Rx300 '04 Se-L Mark Levinson No Audio Problem

[trousers1000]

hi

i have a 2004 RX300 SE-L in the UK.

the sat nav is working perfectly including the audio.

the functionality of the stereo system (cd, radio, cassette) is fine....but the problem is that there is no actual sound coming out of the speakers.

the SE-L is fitted with the Mark Levinson sound system inc amplifier.

i've gone into the diagnostic menu on the touch screen and i see that "DSP-AMP" has the error message "NCON".

This is short for "no connection".

ive had the leads from the head unit checked at their input end to the amp and they appear fine.

the local Lexus Dealership are going to take a look at it later this week. According to them (and many posts on various websites) it is likely that the fault lies with the amplifier. Lexus dealership reckon the car actually has 2 x amplifiers.

Personally i am not qualified to comment on this, but thought it was odd as there is no mention on any forums of them having 2 x rather than 1 x amplifiers.

Has anybody else heard that they can have 2 x amps?

i have also spoken with a local hifi repair engineer. he said he will take a look at the amp for me should i want him to (prob will as Lexus says a new amp will set me back around £900!). the stereo repair man has not worked on a Mark Levinson amplifier before.

Does anybody know where i can locate a schematic drawing for the Mark Levinson amplifier?

The repair guy also reckons that as the car has 11 speakers, it is strange that all 11 outputs have failed at once, and that if this is a common problem (and according to various posts it would appear this it is not an uncommon problem), he suggested posting to see if i can find out what is the actual fault in the ML amp that causes it to fail. if we can find this out, there is a chance of repairing the amp rather than having to consider a replacement at circa £900!

Does anybody know what the common fault is that causes the Mark Levinson amp to fail?

Does anybody know anyone who is reliable and repairs these amplifiers?

i have considered that if the cost of ML replacement is too high, whether or not i could replace it with an aftermarket amp...problem is...the wiring if the car is specific to the head unit and the amp and speakers.... meaning to consider swapping out with an alternative model of amplifier is no simple task.

Has anybody else done this or knows somebody who is capable of doind so with a quality job?

Lastly.....does anybody know where i can buy a used or reconditioned Mark Levinson Amplifier? i've already tried ebay and the local scrap yards.

thanks in advance for your replies.