Mark Levinson audio in the IS
#1
Lexus Test Driver
Thread Starter
Mark Levinson audio in the IS
Ok, I've read past posts that sound quality is good. The IS I'm looking at has no nav, but does have the ML audio.
I like to listen everything from classical to bass heavy music. If I thought my 2000 Maxima with 200watt 6 speaker Bose was good enough, this sould be a no brainer?
Only thing that scares me is I see all the reviews for the GS350 ML which has way larger speakers than this car. Everything but the small 8in sub is smaller than 6.5in. Can it really sound that much better than my Bose? (No Bose bashing. If one thing that can be said about Bose, they were good at holding down distortion at louder volumes.
Oh, I noticed this is ONLY 1 cd player, right? Not even a changer is available? If that's true, that's sad when my Sienna has the 6disk changer in the dash.
I like to listen everything from classical to bass heavy music. If I thought my 2000 Maxima with 200watt 6 speaker Bose was good enough, this sould be a no brainer?
Only thing that scares me is I see all the reviews for the GS350 ML which has way larger speakers than this car. Everything but the small 8in sub is smaller than 6.5in. Can it really sound that much better than my Bose? (No Bose bashing. If one thing that can be said about Bose, they were good at holding down distortion at louder volumes.
Oh, I noticed this is ONLY 1 cd player, right? Not even a changer is available? If that's true, that's sad when my Sienna has the 6disk changer in the dash.
#2
#3
Lexus Test Driver
Thread Starter
thanks. Been there. Thats how I found out what size speakers they were. Just trying to figure out if the IS version is the "cheap-o" of the series where its just a name tacked on to a upgraded audio for the car.
#7
Lexus Champion
I think you'll be very happy with the ML. Speaker size is NOT the determining factor in the quality of sound, as a look at any true audiophile speaker system will attest. A large part of the overall sound is due to the quality and design of the system (speakers and amp). You do realize that the ML has 300 watts RMS (20-20,000 Hz) which is far more than Bose's 200 watt system which is probably a peak power measurement at 1,000 Hz (I could be wrong, but I don't remember Bose spec'ing their systems on the more rigorous RMS scale). I get very clean bass and very clean mid range sound from the ML.
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#13
The ml system is a fantastic sounding system and is a real bargain in terms of price. Listen to the stock stereo and then the ml and it is a no brainer. Even my wife said to spend the extra $$$ on the ml and she NEVER says to spend extra $$$ on stereo equipment. That says a lot in my book.
#14
Lexus Test Driver
Thread Starter
So clarity wise its good...
Hows the bass? If I wanted to listen to lets say rap musc, will it sound ok? Granted, I'm not exspecting it break my windows or anything, but I would like to "feel" the music.
Hows the bass? If I wanted to listen to lets say rap musc, will it sound ok? Granted, I'm not exspecting it break my windows or anything, but I would like to "feel" the music.
#15
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size is definitely not a determining factor in sound quality...especially when you have 14 different speakers doing different jobs. The mark levinson system is by far the best sounding OEM system I've heard, IMO. But I have been in many different vehicle types toting different OEM top o' the line audio systems...and nothing really touches the Mark Levinson system. Granted the IS is a little too small to fully enjoy the detail that the system is capable of capturing. but its still pretty sweet.
EDIT: As for rap music, I've got the Lupe Fiasco album, and the Kingdome Come album by Jay-z playing in my car..and it sounds sick. You'd be surprised how well a 7.5 in sub holds up with the lows. When everyone in your car starts nodding their head to a beat in complete silence...you know your system is sounding good. The only thing I plan doing to the sound system in the future is installing a bigger 12" JL w6 subwoofer, and a 500watt JL amp dedicated powering the subwoofer. other than that the components in the car are fine.
EDIT: As for rap music, I've got the Lupe Fiasco album, and the Kingdome Come album by Jay-z playing in my car..and it sounds sick. You'd be surprised how well a 7.5 in sub holds up with the lows. When everyone in your car starts nodding their head to a beat in complete silence...you know your system is sounding good. The only thing I plan doing to the sound system in the future is installing a bigger 12" JL w6 subwoofer, and a 500watt JL amp dedicated powering the subwoofer. other than that the components in the car are fine.
Last edited by NovaIS350; 12-09-06 at 09:17 AM.