pistol pete

Is the mark levinson system that comes standard really that great? I've read a few reviews about the audio system in the SC430 but i want to get a comsumer's opinion about it. So i figured where ele better to ask about it than here at club lexus. Thanks for your input. I hope to be behind a 2003 SC430 real soon.

Phu

I agree. Very clean sound and great bass response. You would have never guessed that it is a stock system.

MagusFuria

"Very clean sound and great bass response. You would have never guessed that it is a stock system" yup couldnt have said it better Phu. Its the best system Ive ever heard, and i agree with gene that theres no need to mod it.

~Jesse

tfischer

Yeah to what they said.

It's the best audio system I've ever heard in a car, and all the reviews of the car that I have read have stated clearly that it is the best audio system offered in an automobile today. Search the net for auto magazine reviews from April and May of 2001; it's all there.

So it's pretty good.

JerseySC

It is the most amazing OEM audio system I have ever heard. I don't think anything will come close in the near future.

ceboyd

whenever I get in a different car now, I'm disappointed!

DropTop430

If Lexus could find a way to make the damn doors not rattle when you turn the volume up a little bit on ANY music with some bass in it then I could say that I thinks its a great unit. But they can't seem to fix rattles and other noises that come form the area on my car.

Its a Great stereo but shame on Lexus for not being able to make a solid "cabinet" to support it. If I was on the team that worked with Lexus from Mark Levinson I would be on them to fix this, it makes them look bad...

Its a real bother, nothing worse than someone asking to hear the stereo cause they have heard such great things about it. So you turn it up and the passenger door sounds like it belongs in a Hyundai

antigeek

DropTop,

There is a solution. Read this:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...threadid=46219

The key is to talk to your service tech, not the service manager.
He was very cool, and put more felt tape behind the panels.
If you want him to talk to my guy, let me know and I'll try to arrange something.

LexusSC430 is right -- you could go to an auto stereo installer and get DynoMat or other sound dampeners installed. But I didn't want to submit my new car to some audio monkey. Besides, the dealer should address & fix the issues (they did), and the rattle comes from the wood panels, not the door itself, so I don't know if it would have worked better.

Lastly, I gave him a Stereophile Test CD with specific instructions on which tracks (with low frequency warble tones) would definitively reproduce the problem, so he could test it until he got it fixed.

Hope this helps.
Happy Drop-Topping. Fall is near!

RodF

I'm not a major audiophile but am pretty picky about my stereo. I had a 2000 Corvette and took out the Bose system, spent about $5,000 on a totally new system. It sounded pretty good. When I bought the SC430, I really felt that the system was already there. It has a great sound. The only thing I did was add a separate amp for the sub. It was an enhancement, but the basic system is very, very good as is. Great warm, full sound.

1NICESC430

As one reviewer said (and I paraphrase), you're getting a $60,000 sound system and they're throwing in the car free.

moseman2020

I agree that is a great system but the rattles take away from the pleasure. I still have the rattle after several service visits...maybe #4 will be the solution. It is damn annoying!!!!

pistol pete

maybe yall have the bass up too high?? just a thought..

tfischer

I think the point being made is that the car should be able to deal with the standard system. If you add, as an aftermarket item, a big fat amp on a stock system, it's your own fault if the doors shake.

I myself have not had any problem with rattles from the door caused by the sound system, or by anything else, for that matter, but obviously not all doors are made equal.

I think it's a great sound system in a great car, and I have no complaints. I am sorry to hear that some of the doors have loose things that rattle.

1NICESC430

FWIW ... I listen to classical music almost exclusively. There are some pieces that have their low frequencies, but all I've felt was my trousers flapping around my ankles.

When the folks in this forum talk about "clean", they're not kidding. I don't how how else to describe the effect.

I have a McIntosh system in my house (not new - God - I'd have to sell the remainder of my investments to get new) that sounds as clean albeit a tad more powerful.

mfb

Yes, the SC system is good. Although no comparison to the LS430. That is the best system I have heard in a car. Acoustically, the SC can't compare to the LS.

The bass can be upgraded as RodF has done with good results. I noticed that the 8" woofer is cheaply made and is badged as ML. I guessing it is a basic Harmon Industry speaker. If your having problems with the bass response you may want to add some damping (Dynamat) and try to seal the area where the sub is mounted. It seemed like the sub was acting in an infinite baffle design rather than a sealed enclosure.

Overall, I'm very happy with the system but wished they would have offered XM/Sirrus as an option.

mfb