Originally Posted by tallcaguy

Off topic here but the big advantage of non nav is being able to do high end upgrades. Can also add high resolution nav screen too. My ML still has a clarity that's pretty impressive. Not being able to replace crackling dash tweeters is a downside. Is there some way to reconfigure front door speakers (add tweeters?) to fix the problem?

Originally Posted by 05ls430518

Yupp I am working with another CL member on wiring up a headunit and aftermarket amp with the ML system without the beatsonic kit stay tuned.

Originally Posted by GRR125

Thank you all for the great ideas and suggestions; you've given me a lot to consider and investigate.

To rephrase my original question - I'm trying to determine if the current behavior is stock and as it should be, or if there is some deficiency. (I feel really lucky because this car was nearly flawless when I bought it and has a perfect Lexus-only maintenance history with no reported problems.)

My simple intuition, and experience with other cars, is that the fader should move most of the sound from front to back without a great deal of degradation. In my case, that is not what happens. The most powerful sound comes from the front and what is generated in back is significantly less.

If I bias toward either side or rear and turn up bass-heavy music, the speakers don't seem to break up as you'd expect if the components were bad.

These two comments made by helpful listers seem to contradict what is normal: "My 02 UL sounds perfectly centred and balanced when all of the balance and fade settings are dead centre (default middle positions)"

and "A properly set up audio system should be front heavy, meaning you should hear the music in front of you, not behind or around you."

I"m not an audio expert, but without knowing any better, I'd suspect the rear channels of the amp are under-performing. But maybe this is normal. I think I may have to go find other similar cars to sit in and compare before concluding there is anything wrong or not.

Again, thanks to all for your help.
Gary

Originally Posted by daffy1029

Hi, When I reformed all my speakers, I found that the back door speakers only had about 4 inch diameter. This is why the back door speakers are more quiet. I sometimes adjust the fader to blend in the back speakers. Hope this helps. Myles

Originally Posted by GRR125

Hello listers. I'm a new member here, having recently bought a new-to-me 2005 LS430 with Mark Levinson/Nav system. I have a question that I couldn't find answered in this forum.

If I leave the audio fader control in the middle position, it sounds as if most of the sound comes from the front speakers. To get it to sound balanced I have to move the fader control to the last bar before the rear-most position.
If I move the control all the way to the back, the rear speakers sound ok. If I move the control right and left, the sound moves accordingly, so I know all the speakers are actually working.
But is the strong bias toward the front speakers normal?
Also, there is a setting for four different positions driver front passengers and all four passengers that you can adjust. I prefer the person setting best front driver and front passenger to get the best sound in the driver seat. But that could just be me.
Thanks, Gary

Originally Posted by demark1

I done exactly that recently. I used to think that it was the best sounding stereo ever, but now the base seems messed up. The subwoofer seems to be working and producing base. I have wondered if it's my own hearing changing as I age. The system sounds good but does not have the same full base that it used to have, and I find myself putting the fader toward the rear and boosting the base. It sounds decent still, but I remember it being absolutely incredible and I don't find it that way anymore. It could be aging of the speakers or something else. I don't think anything is broken per se but I do find myself biasing toward the rear and the base