GSFRX350

I used the USB flash drive at first, some tracks okay but others really sounded terrible. I just thought well that's how it is, can't do anything about it. Then I remembered I had an old iPhone (5-6 years old), loaded the tracks on there and ....WOW, what a difference, all the tracks are fantastic now. I'm guessing that the electronics in the head unit aren't that good at "playing" the tracks from the flash drive. When using the iPhone it's still connected through the USB but the iPhone is the actual "player" and the head unit just amplifies the input.

Getty

Yeah I’m not sure what’s going on in the Soul, and it’s not the best overall that I’ve heard, but to my ears it’s at least tonally balanced, which makes it enjoyable regardless of the source, and Sirius actually sounds really good... I’m not sure if the system is compensating for something, but I guess it must be.

A lot of sound designers have a speaker(s) called a grot box. Several companies make them. It’s a 4-5” full-range speaker(s) that they’ll check a mix on. It shows that a mix is balanced even if played on a less than ideal system. While I have some great speakers, I also own those. If you hear a song from the 70’s through one (or a set) it feels like a time machine... it’s hard to explain, but you’ll instantly understand “tonally balanced” (not that you don’t already).

That’s what I most appreciate about the RX... music just sounds “right”. I can’t believe the same company designs standard Toyota systems... which sound horrible IMO.

The reason I mention the DVD option, is for whatever reason it definitely sounds noticeably good. I haven’t explored the flash or old iPhone yet, but I’ve got a few old iPhones, one of which will fit the little cubby under your hand. I’ll give that a try.

I’m one of those guys who takes a while to organize a hundred songs, let alone 600. That’s why I suggested a writable DVD. You can rip CDs at 320 (if you hadn’t previously. I was foolish when I first ripped CDs over a decade ago and did 120 or whatever)... and you can try other encoders, such as LAME. While a writable DVD is old tech by today’s standards, it sounds great, and you can still organize folders of around 600 songs on one disc. I wish I still had all my old CDs! I’m having a hard time just coming up with 200 songs so far, so the capacity of the disc is definitely not holding me back (laughing).

(I’ve got thousands of songs over various devices, but most are 128, so... it’s taking a while to rebuild at 320. Before the RX I didn’t appreciate the difference in my cars.)

DyaDya

Yes, i love the sound in the RX also. I also rip at 320 but i put them on a small-footprint 64gig-usb and just leave it in the car. The small-footprint usb doesn't get in the way like a usb with 2 inches sticking out would. (And no moving parts). i have 50 albums on it and have probably only used 25% of the flash. I couldn't figure out a way to put lossless music on a usb and have the RX play it back, or i would have done that, but I can't tell the difference between 320 and lossless, so its all good.

kolokmee

Yeah, the processor on the RX head unit is likely very basic when it comes to decoding MP3s. I've noticed that it doesn't handle 48 kHz MP3s all that well - sounds are very muted, and very jarring when played next to regular 44.1 kHz samples. Funnily enough, it seems to handle 48 kHz AAC (m4a) files just fine; so it might be specific to the MP3 decoder.

I believe iTunes converts your MP3 when it loads it onto your iPhone; to some version of AAC it uses internally; so that could be one of the reasons why all your tracks may sound more "even" when played from your iPhone. Also, the music player on the iPhone is one of the best out there.

DyaDya

I didn't catch the usb playback problem earlier. For the record i have not had that issue and love the usb loaded with ripped 320 mp3. If anybody has a problem with a usb, take the car in! initially awhile back i did try blue tooth from my samsung android and that was a complete joke. it sounded like a skipping broken record. but no worries for me though, the usb stick does it all for me now.

kolokmee

None of the Toyota/Lexus head units have native support for any of the lossless formats. Might be a licensing issue. The closest you may be able to come to playing lossless (without actually using a music CD/DVD), is to load up Apple Lossless (ALAC) files on your iPod/iPhone and connect it via USB. Haven't tried it myself though.

Otherwise there's always the Aux headphone jack; just make sure to have a good cable and a player with a good DAC.

15RX98422

here is my 2 cents. I had a 2015 RX 350F with the ML. Traded that for 2022 RX350 with ML. The 2022 (IMHO) is much better than the 2015. I do have a Kicker Subwoofer with a piggy back amp, but will not be having that installed in this car. I think the sound is good enough and I do not want to mess with the car's electrics.