Does your stock IS audio system sound very bass heavy?
02-07-14, 05:50 PM
#1
Does your stock IS audio system sound very bass heavy?
Just starting a separate thread for this. I'm trying to figure out if there's something wrong with my audio system, or if all the IS systems sound like this.
I took delivery of a 2014 IS350 RWD last week. Mine has no navigation system, so it has the "Lexus Display Audio System." I almost immediately noticed that the bass (or more specifically the mid-bass) sounded excessively boosted. At first, I thought for sure that someone at the dealership had turned the bass tone control all the way up. It took me a long time just to find the tone controls in the audio system (the design of this system is a mess IMO), but when I finally found them, I was shocked to find that all of the controls were centered at zero!
I immediately turned off the DSP settings (surround and ASL) to make sure those weren't causing the problem.
When you listen to pop or rock music, all you hear is the bassline or bass drums. The bass line is actually louder than the lead vocals! It's an absolute mess. My guess is that the boost is centered around 200Hz. Adjusting the "bass" setting in the tone conrols does help a bit. If I turn the bass almost all the way down, the system becomes barely tolerable. If I turn the bass down one more notch (as far down as it will go), the sound becomes very thin. The problem, of course, is that the bass tone control affects a wide range of bass frequencies, and not just the problem area centered around 200Hz.
So the bottom line is I can't do anything to fix it. I'm going to make an appointment at the service department next week too see if there's something wrong with the system, but I'm afriad they're just going to blow me off and say "that's just the way it is." Is anyone experiencing this, or is it just my car???
I took delivery of a 2014 IS350 RWD last week. Mine has no navigation system, so it has the "Lexus Display Audio System." I almost immediately noticed that the bass (or more specifically the mid-bass) sounded excessively boosted. At first, I thought for sure that someone at the dealership had turned the bass tone control all the way up. It took me a long time just to find the tone controls in the audio system (the design of this system is a mess IMO), but when I finally found them, I was shocked to find that all of the controls were centered at zero!
I immediately turned off the DSP settings (surround and ASL) to make sure those weren't causing the problem.
When you listen to pop or rock music, all you hear is the bassline or bass drums. The bass line is actually louder than the lead vocals! It's an absolute mess. My guess is that the boost is centered around 200Hz. Adjusting the "bass" setting in the tone conrols does help a bit. If I turn the bass almost all the way down, the system becomes barely tolerable. If I turn the bass down one more notch (as far down as it will go), the sound becomes very thin. The problem, of course, is that the bass tone control affects a wide range of bass frequencies, and not just the problem area centered around 200Hz.
So the bottom line is I can't do anything to fix it. I'm going to make an appointment at the service department next week too see if there's something wrong with the system, but I'm afriad they're just going to blow me off and say "that's just the way it is." Is anyone experiencing this, or is it just my car???
02-07-14, 07:14 PM
#2
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Just starting a separate thread for this. I'm trying to figure out if there's something wrong with my audio system, or if all the IS systems sound like this.
I took delivery of a 2014 IS350 RWD last week. Mine has no navigation system, so it has the "Lexus Display Audio System." I almost immediately noticed that the bass (or more specifically the mid-bass) sounded excessively boosted. At first, I thought for sure that someone at the dealership had turned the bass tone control all the way up. It took me a long time just to find the tone controls in the audio system (the design of this system is a mess IMO), but when I finally found them, I was shocked to find that all of the controls were centered at zero!
I immediately turned off the DSP settings (surround and ASL) to make sure those weren't causing the problem.
When you listen to pop or rock music, all you hear is the bassline or bass drums. The bass line is actually louder than the lead vocals! It's an absolute mess. My guess is that the boost is centered around 200Hz. Adjusting the "bass" setting in the tone conrols does help a bit. If I turn the bass almost all the way down, the system becomes barely tolerable. If I turn the bass down one more notch (as far down as it will go), the sound becomes very thin. The problem, of course, is that the bass tone control affects a wide range of bass frequencies, and not just the problem area centered around 200Hz.
So the bottom line is I can't do anything to fix it. I'm going to make an appointment at the service department next week too see if there's something wrong with the system, but I'm afriad they're just going to blow me off and say "that's just the way it is." Is anyone experiencing this, or is it just my car???
I took delivery of a 2014 IS350 RWD last week. Mine has no navigation system, so it has the "Lexus Display Audio System." I almost immediately noticed that the bass (or more specifically the mid-bass) sounded excessively boosted. At first, I thought for sure that someone at the dealership had turned the bass tone control all the way up. It took me a long time just to find the tone controls in the audio system (the design of this system is a mess IMO), but when I finally found them, I was shocked to find that all of the controls were centered at zero!
I immediately turned off the DSP settings (surround and ASL) to make sure those weren't causing the problem.
When you listen to pop or rock music, all you hear is the bassline or bass drums. The bass line is actually louder than the lead vocals! It's an absolute mess. My guess is that the boost is centered around 200Hz. Adjusting the "bass" setting in the tone conrols does help a bit. If I turn the bass almost all the way down, the system becomes barely tolerable. If I turn the bass down one more notch (as far down as it will go), the sound becomes very thin. The problem, of course, is that the bass tone control affects a wide range of bass frequencies, and not just the problem area centered around 200Hz.
So the bottom line is I can't do anything to fix it. I'm going to make an appointment at the service department next week too see if there's something wrong with the system, but I'm afriad they're just going to blow me off and say "that's just the way it is." Is anyone experiencing this, or is it just my car???
02-07-14, 07:43 PM
#3
Avex your not alone 
I started a thread too about the audio
I started a thread too about the audio
02-07-14, 07:51 PM
#4
Anyone else?
02-07-14, 07:55 PM
#5
02-07-14, 08:29 PM
#6
The non-ML system in my IS sounds very good in my opinion.
What I can't stand, however, is the awful LACK OF bass on Bluetooth telephone calls.
Sounds as though the person I am speaking with is under water. :|
Bluetooth telephone calls in my 2004 LX is fine.
What I can't stand, however, is the awful LACK OF bass on Bluetooth telephone calls.
Sounds as though the person I am speaking with is under water. :|
Bluetooth telephone calls in my 2004 LX is fine.
02-07-14, 08:41 PM
#7
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If there was a way to adjust crossover, that would be great, but I don't think there is.
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02-08-14, 08:50 AM
#8
02-08-14, 11:10 AM
#9
I agree, certain sources do sound better, HD vs regular audio, even usb vs bluetooth audio using the same settings, you really have to play with the settings to get it decent. Not complaining since it actually still sounds better than the bose audio system in my previous car but only way to really change it would probably be switching out audio system in the future. One of my now regrets of not getting the ML.
Still love my car though!
Still love my car though!
05-13-14, 05:48 PM
#10
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Hey, I am one of YALL (having the same opinion that mid bass is over kill on my 2014 IS350, none ML). Has anyone tried adding a power subwoofer in the trunk? If so, can you share your experience?
05-13-14, 06:43 PM
#13
The pursuit of F
I have the base sound system and display controller and I agree, it's bass-biased. I don't mind with certain genres of music but it does seem to slightly muffle other sounds that should sound sharper and clearer.
05-30-14, 11:59 PM
#15
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https://www.clublexus.com/forums/showthread.php?t=734083
All of our car's sounds this way. This is a thread I wrote on the topic and my solution. I had to add a sub and turn the bass on the eq down
All of our car's sounds this way. This is a thread I wrote on the topic and my solution. I had to add a sub and turn the bass on the eq down