Lexus rear speaker issue
Pit Crew
Joined: Aug 2019
Posts: 129
Likes: 34
From: CA
I listened to the Mark Levinson system for about twenty minutes and the Premium system for about the same amount of time. I did not drive the car while listening so I could concentrate on the sound and experiment with the settings.The car was stationary on the dealer's lot with the engine running, all the windows and the sunroof closed and the AC fan at minimum.
Pit Crew
Joined: Aug 2019
Posts: 129
Likes: 34
From: CA
I did three separate on the road test drives comparing the stock 17" wheels on the Premium trim, 18" noise reducing wheels on the Ultra Premium and the 19" wheels on the F Sport.
I chose the Ultra Premium with the 18" noise reducing wheels.
I'm picking it up from the dealer tomorrow afternoon!
I chose the Ultra Premium with the 18" noise reducing wheels.
I'm picking it up from the dealer tomorrow afternoon!
Pit Crew
Joined: Aug 2019
Posts: 129
Likes: 34
From: CA
Today I picked up my new 2019 ES 350 Ultra Luxury with the Navigation / Mark Levinson system. Wow - what a beautiful vehicle!
I just took a drive and experimented with more audio settings. At the moment, I've set Treble -2, Mids -1, Bass 0, Fader -3 (3 steps to the rear). I was only listening to various stations on Sirius XM. Even though I don't normally listen to the "Pitbull" channel, I must say, I heard some impressive low end coming from the system when I had the volume set from 40 - 44 depending on the song. Other channels sounded good as well and the difference in recordings was apparent. Some recordings sounded quite good and others not as much. It's a positive attribute that the system lets you hear the variations in recording quality.
I found as I backed off the Treble and Mids I could play the system at higher volume levels before things would get too harsh or edgy. This allowed the bass to be more prominent overall which I thought put things in better balance. I do believe that an audio system needs to be played for fifty or more hours at higher volumes before it "breaks in" and I'm hoping some of the forwardness I'm hearing will be greatly reduced when that happens. Things are sounding pretty good now, though.
I just took a drive and experimented with more audio settings. At the moment, I've set Treble -2, Mids -1, Bass 0, Fader -3 (3 steps to the rear). I was only listening to various stations on Sirius XM. Even though I don't normally listen to the "Pitbull" channel, I must say, I heard some impressive low end coming from the system when I had the volume set from 40 - 44 depending on the song. Other channels sounded good as well and the difference in recordings was apparent. Some recordings sounded quite good and others not as much. It's a positive attribute that the system lets you hear the variations in recording quality.
I found as I backed off the Treble and Mids I could play the system at higher volume levels before things would get too harsh or edgy. This allowed the bass to be more prominent overall which I thought put things in better balance. I do believe that an audio system needs to be played for fifty or more hours at higher volumes before it "breaks in" and I'm hoping some of the forwardness I'm hearing will be greatly reduced when that happens. Things are sounding pretty good now, though.
Last edited by Barryabko; Aug 14, 2019 at 10:53 AM.
Racer
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 1,371
Likes: 441
From: oh
Today I picked up my new 2019 ES 350 Ultra Luxury with the Navigation / Mark Levinson system. Wow - what a beautiful vehicle!
I just took a drive and experimented with more audio settings. At the moment, I've set Treble -2, Mids -1, Bass 0, Fader -3 (3 steps to the rear). I was only listening to various stations on Serius XM. Even though I don't normally listen to the "Pitbull" channel, I must say, I heard some impressive low end coming from the system when I had the volume set from 40 - 44 depending on the song. Other channels sounded good as well and the difference in recordings was apparent. Some recordings sounded quite good and others not as much. It's a positive attribute that the system lets you hear the variations in recording quality.
I found as I backed off the Treble and Mids I could play the system at higher volume levels before things would get too harsh or edgy. This allowed the bass to be more prominent overall which I thought put things in better balance. I do believe that an audio system needs to be played for fifty or more hours at higher volumes before they "break in" and I'm hoping some of the forwardness I'm hearing will be greatly reduced when that happens. Things are sounding pretty good now, though.
I just took a drive and experimented with more audio settings. At the moment, I've set Treble -2, Mids -1, Bass 0, Fader -3 (3 steps to the rear). I was only listening to various stations on Serius XM. Even though I don't normally listen to the "Pitbull" channel, I must say, I heard some impressive low end coming from the system when I had the volume set from 40 - 44 depending on the song. Other channels sounded good as well and the difference in recordings was apparent. Some recordings sounded quite good and others not as much. It's a positive attribute that the system lets you hear the variations in recording quality.
I found as I backed off the Treble and Mids I could play the system at higher volume levels before things would get too harsh or edgy. This allowed the bass to be more prominent overall which I thought put things in better balance. I do believe that an audio system needs to be played for fifty or more hours at higher volumes before they "break in" and I'm hoping some of the forwardness I'm hearing will be greatly reduced when that happens. Things are sounding pretty good now, though.
What were you driving before?
I find myself listening to Symphony Hall (76), Real Jazz (67) and Watercolors (66) a lot. This is my first car in 15 years and I never had Sirius XM in my car before.
Do you prefer Surround Sound On or Off? Why or why not?
Pit Crew
Joined: Jul 2019
Posts: 193
Likes: 57
From: FL
I have the Pioneer system and have found that I tick my fader 1-Back and 1-Right for a better balance. I also use Apple Carplay and running Tidal the system sounds very nice, especially with some of the Master recordings and who can complain about these FLAC streaming rates: HiFi: 44.1khz/16bit (1411kbps) Master: 96khz/24bit (4608kbps)
Rookie
Joined: Jul 2019
Posts: 54
Likes: 8
From: VA
I did three separate on the road test drives comparing the stock 17" wheels on the Premium trim, 18" noise reducing wheels on the Ultra Premium and the 19" wheels on the F Sport.
I chose the Ultra Premium with the 18" noise reducing wheels.
I'm picking it up from the dealer tomorrow afternoon!
I chose the Ultra Premium with the 18" noise reducing wheels.
I'm picking it up from the dealer tomorrow afternoon!
Seems that between stereos and wheels, Lexus makes you "settle." Why can't Lexus be more flexible with choices like Chevy is with the coming new 2020 Corvette?
Pit Crew
Joined: Aug 2019
Posts: 129
Likes: 34
From: CA
Nice! What color Ext & Int?
What were you driving before? I find myself listening to Symphony Hall (76), Real Jazz (67) and Watercolors (66) a lot. This is my first car in 15 years and I never had Sirius XM in my car before. Do you prefer Surround Sound On or Off? Why or why not?
What were you driving before? I find myself listening to Symphony Hall (76), Real Jazz (67) and Watercolors (66) a lot. This is my first car in 15 years and I never had Sirius XM in my car before. Do you prefer Surround Sound On or Off? Why or why not?
So far, the Surround mode has been on. When I'm next experimenting with the ML sound system I'll try it both ways.
It's Atomic Silver Exterior and Black interior. It looks quite phenomenal!
Racer
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 1,371
Likes: 441
From: oh
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Pit Crew
Joined: Aug 2019
Posts: 129
Likes: 34
From: CA
I wish Lexus would make it easier to get the exact options I prefer. Those 18" noise reducing wheels are IMHO their best looking. From a practical standpoint, I feel that 18" is better than 19". However, I don't believe Lexus puts the 18"s on the F-Sport. And as for the F-Sport, you can only get black or red/black interior in 2019. I hope they come out with a better range of choices in 2020 to put together a car more to one's liking.
Seems that between stereos and wheels, Lexus makes you "settle." Why can't Lexus be more flexible with choices like Chevy is with the coming new 2020 Corvette?
Seems that between stereos and wheels, Lexus makes you "settle." Why can't Lexus be more flexible with choices like Chevy is with the coming new 2020 Corvette?
I think the style/trend is for larger rather than smaller tires even though I believe smaller tires tend to offer a somewhat smoother and quieter ride due to the increased amount of sidewall. I really liked the ride with the 17" wheels but was still quite pleased with the 18" noise reduction wheels. I strongly wanted wood trim and the most quiet ride possible. The F Sport was (of course) very nice but lack of wood trim and the artificially amplified engine sound was the opposite of what I was looking for. Each person has their own tastes and set of priorities.
Last edited by Barryabko; Aug 14, 2019 at 12:58 PM.
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Jul 2017
Posts: 9,582
Likes: 3,407
From: NJ
This is a second car for me that will be driven much less than my 2015 Honda Odyssey. The Honda will still be my main vehicle.
So far, the Surround mode has been on. When I'm next experimenting with the ML sound system I'll try it both ways.
It's Atomic Silver Exterior and Black interior. It looks quite phenomenal!
So far, the Surround mode has been on. When I'm next experimenting with the ML sound system I'll try it both ways.
It's Atomic Silver Exterior and Black interior. It looks quite phenomenal!
Driver
Joined: Jul 2019
Posts: 65
Likes: 11
From: MI
Members on that site then asked me to evaluate the stock Premium sound system:
I stopped by a Lexus dealer today for the sole purpose of evaluating the stock "Premium" sound system in the 2019 ES 350 and to see how well I could make it perform. Let me start by saying that in my humble opinion, the Premium system is definitely NOT a bad sounding car audio system. After adjusting the settings as best as possible I found the audio quality to have a number of rather positive sonic attributes although the system's design has limitations and several idiosyncrasies that can be challenging.
Settings: The best sound was achieved by adjusting the Treble -2, Mids -1 and Bass +1. On some recordings I could set the Treble to -1 but on other recordings there was too much treble so I settled on -2 overall. The Mids might have been a little better at -1.5 but you can only change by whole steps so -1 was the best compromise. The bass also might have been better at +1.5 (+2 seemed to be too much for most recordings) so +1 was the best compromise. The fader made the system sound best when set to three clicks towards the rear. When the fader is set to the center position there is far too much volume coming from the front compliment of speakers. It makes the system sound "aggressive" and restricts the ability of the system to exhibit adequate spatial (or surround) qualities. The further toward the rear you set the fader the more the spatial qualities of the system become evident. The problem is however, that every click towards the rear restricts the overall volume capability of the system to a greater degree. I found the best compromise to be -3 (three clicks toward the rear). This setting "opened up" the spatial qualities significantly and still provided adequate overall volume levels. Even so, the maximum volume level these settings provided did keep the system on the more "polite" side and I would think that the peak volume when set this way might not get loud enough for some listeners. Four or more clicks to the rear just seemed like there was too much volume restriction overall. It's possible that if I lived with system for a while the final settings might be slightly different.
Tonal Quality: With the above settings (Treble -2, Mids -1, Bass +1, Fader 3 clicks toward the rear) the system sounded fairly good to my ears. The mids and highs are not that "transparent" and can sound somewhat harsh, edgy and aggressive depending on the recording. Bass was okay. The system is not outstanding but I think it's pretty adequate.
The ten speaker positions seem to be:
Dash: Right, Left and Center = three
Front Doors: Low and high in each door = four
Rear Doors: High in each door = two
Subwoofer in the rear package shelf.
The complaints about the fader are probably because people are used to hearing the mids and highs coming from the rear package shelf when fading toward the rear. The ES 350 rear mid/high speakers are instead placed in the upper forward part of the rear doors and the majority of their sound is blocked by the front seats when you're the driver or front passenger. It's possible that the high in the door positioning of the rear speakers is better for the rear passengers although I didn't sit in the back seat to check that. Additionally, the volume restrictions that occur when fading toward the rear can make using the fader frustrating for many listeners - especially if they are expecting it work similarly to other car stereo systems they've had in the past. Even with the above settings, the center image seemed to be optimized for the driver rather than for the front passenger as the image was primarily centered in front of the driver position as opposed to being somewhat more diffuse and in the center of the dash. I verified this by switching seats to the passenger side. I suspect there may some intentional manipulation of the phase aspects of the audio between the front center dash speaker and front driver's side dash speaker to provide this effect. It's also possible that the center dash speaker and driver's side dash speaker are angled somewhat inward toward each other so that their output converges at the driver's head position causing such a tight image.
All of the comments above are my opinion but I have extensive experience with high performance car audio having had many elaborate custom systems in my vehicles since the mid 1970s (Nakamichi, Rockford/Fosgate, A/D/S, Infinity, Alpine, Pioneer and many other top brands). Please let me know your thoughts and whether or not you agree with any of my findings.
I stopped by a Lexus dealer today for the sole purpose of evaluating the stock "Premium" sound system in the 2019 ES 350 and to see how well I could make it perform. Let me start by saying that in my humble opinion, the Premium system is definitely NOT a bad sounding car audio system. After adjusting the settings as best as possible I found the audio quality to have a number of rather positive sonic attributes although the system's design has limitations and several idiosyncrasies that can be challenging.
Settings: The best sound was achieved by adjusting the Treble -2, Mids -1 and Bass +1. On some recordings I could set the Treble to -1 but on other recordings there was too much treble so I settled on -2 overall. The Mids might have been a little better at -1.5 but you can only change by whole steps so -1 was the best compromise. The bass also might have been better at +1.5 (+2 seemed to be too much for most recordings) so +1 was the best compromise. The fader made the system sound best when set to three clicks towards the rear. When the fader is set to the center position there is far too much volume coming from the front compliment of speakers. It makes the system sound "aggressive" and restricts the ability of the system to exhibit adequate spatial (or surround) qualities. The further toward the rear you set the fader the more the spatial qualities of the system become evident. The problem is however, that every click towards the rear restricts the overall volume capability of the system to a greater degree. I found the best compromise to be -3 (three clicks toward the rear). This setting "opened up" the spatial qualities significantly and still provided adequate overall volume levels. Even so, the maximum volume level these settings provided did keep the system on the more "polite" side and I would think that the peak volume when set this way might not get loud enough for some listeners. Four or more clicks to the rear just seemed like there was too much volume restriction overall. It's possible that if I lived with system for a while the final settings might be slightly different.
Tonal Quality: With the above settings (Treble -2, Mids -1, Bass +1, Fader 3 clicks toward the rear) the system sounded fairly good to my ears. The mids and highs are not that "transparent" and can sound somewhat harsh, edgy and aggressive depending on the recording. Bass was okay. The system is not outstanding but I think it's pretty adequate.
The ten speaker positions seem to be:
Dash: Right, Left and Center = three
Front Doors: Low and high in each door = four
Rear Doors: High in each door = two
Subwoofer in the rear package shelf.
The complaints about the fader are probably because people are used to hearing the mids and highs coming from the rear package shelf when fading toward the rear. The ES 350 rear mid/high speakers are instead placed in the upper forward part of the rear doors and the majority of their sound is blocked by the front seats when you're the driver or front passenger. It's possible that the high in the door positioning of the rear speakers is better for the rear passengers although I didn't sit in the back seat to check that. Additionally, the volume restrictions that occur when fading toward the rear can make using the fader frustrating for many listeners - especially if they are expecting it work similarly to other car stereo systems they've had in the past. Even with the above settings, the center image seemed to be optimized for the driver rather than for the front passenger as the image was primarily centered in front of the driver position as opposed to being somewhat more diffuse and in the center of the dash. I verified this by switching seats to the passenger side. I suspect there may some intentional manipulation of the phase aspects of the audio between the front center dash speaker and front driver's side dash speaker to provide this effect. It's also possible that the center dash speaker and driver's side dash speaker are angled somewhat inward toward each other so that their output converges at the driver's head position causing such a tight image.
All of the comments above are my opinion but I have extensive experience with high performance car audio having had many elaborate custom systems in my vehicles since the mid 1970s (Nakamichi, Rockford/Fosgate, A/D/S, Infinity, Alpine, Pioneer and many other top brands). Please let me know your thoughts and whether or not you agree with any of my findings.
Rookie
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 26
Likes: 1
From: Toronto Canada
''The ten speaker positions seem to be:
Dash: Right, Left and Center = three
Front Doors: Low and high in each door = four
Rear Doors: High in each door = two
Subwoofer in the rear package shelf.''
Does the subwoofer have a separate volume control and if it does, how do I find it.
Dash: Right, Left and Center = three
Front Doors: Low and high in each door = four
Rear Doors: High in each door = two
Subwoofer in the rear package shelf.''
Does the subwoofer have a separate volume control and if it does, how do I find it.
Racer
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 1,371
Likes: 441
From: oh
Here's a link to the Mark Levinson website that goes into more technical detail about the system's design: https://www.marklevinson.com/in-lexus.html#lexus-es
At the top, it says that the ES ML audio system has 1800 watts and 17 speakers.
Apparent contradiction #1 - The car graphic below says that there's a 835-watt amplifier beneath the driver's seat. Where's the other 965 watts?
Apparent contradiction #2 - The car graphic below shows 10 speakers. Where are the other 7 speakers?
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 5,471
Likes: 958
From: IL
Unless I'm missing something, this web page appears to contradict itself in 2 places.
At the top, it says that the ES ML audio system has 1800 watts and 17 speakers.
Apparent contradiction #1 - The car graphic below says that there's a 835-watt amplifier beneath the driver's seat. Where's the other 965 watts?
Apparent contradiction #2 - The car graphic below shows 10 speakers. Where are the other 7 speakers?
At the top, it says that the ES ML audio system has 1800 watts and 17 speakers.
Apparent contradiction #1 - The car graphic below says that there's a 835-watt amplifier beneath the driver's seat. Where's the other 965 watts?
Apparent contradiction #2 - The car graphic below shows 10 speakers. Where are the other 7 speakers?