tbilisi79

Hello.

Was wondering what some of the veterans here think about this.

I usually burn my CDs using a flac format, it's a higher quality file compared to mp3.
The hard drive in the car only stores them at a 256 rate.

Do you guys notice a difference? I really don't want to have CDs in the car anymore and slowly I am loading the CDs to a hard drive. At the same time, I really don't want to sacrifice the sound quality.

Im not an audiophile by any means, but I love a good sounding system. When shopping for this car I was set on having ML. It was a must for me.

Also Xm is 128 bit rate I believe so nothing could be done there.

I usually use Steely Dan record to test out the system, David Gilmour also sounds fantastic.

Just curious what some of your observations sound like.

Thanks
Dave

sktn77a

iTrader: (2)

I was disappointed that I could hear a difference between the original CD and the songs ripped at 256kbps to the HDD. I's not startling but I always notice the difference going back to the CD after listening to the HDD version. Pity they don't allow a larger capacity HDD and the option to rip to WAV or FLAC.

joeyb

I'm big on the sound quality also, but it's the law of dimishing returns. Going from 128 to 256 is a big step. I can tell the difference between 256 and CDs especially on instumental music like Steely Dan -- but it's not huge. Except for classical music, it's hard to tell the difference bewteen CD (44/16) and high def (96/24).

I use Cirlinca to burn FLAC files to DVD-A. Are you just copying FLAC files to CD-Rom?
I liked the hard drive in my 2008 (the 2012 model doesn't have it, and it doesn't have Gracenotes).

nsaldanh

Burn DVD - Audio discs using Cirlinca HD Audio Solo. You can load uncompressed FLAC files and it will convert to DVD - Audio format or DVD - Video.

BTW: DVD - Audio will not work on the 2013+ LS models. It will work with DVD - Video.

Devh

I use a lot of Steely Dan to audition systems. The music is quiet dynamic and it will expose flaws.
Good systems are dependent on good music just like a good espresso machine is dependent on fresh coffee.
If you run low quality audio in a mediocre system it will sound adequate but once you play it though better system it falls apart.

tbilisi79

I use CD burner XP.

I listened to a Flac cd today and compared it to the same cd on my HDD.
David Gilmour On the island was the album.

To be honest, the difference was not drastic, or even noticeable, placebo effect comes to mind.

Still, I am left with a question in my head, am I missing out on frequencies that are to be heard on a cd .

Again, my goal was to load my cd (mp3/ flac) collection onto the hard drive and do away with CDs once and for all.

Also, I'm not a huge fan of surround sound gimmicks at home. I have two dedicated speakers and a sub, not the highest end system but It does the job for me in the room that it is in. So stereo is the way for me.
With Ls is different, 19 speakers are there and I want to use the ml for all it's worth.


My next car will be a 2012 ls 460. Sport possibly, and I just found out those don't have HDD. So I might have to hang on to CDs after all.

Thanks for the input folks .

nsaldanh

To my knowledge the LS cannot play FLAC files. So when you say you burnt a FLAC CD can you view the directory structure on a PC and do you see the FLAC files? If you see .WAV files then your CD burning software converted the files to 16 bit 44.1 Khz PCM audio -- which is standard Redbook CD audio.

Vansibel

The difference is actually very noticeable. I never owned high end audio equipment before the Mark Levinson in my ls so I kept on listening compressed audio. But lately I compared the latest Coldplay album ripped on the car hard drive and a 24 bit 96hz audio DVD. The difference was eyes (or ears) opening. I could crank the volume up and the sound kept it's clarity on audio DVD,*unlike the compressed version. On the hard drive the bass quickly got distorted and I could clearly hear the different frequencies being flattened. But being able to hear that much difference might also varies depending on people, or the album actually. Also, when the car is rolling and outside noise enter the car the difference is not that clear anymore. Compressed audio is a good compromise, but there is no question in my mind that the audio system in the LS is able to take advantage of uncompressed audio and give better results that way.

williakz

You're in luck. Your 2012 will have a USB port.

Simply get an iPod Classic 160Gb, rip your CDs to iTunes in Apple Lossless format, and sync everything to your iPod. Then, switch off the clickwheel, turn down the screen brightness, and put the iPod it in a protective bag, connect it to your USB port, and enjoy the music! You'll be listening to a bit-perfect DIGITAL reconstruction of your original CD material at full Redbook resolution.

Lexus has integrated iPod control into your Audio system. You can pull playlists, search and list your collection by song, artist, album, etc. You can even play everything you have in random sequence (song, random). Best of all, the whole setup lives in your console and needs no attention beyond the occasional resync to add newly ripped CDs to your iPod. It will charge automatically, play whenever and whatever you want, and it won't get scratched, take up much space, or slide all over the seats! Good luck.

tbilisi79

Thanks , I just got this car a month ago. I'll be keeping it for 2-3 years. So a newer model is gonna take some time.
I decided I have a bunch of CDs that I have in wav format, 5.1. I will keep those CDs in the car and listen to them as needed. The rest of the CDs that are not too important to me in high quality form I'll upload to HDD.
I think there are only a hand full of albums that are recorded in high fidelity and those deserve to be listened at a highest level. Since most of my music is from 70s and 80s. Not many are that great sounding. So those that are I'll keep on cd of the highest quality.

Thanks again.

Dave

ikeb

i enjoy high end sound myself - have a great system in my house.

anyway - in my car - i bought an ipod classic and burned all my cds to applelossless and it sounds pretty good. The classic is connected by usb in the car. I also set the equalizer to flat in the ipod and set the bass and treble in the car system to very high.

you are only going to get sensational sound in a car when playing cds. All other music formats have their problems and the connections are a problem.

for example - using bluethooth sterio to your car's system. music in an iphone does the following. when output via bluetooth, the music data is converted to analog - when the car sterio receives it, it converts it back to digital. Also, bluetooth condenses the data itself. Therefore, you are getting ok sound. The best you can do is enhance the sound in the sterio system via the treble and bass and enhance the data in the iphone via an app or the iphones built in equalizer. I use the audessey app for tramsmitting to headphones and to the car's sterio if im streaming via bluetooth.

all sounds complicated - well it is.

one more thing - when using the usb port on your car - and using an ipod - the song's data is still converted to analog before it goes to the usb port - then converted back before it is sent. this is because apple doesnt want you copying the song's data. a company came out with a pure digital way to get a songs data out of an ipod or iphone or ipad, but it doesnt work in a car and its about $1000.

all in all you are not going to get sensational sound in a car - you are just going to get pretty good sound because most (not all) people can't tell the difference and don't care.

as a side note - most music cds are recored in 44/16. the masters in the recording studio are 192/24.

there is a lot more to this, but im sure you dont want to read it here.
.

tbilisi79

Thanks for the input guys.

I work in AV industry myself, which is why I was interested in getting the best out of ML system.

I'm starting to think that any difference gained with high quality audio files can not be felt or heard much once you start driving and road noise comes into play.

I guess I was expecting miracles with a 19 speaker sound system. By no means am I complaining, I love the system, just don't want to miss out on anything I am entitled to hear and experience .

Valley101

It was stated that the 2012 is not HDD. My 2012 LS has the ML and it states right on the factory sticker that it is HDD. The premium sound system is not though!

jamodeo

iTrader: (1)

You are seeing the HDD Navigation which is true, but the music storage is gone. I don't recall the exact year that stopped but I am fairly certain 2012 does not let you use the HDD for music storage.

-Joe

jamodeo

iTrader: (1)

I am surprised to hear that. I can notice an incredible difference between Pandora on "High-Quality" (I think its 192kbps) to Spotify on Extreme (320kbps) and really can when listening on Tidal at "HI-FI"(1411kbps). I just use the USB connection because after comparing it to bluetooth I still believe there is a difference in sound quality and I personally think the USB sounds better.

I have not tried a DVD-A in my LS, I used to use them all the time in my GS and the difference was so drastic even the most untrained ear could tell the difference between just listening to the song over mp3 and listening it as a flac on a disc.

To answer original question from the thread, I just use my phone with a high quality music source that is usually 320kbps or significantly higher at 1411kbps. Both sound fantastic in the LS.

-Joe