airchomper

So I wanted to bounce this idea off the community -

I have a 2001 LS430 w/mark levinson. I live in Minnesota. The amp has cold weather issues. And my subwoofer is blown.

I really only use my car when I have passengers, am running errands, or when it's raining/sub-freezing, because I use motorcycle whenever I can.

So I thought I'd replace the sub - $50
And I thought I'd fix the amp - $400

and then I may as well get a new head unit with bluetooth and apple carplay - $500.

And if i'm spending all that dough on my sound system, why don't I just get a custom set up? It'd be like $1,500.

But all I want is a sound system with enough low frequency response to listen to the first 4 black sabbath albums. So I've thought, and call me crazy, why don't I just install a beat's pill where my subwoofer is now and wire it into my car's power system. I'll get a bluetooth speaker set up, and finally will be able to listen to my black sabbath without the subwoofer flapping around.

I have a friend who's offered $150 for the amp, and I'd probably sell the rest of my audio equipment and net a bit of cash. It'd make the car harder to sell in the future, but I'm going to hang on to the car until I'm fine selling it for 5k.

I'm willing to pay $2k/year in depreciation so I figure if I get 2 more years out of the car, I'm golden. And everything else is gravy. I'll probably hit 170k miles and then i'd probably install a new timing belt, valve cover gaskets, and a starter at 180k and sell it to a family friend for $3k and get some kid started on a Lexus habit.

So what do you guys think of a jerry-rigged audio set up? What would you do?

LS430inDE.

I just ran to the bathroom and downed some TUMS.

I, personally, would try to keep all the audio OEM. But that's just me and my preference for everything to look like OEM & cut-in and fit-in from the factory, perfectly. You asked! Sorry I'm not encouraging you on what I'd call a "major mod."

KING

iTrader: (1)

That "beats" pill idea sounds interesting, wonder how it would perform. Would you just leave it on top of the deck in the back?

I don't know if it's legal or not to wear headphones while driving, but I bet that would solve your problem. (sarcastic :

BradTank

What about just Bluetooth headphones and your smartphone?

The wireless speaker will "work" but it's not going to sound great having a single speaker in the back of a car. I also think you're going to need some sort of voltage converter to change from the DC current of the car battery to the AC plug that charges the wireless speaker. Probably not a big deal but it's going to require some splicing.

I can understand your frustration though. If I were in your shoes, I'd maybe look into a sort of generic aftermarket car stereo with a screen that has all those things like Bluetooth and an AUX adapter and just have the place fabricate some a frame to make it fit. It's amazing how cheap those things have gotten, depending on what you want, you can get something pretty nice for between $100-$200. Then maybe an aftermarket sub with amp for another $100?

airchomper

Thanks for all the responses!

It's illegal to drive around with headphones in my state. But it's actually legal to drive around talking on the phone, go figure. Maybe I should just hold the phone up to my head, not use my blinker, and randomly tap on the brakes so everyone is convinced that I'm actually talking on the phone

I don't really care for high fidelity, and to the extent that I listen to muddy music (Black Sabbath, Sleep, and 90s hip hop fresh off the demo tape) I don't really need a great audio set up.

Most bluetooth speakers actually charge off DC, so I'd just need to knock down the voltage and make sure the current flows into it properly. But I'm not afraid to splice, and I can easily find some power in the back of the car.

I like the idea of getting a new head unit, I'd just want to get one with carplay so I can use my phone for everything. But It'd be tricky to route the wires from the amp to the speakers, but perhaps I could retain a lot of the stock harness and figure out how to bypass the amplifier. It's just that I'd want to keep the steering wheel controls functional.

Obviously the issue is that I want better audio without spending much money. If I do try out a bluetooth speaker, I'll let you guys know.

And I've heard that the LX and GX have the same types of amps (just tuned differently) so I might try to talk my neighbor into letting me mess with their LX470 and see if it's true.

What a bummer that Lexus allowed such rubbish in their car. My car is 14 years old, it's got great paint, it smells nice, the leather is plush, the engine pulls strongly, and the audio works intermittently.

sakoa

I did something similar in one of my 240SX's when I was putting it together. I just used a 2.1 computer speaker setup and a small power inverter so that I can plug everything in. I ran the two speakers under the seats, and the sub in the back. Surprisingly, it wasn't all that bad for such a ghetto setup.