LS460 audio advice

TyrannosauRoss Lex · December 14, 2019

Hi, I have a 2006 LS460 with the Mark Levinson system.

Does anyone know the best way to get the audio system to play music from my phone? I assume it would require a totally separate system because the current system can't do it? I currently use an FM transmitter but the quality is not that good and the volume needs to be quite loud so it's not an ideal situation.

Also - I gather the ML amps fail quite frequently, if they do, what are the symptoms of it? My car currently has very poor FM reception and I see online it could be a dirty earth around the steering rack or something, so it's going to an audio specialist next Friday to get that looked at, I may get them to double check the amp is working etc as well. I see replacement ones are seriously expensive....surely aftermarket ones would be the way forward if it were to fail?

Many thanks!

cruisermark · December 14, 2019

A member here who goes by the name of SH20 fitted an X car link to his 460 - if you search the forums his post should come up - l'm in a bit of a hurry

cruisermark · December 14, 2019

Hi again

Here is the link to the write up

TyrannosauRoss Lex · December 14, 2019

Thank you very much! I'll have a chat with the audio guy next week and see what can be done 🙂

Tulpen · December 14, 2019

I had the reception problem but on AM. The earth for the aerial is on the steering rack. An auto electrician fixed it in no time. I have the Mark Levinson system on mine and have had absolutely no problems. However, I don't turn the volume up to a level that makes my ears bleed. Maybe a previous owner had a liking for pain. 😀

TyrannosauRoss Lex · December 14, 2019

Thank you. I'm hoping the audio person will be able to sort the earth out rather than telling me I need to book in with an auto electrician.....?!

TyrannosauRoss Lex · December 20, 2019

I'm at the car audio specialist at the moment, the dash clocks are out and he's found the earth but said to get to it you either need to cut a small piece of plastic out (which would be hidden when the clocks go back in) or remove the WHOLE dash.... So he's doing the former. He can't seem to find much else wrong but agrees the signal is awful. He has noticed of he runs his hand above the rear window near the top that the signal improves a little..... I've no idea why!

Tulpen · December 20, 2019

The FM aerial is embedded in the rear window.

TyrannosauRoss Lex · December 20, 2019

Thanks. He loosened the headlining at the back but fiddling with the aerial made no difference to the sound unfortunately. I think I'm going to go ahead and buy a GROM audio unit which will mirror my phone onto the OBC screen. It's not cheap at over £350 but it seems like a very good kit.

TyrannosauRoss Lex · December 20, 2019

I have just bought this

https://gromaudio.co.uk/lexus-toyota-2006-2009-grom-vline-infotainment-system-upgrade-video-interface-lex5vl2.html

It certainly isn't cheap. However, I think it will be a very good addition to the car. The unit will arrive soon, but the car is booked to have it fitted January 11th. Very much looking forward to it. It definitely isn't the ML amp going, because it plays CDs absolutely fine.

I have noticed, however, that the front door speakers don't appear to be working. Could this be a sign of a failing amp, or something else?

Cheers again

Tulpen · December 20, 2019

Try selecting the 'Audio' button, then adjusting the speaker bias. If you put everything to the front speakers that should check out the ones in the doors.

TyrannosauRoss Lex · December 20, 2019

Hi, I put everything to the right earlier and couldn't hear anything from the front right door speaker, for example. The ones on the top of the dash were working fine though. I didn't try just putting everything towards the front, I'll try that tomorrow but expect the same result.

TyrannosauRoss Lex · December 20, 2019

I have had another look and there is actually noise coming from both front door speakers! However, I'm not sure if this is right, they appear to be largely just bass speakers. So, for example, if I'm playing a track with some lyrics whilst being sat in the front seat, the lyrics are coming from the 3 speakers on top of the dash, and the bottom speakers (which are noticeably quieter) are just playing a bit of the "background" music....is that normal? It still sounds like a great system, but I'm just wondering if there's meant to be a bit more coming from the door speakers. Having said all of that, the rear door speakers are the same as the front door speakers.

Many thanks once again. Just can't wait to get my Android Auto system set up now!

TyrannosauRoss Lex · December 21, 2019

Can anyone comment on this? If I am listening to music, I can't actually "hear" music coming from the footwells, to I have to really put my ear to the speakers to hear much coming from that area, and that goes for both the front and rear door speakers. I'm assuming this isn't normal, but it might be??

I have found a company that repair the ML amps and they have said if the rest of the car is playing music absolutely fine then it is almost certainly not the amp. It just sounds like all of the sound is coming from the top half of the car, and none from the footwells. I will get the audio specialist to have a look at them when it goes in to get the GROM system fitted in 3 weeks time...which I'm very much looking forward to getting!

Many thanks once again

Neil E · December 21, 2019

It probably is normal at low listening levels. If you cover a speaker grill with your hand it's easy to tell if the driver is working.

Without getting too technical, the hifi system uses a dividing network to split the signal so that the various frequencies are sent to the correct speakers

Set the system to a 'flat' setting so that neither bass or treble is enhanced. Choose some music (I would recommend using a good CD or even a test disc) that you know has bass, voice and high pitch treble.

Listen to each of the speakers and you should find that the sub in the back produces the low down bass, the low door speakers produce mid bass, the voice and higher frequencies will be produced from the speakers in the dash. (these are mids and tweeters)

Ignore the hype and the silly comments but this thread may help www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-4th-gen-2007-2017/239355-the-new-ls-mark-levinson-reference-sound.html

And to balance out the comments in the thread and for a simple sensible explanation of car audio design try this.

TyrannosauRoss Lex · December 21, 2019

Thank you very much. I'll watch the video soon. Interesting one of the comments mentioned someone thinking that some of the lower speakers weren't working.... So I guess it's normal.

If those speakers are mid and bass speakers, could I perhaps increase them by upping the mid and bass a bit? At the moment it sounds like all of the sound is "up top" (in terms of the cabin, not the frequency) and I'd like a bit more lower down if possible?

Cheers.

Neil E · December 21, 2019

To check the door speakers, if you put your hand on the grills you will be able to feel that they are working but don't expect to hear anything except low notes from them. If in doubt, open the door and listen to it, that should confirm whether the door speakers are okay.

To adjust the sound, I would start with a completely flat setting on the system and then turn the volume up to a level you are comfortable with. (Don't use compressed music to test it) It won't sound complete until the volume is really quite loud.

Then make adjustments in small increments from there until it sounds good to your ears. Some people like surround sound, some go for a front sound stage. Lexus (Harmon) allow a certain amount of adjustment but it's limited. They designed it so that the mid to high frequencies are high in the cabin, that's what you would expect. It doesn't matter too much where the bass comes from as direction of low bass is difficult to resolve with our ears.

TyrannosauRoss Lex · December 21, 2019

Hi Neil,

I have just gone back out to the car, put on a more bassy song, set the settings to totally neutral and had a play around with the treble/mid and bass tones and I can say that the lower speakers do work. I guess I'm not used to such a complex system. I now noticed that the sound from the lower speakers is more prominent when it's playing a song with more bass. I have gone into the settings and upped the bass by just 1 click, I'm a bit 50/50 on whether to go 1 or 2 clicks, I think it's song-dependant really. Having played around and tried a few different songs I totally get how it differs according to the song. I also sat in the back and I think it possibly sounds even better from the rear of the car. It sounds pretty magnificent back there!

I historically have been an audiophile (I used to have a pair of Shure SE530 earphones with custom moulds). I guess the hype of the ML system LED me to believe it would be absolutely spectacular....but I just think it's very good. It's certainly the best of any car system I've owned. My last "premium" car was a 2003 BMW 745i....the sound system in that for a premium car was pretty terrible.

I haven't really listened to the sound system much since getting the car 5 or so weeks ago because the FM signal is atrocious. But I'm getting the GROM system fitted soon and have just burned some MP3 cds (which I appreciate are a little lossy). It does sound like a good system, although I think the best I've heard in a car was my dad's (now sold) BMW M6 with the Bang and Olufsen 1200W system.... That was mega. The Meridian in his now current F Type R is better than the ML system I think, but not as good as the B&O, that was mega. It cost more than what I paid for my car though I think! Lol.

Many thanks, I'll keep this thread updated, especially when I get the new GROM system.

Neil E · December 21, 2019

Hi Ross, it sounds like you're on top of it now.

The ML system can sound very good and of course because the car is so large and so quiet that helps a lot but ultimately it's only going to sound as good as the speakers will allow. Adding good sub bass can make quite a difference at reasonable listening levels.

I'm still convinced that the old LS400 had one of the best standard car audio systems but I haven't yet found a standard car set up to compare with one made from high quality aftermarket components. I'm looking to swap from the SC430 to an RCF but I know the audio will be a big disappointment.

TyrannosauRoss Lex · January 11, 2020

Well......

VLine unit fitted today and a couple of things to say......it works! Google map integration is absolutely perfect and even works with "OK Google" and speaking your destination. My music app (Musicolet) works perfectly through it so I'm very happy with that. What doesn't work at the moment is the radio app that I generally use with my phone, I've found another app so I just need to add all of my favourite stations to it etc.

Secondly......He has fixed the poor FM signal too! It turns out someone had previously had the centre console apart and did a poor job putting the earths back properly.....so the initial reason for buying the VLine unit was to get radio, but now the radio is fixed! But.....the VLine system is really, really good compared to the basic LS460 system so....it's all good.

I very much appreciate your help in this matter.