bobsobi

What you hear in the listening environment due to room reflections and the types of materials producing those reflections is a different discussion than what goes on on the other side of the speaker baffle, which is what I'm assuming you're referring to by "enclosure dynamics".

All speakers in a car are typically mounted in acoustic suspension enclosures -- they are supposed to be more or less air-tight. That enclosed volume of air acts as a springboard and allows the speaker cone to oscillate more linearly, so it can reproduce louder tones with less distortion. The materials creating that sealed enclosure generally have little to no effect on that, in the context of a car interior -- which is far from an ideal critical listening environment -- as long as those materials are reasonably rigid.

In the case of the ML subwoofer, it's got such a short throw that the trunk space, 350 or 300h, is likely too large. A much smaller sealed box on that speaker would improve its linearity, reduce distortion and rattling, but at the expense of SPL.

Music4ever

I tried the same two CD's at the dealership on a 2013 ES 350 and it was the same thing, I asked the sales person if I could try in the LS that is a huge vehicle and used the same CD's and the sound was amazing. My conclusion Lexus cheaped out in the ES for the ML system.

KennyLexus

Well, I got my subwoofer replaced yesterday. Before that, I got the new amp installed a few weeks ago. The distortion had all but disappeared with the new amp but the subwoofer still sounded busted on some songs. Now everything sounds ok. The subwoofer still sounds like it's bottoming out but not busted on a very small number of songs with deep bass beats. Anyway, I'm satisfied with it at this point and won't press anymore (unless Lexus comes out with an official redo of the ES ML system...which is highly unlikely).

Arty101

I'm glad you got it replaced and its better than it was. Enjoy.

ElliotB

"...try in the LS that is a huge vehicle and used the same CD's and the sound was amazing" Lets see... ES 45K vehicle - LS $80k vehicle. The results you got are what would be expected considering the price difference between the two vehicles, don't you think?

And size wise, there is actually not a huge difference, especially in interior space. The biggest difference is in the wheelbase (I believe about 11") , vehicle weight (about 1000lbs heavier) and the engine (which is an 8 cylinder in the LS).

Music4ever

Elliot, thank you for the lesson on the difference on the two Vehicle, unfortunately I am not stupid I did know the difference between the two vehicles and yes I do know the price difference and to clarify in my opinion the LS is not worth the money, (note I said my opinion not anyone else) You did forget to add that the LS has 19 speaker that must be the huge difference in the sound....i also did the same test in the GS that has 17 speakers and yes i know the difference in price, horsepower etc....The reason I spoke about size was someone had suggested that it could be the size of the truck. Yes the LS does cost more, but both systems are labelled Mark Levinson is that not correct??? So no I do not expect that much of a difference even if their is a couple of extra speakers, if Lexus decided to put a different label or name on the system then yes I expected this type of difference. I had driven many makes and brands of vehicles and if a car company indicated a brand for example a JBL system as the premium system it sound the same in the lower class luxury car as the higher end. Lexus decided to half assed the job and if this is the case do not offer it. As I indicated before do it right or not at all. I do not think this forum is to make people look or sound stupid, but address their issue with the vehicle and try to correct them.

ElliotB

The only issue is our disagreement on whether a 'cheap' car should have the same features and level of quality in all areas as one costing double. There are many major differences between the ES, GS and especially LS lines of cars, hence the price differences, and the differences are in more significant areas than the audio system.

There is no question that the audio system should work properly but to expect it to be the same as the LS might be a bit of a stretch in my opinion - it certainly would be nice! Now if the ES has 3 different trim levels, I would expect the same audio system to sound the same from car to car. But not necessarily in two totally different vehicles at totally different price points).

Music4ever

I know what you are trying to say, at the end of the day it is an upgrade to a ML system as in the LS and GS. That is what I expect from Lexus and ML not because I did not spend an extra 20,000 or 40, 000 dollar that the ML system is that much of a difference, big time the difference. Example I had a Audi A7 and Audi A6 with the premium system and they both sounded the same. Had each vehicle for about 1 in a half years. Different price vehicles but same quality in the system.

khatieh

The mark levinson in my 2006 RX and 2013 RX sound way better than the one in my ES. I do not know what the deal is with lexus and how/why they choose the components for their vehicles and I guess (according to some peoples logic here) that the ES system is not going to compare to the LS model, I understand that, but my subwoofer should not bottom out or have distortion. They still advertise the .1 percent harmonic distortion and I'm pretty sure this rattling sound is not how the music is meant to be heard, and I'm certain this does not fit the description of what I bought.

Sonnie

It appears that sub fires up into the car already. It is an inverted magnet type sub.

Here is the top, which faces up...



And the bottom in the trunk...



I will have it back in my possession hopefully by the end of this week and can run some test on it for a few of the TS parameters.

I think if you were to find a driver with high sensitivity... at least in the low 90's, preferably in the mid 90's, that amp should be plenty of power. It would not take much of a sub to improve on this one.

The rear deck is pretty stout, but I would still damping the trunk deck well with Dynamat Extreme or similar.

Here is the build thread and system we are putting in ours and the progress to date.

Music4ever

Thank you for the link, at the end of it all this is Lexus problem, and they need to fix it. Give us what you claim about the system, and we will be happy. It is not our duty to go spend a couple of thousand dollar to fix Lexus mistake... Or wait them cheaping out. Like I said before all of us need to continue to be on Lexus, if I get no response this week, I will go to the local paper, write in to car magazines what ever it takes for Lexus to realize that people are not just going to say okay to this crap...

txes

Using quick reply instead of quote omits duplicating all the unnecessary photos.

John

Mike728

I'm pretty sure what he's doing, you'll never find in a stock system. If you demand something like that, you'll always have to go custom.

Sonnie

Absolutely... I never would expect anything like this from a stock system. As I have mentioned previously (several pages back), we did not buy the car for the ML system, it was merely a by-product of the UL package. My initial intentions were to upgrade the audio system. I only participated in this thread to express my thoughts about the ML system. Obviously it would not matter if I complained or not, since I had no intentions of keeping it as factory. I am somewhat surprised at how poorly designed the system is for the Lexus and Mark Levinson names associated with it.

Music4ever

I do not think anyone expected this system to be this bad, I really hope both companies step it up as this is ridicules. I am also surpised that ML is not more involved, at the end it is their name stamped on the stereo.