surrounds are cracked on the subwoofer (which I'm going to fix), but I have isolated the annoying high pitch crackle to the tweeters. It only happens in certain parts of songs when the volume gets loud and there's more high frequency sounds? Not a sound guy but it tends to do it consistently for piano songs. I got desperate and even ordered a brand new replacement tweeter (part number 86160-0W600) from the dealership but to my surprise the crackle persists!

At this point, I'm convinced that it's either the headunit, amp, or hopefully just loose wiring/bad ground somewhere. Has anyone had this issue before and can shed some light on what might be wrong?

Following

 

[dubluv17]

What device are you using for your input? Radio, CD, aftermarket bluetooth device, etc?

 

[al3xh]

I'm using a Bluetooth dongle that transmits to FM from bestbuy. I've tested this dongle on another car to make sure it's not the problem and sure enough, it worked just fine for the song.

I guess I can try to burn the song causing the issue to a CD and test if using CD as the input still results in the same issue?

 

[al3xh]

Update: I got interesting results to report after doing the CD test! After burning the same song causing problems to a CD and playing it, I did NOT hear any crackle from the tweeter. I guess this eliminates (makes it unlikely) the amp is bad or there exists a bad ground connection.

The most likely explanation for the crackle so far: FM reception has issues and some frequencies are getting distorted on the GX's receiving end (the bluetooth dongle has been tested with a newer car and does not have any distortion so I think it's safe to assume the problem is on the GX's end).

I think it may be worthwhile to do the CD changer bluetooth mod and see if that solves the problem once and for all! In addition, I will also look into improving FM reception by inspecting the antenna.