GXAlan

In early marketing material I remember the claim that it was SPDIF. Looking forward to your build! That's a system that will beat the factory Levinson!

Devh

My post is if I were to do it, not that I would. I was heavily into car audio as a hobby long ago and built my last system in my other car as an active system. I had to spend months tuning it using a flat mic and instrumentation.

Sadly the car audio industry is no longer interested in the sound quality aspect and it's more geared for SLP completion and decibel racing with fancy amplifier racks and lights. Don't get me started with those stupid farad capacitors that are a poor band aid for low capacity alternator.

A real car audio enthusiast hides his gear discreetly even using existing speaker grills as much as possible.
You can build a system that will be better then the factory ML but I'm afraid that those who probably want to build one will end up with more boom and flash then a balance of sound that the ML brings to the table for old peoples ears.

roadfrog

Whoa, whoa, WHOA!! Are you ACTUALLY suggesting that a audiophile quality system does NOT involve a bunch of flashing and glowing neon purple lights and huge, shiny chrome capacitors??!!!

Devh

The more bling the better the sound is probably one of the recessive traits we left behind when were fish and birds.

I bet Ode to Joy in D Minor sounds phenomenal on the ML or an Audi with the Bang & Olufsen .
I would certainly like to audition one of these high end systems and see if they live up to the hype.

GXAlan

I would argue that it is also the car audio consumer. With heavy integration of the head unit to the rest of the car and the need for stuff like FLAC, etc, nowadays the best bang for the buck is MS-8 plus sub for most setups. Vehicle OEM setups have also done exceptionally well with it being "good enough" for FM and Pandora/Spotify. Audio OEMs also make more money licensing than developing. Good example is the B&W car audio line which is manufactured by Harman.

Devh

The audio consumer sets the direction based on trends and the shareholders make it so. Many good companies like Alpine and Eclipse have jumped the shark after the days of dancing dolphins on Pioneer head units.
I'm not saying you cant find quality stuff but you will be paying out the nose for it because it has become more of a niche market. There is no flourishing middle ground like there was in the 90s.
This is why there are so many of these Apple/ Android , Sony/ Xbox wars because every one wants to get people on to their way the world works for them and the only way to do so is to be a fan boy.
I'm happy FLAC has a presence and hope it becomes the new format for the general public.

jplaya517

I forgot to ask, what year is your LS Shibumi1?

Shibumi1

My Ls is 2007 but 1st gen is 07-09 they are all the same...