[mastrchief]

Has anyone changed anything in their audio hardware yet? More specifically, anyone change the speakers, subs, or amps for the Mark Levinson system? The system is pretty weak, imo, and would like to get more bass, and midrange out of it. The http://www.marklevinsonlexus.com/overview.asp?model=isf website gives good deal of size information for the speakers, but the amp seems a bit weird...

ML3-10 - a Mark Levinson Lexus exclusive? 10 channels? 300W? Underpowered?

Jumping from an aftermarket system in my old car to this one has been disappointing.

 

[newzfirst]

If I had a choice, I would have not wanted the ML system but since it came with the car so I had no choice. My boy took my 2 12in speakers and box and installed them in the trunk. He also hooked up my 1000W amp and the base is sick. The only down fall, I blew the rear speakers on the car so I had Lexus warranty them out.

 

[ISFChamp]

From what I was told, with the Mark Levinson sound system, you have to replace all speakers, and use a diffrent amp, and some sort of interface to keep the nav working...

Let us know. I tend to agree, the sound could have been better... Atleast with the highs.

 

[WP1234]

damn u guys are crazy. i would be plenty happy with a ML sound system. it blows the "harmon kardon" UPGRADE from my M3 out of the water.

 

[newzfirst]

the system is fine for what is worth but i need to hear that bass so that is why i had to add the box and speakers. i'm a lot happier now... lol

 

[ISFChamp]

I agree it sounds good, and smokes alot of Factory systmes out of the water. However, I have a full MB Quart systemin my SUV, and JL 13W7, so I guess I'm partial....

 

[mastrchief]

I agree it sounds good, and smokes alot of Factory systmes out of the water. However, I have a full MB Quart systemin my SUV, and JL 13W7, so I guess I'm partial....

Ya I agree, not trying to knock the system, but I used to have an aftermarket system that had better highs, mids, and lows, with only 7 speakers. It's not a bad system at all, but it's also not perfect.

That's also kind of a bummer about having to basically change everything to get better sound, lol, including a new navi interface. I was hoping for just an easy amp swap and maybe replacing the 8" with a 10", but I guess I'll just have to listen to the engine instead for now.

 

[Bulls23337]

yeah i wasn't too impressed with the system when i listened to it. it did sound pretty good though in surround-sound mode watching some movies on DVD.

but the car comes stock with an excellent sound system under the hood and that's all i need when i'm driving.

 

[WP1234]

lexus factory sound is miles ahead of bmw, benz, infiniti, audi and etc. my friend has the s8 with the bang and olfsoeun sound system and its not even as good as the mark levinson

 

[jt619]

My buddy who did all of the audio install in my cars said that the ML systems are easily the best factory systems. I guess the best factory system he has ever seen was ML on the LS460 Presidential edition. So ML is good quality, but not for bass. I have the Polk SR6500 and they are some of the most crisp speakers I have ever heard, I would consider these as replacements.

 

[hahaha]

i dont understand people who need the bass that loud
its drowns out the mids and highs making the music sound as it wasnt intended to be herd
it dosnt make sense
people who want this just think it makes them look cool
when really, to anyone who knows anything about music, u just look silly
similar to thos who cant seem to ware there hat straight
haha
for F sakes ur driving a is-f
and that does far more for ur cool then annoying everyone with ur ridiculously loud bass at a stop light

ive contacted ml and asked how to get the flattest freq response so id be able to hear the music as it was intended because most companies add highs or lows just to sound better then the competition
this was there response

The system is not "flat" when the tone controls are at detent, there is
> EQ in the amplifier. You would not want an "electrically flat"
> frequency response in the car - it would sound terrible with all the
> reflections (Glass) and holes (Seats, and map pockets) in a car. The
> acoustics of a vehicle are much more severe than a listening room.
>
> There is no way to tweak the system to get a true flat frequency
> response.
>
> The system is EQ'd with six array mic's in each position with pink noise
> to balance the system at detent tone controls, the result is a
> "acoustically flat" frequency response in the Lexus vehicle.

 

[malujerry]

sorry i agree with the others, i also want more bass... after my joe z exhaust, i'm going to try to build a lightweight fiberglass box with one 12 and an amp. i want to stay as light as possible, i believe alpine or kickers at rms in the 400 - 600 range will be enough for me, without sounding too ghetto, and be relatively light as possible. any other suggestions? i think JL's are too heavy on the car and on my wallet.

 

[acchione]

I wanted more bass so I had my friend build a custom enclosure for a single type X Alpine 10" sub. It's more than enough bass. Removed the spare tire and used that space to mount the amp and stinger cap. I'm content with the sound now.

 

[lkaplan98]

i dont understand people who need the bass that loud
its drowns out the mids and highs making the music sound as it wasnt intended to be herd
it dosnt make sense
people who want this just think it makes them look cool
when really, to anyone who knows anything about music, u just look silly
similar to thos who cant seem to ware there hat straight
haha

Hey,

I don't think you really thought this out very well prior to making this post. I personally enjoy listening to music with a little more bass to it. There is no right or wrong way to listen to music. Some people enjoy listening more to the mids and highs and others enjoy feeling the vibration of the bass. There isn't a spacific setting that you have to listen to music at and that's why they have eq's and DSP's so each person can set the frequencies to what they like and how they like it.

 

[ISFChamp]

Another reason bass knobs were invented! There are days/imes you want all the bass in the world, and at other times, you just want to listen to sports radio or something soft and don't need much bass at all. I had my knob installed there why cig lighter was in the Explorer, and I even used the plastic cover that would cover the hole! It looked like a factory cig lighter there until up turnedf it and the 13W7 came to life

 

[Bulls23337]

I would like to add more to my previous statement on the first page. I actually love this system much more than before. I messed with the bass/mid/treble settings and also the fade. I prefer to control the gains with the volume knob rather than by boosting the b/m/t settings. Of course, being an audiophile, I would love to be able to adjust the EQ frequencies individually but I feel like the designers did a great job tuning the system to the acoustics of the car. Far and above I feel this is the best factory system. I love bass, but I feel like it's pretty good as is. I like to have my music balanced tonally and the soundstage directly front and center and every detail crisp.

 

[Louisiana_snake]

To Mastrchief i put in two 10' Alpine Type R's in the back with a 1000w PDX......couldn't be any happier

http://i690.photobucket.com/albums/vv262/sarai1891/IMG_7369.jpg

http://i690.photobucket.com/albums/vv262/sarai1891/IMG_7368.jpg

 

[malujerry]

Wow that's great, I was thinking about one 12' type r and amp (i think 500rms) You minding sharing about how much the box was to make it seem flush like that?

 

[Louisiana_snake]

$250 for the box

 

[Nightspore68]

You're all crazy!

I can't believe anyone thinks the ML system needs an "upgrade". Part of the reason I bought the car was because of it. It's not that it has a booming bass (as if that were a good thing), but it sounds more like real music vs. a reproduction of music. Real chicken vs chicken McNuggets. The music is still a reproduction of course, but the ML far superior to any other car stereo I've heard. In fact I'd say it's superior to my own home audio system, which is no slouch. Now my wife wants ML gear in the house, which is a problem for our realworld income.

BTW I'm not saying you who want thumping bass are in any way "wrong". It's merely a matter of taste. Do you want realism or do you want exaggerated impact? I find that too much impact creates listening fatigue, which induces headaches in a short time of listening. Perhaps some of you have the ability to reject this fatigue better. Of course the other extreme is too little impact which will never fatigue your brain but won't be worth listening to - after all music IS meant to be felt.

To each his own!