Idlefree

I agree with you, that a better sound system is what is expected. The samething in North America happened with the Lexus Es300h with a really bad sounding ML system . I placed the link to the trend below. Lexus claimed it was the amp but it isn't. You might find the trend interesting all ML and Lexus did was bandaid the issue. I believe a lot of the issue is the compredded music and for a premium sound system you sound be able to play lossless music.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/es3...son-audio.html

unspiffy

the ML system is suppose to give you a premium sound, but even with 18 speakers there is no depth to the sound. i find myself with the bass and treble all the way up and still not satisfied with the sound it is the most frustrating thing, i love my 3IS but the sound system is just terrible.

cupofjoe

Vehicles are very tough environments for good sound. They aren't ideal acoustic environments, and vehicle's movement causes even more variables.

Source material is very important. You can polish a turd, but it's still a turd. That said, I use Apple Lossless from my iPhone.

Fooz

I pulled the sound forward to the front seats around where your head would be & dropped it to the passenger side a little, now sounds quite good.

It needs more tuning flexibility with equaliser & time alignment to really make it shine.

salvadorik

iTrader: (1)

I honestly don't find ML system that impressive the way it has been publicized. ML is advertised a premium audio system meaning it is on par with the best in the industry such B&O, burmester etc but it is nowhere close to those stereo systems. When you listen to B&O (In audi a4 for example cost $875) it sounds amazing with crystal clear sound. That is not the case with ML. Don't get me wrong it is a good system but does not blow you away as B&O does. Also I noticed the larger the cabin is the better the sound. Perhaps IS's cramped interior is another reason why the system does not sound superb.

99alta

Ah, crap!
Just bought a GS350 with ML system and was told the reason my Eagles DTS disk wouldn't play was because it was damaged. Even though I told the salesman the disk works fine in my '05 Acura TL, which has an AWESOME stereo system. The disk appeared to be playing just no real sound, just crackles and pops.
So no more 5.1 DTS, No DVD-A , just crappy compressed music

A top notch stereo was one of my criteria and now I find out its crap! I don't like listening to compressed music! It sounds terrible! Haven't even picked the car up yet and am regretting my decision to go with Lexus

salvadorik

iTrader: (1)

Cancel the order if you did not drive the car off the lot yet. Also read 4GS section there is a thread discussing how awful trade in values are. I think 4GS does not represent a good value at all. It is per se a good car though but not competitive enough.

As far as the stereo system it is a very important factor for me when investing in a car. ML is a big disappointment!

wthrman2

Hey Acura fella...As I stated in the other forum, I'll be closely watching your feedback but I will need to do a sound test of my own. I love music and a good system is very important for me.

I know some ILX owners have complained that the Active Noise Cancellation system has muffled the sound of teh ELS system....could this also happening here too? I know this would not affect the DVD-Audio or DTS playback but the comments about the sound being muffled or not playing as loud as previous generations////

99alta

Had a chance to play a bit with the ML system. Don't know how to operate the car yet but am spending time on the Audio lol
Anyway the good news is that the ML stereo does play a PCM stream (no compression) just fine! So we can play a high fidelity sound and hear it in 5.1 surround. I have a test disk that came with my TL and it sounded great playing the PCM stream, 5.1 sounds great and discrete. Also grabbed a few Video DVD's and the unit plays them fine as long as it's got the PCM track. Nice touch that the screen gets overlayed with the Navi when the vehicle is put into drive, and the music track continues to play!

wthrman2

^^ Thanks for the update! I am delighted as I am about to put an order for an IS 350 F Sport RWD soon.

Given the issues the TLX is having, I am glad that I decided to hold off for now anyway.....

99alta

^^^
The TLX ELS stereo is great and plays a lot more formats than the Lexus ML system.

Unfortunately I have to agree the TLX isn't quite ready for prime time as a luxury model car. After just buying a GS350 AWD I now understand why mags. have called the Acura TL " near luxury" . With the TLX I not sure they can even call it near Luxury.
I wanted to buy the TLX myself, as my 3G TL has been such a great car. Although TLX is a great car for the money, they have issues to work out with the engine/tranny management as well as the suspension and handling. Then you need to get past the plain Jane interior.

wthrman2

^^ I hear ya and why I am glad I didn't get a TLX. It has some issues to work out....I can handle its styling though, while I must agree that I dislike the wood interior and the absence of a gear shifter in the V6.

ckelly14

Commenting on an old thread but was wondering:

I can currently pop in any DVD-A and it will play flawlessly...... with the Dolby Digital tracks. I believe AC3 is the file extension used by Dolby Digital. So, is there any advantage in this method?

Really, what we all want is to play the DVD-A PCM tracks via a lossless encoding, the reason we bought DVD-A in the first place. Sounds like ripping the PCM tracks to WAV files will not work, correct?

beezmarkee

yo guys! What should i do for playing FLAC files on my 3IS 2013 Mark Levinson? Record them to CD? Can i send them to USB flash?