RonC

I’ve had my 2010 ISF for about a week now. My only problem so far is the ML audio system. (Since this is common to 2Gen IS platforms, I’m posting here). Let me clarify…

I’ve read tons of posts here relating to ML systems and opinions thereof. The general consensus seems to be that it’s a decent system, although lacking in low end. That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m not nitpicking the subtle details of the sound, and I’m not expecting to be blown away, I just feel that the overall quality is bad. My previous was a 99 GS400 with the Nakamichi option. That wasn’t perfect, but is sounded very good. I looked forward to playing CDs in that car because the music would have added depth compared to everywhere else I listened. Conversely, music played in my ISF with the supposed highest ML sound option sounds terrible - to the point that I actually find myself just turning off music I would normally enjoy. It is actually irritating.

The sound seems very harsh, shallow, and lacking in image. By harsh, I don’t mean sharp or too crisp as in too much high end, It’s more of an overall abrasive quality of the sound, hard to describe exactly.

Imaging seems to plant the sound heavily to the front and center, and keeps it very very narrow. If I close my eyes it sounds like everything is coming out of a single, cheap speaker in the center of the dash. A song needs to have a very strongly biased left or right passage for it to appear anywhere other than the center of my dash.

All of this is true regardless of the source (FM, XM, USB, ipod, CD) and for all types of content. It’s not a matter of bad source material.

I’ve tried playing with settings in every possible way. I find it helps if I drop a bit of treble and increase bass, move fader a decent way into the back, and turn off DSP surround. This improves things slightly, but not by a lot.

Lower volumes seem to sound worse. If I increase to about 40, the sound fills in slightly, but remains harsh.

What I am NOT seeing is: distortion, rattle, or dead speakers.

One thing I have noticed is that my front doors speakers are very low. I can only tell they are sounding if I get very close to them individually. At all volumes, when I cover the driver tweeter with my hand, I notice no real change in the overall sound. Typically covering a tweeter produces a very noticeable effect. This tells me I am hearing very little from it. This and the fact that I need to get my ear very close before I can localize sound coming out of it. By contrast, if I simply turn my head when in normal driving position I can distinctly hear highs coming from the REAR door tweeters.

Is all this per design, or is there something wrong with my system?