HOW TO: LS430 Mark Levinson EVERYTHING w/Pics & part#s
11-02-15, 06:48 PM
#151
Replace my ML system with all aftermartket
Got quote from this one store that was going to tap into the OEM speaker wire which was just below $700 for the whole job. I'm going to install new wire for the front and rear speakers. Fronts will have no tweeter because I don't want to ruin the door panel by modding them, same with the rears will have no tweeters and just two-way speakers. I'll be taking out the old ML subwoofer and replace with a loaded box with a 12" subwoofer to get deep bass because free air really doesn't pack a deep bass sound. I'll have 1 amplifier power the door speakers.
-aftermarket headunit latest and great double-din / beatsonic kit- $622
- (1) 4 channel amps- $194
-aftermarket components- (2) 6.5 two way $155
-aftermarket powered/loaded subwoofer with slim box.- $175
-4 Gauge power wire and 8 gauge ground wire- going to the distribution blocks, JL Audio 16 gauge speaker wire (90 feet of it), RCA's, Bass controller, (2) distribution blocks= $355
TOTAL= $1,501 parts only
I'm going take out all the ML speakers, tweeters, and subwoofer- and rewire everything to the new head-unit and new amplifier. I don't know when I'll do this but hopefully before year end. It's a lot of work but I really don't want to pay $700 just for tapping into the OEM harness, plus the new wires will handle the extra power for the two new amplifiers and audio equipment.
Hope this helps
UPDATE******************************************************************************
Installed all of the above (took around 30 hours to get everything perfect) and blows away the 9 speaker ML system, and now I only have 5 speakers everything sounds 1,000 X clearer (no tweeters- just two way 6.5's in all doors). Front seats, rear seats, center console, trunk, and door panels were all removed. If I had ABT or Best Buy run the new wire throughout the car it would be over a $5,000 for the total job (labor $80+ per hour is just too much to pay). I wanted to keep the stock wiring untouched and no tapping into the harnesses (just in case I ever sell the car the person can go back to the ML system. The toughest part of this project was running the speaker wire throughout the car, fishing it through the rubber booties of the all the doors, and customizing the speaker brackets (Dremel).
-aftermarket headunit latest and great double-din / beatsonic kit- $622
- (1) 4 channel amps- $194
-aftermarket components- (2) 6.5 two way $155
-aftermarket powered/loaded subwoofer with slim box.- $175
-4 Gauge power wire and 8 gauge ground wire- going to the distribution blocks, JL Audio 16 gauge speaker wire (90 feet of it), RCA's, Bass controller, (2) distribution blocks= $355
TOTAL= $1,501 parts only
I'm going take out all the ML speakers, tweeters, and subwoofer- and rewire everything to the new head-unit and new amplifier. I don't know when I'll do this but hopefully before year end. It's a lot of work but I really don't want to pay $700 just for tapping into the OEM harness, plus the new wires will handle the extra power for the two new amplifiers and audio equipment.
Hope this helps
UPDATE******************************************************************************
Installed all of the above (took around 30 hours to get everything perfect) and blows away the 9 speaker ML system, and now I only have 5 speakers everything sounds 1,000 X clearer (no tweeters- just two way 6.5's in all doors). Front seats, rear seats, center console, trunk, and door panels were all removed. If I had ABT or Best Buy run the new wire throughout the car it would be over a $5,000 for the total job (labor $80+ per hour is just too much to pay). I wanted to keep the stock wiring untouched and no tapping into the harnesses (just in case I ever sell the car the person can go back to the ML system. The toughest part of this project was running the speaker wire throughout the car, fishing it through the rubber booties of the all the doors, and customizing the speaker brackets (Dremel).
Last edited by whooodat; 10-18-16 at 05:43 PM.
11-03-15, 03:55 PM
#152
Sound of Silence by Simon and Garfarkel is a good song, not so much Cecilia
Last edited by JffGRY706; 03-02-21 at 01:54 PM.
11-19-15, 01:41 PM
#155
Lexus Test Driver
Thanks Whooodat! I appreciate the speedy ship and carefully packed subwoofer. These are very hard to find. Thanks for walking me through the process as well as following to after I received the part. I look forward to doing business with you in the future.
JV
JV
12-26-15, 05:40 PM
#156
Is the 03 LS430 wiring at the amp harness the same as the 01? I'm trying to see if I can splice the tweeters into the front door speakers to get the tweeters on the speakers I just installed to work.
01-16-16, 01:12 AM
#158
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Can anyone please tell me why my entire sound system just shuts off??
I have a 02 ls430 w/navi and ML sound system. When I bought the car that back sub was already blown and had to be replaced. Not knowing much about it or that it could be fixed I had the used car dealership fix it as a condition before buying. I took it to car audio place my self that they recommended and it was fixed without me choosing the sun but I was assured by the car Audio guy that it was a close stock match. It sounds good but when I go to turn it up to a higher aka load level my whole system shuts off then comes back only when I turn it back down. Is there a manual over ride for when it's to high or what's going on ?? And can it be fixed with what I already have by doing something my self ? Please let me know it's really annoying and embarrassing to have it shut off when I turn it up with people on my car and just frustrating over all. Thanks in advance
02-20-16, 02:34 AM
#159
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kicker sub used with another 4 ohm
Its likely that any 8 ohm sub woofer will run OK , just don;t get a 4 ohm one as that will definitely cause problems.
Another alternative is to have current speaker repaired -
http://www.parts-express.com/speaker...nter/index.cfm
Another alternative is to have current speaker repaired -
http://www.parts-express.com/speaker...nter/index.cfm
02-21-16, 12:13 PM
#160
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Will this setup lead to stock ML amp issues?
2 Polk Audio DB651 6.5"/6.75" 2-Way in the front and the Polk Audio db840DVC 8-Inch Dual Voice Coil Subwoofer (wired in series to get to 8ohm)
Roman, have you had any issue running the 651's in the front because they're 4ohm?
2 Polk Audio DB651 6.5"/6.75" 2-Way in the front and the Polk Audio db840DVC 8-Inch Dual Voice Coil Subwoofer (wired in series to get to 8ohm)
Roman, have you had any issue running the 651's in the front because they're 4ohm?
02-22-16, 11:44 AM
#161
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Amplifier output signals work somewhat differently than a regular electrical load, such as a light bulb. Instead of drawing a steady current like a light bulb, the current delivered to a speaker varies according to the volume and frequency of the sound it will produce. So the impedance/resistance rating for a speaker is its “nominal” or something similar to the average value.
The LS430 ML amplifier specifies 8-ohm resistance for the door speakers, and 14.5-ohm for the subwoofer. If the replacement speaker’s resistance is too low, the amplifier will tend to overheat and a greater fraction of power is used up in the amplifier than is deliver to the speaker. At low output volume, this will not likely to harm the amplifier, but at sustained higher output volume, this can cause overheating and potentially damage the amplifier's output circuit.
The amplifier will deliver maximum power/volume to the speaker when the speaker impedance matches the amplifier’s output impedance.
So to recap, resistance is simply restriction to current flow in the circuit. For example if you touch any "hot" wire in your car to ground (zero resistance between + and -), the fuse upstream of that hot wire will blow because there's no restriction of current flow through the circuit and the fuse simply cannot handle the excessive current flow. Likewise if you hook up a lower-than-specified resistance speaker to your amplifier, it will allow higher-than-specified current to flow, as such, you can do one of 2 things: 1) Wire the speaker directly to the amplifier and feed the speaker with current it's designed to handle, which will risk overheating and damaging the amplifier, or, 2) Introduce additional resistance to the circuit to limit current flow to protect the amplifier and starve the speaker. In either case, you're limited to the lowest common denominator.
All that being said, you should be OK if you don't run your ML consistently at over 50% volume. Most solid state amplifiers are typically equipped with an overheat protection circuit that will shut itself down before any real damage is done - I'm not sure if the ML has such protection. Can anyone confirm?
The LS430 ML amplifier specifies 8-ohm resistance for the door speakers, and 14.5-ohm for the subwoofer. If the replacement speaker’s resistance is too low, the amplifier will tend to overheat and a greater fraction of power is used up in the amplifier than is deliver to the speaker. At low output volume, this will not likely to harm the amplifier, but at sustained higher output volume, this can cause overheating and potentially damage the amplifier's output circuit.
The amplifier will deliver maximum power/volume to the speaker when the speaker impedance matches the amplifier’s output impedance.
So to recap, resistance is simply restriction to current flow in the circuit. For example if you touch any "hot" wire in your car to ground (zero resistance between + and -), the fuse upstream of that hot wire will blow because there's no restriction of current flow through the circuit and the fuse simply cannot handle the excessive current flow. Likewise if you hook up a lower-than-specified resistance speaker to your amplifier, it will allow higher-than-specified current to flow, as such, you can do one of 2 things: 1) Wire the speaker directly to the amplifier and feed the speaker with current it's designed to handle, which will risk overheating and damaging the amplifier, or, 2) Introduce additional resistance to the circuit to limit current flow to protect the amplifier and starve the speaker. In either case, you're limited to the lowest common denominator.
All that being said, you should be OK if you don't run your ML consistently at over 50% volume. Most solid state amplifiers are typically equipped with an overheat protection circuit that will shut itself down before any real damage is done - I'm not sure if the ML has such protection. Can anyone confirm?
02-22-16, 12:04 PM
#162
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The info in this thread is great - I just changed out my glue-repaired Mark Levinson sub for the Kicker 10C88 (8", 8-ohms) today. The 10C88 sounds amazing, does not cause the amp to shut down, and delivers hard hitting notes without fluttering.
I took it to an audio shop to install because free time is rare these days, but he let me watch and it's pretty straight forward for anyone that has done car audio before, even on the UL-model (just a couple more connectors to disconnect as you pull the pieces off). I was actually surprised the seats come out the same way - with a strong tug. The new sub mounted into the Levinson's stock mount fairly easily. For $50 on Crutchfield and quick shipping, I'd totally vouch for the Kicker 10C88. It's well-constructed and while not as monstrous as the two Kicker Solo Baric S12L5 subs I had in my other car, it provides the great OEM bass the Mark Levinson used to before it separated.
I took it to an audio shop to install because free time is rare these days, but he let me watch and it's pretty straight forward for anyone that has done car audio before, even on the UL-model (just a couple more connectors to disconnect as you pull the pieces off). I was actually surprised the seats come out the same way - with a strong tug. The new sub mounted into the Levinson's stock mount fairly easily. For $50 on Crutchfield and quick shipping, I'd totally vouch for the Kicker 10C88. It's well-constructed and while not as monstrous as the two Kicker Solo Baric S12L5 subs I had in my other car, it provides the great OEM bass the Mark Levinson used to before it separated.
03-27-16, 06:32 PM
#164
Quick update for those wondering.
Wired up the sub I posted above. had to trim the the bracket some but the sub sounds really nice. Depth is about an inch deeper than stock but overall I am happy. 16 ohm, the amp should be happy!
Wired up the sub I posted above. had to trim the the bracket some but the sub sounds really nice. Depth is about an inch deeper than stock but overall I am happy. 16 ohm, the amp should be happy!
03-30-16, 06:46 PM
#165
Bought four new 6.5s for the doors
http://www.parts-express.com/goldwoo...8-ohm--290-309
Installed the fronts tonight and happy with the bass but until I get my head unit back from being repaired I can't make a full judgement. I need to adjust the lows, miss and highs to be more balanced. I probably need them to break in a bit more to. Initial impressions are the bass is nice and tight but maybe a bit ''muddy'. I really wanted to know what the factory ML crossover is for the components but overall I am happy. $16 a speaker!
http://www.parts-express.com/goldwoo...8-ohm--290-309
Installed the fronts tonight and happy with the bass but until I get my head unit back from being repaired I can't make a full judgement. I need to adjust the lows, miss and highs to be more balanced. I probably need them to break in a bit more to. Initial impressions are the bass is nice and tight but maybe a bit ''muddy'. I really wanted to know what the factory ML crossover is for the components but overall I am happy. $16 a speaker!
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