Otterlex

Hey guys,

I promised an update when I got it fixed. I found an awesome audio guy in S.E GA who went through the whole system to find the problem. Despite all the symptoms of a bad speaker, it turned out to be an adapter between the unit and the amp that was sending a bad signal. He put in a new adapter, adjusted the signals, and it sounds better than ever! Plus, he only charged @ $100, so let me know if you are in this part of the country and need a good audio guy.

Lynzoid

Can you be more specific? What 'adapter'??? Please

Otterlex

I'll call him to find out and let you know

Lynzoid

Thanks!! Ask about location and more details - thanks again

Otterlex

Will do. I called yesterday but he is out with a nasty ear infection and probably won't be back until Tues or so. I also own a Boxing & MMA gym training fighters and he used to be my Jiu Jitsu trainer, so I know the guy very well and trust him.

LLcoolV

Dang.....looks like I will be riding around with no tweeters for a while. I cant afford to have someone rip out my whole dash right now.
I am glad I stumbled across this thread, because my front speakers are out completely and I was just saying " Oh I will just swap out these speakers and tweeters for some new ones just like that" Boy am I wrong.

I guess Ill wait until after the new year. But Lynzoid good looking out on that information.
I needed it as well.

Viper6

What is this adapter you are talking about? Mine is in the Lexus shop today for this blown dash speaker and they advised me not to rip out the dash to do this... saying it may never be the same and not sure what this means exactly... maybe they are overlooking this component and should check that first, although I doubt it... I'll ask them.

TSA1

The more and more I read about the ML systems woes the more I think it might be prudent to just replace the speakers subs with aftermarket 4 ohm pieces and have a separate amp push them. Am I going in the right direction?

Viper6

It's mostly forum hysteria and not statistically likely, if I had to guess. If you are shopping for a used LS430, just make sure you fully check the system with your preferred music as part of your PPI and then sleep easy knowing it should outlast your ownership. If you want to see hysteria, go check the rennlist 996/997 forum and the imfamous IMS bearings that fail and leave you with a bill for $20k replacement engine... that will bring Lexus reliability into perspective for you... wow!

My ML system has been completely trouble free for approx 75K and 7+ years, most of that in the hard Florida sun with her first owner... any part can fail and our cars have way more parts than a Ford or Chevy from 2005. Problem is that if lightning strikes one of your speakers and it happens to be one in the LS430 dash, you are facing some tough choices if you don't have an extended warranty. Dash removal will seperate the DIY men from the DIY boys.

The ML system of that era won numerous awards (google it), is one of the main reasons I picked my car and is something I enjoy immensely as part of owning this luxury car daily... also why I am such a big Lexus promoter to all my friends... one ride and they get it. Get one yourself and you'll be glad you did.

TSA1

Yes absolutely, the 7 series forums at bimmerfest are a giant problem/solution forum haha. As of right now only my subwoofer is torn, I applied some 3m 5200 but only a small amount because I know that stuff is almost impossible to get off if and when I were to replace the entire subwoofer.

Viper6

Yep, and since you can get to it on your own to repair it, for the price of the part (if you end up needing it) you can get the job done right and control the costs and owner satisfaction of bonding with your ride. Club Lexus discount at Sewell makes them the go to OEM online supplier and they are a strong supporter of our forum... or pay your local dealer a visit and build some good will for not much more cash depending on the part, you never know when you might need them in your corner... just a thought!

Good luck my man and let us know what you do and how it works out, as will I.

98LSUK

hi Guys


i have the same problem as otterlex - does anybody know what adaptor he replaced to sort his tweeter out - im a but hesitant to pull out the whole dash - i have sent him a message buy no reply

Euro09

He never got back and answer what kinda adapter that he was talking about .... sad...sad .

timardis

Hi Jabberwock, sorry to dig up this thread. I'm getting a rattle from my front left dash tweeter, and I'm leaning toward replacing the front door speakers with coaxials like you suggested.

I was wondering what you meant by "wire tweeter and mid connection together into the front door speakers"? So would I not even use the tweeter output from the ML amp? Or do I need to somehow tie the tweeter output into the front door speaker cable? (new to all this car audio business)

ChopsGS

Unless you don't really care about sound quality and just want "something" in your car, I would not go with coaxial drivers. You'll have all of your sound down around your knees.

I'm an audiophile and prefer my front sound stage to be up around eye/ear level with good separation and a somewhat wide and deep sound stage. You'll never get that with coaxial drivers in the doors. Utilize the small sail panels at the top of the doors at the very least for the tweeters. Optimal of course would be custom A-pillar pods with the drivers properly aligned.

But of course, all of that starts getting into some $$$ to have it done right by a competent shop.