I recently bought a 09 gs 350 with the mark levinson sound system. I happen to have a great set of subs to compliment the very great sounding ML sys. My question is, what is the best method to get from the stock ML sys to the RCAs of my amp. Looking to have the best quality possible while hoping not to break the bank. What is the best method?

 

for the "best" quality, you're going to have to break the bank a bit. you're gonna need a sound processor. if you just want to be able to utilize your subs, any LOC will work, but the signal will not be fully summed.

 

i tapped into my factory amp to install RCA's

 

Really??? I was wondering if you can do that.. How well did it work? Where is the amp located? Does it just have normal RCA outputs? Anything else that i might want to know? I tried one of the cheapo $40 ones that splice into a speaker wire in my old car and was so disgusted with the sound that i just removed the whole system. I'm hoping for something better than that, much better. By breaking the bank, id say it would be nice to stay under 400-500 ish, is that possible? I'm hoping for the best but expecting the worst here. Let me know, thanks guys!

 

I was also looking into this option as well. I am looking at the JL CL441dsp and the Alpine PXAA-H100. Are these good models? If so, is the JL worth the extra $100 price jump? Next question, where is the best place to tap into the stock ML system? I will have it professionally installed if i have to but if its easy enough, i can be pretty handy with a pair of wire strippers..

 

The amp is in the trunk in the right rear compartment below the first aid kit. It is very easy to tap into the factory signal between the amp and the speaker. I would recommend the AudioControl LC2i as it is going to do exactly what you want and much more. It is going to put out a clean, hot and noise free signal to your amp. I have the stock Pioneer system and I am using an AudioControl LCQ-1, but I am also running aftermarket speakers and it works great. Check out Crutchfield.com as they are an authorized dealer and their price is good.

I am not sure if your speaker wires use all of the same colors as mine, but I know all of the colors for the stock system. Find the amp and let me know what you see.

 

I changed out all my door speakers to hertz speakers and took out the factory sub to allow air space for the 2 10 inch jl subs. Im using a audison bit one sound processor and a audison lxr5.1 amp. and it sounds awesome.

 

I have been into car audio my whole life and was actually hesitant to buy a GS at first due to the inability to change out the factory deck without extensive modification. With that being said I have the Rockford Fosgate version of the new breed of aftermarket OEM integration processor's. I am more than happy with the sound of my system. Give them a lil research as well while you are shopping around. I have the Rockford 360.2.

 

Theres several brands out there, do a lil google search check some car audio forums, cause its like everything else you have some serious audiphiles then you your average listener so check around you can also go to several audio shops and speak to some techs

 

Ok so i went out and got a sound processor that a local shop suggested. It ran me about $100 and sounds MUCH better than when i tried a cheap $30 one in my last car. I ran through the amp kit install instructions on the - DIY 4080 Enclosure (Aftermarket Sub In Trunk) - and at under half volume it sounds great. When i turn it up though, the amp shuts down so i think i need to get my capacitor installed in there and maybe make some tweaks to the gain on my amp and the sound processor. I will post more after i do some tweaking on it tonight after work.

More importantly though, now when i turn the car off, as if i were leaving it, sometimes (only sometimes) the nav head unit, the stereo + sound, and the amp continue to stay on & playing but everything in else in the car acts as if it is off. There is no light in the ignition button and the steering wheel lifts up and pulls away. If i try to turn the car back on and off again, then it will usually shut everything down... I plugged my remote wire into the cig fuse just like the instructions said in the link above. Do i need to be using a Remote Turn-on Module like this?

Also, when i turn the gain up on the sound processor, i get a slight humming sound from the subs. I can feel them and they are definitely producing the humming. Do i need to get a noise filter like this

Any thoughts/suggestions are greatly appreciated!

 

Sorry for such a late reply, but I'd say no on the cleansweep. In addition to the main unit, you will also need 1 or 2 summing units depending on whether you want to sum the rears as well as the fronts. First question, does the amp shut down when you turn it up when the car is on or off? If it happens when the car is on, does it turn off entirely? Or in and out? If it goes off entirely, a cap will not help you. As far as your audio staying on after your car is off.. The problem may not lie in your remote wire for your amp. Assuming your remote wire for your processor is the same for your amp... What did you use for your 12v ignition and constants? If you use the same source for these two and happened to splice them together, your audio will stay on and your car will be off.

 

Hey thanks Joeker. Im thinking that i will only need 1 summoning unit because i just need bass for my amps. I was able to get the amp to preform much better and stop shutting down by tweaking a few settings. I can now bring the subs to the point of distortion w/o shutting it down so that isnt a problem anymore.
For the audio staying on, i think you are absolutely right. I have the same remote wire connected to the amp as i do the summoning device (as is the same w/ the bat constant). When i disconnected the the amps remote, it stayed on. but when i pulled the "Cig" fuse on the pass side where i wired the remote wire too, it kills the sound and navi screen. So we found the culprit there. After this i plugged the amps remote wire back in and left the fuse out. Now when that fuse is out and there is no remote wire hooked up to the car, i can turn the stereo up, and the amp and summoning device automagically turn them selves on. When i turn the volume off to fairly low, the amp shuts off. Not sure what to make of that.. i still think that a remote wire device like i linked earlier might be the fix along with separating the amp's remote wire from the summoning remote wires. I will give this a shot today after work. Your thoughts?

 

i got a rockford t2 12 with a oldschool rockford 1000bd i hooked it up with some thing that was like 30.00 and it goes by the stock amp! my system sounds great! sound is perfect. i didnt need all that expensive stuff.lol

 

the remote for your summing unit can be the same as that for your amp. that's no problem. what i would do is take the remote wire and instead of using the cig fuse, use the radio fuse if its located in the same fuse box. then, wire the remote for the sound processor directly into the remote terminal of your amp. this will make it so that you don't have to run 2 remote wires to the same source(i'm assuming you already did this). anyhow, i believe the issue actually lies within your 12v constant and your ignition (the yellow and red wires) going into your sound processor. if you splice these together and connect them to the same power source, it will cause what you had previously described. I know because it had happened to me before.

 

I can try switching things to that fuse. What i have now is a wire that goes from that fuse box to the backish of my trunk. It then splits off and one wire goes to my amp terminal and one goes to my summoning device. Is that good enough or will i need to actually bring the remote for the processor to the amps remote terminal?

The constant and the ignition of the summoning device are definitely not together. Another thing to think about is that when i disconnect the remote wire from the fuse box COMPLETELY, as in there is no remote wire connected to the vehicle, the amp and processor are off until i turn the volume up. Then they both kick on if a good amount of sound is put to the processor and again, the processor's constant is NOT hooked to the remote of the processor. Its like they almost dont need a remote except its obvious when it kicks on and sounds like crap when it does so id prefer to hook a remote wire up. In my (very novice) opinion, i feel like i need a device that will allow a positive charge to go through one direction but not the other. Im not really sure if something like that exists but the closest thing i can see to that is the remote turn-on module here.. I will try changing the fuse to the radio and maybe that will work though.. If not, i can order this and if it doesnt work, no biggie, its only $13.. Thanks again for all your help Joeker, really appreciate it!