FullMetalM

Hey guys,

First thread here. I recently joined the Lexus gang with my 2012 4th gen GS450h. Its top spec and a beautiful car.
I installed the beatsonic kit as soon as I could and have been using it for a while now. Beatsonic was great, organizing shipping to my country even though it was not an option on the store.

Install, it is all plug and play as advertised. Some of the panels are difficult to pull off the first time but overall an easy install. Make sure you check the connections before putting everything back together, the AUX jack came half-out when I was putting the dash together so I was only getting audio out the right side speakers and had to pull the car apart again to fix it haha. Another spot to be careful is behind the radio, make sure when you reinstall the radio that you are pointing the excess cables down in the space behind/below the radio, otherwise you might get connection issues. Would be nice if it was 1 box instead of 2 that needed to be connected but, this is not that big of deal.

Customer Support was amazing, cannot state enough how easy it was to communicate with them and get my issue sorted out, wish every company was like them.

1. Display looks really good, easy to read all the UI elements. In my older model it only takes up the left 2/3rds of the screen, as the car does a weird split screen thing. Sometimes the map lines are a little aliased.
2. Sound, Its sounds really good. My car has the ML sound package and the Beatsonic is taking full advantage of it. This was something I was really worrying about being a downgrade, as opposed to doing it through the car Bluetooth, that's not the case.
3. Startup, it takes about 20secs to turn on, then another 40 or so to connect wireless android auto. More than acceptable if you are letting your car warmup for a 1min or 2. If you do drive off straight away then when android auto connects it will start playing music automatically. No need to fuss with anything. If you go back to your car within 15mins, then the startup is instant and the connection time is still 40secs.
4. Using the mouse. this may be controversial but i like the Lexus mouse. Its clumsy if you are sitting still trying to change settings but while driving its amazing and easy to change tracks etc.
5. Holding the 'Map' button will change you between the stock system and displaying the android auto system. This is working great and is useful for making a call through the car system and no the beatsonic. Or for changing car settings like AC.
6. Pressing the 'Menu' button will activate google assistant. This is super easy to use.

The downside of the Beatsonic system is the price. However for me, it is reliable and has the features that keep my 2012 car pretty modern, I think it was definitely worth the time and money.

liompa

Why did you go with BeatSonic over the GROM?

FullMetalM

I didn't need the full android box capabilities as cool as they might be. I wanted a reliable system that will just always work. From what i read the GROM has lots of bugs. some people have a great time others don't. Also seemed to have a slower boot up from what i read. Something i dont want to have to wait around for.
But of course the price is the biggest advantage of the grom,
I have no personal experience with the GROM so cant say its better or worse but the beatsonic has been fantastic. makes my 11yr old car younger haha.