I have a 2008 ISF with the Mark levinson option. No matter what I do the sound can best be described as "tinny" unless I turn the volume up to a level that is unacceptable while driving. Most of the sound is coming from the large center speaker in the dash unless I move the front to rear adjustment all the way to the rear. It is worse on XM (dealer installed) than CD but even the CD sound quality is far inferior to the Bose system I had in my Audi A6.

Have I got a lemmon; am I missing something; or is this common? I will really appreciate any feedback from anyone with the ML option. I do not want to replace the whole system if I can find a way to improve the ML system.

Thanks,
Mikey, Mikey

 

Welcome Mikey!

Unfortunately that was my experience when I had with my 2007 IS350 with ML. I was never able to get mine to sound satisfactory, it always seemed to be harsh in the mid/upper mid frequencies and lacked highs. I thought my ML system was defective too, but after reading others experiences it seems to be the norm. If I had decided to keep the car I was planning on replacing all the speakers, sub, and adding a separate signal processor.

Here's a good thread that discusses the ML system:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/lex...-worth-it.html

 

Scotty,
Thanks for the feedback. Unfortunately, that is what I was afraid I was going to hear. I will check out the forum you mentioned and start the search for a replacement system. I love music and I can not imagine living with the sound quality of the ML.

I can also not believe that Lexus continues to use the ML as their premium system. I absolutely love my IS F, but this system is trash.

Once again, thanks Scotty.
Mike

 

Our last 6 Lexus's have all been special ordered specifically all for the ML system. My new 2 week old IS was special ordered for it also.

The ML systems always sound pretty crappy new, but after 150-200 hours of use (or burn-in), it does mellow out significantly.

I've had home audio systems over the years costing upwards of $50,000. In that time, I've come to learn a few things:

1) There is not always a price correlation with performance. My final home system worth $5k in some ways out performed my more expensive systems.

2) All equipment needs time to burn in, with some requiring a significantly longer time than others.

3) What sounds 'good' is an intensely personal experience.

I am currently running my treble on my ML system almost all the way down (on the USB iPod as a source with a custom copper cable for signal). I know after a couple of months of use it will get better.

My mom just went through this on her ES. She didn't believe me that it would improve with time, but it did.

BUT - to some people the ML will never sound good, and/or they don't have the ear to hear the difference between components and cables. This does not make it right or wrong, but rather what you're able to hear. My father literally can't tell the difference between stereo and mono.

The ML on our RX330 has grown into a smooth and sweet (as the the audiophile descriptive way) sounding system that is open and airy.

 

Thanks is250tx,
I hope you are right that my ML will improve with time, but I don't think I am willing to wait. I am planning to upgrade to Dynaudio 6.5" mid-bass drivers and 1.1" soft top tweeters - and pull the 3 mids out of the system completely.
Thanks,
Mike

 

Dynaudio mobile gear is excellent stuff.

All of the qualities that make their home audio speakers a bit mellow and sometimes an un-involving listen when paired with the wrong home amp/cables is what makes them a perfect match for the car audio environment.

Just a heads up, they will require time also.

 

The dyn drivers are specially formulated for the car environment. The dyn home speakers have different dispersion characteristics as well as different coils, different cone formulations, etc. Dyn home speakers were designed for far field listening.

The car audio stuff is an offshoot of their monitor series designed for near field listening, which is essentially the car. Also the adhesives and materials are completely different to withstand the temperature extremes.

I've had my Dyns for well over 10 years now...actually closer to 15. Had them in the previous install and transferred them over to the GS. Dyns have longevity for daily listening at realistic (90dB to 100dB, A weighted) levels, unlike the ML gear that wasn't designed with the same standards as Dyn.

There have been PLENTY of ML failures, whether it be speakers or amps. How many Dyn failures? VERY VERY few over the last decade. And I keep in contact with the boys over at Dyn to get some real numbers from them. They actually keep the failed piece for engineering research. Most of the time the cause of failure is putting 2000 watts through one of their midwoofers. It's not pretty. 1000 watts they can handle for 10 milliseconds, but not a constant 2000 watts RMS. This is for a 6.5 inch speaker!

Their tweeters are fairly rugged also. With the xover, they are rated for 1000 watts, 10 millisecond peak. About 10x the power of what they're really rated for. Good stuff.

 

Am I the only one that thinks ML is awesome!? I don't have much feedback on the ML system overall, other than I think it's great. I have added a sub and mono amp and that's it, now I think it sounds even better!

 

im happy with mine. I dont recall what a non ML IS sounds like however. But it sounds a LOT better than some stock audio systems in other cars I've been in.

 

It all depends on what you had before, home and car wise. Some people have a very good ear when listening and picking out things, others just enjoy what they have.

 

I had a mid 90s GM car with the stock system that sounded AWFUL. Seriously, a clock radio from Target or Walmart sounded MUCH better.

 

ML in my 01gs300 sucked. buddy got a vw with dynaudio option....sounds phenomenal....

 

Some people may find it helpful to turn off the surround processing in ML system (on audio screen, hit the DSP button and set surround to off). That would prevent the system from routing the sound heavily towards the center speaker.

 

I agree - it does help but it still is not the sound quality I am looking for.
Mikey

 

both scotty and Mikeymike are correct in determining tht the Mark Levinson system is not what it should be. I know Mark Levinson ...- THE MAN- as well as the company that uses his name (a lawyer pulled a power play on Levinson and he can no longer use his own name for audio) well Mark said to me that if her were to do car audio he would take a single red Rose R3 SPeaker and run it in mono in the rear deck of the car.

Certainly as a car audio buff.. I would not consider this a true car audio experience.. but truth be told... the path lengths to your head are fairly long so the "hass effect" is lessened-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haas_effect

and being higher up you won't get "frequency steering"

http://www.mobileelectronics.com.au/...kick-panel-sq/

of tweeters in door pods or in kick panels. I have put some Acoustic Research powered partner active speakers in the rear deck..and actually it beats just about all stock systems. But again its like having your back to the stage.

The Mark Levinson system really does not live up to the name...it really isn't much better than any stock system sadly the Bang and Olufsen A8 system isn't much better either... though loud...and expensive.

Certainly you could install a nice Denon or old Nakamichi TD7 or even an ancient Alpine 7424 in with a 30 watt stereo Macintosh amp and some SEAS or Vifa or Dynaudio drivers and beat any of these "upgraded stock systems". The new head units are not musical at all... and neither ar most of the amps on the market save for Audison (so people tell me), mcintosh (I own two) , and the Tube driver amps (I've heard their home stuff and believe the car audio is just as good with the thermionic tubs) .

If it sounds like I am speaking Greek... find a car audio store that can explain this to you... if they can not... just walk away- you'll be wasting your money. Best install shops on the east coast is Sound in Motion in Allston MA (near Boston) and Speaker works in orange county ca.

The Best sounding stock systems I have heard have been in 1994-1995 w124 chassis E class Mercedes, no distortion and decent imaging for stock. The Bose systems in all cars are simply awful. The 2010 E class mercedes has a pretty system.. club loud but no highs and the midrange lacks clarity.

The Lexus with is extra sound deadening makes a good candidate for a small aftermarket system.

Just