Coconut

Can anyone confirm if the 2021 IS has active noise cancellation? It's not mentioned in the manual or any literature so I'm assuming not?

swaangin

I've never heard of a car with active noise cancelling but there is fake engine noise pumped into the cabin

PAPI007

If I'm not mistaken, I have an ASC slider, that cancels the engine noise. Not sure if it really works but I remember seeing it the other day in my car.

Coconut

Alot of cars have active noise cancelling (Lexus, BMW, Honda, Mercedes, etc). There's mic's around the cabin usually in the headliner that record the ambient noise (typically tire roar and engine hum), play the reverse signal which cancels out the recorded ambient noise. All this reduces the in cabin ambient noise, much like noise cancelling headphones.

Active Noise Cancellation is NOT ASC (active sound control). Active sound control is fake engine noise pumped through the cars audio system or a dedicated speaker.

05RollaXRS

In some cases Lexus puts fake noise, but I can confirm in the RCF it is not fake. In SPORT+ mode, it simply is pumping real V8 induction/exhaust noise into the cabin via a speaker with a ratio of 50/50. So yeah, it is augmented, but it is real noise.

You can see in this video and draw your conclusions. I have the window slightly open a few inches and the noise coming from outside is matching the sound coming into the cabin. There is no difference. The video does not capture it 100% due to the wind noise, but it does show you the noise is the same. Those downshift noises are combination of noise from outside/inside with my AFE Power CAI and Invidia full exhaust.

Coconut

Thanks for the insight and for linking your video. Do you know this dedicated ASC speaker is? I'd like to read up more on it.

05RollaXRS

You are welcome. It is a dedicated speaker aside from the 17 speakers of the Mark Levinson System.

Racer00J

I know exactly what you're talking about, but I'm not sure if Lexus has this feature in the new IS. I only sat in one that was in a showroom, and I didn't notice any of the typical mini speakers in the roof of the vehicle. Not sure if the ASC's stand alone speaker also emits noise cancellation. I doubt it does though, because there's only one dial to control the speaker. What if the driver only wanted to turn off the ASC but keep noise cancellation going?!

E46CT

FWIW the Lexus ES (current gen) has both ASC and ANC.

arentz07

As far as I know, the IS does not have active noise cancellation. It is not mentioned in any Lexus press or marketing materials.

The ASC is fake engine sound, plain and simple. There's something in the marketing for ASC "reducing unpleasant tones" in the engine sound, but I don't know how this works. However, I find nothing unpleasant about the engine with ASC turned completely off.

I am going to shut down any notion that there's no fake sound in the IS. There absolutely is.

1. ASC, obviously. It is played through a speaker.
2. Depending on your definition of "fake", even the Intake Sound Generator (AKA "the sound tube") could be considered fake.

V350

I don't know about the 2021. But through 2020 the IS300 has different modes for engine sound, I believe. The IS350 does not, but has a sound generator tube (tube with a diaphram in it). It is usually barely audible, until you select Sport+ and then more engine noise is allowed in through the sound generator tube into the cabin. Part of the reason Lexus' are heavy is MASSIVE amounts of sound insulation all over the car.

arentz07

All the V6 cars have the sound generator tube, including my former 2016 IS 300 AWD. It made no difference what mode I was in to the engine sound.

Joe Z

iTrader: (10)

@05RollaXRS

The ASC in the RC F and rest of Lexus' with this feature is a dedicated speaker and equalizer module..

It is indeed a computer generated noise / recordings played through the speaker..

On the RC F the speaker is in the center dash grill pointing up to the windshield

Search Google Lexus RC F active sound control if you want to see the physical parts on eBay.

Joe Z