e-man

Hi guys (and girls). I am new to this forum (and to the GS 400 world). I recently purchased a 1998 GS 400, alpine silver/black interior. I wanted the car 6 years ago, but my wife decided that she would rather have the ES 300 (oyster pearl, front wheel drive, not as flashy, you get the idea). Anyway, 4 years and 2 kids later, she got the Acura MDX and I got stuck with the ES. Nice car, but really not for me. After 2 years, I couldn't take it anymore, so I sold the ES and bought the GS. I couldn't be happier.

The car came with the standard Lexus premium stereo. Although the CD sounds very good, the radio just sounds terrible. I don't think it's the reception, although I suppose it could be (the rear window is tinted -- could that affect reception?). The best way to describe it is that it just sounds dead. I know it's not the Nakamichi, but it's not an AC/Delco either. The Lexus dealer tells me that it's probably a faulty head unit, but I would rather not spend $500 to $600 on a new head unit, only to find out that there is some other problem. The CD cranks up clear and loud, so I don't think it's the amplifier. Anyway, has anyone else out there experienced this problem? If so, can it be corrected?

On a related note, is it possible to convert the standard system to the Nakamichi system? If so, has anyone done this and what's involved in the process? Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

philip fra

another good question,

cd's in my "premium sound" sound much better than the radio. i will be interested to here more on this.

e-man

Good to know that there's someone else out there with the same problem. The new head unit arrives this week, and I'll probably have it swapped out first thing next week. I have a sneaky hunch that it won't solve the problem. While at the dealership, I sat in a 1999 GS 400 and a 2002 GS 300, both with the same system and both sounded great. I also sat in a friends VW Jetta (yes, a Jetta), and his stock system sounded much better also. Hopefully someone else out there knows the fix.

philip fra

when you say "head unit", what part are you speaking of?

e-man

The main unit in the dash where you control volume, radio stations, CD, etc.

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

Philip, this is absolutely normal.... CDs will sound many times better than the radio even with the strongest signal (unless you have a crappy CD full of low quality burned former MP3 files). You're getting a clean strong digital signal direct from the unit, not broadcast in analog over the radio airwaves from many miles away. Sorry, but you're going to have to get used to it.

e-man - can you confirm if the ASL is turned on in your GS? Also, what kind of tint is in the car - is it metallic?

e-man

It's funny that you ask about the ASL. Just today, I tried toggling it on and off to see if it made a difference. Unless I'm mistaken, it seems a little louder with the ASL off, but the sound is still crappy. I know the radio will never sound as good as a CD, but I'm comparing the sound to other GS's with the same stereo. Unless a major upgrade was done to the stereo in 1999, I think there must be something wrong.

As for the tinting, I'm the second owner, so I'm not sure whether it's metallic or not. I've looked closely at it, and I can't seem to see any metallic-like reflections within it. If it was metallic, is that something you would be able to tell by simply looking at it?

By the way, thanks for responding. This is my first night on the forum. Glad to be here.

philip fra

e-man- i figured thats what you were talking about.

dave- i hear what your saying and it makes sense. i'll deal with it.

thanks to both of you.

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

Most heavily metallic tint is a bit shiny and reflective but others aren't as obvious. With the ASL 'on' the sound level will automatically adjust to the noise level in your car when its rolling (say with the windows rolled down).

I've always noticed on mine that the volume of the CD is louder than the radio, but I just turn it up more. The quality isn't anywhere near audiophile but didn't sound terrible compared to other GSs I've been in (before I upgraded speakers, amp, sub, etc). The radio in my LS does sound better, as do Nakamichi units I've heard.

If the quality is really bad, I'd suspect a loose antenna.... I've never looked at the back of my head unit to see how it connects to see how likely that is to happen (might be part of the wiring harness plug making it very unlikely). We'll see if other members have ideas here and if not, move it to the audio forum.

Oh, and welcome to ClubLexus and congrats on your GS!

e-man

Thanks, Dave. When Lexus pulls out the head unit next week, I'll be sure to have them check the antenna. Who knows, that just may be the culprit. Like I said, I don't think so, especially because the "ST" indicator is always on, which I think means that the stereo is receiving a strong signal, but we'll see.

As long as we're on the topic, what modifications did you make to your stereo? I'm not a stereo fanatic, but I would be interested in some things I could do to make the existing system sound better.

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

There are lots of ideas you can get in the Audio and electronics forum beyond what I did

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/for...?s=&forumid=12


Here's a thread where I describe a recent update to my trunk setup. I've replaced everything from the head unit back and it sounds much better. Interior of the car still looks totally stock and I still have most of my trunk space.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...threadid=97340