gc86

iTrader: (26)

Hey CL, after selling my IS350 and moving to the dark side for a few years, I finally got my hands on an F over the weekend. Anyway, it's my first time hearing the ML system and to my dismay, it sounds strangely off.

Before I start to troubleshoot the possibility of a failed component, I wanted to run it by some of you who have lived with the system day to day. I've owned numerous cars with high end OEM sound packages and this is the first time I've heard a system sound like this. It's almost as if a majority of the sound output comes from the center speaker, like a home theater setup. The speakers in the front doors have zero presence. At first I thought they were broken but I adjusted the balance to the far left and right and there is a bit of sound output but a lot less than I would expect. My previous IS350 had the standard setup and it sounded vastly different.

Thoughts?

tl;dr - ML output sounds heavily centered, normal?

mjeds

well in the RCF I had to turn off the "surround sound" feature to get rid of that annoyance.. it's a great feature if you are watching a movie in the car, not so much for music.

tas02

iTrader: (2)

there's a threads on this...

gc86

iTrader: (26)

Care to share the magical search words? because I couldn't find it. Or better yet, do me (and the people that look at this thread later) a solid and paste a link to the thread.

mjeds

I found a few. Not sure if they are specific to your issue because I only scanned them, but I hope they help.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...-function.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...-levinson.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...e-quality.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...son-audio.html

gc86

iTrader: (26)

The first thread helps tremendously, thanks for shedding some light.

mjeds

No problem, I'm an audiophile myself, I don't find the ML system to be that great, but amongst the OEM systems I have had over the years it is far better than most..

My family is full of musicians, professional and amateur, I play a few instruments, as does my kid and my wife, we are far from tone deaf, and most sound systems always sound out of balance to me.

gc86

iTrader: (26)

Very interesting, what OEM systems have you sampled?

I dabbled in car audio quote a bit during high school so I can definitely appreciate the ML setup, mostly for its clarity, but I feel like its catered to a very small crowd. Most likely because of how the sound is projected and what people are used to hearing in other cars.

mjeds

well my 2005 Chrysler 300c had an Alpine system, 7 speakers plus subwoofer. later Chrysler moved to a Kicker system with the Alpine head unit, then they changed to a Harmon Kardon headunit in the 300c/Charger/Challenger lineup, I worked for Daimler-Chrysler at the time and had a fair deal of experience with those systems..

my 2010 Avalanche had the Bose system, not a bad system overall, but the tiny little 6" sub buried in the bottom of the center console was useless.

my 2012 Camaro had the Boston Acoustics system with no subwoofer and it was pure garbage, I upgraded the speakers and added a small 8" sub and a DSP to correct the sound staging and while it wasn't great, it was worlds better than the OEM system.

The ML in the Lexus for the most part is a decent system, IMO 10x better than either GM system, and slightly better than the Chrysler system, though I do wish the ML system had a little more oomph in the high range, it is very mid-level heavy, resulting in my having the Highs set to the top and the mid-range set negative in the sound preferences, I listen to a lot of orchestra and symphony music which tends to be very heavy in the strings and wood-winds, while mid-heavy is great for modern music and electric guitars and keyboards, it drowns out the highs created by natural acoustic instruments in symphony music. The other thing I don't care for is the fact that in order to get the sound to stage (in my opinion) correct I have to turn the volume up 2/3s of the way to max, anything below 25 or so and all you hear the low end, my Avalanche and Camaro suffered from the same issue.. Changing the speakers made a huge difference in that regard, but it's not something I am willing to do to the RCF, don't want to mess with the perfect panels that don't rattle and squeak, like the ones in American cars do straight off the factory line.

newgsman

iTrader: (4)

I am no audiophile but I do appreciate good sounding music. It's interesting that you find the ML is lacking in the high range. For me it is the highs which are the most prevalent sound coming out of this system and I need to turn up the bass and mid-range to try and get a more balanced effect. I agree that the system starts balancing itself out as the volume goes past 2/3's of max. I have to admit now that I have been listening to the system for almost three years, I am getting more used to the sound and even with it's flaws there is no denying the sound quality/clarity is exceptional. I often think about adding an amp or a sub to try and balance the spatial effects but I am afraid to loose the clean output of the stock ML. I used to think the Nakamichi system in my GS400 was the best sounding OEM system I had ever heard but now that I have been listening to both systems for a few years, I now believe that the Nak is in fact just slightly deficient in terms of the highs. I now actually have the highs on the Nak turned up a bit to balance the sound. The NAK system still blows away the ML in terms of it's ability to fill the cabin with solid sound presence.

mjeds

well to be fair, it could be me.. I spent several years working inside a data center with the constant high pitched sound of 500+ servers and their backup systems and the cooling fans running (if you have never been, it's kind of like listening to a jet airliner when they first start spooling up for take off). While I used ear plugs, I am starting to wonder if I don't have some level of frequency hearing loss, perhaps I should have my hearing checked, as you are not the first to mention this about the ML system to me, and it does appear that it is getting harder and harder for me to hear my wife's higher pitched voice

jdmSW20

iTrader: (12)

Not even being an audiophile myself, I have to agree with the above. The ML does sound better than most vehicles I've owned but not the best. Definitely better than the standard sound in the IS but even coming from my M3, I think the sound of that audio was far better than the ML in the ISF

But when comparing it to the audio in my old IS350 ill say its much better

isfvss

I just put in a 5.1 Dolby dvd and yes a big difference, I wish the radio had that sound cheers.

newgsman

iTrader: (4)

yes dvd audio sounds best on the isf ML system. cd's are quite also but still not quite as good as the dvd 5.1

kauaian

iTrader: (18)

^ The biggest issue is the provided audio quality. I love a nice sounding system and these ML system do sound nice, although I agree it lacks low end, if provided high quality audio. I have utilizing the Vaistech i-vic which provides a nice digital HD quality audio feed and it's night and day from streaming via blue tooth, or direct aux, even most cd's. I compensated the low end by disconnecting the OEM sub and installing a Morel Ultimo and I love it!