*Batman*

Some of you may have noticed my detailed review in the AV section of CL. For the rest of you, on suggestion of Rominl and GS350Lexus, I wanted to share a shorter review highlighting the improved performance of the Vaistech ML+ in the 3GS.

I replaced the SL2i-UP with the ML+ and so this is a direct comparison. My stock system is a Mark Levinson setup.

1) Striking improvement in sound quality vs. Analog SL2i-UP. This sound quality is as good as playing CDs on the Mark Levinson system with my lossless MP3s on the iPod. Guitars and Vocals sounded natural and real - this was the main weakness of the SL2i. It was the first time I was impressed by MP3 sound quality in my car. Some examples. Bruce Springsteen's Dancing in the Dark - with SL2i the guitar rips used to annoy me, with the ML+ it sounded perfect. For vocal's I tested tracks with incredible vocal range - All I ask of you from Phantom of the Opera, and some tracks from Moulin Rouge - the depth and range was stunning. I also tested Roy Orbison's You Got It. Again incredible detail - you can even hear his fingers running down the guitar strings. And Christina Aguilera's Beautiful - unbelievable accuracy - I had forgotten how incredible her vocal range is on the SL2i. If you want to get what you paid for in the Mark Levinson system, the ML+ delivers where the SL2i-UP failed.

2) A very slick OEM grade interface. Here are some photos. My girlfriend will be able to use this with ease. With the SL2i-UP she had no clue and always used it in passthrough mode when driving the car.


3) Ease and speed of browsing - searchability. It is really quick to navigate and scroll through the device. The scrolling is really quick, and since you get full album names and full artist names, as well as coverart, you don't need to guess what album Greatest Hits is.

4) No need for override to navigate through the music library. The system automatically allows navigation through the menus without override. For video it makes you enter a 4 digit code, but no need to have bypass.

5) The video quality on the system is excellent. Not HD, but very close. Given the size of the screen the video looks superb. Anyone who sees it will be impressed. Also it does a terrific job of scaling different size videos (e.g. HD, ED and SD) to the 800x480p screen. All videos looked stunning, and more notably looked better than the video output by the Mark Levinson DVD player.


Video review of the interface.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no-VR7aa_KE

Full review and install tips can be found here:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/lex...sl2i-user.html

passnu2

iTrader: (33)

Excellent write up and video Wish I had gen 5 now :/

masterchri

do you think the ML+ is worth the extra money over the VML? debating which one I should get..

*Batman*

If you are connecting it with an Apple iOS4 device, then I do think it is worth it because it is so much more usable. Sound quality will be the same, but the interface is much more usable.

If you are just doing passthrough or using hard drive storage, then I'm not sure.

energie8

Will the video quality be the same for 4 gen nav screens? or is it just the ML+ that makes the difference?

*Batman*

It's not available for Gen4 screens at this time. Also the Gen4 screen has lower pixels (320 instead of 480 on the vertical axis).

rominl

iTrader: (4)

imho, it's worth it if you are in for the video as well. otherwise you are like paying double the price for better interface (and you need to have ios4)

i am not even sure if they will have this for gen4

GS350Lexus

iTrader: (5)

thanks to rominl that I even seen that review you posted batman. But as i stated earlier this is an awesome post.

dunnojack

holy sh... That's a nice addon. clean interface, nice clean fonts.
What sucks though is that the clean interface is only available with the newest iphones.
I wish that interface were standard for all kinds of media- usb drives, hdd's, etc.
They should've had this interface since the beginning.

i also don't like the splash screen with the ugly medialinq logo.


what's the name of the music video at 6:50 with all that *** ?

.

masterchri

well i was really just planning to plug in an external HDD majority of the time. So VML it is.. thanks!

*Batman*

Mariah Carey's "Touch My Body". It is number 6 on FHM's list of the 50 sexiest videos of all time.
http://www.fhmonline.com/site/conten....aspx?ID=40185

Oh sorry - that's the photo. In the video, it is Eric Prydz' "Call On Me", which is number 1 on the top 50 list.
http://www.fhmonline.com/site/conten....aspx?ID=40190

memasterac

Exactly what I think.

memasterac

To batman75:

You used "passthrough" a couple times in your posts. How do you define "passthrough"? Audio passthrough but no direct control on iPod? or Direct control on iPod (as some other brands call "passenger mode") with audio passthrough?

rominl

iTrader: (4)

in previous models there is a simple mode that can allow you to control through ipod (instead of screen). i don't think that's available for vml