OP glad you found your rattles, so it was the padded knee rest that was causing your rattles? I see you put a piece of rubber mat on it. did you also put tape/insulation on the little red clips? As long as you got rid of the noise thats all that matters! i bet your setup sounds good.

i took the lazy way out and just bolted in midwoofers in the door. all plug and play so i can return the lease later on. but your car is for sure a keeper now! lol. cool shot of the rear V Brace.

And re post above, yes the 3IS is small. I can't go back to a tiny car again. The 3IS is basically a RWD corolla, but even smaller. It's nice to bang around in starting out when younger but i can't go back to that size.

 

Thanks brother! 🙏 It was the red seat clips that were really the majority of the rattle which was sooo weird because you would never think that they could generate that level of rattle but it could be that after I did the sound deadening the rattle had no where else to go BUT to the clips. 😅 I had to remove the top rear deck car seat clip covers as well. Haven't put anything back yet because I'm just in an enjoy the sound mode now for a bit lol. There was honestly so much to over come in this car to get the sound the way it is now but it was 1000% worth every second and all the effort to have arrived at the result its in now. ❤️ My friend who owns a shop recommended felt strips inbetween the clip covers but I think some properly cut foam strips might just do the trick as long as it pushes enough on the cover from the inside that the can't move but still close if that makes sense. I think the picture you mentioned is the rear deck quarter panels because I haven't had to address the knee pads in any of the doors or front yet. THANK GOD! 😅 Three times I had to take the whole back apart on different occasions to get the deadening perfect. A lot of bending and twisting. You definitely feel it the next day. Even tho the weather is getting colder here I almost just want to drive and enjoy the car for a week at least before I address anything else. 😅😅😅🙏💯💪🔥

 

Just purchased a 2022 ES350 2 weeks ago. Love the car. The stereo sound quality is VERY GOOD when listening to well recorded music. HOWEVER, I noticed the fader issue right away, that is how I discovered this thread. The front speakers over-power the rear speakers and the fader does not operate like every other fader we have most likely have been used to our entire lives. So YES, that is an issue. Maybe one of unrealistic expectations but it is an issue. Would I trade the car in because of it?? No way. but the Sound in my 2013 ES 300h works like a "normal" stereo and has a very balanced sound with a "properly working fader".

I called my sales person today about this and will stop in to show him the issue. Hopefully there is some type of relief.

Peace.

 

there's no relief. That's the system operating as designed.

 

They finally fixed mine when i show them the letter from lexus. I believe it was the rear amp. Not sure if it covers 2022. They knew about it but did'nt do a recall because its not a safty issue. https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/20...76288-9999.pdf

 

Then you don't have the ML system.

 

Sounds like a lot of owners want "staging" at the rear like the good old days where the sound came from the two rear 6" x 9" speakers.
When I first had a 1992 Mazda 626 2.5 V6, it moved the staging to the front doors with 6.5" mid-bass speakers on the front bottom corner of the front doors, and that initially felt awkward, but gradually, I got used to it.

For an audiophile, staging must be at the front, and never at the rear; the rear speakers are only used for "fill-in" sound effects.
Even the rear passengers, the sound comes from the 6.5" mid bass on the bottom front corner of the rear doors to give front staging.
These days, the rear parcel shelf is only to house the single low frequency subwoofer with very long wavelength bass such that the direction cannot be perceived, because we are sitting less than one wavelength away from the sub.

 

Horse****! And believe me, I know horse **** when I hear it (or read it.)

 

Yup, exactly - When I purchase a car, the 1st thing I do is move the fader to the front seats for staging. I only use the rear for fill, like you said. I am adding a powered sub soon, because that factory "sub" in the rear deck is a bad joke.

 

These days, most head unit brands output very good signals.
The Lexus head unit is made by Pioneer.
The only difference between the base model and the Mark Levinson is that the base model uses Pioneer's compact built-in amplifier which is of average quality, such that there is a lot of distortion as amplification rises.
The ML version uses a medium size ML Class D add-on power amp under the trunk which has much higher fidelity with less distortion as amplification rises.
However, when we really turn up the ML volume, it will obviously distort, and this is when bigger aftermarket power amps, aftermarket speakers, and aftermarket subs come in.
It all depends how much power and cleanliness [in sound] the driver wants.
For deeper bass, the driver must have a physically larger size subwoofer eg fitted in the spare tire well in place of the spare tire...

 

Interesting. Savagegeese, who does audio deep dives on most cars he tests, said the ML was made by Samsung/Harman-Kardon. In fact, he went out of his way to say that he felt it shared characteristics with their other car systems. (Personally, I have no idea.)

 

In 1972, Mark Levinson was established.
In 1990, Harman Industries purchased Mark Levinson to be the upmarket division of bread and butter entry level Harman Kardon.
In 2017, Samsung purchased Harman Industries…

 

I truly appreciate the ES sound system-- that is the ML upgrade. My 2019 ES system does not have the ML upgrade and it is very disappointing. My 2022 ES has the ML upgrade and though it sounds great I have heard better on other vehicles. My 2020 GMC Sierra and 2011 E class systems both sound better IMO.

In saying that... I am completely satisfied with the ML in the ML because I do not need a symphony sound for my commuting.

 

I like my ML very much, but not love. Had to add sub to my IS without ML. I don't even want to imagine a bigger ES without ML or sub... it will drive me nuts.

 

Does anyone know if Lexus has continued its "new and improved" stereo concept of front bias/no fader to its other models? There does not seem to be the same number or type of complaints about other Lexus stock stereo systems. The Lexus Enthusiast site has over 69,000 views on the thread about the ES stock radio. That's a lot of unhappiness about a sound system. Has Lexus learned a lesson or are they still in deep denial?