+1 on that for sure.

I used to be into the car stereo scene and had 3 12" subs with 3000w to drive the whole custom system. But it is nothing like having a good sound system in a home theater.

 

Guys, we're not talking about power but sound quality, and unfortunately the ML system lacks both of them. For this kind of car I think Lexus could use better speakers.

 

I really think it plays a huge difference in the type of music you listen too.. the ML system is designed more for classical music and such

I mean.. look at what lexus goes after...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5mx3MXhfaU

 

For the guys who say that the ML system sounds like crap.. What are you comparing it to? I'm not an audiophile by any means, but I'm sensitive to sound quality, and IMO it's pretty darn good for a stock system. In fact it's the best stock system I've ever heard, with the exception of the Harmon Kardon system in my mom's XJ.

Also, are you guys playing CDs or mp3s? And what are the encode settings? And have you guys tried using the system with a DVD movie? It totally rocks.

 

For DVDs the ML system works fine, especially when playing Dolby Digital or DTS encoded discs (with 14 speakers it better sound good). For CDs/mp3s/iPods it's a different story because what you're listening to is basically stereo. Compared to my previous system the ML sounds dull, flat, detail is lost. On my previous car I had MB Quart amps powering Polk Momo component speakers (front and back) and an Alpine Type-X sub in a single vented box. It was loud, yes, but it was super clean regardless of the volume level.

For mp3s and iPod I encode my music at 256kbps/44.1KHz 16-bit. One thing that I noticed back when I got the IS-F last year was that the iPod decoder works better than the internal ML mp3 decoder. Try playing the same mp3 from a CD and then from an iPod, the iPod sounds cleaner and better.

 

I'd agree that the ML system is only adequate. Our stock system in our ML 320 sounds just as good and that's in an SUV and not even the Harmon Kardon.

 

Thx for the info. Dude you're comparing a stock system to a nice aftermarket setup.. of course there is no comparison.

I'm gonna try the mp3 off the ipod instead of the cd and see if it really sounds better. Are you using the ipod integration or just the AUX?

 

Well, my point is that I spent more than double for the ML system than for my previous setup and it doesn't perform as expected. Anyway, I had no other choice, when I got my car I requested it without the ML system and I was told that I had to custom order it without the system, and it'd take about 3 months to get it... I wasn't going to wait for the F back in June of last year!!!

I have the original Lexus iPod adapter, so it's better quality than the AUX input.