eyeball

My first RX had the Nakamichi premium sound package. My second RX had ML. Having said this, not sure i can settle for the standard sound system when I finally purchase the new 3IS. I may have to just bite the bullet and wait 3 months after special ordering ML....

hades281

Does anyone know if it is a direct plug-and-play swap to replace the 'A' and 'B' stock system speakers (Left/Right and Center, in dashboard) with the Mark Levinson Unity speaker? Does the speaker have a built-in crossover, and/or does the stock amplifier have one or would one have to be added?

liqinwei26

Overall, I enjoyed my standard audio system. It is not great but it is still a descent audio system except the bass... I heard that ML's bass is weak too...

graviton

I would definitely call myself an audiophile, based on the thousands of dollars I've put into speaker systems and high-end headphones. So I'm starting off with pretty high standards, and I'm pretty sure I have a good "trained" ear for high quality audio.

First of all, don't think watts/power output/number of speakers/etc. has anything to do with sound quality -- it doesn't. For example, I find BMW's upgraded "Harmon Kardon" audio option to be worse than their stock speakers (at least in the US -- I think it differs per country), despite it having more speakers and power.

That said though, in my opinion the standard 3IS audio (which I have) is "okay" at best up to the mids, and actually rather poor in treble (sibilant/scratchy/raspy). I like classical and jazz so unfortunately this rules out a lot of that (anything with violin/trumpet sounds horrible to my picky ears). As long as you aren't in for a mind-blowing audio experience and the song doesn't depend too much on treble, they're tolerable.

I didn't try the Mark Levinson option but I bet it would be a lot better. I know the standard BMW 3-series audio is a whole lot better than Lexus's standard. But I didn't buy the car for the speakers. In any case, I'd have gone with ML if I had the chance (and honestly would upgrade retrospectively if I could do so for the same price), but no loss I suppose -- I'll probably upgrade to a really high end audiophile setup some day anyway.

Bass Mech

we share a lot in common, i used to install car stereos professionally for about 12 years aka "Bass Mechanic" then i started a company manufacturing subwoofer designs. so trust that my review of the sound system should be one of high expectations as well.

I've listened to both and i can honestly say the ML system has more watts. the bass can be pushed harder before the sub gets out of control. as a result the ML attenuated the bass less as the volume went up. as you know many stock systems kill the bass and the treble at high volume to protect the speakers.

now that said, if you listen to REaL music, such as Jazz or Country, rock, R&B the ML system is simply awesome for a factory system. the surround is not overpowering or too fake but envelops you in a rich clear soundstage.
however the obvious weak point as you might expect is when you play hip hop or rap that has 808 drums without an enclosure the subwoofer will never be up to the task. there simply is not enough control of the woofer in a free air configuration to take that kind of abuse.
i like rap, but i also like country. but when i drive my lexus i can live without listening to a rapper brag about all the women, money, and cars he has.
what ever happened to the days when rappers just rapped about life? i find this a very unique format these days. all they do is brag about their success, while kids who grew up poor continue to pay to buy the music that made them rich so they can brag about their success! how ironic!

Im2bz2p345

Good to hear from people with solid audio knowledge or experience.

Bass Mech - what would you recommend as the most efficient way to boost the bass performance of the ML system, yet still keep it fairly controlled?

Would adding a seperate sub with an enclosure to the system be possible using the existing "Class D" amplifier? If so, do you have any recommendations on the best quality subs out there (specially those that can get reach low hz, yet provide good CONTROLLED bass - not the boomy crap that will rattle everything around it)?

I listen to a lot of music that requires solid bass, so when I compared the Standard Audio System (8 speaker) to the Mark Levinson (15 speaker), I actually preferred the bass of the standard system. The audio clarity was definitely more prominent in the Mark Levinson system, but I was really missing the heart pounding bass.

Any responses would be extremely helpful,

~ Im2bz2p345

Bass Mech

heres the deal..
regardless of what most people think they know about audio. you'll get a lot more bass that plays lower and cleaner out of a small ported enclosure than an equivalent sized sealed box with a larger size woofer in it.
the brand of driver doesn't matter much, as long as the box is tuned correctly and the driver can handle the watts your throwing at it. it will sound as good as any other driver.

if it were me, i would get the ML system because you get more speakers, better quality speakers and more watts for the front sound stage without the bass getting attenuated as easily.
then i would build a box to hold either a single 8 or single 10. the 10 would need about 1.2 cu ft and tuned to about 38 hz it will give you rock solid bass with enough bottom end to please the person who likes deep, low,controlled, distortion free bass.
i would power it with a JL XD/300 watt amp it is super small, easy to hide simple to use and packs a serious punch.
i would probably get the JL sub to go with it because JL makes a pretty decent low priced sub that works well in ported enclosures.
people who use sealed boxes get less than half the bass out of the box and because it's sealed distorts more easily than a correctly tuned sealed box.

i had not really thought about building boxes for sale again, but if enough people have interest i can probably put together a group buy and package the box, amp and subs together as a package for well less than the retail price because i can get everything for whole sale prices. since JL won't allow their stuff to be sold online for a discount i could possibly work out a price thats retail on the equipment but the box is free something like that.

but what you would get is a box designed to fit the IS trunk, tuned for use in that car and for the music you like to listen to.

it is easy to connect to the box to the factory sub. in fact you could even take the factory sub out and have the factory amp signal run the new setup.
i did a system like this in my 2007 IS 350 and it rocked quite nicely!

you could even add a remote bass control **** so you can adjust the volume of the sub from the drivers seat.

if we went with another brand i could possibly get the price even lower.
if there is interest here ill do some research and come up with some numbers if enough people are interested.

Im2bz2p345

Thanks for the detailed response Bass Mech. I'll probably reach out to you when I actually get my car and want to customize the audio further.

Here is more information I could find on the ML unit and the original sub used:

15-speaker (Mark Levinson)** has:
1+1 Center (Coaxial) (dash; and don't ask me what "1+1 coaxial" means as I copied it from the table, except that's how you get to 15!)
2 Tweeter (front doors)
2 Midrange (front doors)
2 Woofer (lower front doors)
2 Tweeter (rear doors by handles)
2 Woofer (lower rear doors)
2 Surround (rear pillars between hatch and fixed rear side window)
1 Subwoofer (drivers side rear trunk area)

**Note: Physical size of each speaker looks the same as 12-speaker version, but impedance and rating are different for most of these, e.g. subwoofer is rated at 120W vs only 32W on 12-speaker version. Also note Lexus descriptions of "full range" speakers being used in 9 & 12 versions on lower rear doors opposed to "woofer" on the ML. Certainly appears the ML version is substantially different in number and type of speakers than standard versions.

Source: BertL (https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...ml#post7246173)


The Mark Levinson 15 speaker system uses a 200mm (20 cm) GreenEdge subwoofer

You can see it's placed in the middle of the rear audio panel here: http://lexus.jp/models/is/comfort/au...k_levinson.jpg

The picture also shows the place where Class D amplifier is (rear passenger side/truck area)


The only thing that I couldn't find was the size of the actual subwoofer.

Given this information, would it be possible to simply "swap out" the existing subwoofer for a higher quality one?

Or would it better to build a ported enclosure with a single 8-inch subwoofer and install that? I'm assuming that once you put in an enclosure, it's not going to be able to fit where the existing subwoofer is built, so it will probably need to be installed in the trunk.

Also, it would be most preferred by me to use the existing Class D amplifier so that I can control the bass EQ from the existing menus. I don't know how much power could be sent to the subwoofer channel using the existing amp (BertL just mentioned the 120Watt rating on the subwooder speaker), so I assume it's less than that. You would have to install another amplifier to drive the new sub if it's not sufficient though, correct?

~ Im2bz2p345

Bass Mech

without having the car myself i can only assume the factory sub is mounted in the rear shelf area. the problem is without a box of some kind to 1. keep the sound from the rear of the speaker from canceling out the front side. 2 provide more back pressure to better control the speaker.

and if ported could actually add a better low end frequency response.

that said you aren't going to benefit any from a new speaker in its place.
also my guess is the impedance of the ML speakers is lower. its rare that factory amps use a switching power supply to increase the internal amplifiers voltage. (you can only get about 30 watts RMS into a 4 ohm speaker with 12 volts)
so they likely had to lower the speaker impedance because thats a simple voice coil change at no additional cost verses building a better amplifier.

when i had my 2007 i had considered just building a box under the rear deck and using a different sub running it off the factory amp. sure would make for a cleaner install and a lot less money if you don't need another amp.
but i see a couple problems with this idea. 1 its likely to rattle the heck out of the back deck. 2 i need to find out what impedance the factory sub is so i can find a similar replacement. i assume its 2 ohms. (bose systems are usually like this)

but if i can get around these obstacles i think the majority of people would be happy with the results. the rap listeners would be better off with a bigger box in the trunk and more watts.

Atmicpunk

I'm really happy with my stock premium stereo in my 3IS 350. It's got very good clarity and great bass. Sometimes, I have to turn the bass down when listening to hip-hop/R&B.
However, if I had the extra money, I would go for the ML system because you are going to get more speakers and more power. However, clarity is not going to be too much of a difference.

chris6878

I have an i08 isf with the ml system. I gutted it completely because it sounded like *** to me compared to my o7 ls with ml. So now in addition to the ls and isf we have a 2014 is 250 to ride around in. no ml system. it sounds pretty average at best. Especially compared to my isf with morels. so now im itching to gut it out. I have two 12 inch eclipse aluminums waiting to be reinstalled and im getting close to putting them in the is 250.
Has anyone gutted the 2014s yet?

MerlotISF

I personally think it sounds better than the basic Harman Kardon system in the new CLA250 blows, the bass is too boomy and not clear. The standard audio in the IS sounds almost as good as the 8 speaker 435 watt JBL system I had in my 2010 Camry, and man that thing was amazing!! I have always liked the standard sound systems in the Lexus lineup. In high school I was a huge music person and my '98 ES300 had a stock 7 speaker 195watt Pioneer setup and a lot of people loved it and that was in 05-06. My basic 6 speaker system in my 2013 Camry is pretty dang good too!

Cougar24

I ended up getting a 250F without the ML system. I am picking the car up next week, and I'm already plotting and planning to install a custom audio system... The bad part is, is that I know absolutely nothing about speakers. All I know is that Polk audio and Boston Acoustics are very good brands to get for a car setup. Anyone have any thoughts on what combination of speakers would sound great in an IS?

jennypenny

My guy would say

1 DSP for staging
2 4 channel amps for 4 front and 4 back speakers
1 single channel amp for sub, no larger than 12 inches

And, play only 320kbps songs and above

chris6878

320kbps gets no love from me. Im strictly flac, cd, dvd-a, sacd, or blu ray audio. I have tried listening to mp3's (some artists refuse to make lossless music) in my isf and home stereo. THe better the speaker, the more imperfections you will hear with mp3s. They sound like cassette tapes to me