I've always put in aftermarket stereo systems in all of my cars. Starting with my cars in the early nineties up until now I've always had an aftermarket system because the stock systems whether or not they were the manufacturers "upgraded/top of the line system" they never hold a candle to a good aftermarket system with a 10"/12" sub.

That being said how does the ML system fair in the IS F?? Does it lack mid-range and low end bass from the factory sub, how are the highs?? What have some of you guys done if you switched to an aftermarket solution?

I am currently running a Focal system in my current car and love the clarity with bass that it provides.

 

I'm not a car audio guy so I don't really care but the ML stereo is garbage. Playing a cd it sounds great but who plays CDs anymore? SAT radio is half as loud as a cd and playing music thru my iPhone sounds ok but really have to crank it to level 50 to hear it good. To compare I listened to my friend's Infinti M56 with Bose system and his sounds light years better than my ML. I def didn't mind putting exhaust and headers on my car cause it never bothered me that it would drown out the stereo, stereo sucks to begin with anyway.

 

^^Cool thanks for that feedback, what do you mean playing the SAT radio sounds half as loud? Is there a separate sound control for the Sirius/XM radio? I do listen to Sirius/XM a lot though.

 

Lol yeah that's true. I feel the stereo downgraded when I switch over from the ML of a 2nd Gen IS350....

 

Wow dude you deaf?! I play my phone theough the aux port in the center console and loud for me is at 28-32 depending on which album/song sound level. I have it and I have the treble/bass @ full up, and arranged the sound even between L/R, just behind the driver/pass seats. I read somewhere on doing a pioneer sub to replace the oem and made the bass more booming but I'm happy with it (my civic has no driver speaker and slightly blown rears, partially why I bought my F, was tired of working on/driving junkers)

 

Don't know if you can make this one out but just to replace the sub with oem is rediculous..

 

^^^Interesting......so an 8" shallow mount Pioneer mounted in the OEM factory spot huh? Sounds like the least thing I will do is replace the subwoofer to something like this, or add a 10/12" custom box/sub into the trunk when I get the F.

Does anybody know how many watts are going to the sub itself? How is the power distributed throughout the system?

 

Interesting....

I review cars for a living, drive pretty much every car made and find the ML in my 09 is amazing. It's actually way better than the ML in my LX570 as well.

Get a good source and it sounds great, feed it garbage it sounds bad, because well that's what you gave it.

 

^^^Ok, that's positive to hear and another perspective on the ML system. Does the Gen 6 system with ML have HD radio? And how would you rate the Sirius/XM sound?

 

Not as good as I want it to be. Im an audio guy, have a great computer & home theatre set up, the ML sound is crisp but not great, there is absolutely no bass.. So yeah lol

 

The ML system is not made for hip hop. I would also not install a 4ohm sub on an 8ohm system. Like stated above if you provide a crappy signal don't expect the system to clean it up. If you like the sound of Focal, which I find very bright, you will find the ML system to be more on the flat side. I like the sound it provides for the mids and highs. My subwoofer was blown when I purchased the car so I can't really comment on that. However, I went with an aftermarket sub and love it. Like most I went over kill with my Morel Ultimo 12 and Zed Minotaur.

 

^^Didn't assume the ML system is made for "hip hop". Just because someone might want to add an aftermarket sub doesn't mean they bump NWA & Magic Mike (wow that's an old one dated myself there) lol........

I do like the sound of my past Focal systems including my current one, whether or not they fall on the bright side for listening ears is relative to each individual, but again I hear what your saying and was just trying to get some feedback on the ML system itself and from what I've gathered from what I've read and the responses is some people prefer to add an aftermarket sub (especially if the factory sub is blown like your situation above).

Thanks though for the info on the system being 8ohm I didn't know that? Do you have any recommendations on subs that are 8ohm?

 

If you are used to high end systems, then the ML sucks. There is no other way to put it. But I've felt all my factory systems were not good enough on all my previous cars. I just don't know if I want to go through the trouble of doing it anymore. I turned 40 this year. Maybe I'm just getting too old. The high end oem system in my M3 sucked too.

 

Well, the thread title and question posed is "Is the ML system worth it?" That's a much different question from "is it a good audio system?" First and foremost, it is pretty difficult to even find an ISF that doesn't have the ML system. If you're in the market for one of these cars, this is not going to be the deciding factor on whether or not you purchase one or not. So asking whether it is worth it or not is sort of an unfair question, because it is not like anyone is pricing out new ISFs and ticking off boxes for options at their local dealership. If we had the option to pay $3000 for the upgraded audio brand new from the factory, maybe I'd say no... you can build a better sounding system for less... but I *think* even when these cars were built, NAV and ML sort of came as a package, so it's not like you could have chosen NAV but no ML anyway.

Now, if the question is whether or not the ML system sounds good, this is one of those age-old debates on this forum. Some people say it sounds great, especially with DVDs, and others say it sound like crap for a "high-end" car audio system. I will say this, I thought it sounded just ok when I first bought the car, but after I added a simple 250W amp and 10" JL sub, it rounded out the system very nicely. It has that perfect blend of sounding great when I'm sitting in the car and driving, with bass deep enough that I can feel it but yet being almost dead quiet with the windows rolled up if you're standing a few feet from the car outside of it. No trunk rattles or annoying people in the cars next to you.

 

Very interested in more info if anyone else tries this. For some reason I thought the factory sub couldn't be replaced (I know pretty much nothing about car audio). I know my sub still does...something. I'm not sure if it is making the sound it supposed to or what. Electronic music can sound decent when turned up, but rock or metal I'd pretty much have to craw in the back seat and put my head up to the rear window to confirm it is actually producing sound.

edit: found the thread: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...ement-diy.html
not sure it would be worth the trouble after reading through lol