We're looking at a new ES350 and have a few questions with regard to the Audio System. I've read that the Mark Levinson system is really great. How is the basic Premium Audio System? We're trying to find an ES350 with Mark Levinson & NAV package, but not Ultra Luxury Package and having a hard time finding one. I was wondering if we could live with base audio system. Also, has anyone bought an ES350 with Mark Levinson & NAV package without Ultra Luxury, as dealer says that it's a special order (even though it would seem to be a common car). We test drove an ES350 and liked the drive, a lot more responsive and a seems bit "sportier" drive than the previous generation.

 

I've never seen the ML on a non UL. It's worth every penny! Why not just get the UL?

 

I only have the luxury package but I have mark levinson!

 

You said it has a pano roof, too. Are you sure it's not a UL? Does it have the driver's seat cushion extender?

 

We didn't really want the Panorama Glass Roof, etc. and wanted to keep the MSRP closer to mid $40k rather than $49k

 

The pano roof is the main reason I bought the ES. I know it's not for everyone, though.

Good luck with your search!

 

That is so subjective and depends so much on your personal preferences. Any of us giving you advice will do so based on our own preferences and biases (and hearing). My advice is to drive both and listen for yourself. If it's important enough to you that you are asking the question, then you definitely need to hear both so you can decide.

Now with that said, I have never had ML in any of my Lexus cars. I am in my mid 50's with normal hearing and the music is important to me, but not as much as a quiet environment in which to enjoy it. The "basic premium audio" meets my wife and my needs just fine.

I hope that perspective helps, but at the end of the day, I think the question regarding the standard audio would be impossible for anyone but you to realistically answer.

 

Agreed with Mike. The UL comes with pano roof and cushion extender (like his and mine!) I also have ML and have enjoyed it. I don't know the difference but I couldn't stand knowing there would be a better stereo option out there...so I had to get it. But I listen to a lot of music.

 

That is probably the best advice that could be given on the subject.

I have the ML audio in my GX and the Premium audio in my ES. Both, for me, provide audio quality that is excellent, and, if I had to do a blind comparison of the two systems, I'm not sure that I could tell one from the other. But I'm also sure that I'm not as picky about audio quality as are some others.

Thus, I think that it would be better to for a a potential buyer to make his/her own comparison and not to rely on the opinions of others whose audio needs might be quite different from those of the person who is buying the car.

 

Yea I don't have that or the ambient lighting, i guess I got extremely lucky with the packaging in the car it was the color I wanted and the only one they had in the lot! I really want the 18 inch wheels

 

I had to special order the car with the Premium Package along with the Navigation System and the Mark Levinson sound system. You cannot get the Mark Levinson sound system unless you get either the Premium, Luxury, or Ultra Luxury package. I had to special order the car since I also wanted the Flaxen interior with the Bamboo trim and in Mica Red.


Synergy MediaGroup rated the Mark Levinson the best. We start with the benchmark of factory mobile audio sound systems: Mark Levinson. Levinson gainedfame by offering a breakthrough solid state preamplifier back in the 1970s (theJC-2). Since then, Mark Levinson, the company, has been associated with some ofthe most expensive high end home audio gear on the market. The company made itsmobile audio debut in the Lexus SC430, and has since taken over the premiumsound system for seven of the top Lexus vehicles: The LS430, GS, ES, SC, LX, GXand RX.


The MarkLevinson systems carry on the state-of-the-art tradition first pioneered by theLexus-Nakamichi systems of the 1990s - i.e., they exhibit some of the cleanestsounds ever to emit from the interior of an automobile. They may lack a bit ofthe sonic dazzle offered by some recent surround systems, but what they offeris honest, uncolored sound. Common to all Lexus-Mark Levinson systems: You cancrank the volume all the way up, and the sound will hold up without obviousdistortion. The large LS sedan offers the quietest cabin, and hence the bestacoustics. However all of the Lexus-Mark Levinson systems are excellent.

 

I'll add one more thing. If you plan on listening to XM, don't get the ML. That's one of the trade-offs with higher end audio components. The better the system is at reproducing the source, the worse compressed audio sounds. And XM, via sat, is about as compressed as it gets.

 

Thanks! I didn't think about that.

 

I agree with all who said that we need to make my own comparisons. Just wanted to make sure that ES 350 owners with the Premium Audio System didn't have major complaints with it after having the car for a while.

 

I have the ML but I've never rode in a ES without ML so I can't compare the difference. However, to my untrained ears, the ML sounds fabulous and the range for the highs and lows are amazing. I've listened to music with effects which I've never heard before through another stereo. I mainly just listen to the radio.

The ML in the ES blows the doors off BMW's Logic7 and the Mercedes' Bose. I think the ML is worth every penny.