Anyone upgraded their speakers

[B1RMA]

34 minutes ago, rayaans said:

Just had a thought - aren't the speakers in the new ML system those fancy Eco speakers which use much less power? 

Hope not

[NemesisUK]

According to the website section for the RC (you are looking to change the speakers in the RC-F not an ML?)

"An eco-friendly technology initiative, GreenEdge™ improves sonic performance while reducing power consumption, weight, and heat generation."

It also states -

"Mark Levinson engineers have spent thousands of man-hours collaborating with Lexus engineers to achieve the precise Mark Levinson Sonic Signature for each vehicle. That means determining the optimal system architecture and placing speakers so that each passenger hears the full concert—a three-dimensional orchestra from the front to the back of the car."

Clearly if their solution doesn't fit with your ears you should embark on a journey of experimentation.

I love auditioning source/pre-amp/power amp/speakers, usually in store first to narrow down the selection, then at home to hear how it interacts with my room. Hours of fun. Shame the number of retailers willing to indulge is rapidly declining ...

[Neil E]

5 hours ago, NemesisUK said:

According to the website section for the RC (you are looking to change the speakers in the RC-F not an ML?)

"An eco-friendly technology initiative, GreenEdge™ improves sonic performance while reducing power consumption, weight, and heat generation."

It also states -

"Mark Levinson engineers have spent thousands of man-hours collaborating with Lexus engineers to achieve the precise Mark Levinson Sonic Signature for each vehicle. That means determining the optimal system architecture and placing speakers so that each passenger hears the full concert—a three-dimensional orchestra from the front to the back of the car."

Clearly if their solution doesn't fit with your ears you should embark on a journey of experimentation.

I love auditioning source/pre-amp/power amp/speakers, usually in store first to narrow down the selection, then at home to hear how it interacts with my room. Hours of fun. Shame the number of retailers willing to indulge is rapidly declining ...

Sound advice Peter, that's the way to go. Unless the model is an LS400, don't be taken in by the Lexus marketing department, the number of speakers listed or the fact that Lexus partner with a company that make very expensive home audio equipment.

Find a car with hifi that sounds better to your ears and ask the owner how it was achieved.

@B1 RMA  In my view, if you were to start with expensive Focal speakers (or any others that sound right to your ears) you would be heading in the right direction but sadly with Lexus, it's not usually a simple case of straight replacement. Improving Lexus audio is a big can of worms that until quite recently, even some of the best in-car audio installers would shy away from. Power hungry 4 ohm Focals need a suitable amplifier to drive them. Modern amps and line output converters make it a bit easier now. In Hampshire, these guys would be worth consulting www.sextons-portsmouth.co.uk/car_audio_visual.html

 

[B1RMA]

6 hours ago, Neil E said:

Sound advice Peter, that's the way to go. Unless the model is an LS400, don't be taken in by the Lexus marketing department, the number of speakers listed or the fact that Lexus partner with a company that make very expensive home audio equipment.

Find a car with hifi that sounds better to your ears and ask the owner how it was achieved.

@B1 RMA  In my view, if you were to start with expensive Focal speakers (or any others that sound right to your ears) you would be heading in the right direction but sadly with Lexus, it's not usually a simple case of straight replacement. Improving Lexus audio is a big can of worms that until quite recently, even some of the best in-car audio installers would shy away from. Power hungry 4 ohm Focals need a suitable amplifier to drive them. Modern amps and line output converters make it a bit easier now. In Hampshire, these guys would be worth consulting www.sextons-portsmouth.co.uk/car_audio_visual.html

 

Indeed I've used Sextons for 20 plus years and generally consider that they know what they are talking about. The other guy I know is equally talented so I'll first of all get his opinion as to whether the cost justifies the end result. To my ears there is nothing wrong with the treble I just feel the bass could be tighter and the mid range some more oomph, we'll see.

[NemesisUK]

In my RC if I set the base level to my preference when parked up, it's lost when on the move. Conversely set it when moving and it sounds like a Halfords special boombox when parked!! 

Unless the system can adjust automatically to compensate for ambient noise it's never going to be 'right' to my ears.

[Neil E]

1 hour ago, B1RMA said:

Indeed I've used Sextons for 20 plus years and generally consider that they know what they are talking about. The other guy I know is equally talented so I'll first of all get his opinion as to whether the cost justifies the end result. To my ears there is nothing wrong with the treble I just feel the bass could be tighter and the mid range some more oomph, we'll see.

I've only spoken to them a couple of times and bought some minor stuff from them but I know their reputation. 

1 hour ago, NemesisUK said:

In my RC if I set the base level to my preference when parked up, it's lost when on the move. Conversely set it when moving and it sounds like a Halfords special boombox when parked!! 

Unless the system can adjust automatically to compensate for ambient noise it's never going to be 'right' to my ears.

Yes, there's a distinct advantage to having a very quiet car to begin with, that's where Lexus generally scores well but once moving, even the LS introduces some extra unwanted noise to contend with. It wouldn't fully address the variable levels of car and road noise but does the RC feature preset listening settings so that you could have one mode for 'parked up' and another for general driving?  A little nod to the ML SC430 system, it does compensate automatically for when for roof is down. 

[Guest]

@B1RMA out of interest what style music do you listen to? I find some sounds great and other tracks that sound good at home don't sound as good in the car.

Is it quality of source material or the car's tuning?

[B1RMA]

Varies quite a lot Pink Floyd, SRV, Jimi Hendrix, Greg Allman and quite a few American Rythm and Blues bands (12 bar not the modern R&B genre) As I mentioned I have a very large collection of HDCD's and Mobile Fidelity recordings.

Most high end CD players had HDCD playback facility certainly my old Krell CD transport did as does my present Bow Technologies CD player.

And of course the standard of sound reproduction does vary from CD to CD

[steveledzep]

6 hours ago, B1RMA said:

And of course the standard of sound reproduction does vary from CD to CD

I'm a bit of a HiFi nut myself too.  The music industry should be ashamed of themselves.  The fidelity and dynamic range of the cd format was totally abused with excessive compression.  Google "loudness wars" for an insight.

I mostly play vinyl records now (originals from the 70s mostly) and despite the record medium being far from distortion free, I don't think you can beat the sound of a well recorded LP through a tidy system.  Think it's an analogue vs digital thing.  Digital should trounce an LP record but it often doesn't.

To finish, I don't think a vehicle cabin is an ideal place to listen critically to music.....you should be concentrating on driving dammit !!!

[B1RMA]

10 hours ago, steveledzep said:

I'm a bit of a HiFi nut myself too.  The music industry should be ashamed of themselves.  The fidelity and dynamic range of the cd format was totally abused with excessive compression.  Google "loudness wars" for an insight.

I mostly play vinyl records now (originals from the 70s mostly) and despite the record medium being far from distortion free, I don't think you can beat the sound of a well recorded LP through a tidy system.  Think it's an analogue vs digital thing.  Digital should trounce an LP record but it often doesn't.

To finish, I don't think a vehicle cabin is an ideal place to listen critically to music.....you should be concentrating on driving dammit !!!

Without going too far off topic the quality of vinyl was also a bit iffy at times. I have a collection of half speed master (Mobile Fidelity etc) discs in vinyl that weigh three times that of a standard vinyl record and of course they sound superb.

I agree that music in the car is very limited but until recently I have on occasion had to drive 400 miles to either survey or inspect a building. With the number of speed cameras and other irritations on the road I came to the conclusion that it's best to leave at least an hour earlier, load up some CD's set the cruise control to comply with road requirements and try to enjoy the journey listening to some favourite sounds.

Of course blatting around the local twisties only requires the natural sound of the car.