Volume is about half what it was in my 2008. Has anything changed?

 

Is this happening in general or only while you listen to your iPhone/iPod? There should be no difference between the two cars, except if you're listening to the iPhone/iPod, and the volume is not cranked up high enough on the device, then what you describe will happen.

 

It's lower all the time. Much less bass than I'm used to. All around it's lower. All frequencies.

 

FM seems loud.

 

I can't edit a post on the iPhone so sorry for all the separate replies. FM seems okay but everything else is very low. USB, Bluetooth and even SiriusXM. I'm used to SiriusXM being much, much louder.

What's changed?

 

For USB/BT, see my original post (I had edited it) - is the volume cranked up all the way on the iPod/iPhone? For SiriusXM, that's a tricky one... I've actually felt that satellite radio is not as loud as other sources in other cars, but you're comparing to your 2008, so it makes me wonder.

Same problem with CDs?

 

It seems on FM the volume is fine. I haven't found a "bassy" station to experiment with yet. Everything else is very low - INCLUDING SiriusXM - which is what I listened to MOSTLY on my 2008. I didn't use my iPod/iPhone with the last car so I can't compare that. But - I just know there's a noticeable difference with the satellite radio. I think my 2010 RX350's standard stereo system is louder - with more bass.

I guess I was just hoping somebody would either tell me, "Oh, yeah - they changed something in 201x and it's not as loud as it used to be" - OR - "You have to hit this button for more power".

 

Okay. CD is loud...

 

If you suspect that your sound volume is not right then here are a couple of things that you should check.

If the equalizer is adjusted with bass, mid and treble response set at the lowest point then that causes the volume to seem abnormally low.

And if the balance is set so that only one quadrant of speakers is getting all the sound then that can cause the volume to be abnormally low.

The equalizer and balance settings are different for the different sources. What that means is if you set them for one source, such as SAT, then you have not affected the settings for the FM. There are some subtleties to this and perhaps I have not expressed it correctly but you need to check and set the equalizer and balance for each source (AM, FM, SAT, CD, DVD and AUX).

If you have a sensation of diminished volume as you increase speed then you should check to be sure that the ASL is enabled.

 

Its probably the ipod. You need to turn off the equalizer and it will goto normal I think. I thought my amp was bad but in fact I just had the volume booster on my ipod eq set. I turned it off and BOOM....normal quality sound

 

Thank you for that in-depth post! I'm a wanna be audiophile so I do have everything set as it should be. It's just not as loud as my last system. But I'm already getting used to it. So I suppose it's no big deal. If I want REAL loud - I can just use CDs...

I was playing around with that yesterday and do see the factory setting is the loudest. I don't change that...

 

I believe that the audio settings between all of the sources change when you go to each source. In other words, when youre in AUX, and have the bass/treble/high set a certain way, those settings will change when you select FM, CD or HDD. Check your audio settings on each individual one and see what happens.

 

Sal, I just got a 2012 LS 460L to replace a 2008 LS 460. I see the same issue as you do. The new units don't sound as rich as the older units that came in the 2007 - 2009 model. I went back to the dealer today and tried some of my CDs that sounded really good on the 2008 unit ( had lots of bass and I did not have to turn the volume up as much) that now don't sound very good. All the 2012 models on the lot had the same problem.

The master tech at the dealership promised to make a few calls to Lexus HQ. I also called Lexus corporate. They took down all my information and promised to call back.

Anyone else see the same issue -- I am guessing models 2010 and beyond have this issue.

 

Thank you. Yes, I program all that stuff individually and then save my settings. I wish there was an explanation. It doesn't sound bad - just not as loud...

I do hope you hear something back about this...

 

Nothing came off my call to lexus other than it's working the way it was designed to.

I did however figure out how to boost the volume of blue tooth audio on the Mark Levinson system (this might work on the non ML system as well, so maybe someone can try that and report back). Go into the hidden service menu (there are videos on You Tube that show you how to get into the hidden lexus menu). Once you get to this hidden menu look for the functions/settings menu. Under that you will see an option for blue tooth. Go into that and boost the level of the receiver to 3 or 4. The default is 0. I have not figured out how to exit the menu but have found that if you turn of the car it saves the option.

This also works on a 2012 GX 460 with the Mark Levinson audio system