I still have over a year and a half to go on my lease, but I'm always on the lookout for which car will replace the IS350. Ideally, the intro of the 3rd Gen IS would dovetail with the end of my current lease, but it looks like there will be around a year gap. For kicks, I stopped by our local Acura dealer and test drove the 09 TL SH-AWD. I liked the way the car drove and the Nav/MMI interface was definitely superior to the current 2nd Gen IS setup. I'm also intrigued by the pending release of a 6MT with 2010 TL.

Anyway, the part of the car that blew me away was the ELS 5.1 Surround audio system. They had a demo DVD-A disc in the changer and it was without a doubt the best car audio system I've ever listened to. I'm embarrassed to admit that I've never tried a DVD-Audio disc in my current ML (always thought them to be pricey for the return on sound). If the ML sounds anything close to the ELS, I will be visiting Amazon and purchasing several...

Just wanted to know if any audiophiles have already done this comparo

Thanks.

 

http://www.autospies.com/news/The-Ul...urround-20229/

 

Not really sure a 2 year old review of completely different systems in completely different vehicles than he's asking about is really going to help him much.


My ML system doesn't play DVDs, so I can't really answer him either, but I do recall something about the ML system in the ISx50 not properly decoding a certain type of DVD-A, though I'm sure it'll still sound better than normal CDs...a search will probably find him more info on it.

 

The link is a start. I was just blown away at how impressive the TL ELS system was. I heard a Doobie Brothers track where parts of the music i didn't realize were there before, were coming from various corners of the car. Best thing would be for me to order a couple of DVD-Audio discs and put the ML through its paces ...

 

I'm not on audiophile, and I haven't heard the new TL's system in detail (the neighbor has one that I checked out briefly), but I'm confident the DVD audio in the IS will impress you, as well-- its certainly done so for me and any passengers who had the chance to listen to it. From what I recall, based on more in-depth reviews, its received some nice praise for a factory sound system.

Check it out, if you can.

 

If you are going to be listening to a lot of DVD Audio disc content the Acura is supposed to be stunning. Otherwise, I think the ML generally gets the nod. From what I've read, all around, the Mark Levinson audio in the Lexus is better.

The problem with both DVD Audio (and Multichannel SACD) is the fact that much of the content coming out in those formats wasn't created (or in some cases even mastered) with the idea of going beyond two channel stereo playback. Demo discs are great for showing off what a system can do, but the "real world" results with discs you'd actually buy are seldom so stunning. The "depth" brought about from the surround can be distracting.

 

I went out an bought a few DVD-A's to try and test out the system. The ones I got weren't that great. I did get a blue man group one that was pretty cool, because it was specially mixed for DVD A 5.1, but still was lacking. I've noticed that you also need to pump up the volume way High to get power and sound to ring through the speakers.. If I'm listening at 20 on the radio/ipod/cds the dvd a will be at like 35+ for a similar listening level. I feel like I'm going to blow the amp.....

 

I actually find the ELS in the previous TL better. Maybe its just me. Mark Levinson is seen as the industry best.

 

well, you HAVE listened to DVDA in the acura.. and you have a ML system in the IS, soooo... why not just get a DVDA and test it out? your first hand experience is way better than someone elses.

 

i personally have heard both systems and I think the ML system sounds better. seems more natural to me. one thing is for sure the tl system doesn't compare when it compares to stereo samples.

 

As mentioned, there are not many current DVD-A sound tracks. The best sounding one I have (have about a half dozen) is the Beatles "Love".

Koz