If your DSP is set in Surround Sound mode you will hear more from the front because it utilizes that middle speaker on the dash, but mine is set that way and I hear music is coming from all over the car. I have mine set right in the middle, no bias to either side or to the rear.

 

Exactly. Distant sound, ridiculous amount of sibilance.
I feel seasick on some XM channels listening to the
music. Its across the board in most cars as far as I can tell.
My brand new 335i was bad from the beginning. Nothing
wrong with the system. XM pushes voice now more than
music and that has decreased the quality overall. In my
2003 X5, XM almost sounded CD quality. Its XM,
not ML.

 

Thanks. I've only had XM in Lexi with ML, so I had no other basis for comparison.

 

i love how ML sounds, but for some albums, the highs seem way too high, kind of hurts my ears.

guess i might need to tweak it around depending on what i listen to.

also, starting to get a few rattles from the bass, kind of sucks, :-/

 

everyone's ears are different. my audio settings might not be ideal for you. I like higher treble and mid, and slightly lower bass.

 

Actually, everyone's ears are remarkably, predictably similar. Ever hear(!) of Fletcher-Munson curves? Personal preferences, on the other hand, are as varied as there are people. The distinction is important in locating the source of auditory (dis)satisfaction. Tone controls address preference; component quality, DSP operation, interior layout, etc. more fundamentally affect the fidelity of the sound to source and are difficult and expensive to modify. Ask any audiophile (same ears as you and me, more brain devoted to processing signal).

 

I need more bass. My '13 ML equipped GS350 is lacking compared to my '07 ML equipped LS460.

 

You sir are experiencing the ****tiest part about this car's system, the tweeters are located on the left and right of the FRONT WINDSHIELD. Yes you read that correctly, the front left and right windshield.

Music sounds much better when the sound is coming from the left and right side of listener, this way it envelops and completely immerses you in the sound.

 

On most of my whips I usually crank up the bass just a few notches from max, but in this car it doesn't sound too great.

Bass is up a couple of notches and treble is a couple notches from max.

 

I mostly drive by myself so the speakers are focused only to my side and settings for treble, bass Ect are center.

 

What is the navigation (path) to get to the audio settings? I spent a long while in the car setting up just about everything I could run through, but pretty much forgot to go through ML settings...2015 GS 450h FS. (signature feature not on yet)...

 

With any audio source playing, there should be a Sound button on the bottom right on the screen. It's a per-source setting which is very smart. Dip in there for 3 settings plus an additional screen for the advanced options for Surround and Automatic Sound Levelizer.

 

Ok, thanks. Stuck on the ship for duty today but will investigate further tomorrow...