terrymc

Thanks for the thread Roman.
I have always done my own work on my vehicles but was a little intimidated by tearing apart what was once a 50-60K vehicle. seeing the thread showed me that it was not that much different than tearing apart any other car that I have owned. So I ordered the Polk sub and a pair of the stock woofers for the front doors and made the changes.
The stock door speakers were so bad I was afraid the amp was also damaged. But thankfully it is now really nice.
I was surprised as it actually sounds better the Levinson system I had in my 2006 IS350.

Thanks again.

swilli89

Great thread! A question about the ML system:

My dashboard tweeters work as well as my factory sub. None of the door speakers work; do you guys think this is an amp or head unit issue? I know crazier things have happened but the fact that I don't even hear a peep out of any of the four door speakers leads me to believe its not the speakers.

PolishDude

is the ML amp needed if I used the beatsonic kit in my 2004 UL and used an aftermarket radio, amp and speakers....aka will the screen still function for Navi and climate control?

Brandicus

iTrader: (6)

Thanks so much for this post, I had no idea we had options for using the nav screen with a backup camera!

Going to snag a navtool and get to work!

Discobee

How the heck is this post not a sticky yet?!! So much good info in here.

Calicraig2

I want to take out the tape and cd and use that space for a 2 DIN APP/Bluetooth head unit with an aftermarket amp and install all new speakers into the stock locations. I plan on installing new wiring for this set up but retaining the factory wiring in the car along with ML amp (prob pull its fuse) just in case I end up selling it to a "Purist" that might want to return it to the ML in the future (I can mothball the tape player and CD so they could if they wanted to switch in the future)...

That leaves the Nav and climate controls to the stock screen and I don't need audio for those. The only thing I was a worried about was the proximity parking warning signal but that doesnt seem to come thru on the stereo (the beeping seems to came out of the dash independently of the stereo)... the steering wheel controls wont work on the new head unit but again if a new owner wanted them back it could always be reinstalled since I am not ripping out the old wiring setup...

Is that plan flawed at all??

realkrs

I THINK it's the other way around - doubling up resistors in parallel would lessen the overall resistance but that's only guessing from really old ohm's law reading. If I'm right though you could risk popping an output transistor in your amp so it'd be good to really know what's going on before changing things. Those little transistor-amps are very delicate thingies.

Calicraig2

Is the display for the climate controls tied into the stock radio?

I want to use a Double Din aftermarket head unit and I can get Google maps on that so I don't need the Nav at all,,, but without using the expensive Beatsonic adapter will the climate controls still display on the stock screen???

Calicraig2

Sorry but,, Bump.... I thought for sure somebody would know whether the climate controls on the stock screen would work without the "stock radio". Trying to see if I can do without that > $ 400.00 adapter... Help??

whooodat

iTrader: (4)

Calicraig2- I thought I saw a member response on a thread saying that he hard wired it somehow, you would have to search for it. I used the Beatsonic kit and paid $345 and everything snapped into place within 10 seconds, plus I didn't want the back of my dash to be a spaghetti warehouse of wires everywhere. Note- the Beatsonic adapter after installing it the stock navi and the A/C controls will still work on the factory navi screen, you still have to run the antenna to the back of the truck to get the radio to work.

Hope this helps!

whooodat

Calicraig2

Thanks for the intel,,,

It does look like that is the way to go... At least the new bezel is nicely designed,, nice product but I better go collect cans and bottles to help pay for the stereo costs that look to be around $ 1,500.00 by the time I get all the pieces (adapter, double DIN head unit, speakers, sub and 2 amps)... But it will bring the car into the new millennium of APP radio with Bluetooth syncing capability....

Klueless

Just received the Beatsonic MVA23 for my Celsior UCF31 (2000). The pamphlet says it disables the rear seat control panel. Does anyone have a workaround or is that just the way it is?

Derek

tallcaguy

Anyone have a ML sub woofer (either good or needs repair) they want to sell? 04-06. PM please.

RomanTPA

Finally added my video for the reverse camera installation write up in post #7

whitej47

This thread is great! Just replaced my ML sub with Polk recommended last week and the thing knocks. Took about 3 hours, but I was cleaning the 15 years of crap out of the rear under as well. I am super happy with the sound! Thanks for all of the info.

I was wondering if there is any value in the ML amps that are in used condition? I saw things as high as $500+ on eBay and they are selling. I have an extra ML stock amp for an LS430 that is in good external shape. It came with a parts stash that has some questionable items, but I am wondering if it is worth the effort to test and sell. Thoughts?