Mark Levinson Sound System
 

I ordered a 2025 ES350 Ultra Lux (Sunlight Green / Macadamia Nut) yesterday. It wont be here for a couple weeks. It has the Mark Levinson system in it. Is there a difference in sound between XM and FM / Bluetooth inputs? My Wife has a 16 ES350 Ultra with Mark Levinson and there is a Big difference between XM and every other input. Since I like to put play lists together on my phone or memory stick, is there a certain file type or bit rate I should use for the best sound?

Thanks for any information

There is a difference. SiriusXM will never sound as good as an FM signal or streaming from your phone due to the compression XM uses. Personally, I use Android Auto and stream Amazon Music and Spotify.

Congrats on your incoming UL! I pickup my Matador Red Mica / Macadamia UL on Saturday.

I'll also add that you'll need lossless format for anything you download. MP3s are awful with the ML system. Unlistenable if that's a real word.

I find that FLAC files on a USB at around 600kbps or higher can sound as good as CDs. Playing the same files from my phone with wireless doesn't sound as good.

How do you download them at 600kbps?

XM sucks for sound quality. You could stream it through the xm app for better sound quality

Sites will have FLAC files for download at that bit rate. For example, The Beatles on the Internet Archive. Abbey Road at 812kbps
Or you and rip files from CDs and create high quality FLAC files. Also, you can purchase them from places that offer high resolution files which can be better than CD quality.

FLAC files work well.

Can you download them at a higher quality from apps like Spotify?

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I don't think Spotify has hi-res downloads yet, but they are supposedly going to at some point. Subscription plans like Tidal offer hi-res downloads and you can purchase individual files from places like HD Tracks.

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SiriusXM, HD FM (digital FM in the US), and Bluetooth audio all use lossy CODECs.

For lossless audio CODECs, the Mark Levinson system supports WAV (LPCM), FLAC, and ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec). Which one of those to use will depend upon what phone and audio file source ecosystem you're using as well as any audio file conversions you've willing to undertake.

If you download the "2025 LEXUS ES250, ES350, ES300H MULTIMEDIA OWNER'S MANUAL USA AND CANADA ONLY" from the My Lexus Resources web site you can find the supported audio file formats, CODECs, sampling rates, and bit rates in the chapter 9 Appendix's "Information about media and data" section. One thing to keep in mind if you're converting or have a choice of audio formats is the footnotes to the supported lossless CODECs mentioned above:
Also, if I'm correctly understanding what others have posted in other threads, the system is a little bit quirky in the organization of audio files on USB flash drives. There's no supported separate playback list file format; rather, the ordering of lists and playback depends upon directory structure, file naming, and file metadata. I haven't tried to use a USB flash drive so I don't know the specific details. Before you spend much effort in assembling a USB flash drive audio file collection, it would be worthwhile getting an idea of how the system works with audio files and file organization on USB flash drives.

Last I read, Spotify high quality audio is still in the "Coming soon" category that it has been in for the past several years.

For other music sources offering high quality audio (e.g., high bit rate lossless of CD or higher quality) you'll need to check with the vendor for their specific download file provisions. Amazon Music, Apple Music, and Tidal are some that do have the option of downloading high quality audio files for off line playback. (Or a least that's the case of the US. But there's a rats nest of international licensing issues that may affect what's allowed in Australia so you need to check what's allowed in your area.)

I don't think Spot has hi-res downloads now, but they are supposedly going to at some point. Subscription plans like Tidal offer hi-res downloads and you can purchase individual files from places like HD Tracks.