charlesn

I have an appt at my dealer this week. As I said, I have a somewhat unique vantage point with this issue because I went directly from a 2010 to a 2014 450h with the exact same phone, so I know that a) it's not the phone and, b) it's not an inherent BT issue because call sound quality on the 2010 was great for 42 months on an IPhone 4, 4s, 5 and 5s.

What's especially surprising is that the tech in the 2010 pre-dates current iPhone hardware and iOS software by a few generations, so that should be the car with the issue… not the 2014, with much newer tech that also reflects collaboration between Apple and Lexus. I feel certain that this routing of phone call audio to one speaker in the door is not how it was handled on the 2010. I would also note that I had the Lexus Premium Audio with nav in both cars, so no difference there.

charlesn

Another interesting factoid to add to this thread: today, for the first time, I streamed Pandora via BT from my iPhone 5s using Enform Apps. It played flawlessly and sounded great because the audio was being routed through the entire sound system. Which begs the question: why isn't BT audio from phone calls being played through the entire system? Clearly the capability to do so is there...

TechNut

From a pure audio standpoint, you are comparing two different techniques. With a phone conversation, which is a two way communication involving an open microphone and speakers,you want good separation between your speakers and the open microphone or you can end up with feedback issues. Playing from your phone straight to the speakers doesn't engage the microphone. It is just a different mix.

You can have an open mic in a room with speakers, but it takes special mixers and a particular mix of microphones, none of which you will find in a passenger car. Furthermore, the close quarters of a car would make it doubly tricky.

Just my .02 cents worth.

wase4711

THIS....

2014, rx 350 premium sound, NOT Mark L; using an ANDROID HTC One Maxx, sound on BT is just fine...

dotbowels

My BT works great with my iPhone 5 didn't with my Samsung Proclaim.

DrMCR

Writing to agree with the other posts here that the sound quality on the BT phone stinks in this car. I had a 2007 RX400h prior to this and it was much better- this is tough as I use the BT a lot and although I can hear my callers complain like gangbusters and I have resorted to using a BT earpiece when I drive. Any solutions out there for this? I am even ready for an aftermarket fix at this point. Thanks!!!!

wase4711

I believe its a phone/carrier issue, NOT a lexus issue..
my '14 rx has great BT audio quality, with both Sprint and T Mobile, using LG and Samsung Android phones...In chicagoland, with strong Cellular network signals from most carriers..

CanadianRX

I think we need more details on how it is horrible. The only problem in mine was that when my wife called me from the RX the outgoing volume was very loud. We adjusted the outgoing volume and now it is perfect.

PeteInGilr

I find the quality of the phone perfectly acceptable in my '14 RX350. I do notice that when listening to BT music and I get a call, the music stops for several seconds before the phone rings.

charlesn

This is absolutely neither a phone nor a carrier issue. A few people in this thread--myself included--are complaining that the BT quality is poor in comparison to what we had with an older Lexus--same phone, same carrier. In my case, the only thing that changed was going from a '10 450h to a '14 450h. Lexus unquestionably changed the way in which BT phone call audio (specifically) is routed through the speaker system. Other BT audio, such as streaming from the Pandora app, is superb.

TechNut

Having changed phones on the same 2013 RX, I have seen the quality change so I wouldn't be so quick to condemn Lexus on this particular issue. I had great audio with the Blackberry Torch, but terrible audio with the iPhone 5. If the issue is the car, then why didn't the Blackberry didn't suffer the poor audio quality? I am not trying to argue the point, but just share my own observations. I do think there is some sort of combination(s) that work well and other combination(s) that do not. I'm just not sure who's technology is to blame.

Also, keep in mind that a comparison between the Bluetooth speaker phone and an audio streaming service like Pandora isn't really fair. When you are streaming pandora in the car, you don't have an open microphone. Therefore, the car doesn't have to address any echo cancellation or feedback issues during simple audio streaming. It may seem like the same thing, bit you are comparing a one-way technology to a two-way technology, and the two-way situation requires different handling due to that open mic.

Just my observations and/or opinion on this topic.

Doug

redman56

I agree 100% on the subject of VERY POOR BLUETOOTH SPEAKER & MICROPHONE QUAILITY on the 2013 GS 350 that I currently own. I have owned 5 Lexus's based on their superior quaility, but this problem exists with the 2013 IS 350F Sport & 2014 IS 250F Sport too, having just owned both vehicles in the last year. This is not Lexus quality by any measurement. Somebody at Lexus dropped the ball when it came to the phone speaker & microphone installations for 2013 - 2014. I too have called the dealership and let the salesman know how poorly the phone sound is, (think he already agrees too). I hope Lexus reads these Lexus message blogs & will offer a fix. The road noise in the car is loud, thus everyone complains about very poor reception, thus the Mircophone is part of the problem too. With these new styled Lexus body's for 2013 - 2014, they got a cheap set of Speakers & Microphone for the phone system & it shows. If Lexus cannot provide a solution, I will let the WWW know about the existing problem & find another car to replace my 2013 - GS 350.

John A
Houston, Tx

busurfer

I don't know that speaker for the phone is different from the regular stereo speakers; the issue (to my ear) is the preset EQ for the Bluetooth phone connection. It is the only audio function that does not allow any adjustment and the default has a pronounced lack of low end and what sounds to be a boost in the 1-1.5khz range which makes the speakerphone sound like it is coming through a cheap speaker. This should be fixable through a software patch that allows for phone EQ adjustment but I doubt that Lexus will spend the engineering dollars to write that code for a non-safety issue.

redman56

I agree 100% on the subject of VERY POOR BLUETOOTH SPEAKER & MICROPHONE QUAILITY on the 2013 GS 350 that I currently own. I have owned 5 Lexus's based on their superior quaility, but this problem exists with the 2013 IS 350F Sport & 2014 IS 250F Sport too, having just owned both vehicles in the last year. This is not Lexus quality by any measurement. Somebody at Lexus dropped the ball when it came to the phone speaker & microphone installations for 2013 - 2014. I too have called the dealership and let the salesman know how poorly the phone sound is, (think he already agrees too). I hope Lexus reads these Lexus message blogs & will offer a fix. The road noise in the car is loud, thus everyone complains about very poor reception, thus the Mircophone is part of the problem too. With these new styled Lexus body's for 2013 - 2014, they got a cheap set of Speakers & Microphone for the phone system & it shows. If Lexus cannot provide a solution, I will let the WWW know about the existing problem & find another car to replace my 2013 - GS 350.

John A
Houston, Tx

txes

The BT functionality on my Android phones in both the 2013 ES and 2014 RX is superb.

John