Oh My God... the stock stereo in our cars has to be one of the worst. I understand it's the base stereo but I expected more from $60K car. Even though it has a center channel it still sounds flat and as if its coming from the floor.

Has anyone upgraded their base stereo? I'm hoping to see a simple fix like just a speaker swap or maybe just adding an aftermarket crossover. Kinda worried about allowing a shop to tear into he car. Definitely dont want to carry a bulky subwoofer in the trunk.

What have you guys done? Im assuming most that truly care went with the premium stereo, but for those like me that bought it slightly used and didn't have a choice, how have you dealt with this?

 

I can't say its the worst not excellent but good enough. Its not going to have deep bass like a BMW or other German competitors which use Harman Kardon. Only option is to upgrade the subwoofer thats in there or add a small sub in the trunk.

 

odd that your complaining about it, a lot of people who have been in the car and heard it and asked if it was the stock audio system

Better then the MB harmon karmon speakers thats for sure

 

I agree to Infamous3 - My 09' GL550 Loaded was nothing compared to my stock GS4 sound. Its like night and day. Now my LS460 ML is still better than my GS4.

 

I'd have to agree, IMHO my old Acura's stock stereo sounded much better than the F-Sport's stock.

 

Is there an actual "subwoofer" somewhere? If so is it powered?

 

Most people from a few threads up seem to like it...

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gs-...udiophile.html

 

i added a small 12in JL sub with alpine amp in the trunk. doesnt take up that much space & it sounds awesome. I have the speaker facing in through the armrest port in the back seat. No rattle at all & just the right amount of bass inside the car without sounding too loud outside.

 

The Mark Levinson, sure... but im talking about the stock stereo

 

Yes I believe it is an 8" sub in the rear.

 

Most of the thread is about the premium audio system, not the Mark Levinson system. The title is a bit misleading. Like this...

The Gen5 ML Audio systems I found to be just ok, but only could only stand them a few months before upgrading them with much better sound. Even though the 13' ML cars were supposed to be better I didn't even bother getting it because I thought it would be another throw away, and went with premium sound.

Turns out the 2013 premium system sounds about 90% as good, to my ears, as a 10k aftermarket system. I'm seriously thinking about keeping it.

 

I don't know about the Lexus base stereo and I'm certainly not an audiophile. I think the stock non-premium stereo on my 2011 BMW 335 convertible is the worst thing I've heard in my life. Listening to 320 kbps MP3 in that car reminds me of the walkman days. My sister's 19K Scion has better sound than the Bimmer.

 

And thats the base stereo? Not the ML, right?