411 - Rx400h Stereo Improvements (bass)

[vinovelo]

Pardon if this is in the wrong forum but I post this here because I want

to know any specifics that might apply to the RX400h.

One area of the vehicle I am fairly dissapointed with is the stereo system.

I do not have the ML system. Couldn't find an RX with it at the time and

it appears to be over priced, etc. anyway.

The biggest area of dissapointment I have is with the bass. There are

certian frequencies in the mid to upper portion of the bass range where

I find I get REALLY irritating buzzing sounds. At first I thought that

the front door subwoofers were damaged but I traced it to many plastic

pieces in the door vibrating at certain frequencies. (I actually have

one Jazz CD that sets off so much buzzing even at low volumes I cannot

listen to it without setting the Bass to -3 with the volume down low!).

So my question is:

Has anyone had good experience with improving the bass on the 400h?

(probably applies to the RX350 as well).

I searched forums and found a few threads on the BassLnk unit which look

promising (and fairly inexpensive) but some things the poster said do

not make sense:

The unit was mounted in the rear on a board (sounds OK) and fed off the

rear speakers. This doesn't make sense to me as the rear speakers apppear

to have the bass filtered out of them. If I set the stereo on the rear

speakers I can't hear any bass at all.

If I tap the front speakers instead wouldn't I need to install a pass

filter to take out the bass to the front speakers? The poster mad no

mention of that.

This person also installed a rather nasty looking capacitor next to the

BassLink unit to guard against voltage drops. Is this neccesary? I

would think the BassLink unit would have that capability internally.

It seems like if I simply try to replace the front door speakers while I

could easily put in a higher quality speaker I would still have the door

materials buzzing, negating any speaker improvement.

Any other options out there? Anyone have some experience to share?

Seems like if I fix the bass problem that the unit would be at least

acceptable albeit not a great system.

Thanks

/Steve

[RX400h]

I have to admit that I listen to a good variety of music, both at low and at high volume and I have not experienced the buzzing to which you refer. Maybe I will try cranking up the bass, this weekend to see if the lurking resonant frequency rears its ugly head. Have you tried bringing your jazz CD to the dealership and playing it in another RX's system?

[SKperformance]

I would bring it to the dealer and ask them to add some sound deading . If it still does not work buy a roll of dynamat and ask them to do all the doors and panels for you for free since you bought the materials.

The mat is thick and absorbs vibrations very well as it is made just for audio in cars with buzzing.

It will increase the sonic capacity of the audio as well as sharpening muddy lows and brighten the highs by stronger reflection off the panels.

[Jim Nazium]

What dealer, in your right mind, is going to install dynamat for you, for FREE, just because you purchased the product? That's like asking the dealer to install a part for you for free, just because you purchased it for your vehicle.

Cheers,

MadloR

[NeoN]

you can do what i did... replace the front speakers with new 6x9's because they suck EVEN with bass-blockers installed!!!! :(

put bass blockers in the rear ones, i have my bass at +1 level up to volume 55 and I have no problem at all

granted I have a JL 13w7 pumping 1250 watts into my RX but still i can't stand any sort of distortion at all and its all gone.

My system sounds perfect now, anyone locally wanna take a ride i guarantee i can blow your ear drums away on coldplay before my system distorts