The G Man

The JBL in the new RAV has 350 watts and its just plain loud and nothing more. I was surprise at the sound quanity of the ML system in the RX as well due to the fact that the ML system in the GX and the LS is the best OEM system I have ever heard. The base system in GX sounds better than the ML in the RX.

MB2006

stock system stinks, they should do better for Lexus.

anyone knows stock speaker sizes ?

The G Man

Yeah, some people are not as demanding as others when it comes to their audio system. Even the base system in the RX is ok for some people.

MB2006

stock system would be Ok with me, but after stock Harman/kardon in my mercedes ,
lexus sounds like disappointment , and I don't even want to turn it on.
this is only thing what bugs me in RX.

mandyfig

Well...5.1 Audio will be the norm pretty soon (not soon enough). They have to hold on to newer technology longer so they can milk the consumer. Remember how long it took them to make CD player standard? Now you do not even need it....how AUX input has been denied....

navilexus

This question is for the The G Man

I know you in Mass, I am, too; in Dracut, Mass. have you done anything to your audio system? etc speakers & Amp?

I don't really drive RX350 none ML with Navi it belong to my wife, but last week we went to Sesame Place in PA for 8hrs plus, I realize the sound quality began to bug me, I am looking to have a professional to upgrade speakers and amp if possible. Do you know any place here in Mass?

Thank you

The G Man

The RX is my wife's too. I have a GX which we take on long trips, and the audio system is great. On my last 2 cars, I have use Richie's car tune in Watertown to upgarde my audio system, but that might be too far of a drive for you. The ML on the RX is supposed to have a very good amp in there already, I would start by replacing the speakers.

navilexus

I did lots of seach in this forum, unfortunately; no success.

Have any one here upgrade their Speakers and add an Amps by the pro? I am looking to upgrade the Speakers and an Amps and I would like to know how much does it cost and the out come after installation. I am willing to spend up to $1200.00 in Massachusetts area.

Thank you,

CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

I would say try upgrading the amp first. If you still don't like it then do the speakers. When I added my Alpine D310 A/V system in the RX, I keep the stock speakers and just powered them using a Precision Power amp. It actually made a big improvement. I wouldn't say as good as full aftermarket systems I've installed, but an big improvement nontheless.

Part of the reason could also be because the Alpine D310 could use a fiber optic output. I ran fiber to an Alpine H700 and all Parametric EQ, surround proccessing, and time alignment was done digitally before converting back to analogue to the amps.

navilexus

Is the RX350 came with an Amp? if it does which aftermarket amp should I install?

CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

It should. On my RX330 base system the amp was located behind the right rear passenger seat under a metal plate between the seat and the hatch. If you pull the rear seats all the way forward and remove the carpet back covering you can gain access to the amp.

I can't speak for the ML system, but the base system used an 8 speaker system. A mid/tweeter combo on the dash. This was the mid in the corners of the dash with the tweeter on the A pillar. A mid bass driver in the door, and another set in the rear door. Each channel is powered individually expect for the mid/tweeter combo on the dash. Those speakers are in parallel with the tweeter using its own passive cross over. That means those 4 speakers are powered together, so you will need at least a 6 channel amp to power all the speakers. 4 channels up front and 2 more for the rear doors. Any after market amp will do.

The G Man

Yeah, it comes with a Mark Levision amp, its actually a pretty good one.

CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

ML if you have the ML system. Pioneer I think if you don't.

navilexus

I've been try couple of places here in Hudson, NH, Salem, NH; Tewksbury, and Lowell, MA just try to upgrade speakers and amps. All of these professional places stated they never done on RX before and they need a few day to contact the vendor how to proceed. After a few days
The only answer I got from these pro places was a big "NO" they don't want to take the risk. One from Hudson, NH stated "YES" they could do it, but will cost me over 3K.

I guess I have to stay with Factory., regular premium sound is not that bad.

jfelbab

I have a professional sound meter and an audio test CD for optimizing audio. My ML is actually amazingly flat and even sounding. It lacks deep lows but it does well down to about 80Hz. The thing I found surprising is the smoothness across all the audio frequencies. Run a sweep tone and it goes from 20kHz down to 80Hz ± 2db. The only thing that would improve the core audio, IMO, is a sub to carry the freq span down to 25-30 Hz.

I've run the same tests on the JBL in the Highlander and it has lots of peaks and valleys in the spectrum. Speckwise there is no comparison. THE MK is clearly smoother, and less colored.

The problem is that these days many consumers seem to want a Boom Box sound in their cars and don't care for accurate reproduction of the audio. If you're one of these "thumper" types, then you don't need a ML. All you need is a few 12" Subs and a few hundred watts.

I see some nice affordable subs at www.partsexpress.com and some powered systems at www.Crutchfield.com.