Kingkrs

iTrader: (1)

Living in Washington state I drive with the windows up most of the time. This allows me to have the music at a comfortable level and still hear it over the road noise. Now when the weather gets nice and I have the sunroof open and windows down then the sound is going to be harder to hear over all the surrounding noise. That is when the bass is going to be distorting due to the higher volume.

One thing I have noticed with the ML system is that certain music sounds better than others. I am reminded of that Audi Superbowl commercial with the guys imprisoned by "old" luxury. The part where "hit them with the Kenny G" I feel that is where this system shines. Music of that nature especially in a DVD audio disc which I have a few of sound fantastic. I have an Al Green, Marvin Gaye, Santana and Nutcracker DVD audio discs and they all sound great. Just what the system was designed for. True 5.1 surround sound. In fact if I were a salesman for Lexus I would carry one of these discs just to show off the system.
The problem is that I don't always listen to that kind of music and I do not fit that demographic. I like to listen to all kinds of other types depending on my mood. I like listening to Hip Hop (which really needs more bass in this setup) Techno (which sounds pretty good) Rock (which sounds pretty good) top 40 (which sounds pretty good)

To sum it up, I guess the real problem for me is going to be the nice sunny day weather that I want the windows down and ML stereo up It is going to really dampen the overall vibe that this car has as a total package.

ISFlight

I bought a used 09, and I think mine sounds a little distorted on the bass need to bring it by Lexus and see if the system is covered under a warranty. Maybe the sub is blown, its more noticiable with Hip Hop or any music heavy on bass or drums. I also noticed when you first turn the car on, the music is slightly distorted then clears up. Let me know if you guys think the speaker are covered or not, the car was in beautiful shape with only 6,900 miles and carfax clean. I traded in my X6 50i for the ISF. tschüss.

AAM6906

its ok, my only complaint would be that its not loud enough lol...............it doesnt compare to my dads bentley w/ naim tho, not even close

chris6878

Are u guys listening to the system in surround or stereo for music? This could be an issue. I only put it in surround for movies or my dvd audio. In my gs I have a setup with focal components and eclipse subs. When I first got the isf I was dissapointed in the system. But the more I listened the more I liked it. Most mp3s sound like crap in the isf. That's the sign of a good system. Its built for quality music not compressed ipod crap. I just installed the vais system. I only play flac files and it sounds amazing. I play alot of hip hop. Now I don't expect to beat down the block but it sounds great inside the car.

Bobisf

what do you use to play flac files in your car and where do you download these ? iTunes doesn't support these. I've been looking at the vais(after reading your post) and have heard issues with back up camera after installation, so I'm skeptical.Also it may void the warranty on the nav.

mooretorque

Imho, arguments over sound systems always seem to come down to those who prefer listening to their music as close as possible to the way it was recorded/engineered/mixed versus those who, basically, want to re-equalize whatever they listen to.

Both are possible but most OEM systems are designed with the former in mind. Most who really delve into the aftermarket seem to fall more into the latter camp (always exceptions, I know, and spending a lot of dough will likely guarantee a system that can be very accurate - just seems most who do so aren't doing it for that reason).

In my home system, I have a fair amount of power plus speakers with relatively high sensitivity, not so I can blow my windows out but for the added headroom. Likewise, big powered seperate sub which is there not to loosen the flooring nails (tho it will) but to deliver clean bass down to subsonic. (You can probably figure what side of the reproduction vs remix fence I'm on.)

The ML system is pretty good for an OEM system. No, it doesn't compare with Naim or even Bang and Olufsen. But it doesn't cost like them, either.

No criticism intended of the remix folks - it's all good.

But I can't really hear above 12k anymore and have constant tinnitus - THAT'S how you pay for getting to listen to stuff at high decibel level, undistorted or not!

Kingkrs

iTrader: (1)

I don't use the surround feature at all. I have used it in every different configuration that I can think of from DVD Audio, actual movies in DTS format all the way to CD's and Ipod mp3's and the surround feature still sounds like crap to me so it stays off.

Apple uses Lossless files as their FLAC version. You can rip your cd if you have one in the Lossless format using Itunes. The file size will be huge.

Mark Levinson system is a pretty good system overall. However it does not cover all the types of music well. Hip Hop music is the one in particular that comes to mind for me. It does not do a good job at all of reproducing the music as the artist has intended. Hip Hop needs to have good bass reproduction and this is where the ML system is weak. It does good in most other genre's of music as far as I can tell, but the volume can only be turned up so much before it sounds like crap.

chris6878

I have the vais vml unit now. before that I would burn my flac files to a dvd using a program for making dvd audio. With that I could put 5 to 6 big flac albums per dvd. As for downloading I was a bootlegger in college. I dont sell cds anymore but I do still download albums. Since there is so much crap out I just download and listen. If the album is worthy of my money I will buy it. Bu I only buy great albums and the sound quality must be on point.

I use a program called exact audio copy to rip my own cd's into flac. I also just got a 1tb ext harddrive for use with the vais system. Im still playing with the vais unit but so far I am impressed. I have had no issues with my backup camera. How can it void the nav warranty?

Raffy

Anyone encounter an Error 3 message before?

Anatoliy

I'm thinking of getting 2012 - 13 ISF. Can anyone tell me if ML can play multichannel 5.1/7.1 WAV lossless or DTS encoded files from USB?

DBrian

I too used to often upgrade with aftermarket systems in many of my cars.... until i got an ML. But to clarify, i first had a good friend who had the LX470; this ML was likely the best sounding system of any car i've heard. the difference in an IS-F is it has to compete with the engine and road noise so i think its not as awesome as in the more luxury quieter Lexus models. That said, I'm still glad I have it.

Rickna

iTrader: (3)

IMO, the ML system SQ is good-but not great. It seriously lacks in features and flexibility. My solution was a HU replacement. I did this with a Pioneer AVIC 7100-NEX and a Beat-Sonic adapter kit. If you're familiar with the AVIC line, then you know the capabilities of these units. The difference in the SQ is night & day. The install takes less than 2 hours (depending on customizing) and very worth it.

tronim

iTrader: (1)

It appears I have the dreaded 'Dead ML AMP' issue. I have been without a working radio for 8+ months
I'm hesitant to spend the $600-700+ to have the AMP sent to that company in NY to have them do the repair and haven't had much luck sourcing a working one from eBay or any part-outs, and would rather spend that money towards a better setup but the way this system is integrated into the Nav and Climate Control etc looks troublesome.

Rickna, with this setup above, did you stick with the ML AMP? Is it easy to add another aftermarket AMP and still have a workable integration with the cars systems through the LCD unit? I don't know much about car audio systems but I can follow a semi-detailed YT vid or write up to get things going.

Rickna

iTrader: (3)

The system uses the stock ML amp. The F/R fader is controlled via the stock NAV screen. This also retains the stock NAV, climate control, etc.The preamp outputs can be used for aftermarket amp/s, you would have run RCA cables, pwr, turn-on & wiring for the speakers you intend to use.None of the factory audio/NAV restrictions affect the Pioneer.

Edit: THe Pioneer does have internal amps, however the power is limited.

Beachtyme

iTrader: (1)

Mine is very weak in my 2012 ISF and will eventually be upgraded.