projektvertx

iTrader: (2)

I'm glad I'm not alone....

KeithL

What I find interesting is they stepped up the ELS in the RLX as well, I would assume that closes the gap between the ELS and Krell even more.

terdonal

I think anyone who has a $35,000 Krell home system is bound to be under whelmed by the Krell system in a car. I don't think FM radio gives any system an opportunity to show its optimum sound by any stretch of the imagination.

KeithL

They should have a DVD-A in the car and have the car set up not to be able to eject it, that is only way to test these systems, even my crappy Bose 5.1 in my M37 has an obvious improvement when fed good source material.

CeEl

Make sure you test the user interface for the entertainment system and try to change volume while test driving the ATS...

BDoggPrelude

Sound&Vision's review on the Krell system:

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/blo...lx-krell-audio

CFoote

I too am an owner of Krell audio gear, and I am curious to see what this system offers us and whether it will really be worth it.

As others have mentioned, the format of audio is changing very quickly to compressed digital formats. While this doesn't make a difference to the early 20-somethings who never grew up with higher quality audio formats, digital audio can work and sound REALLY good, but the compression has to go away, and that simply won't happen with a bandwidth congested world (cell phones, home internet usage limits, etc)

I hope the Krell system offers good value and good sound. Krell is a company based in Orange, CT who could really use a boost in both morale and revenue (there's been a long-standing fight between the current owners of Krell, a equity firm, and the former owners, a family). While that situation seems to be simmering down, the brand and engineering are, for the most part, very very good (no company is perfect).

With regards to options, I too am bummed the window shades (I use the rear one a lot at night to lower the glare from headlights) require an expensive package, not to mention the ventilated seats. I am sure the RLX with AWD will push 65k. I guess these days that isn't bad, but personally its hard to justify that cost. For me the RLX will be a used car; Krell audio gear can last 20 years easy, so the cost can be justified to some extent...cars just lose value and fall apart after time

We'll see what happens! I am cheering both Acura and Krell on, they both need a boost.

Chris

JonFo

As a current '07 RL owner who is also a major audiophile ($100K system in a custom-designed dedicated room), my take is that it's nice to see them offer this as an option.

However, I have been driving around using etymotic headsets with my iPhone as my source of in-car audio, as the noise level in my RL is just too high to enjoy anything else. The Bose system does blow IMHO, so it's nothing special, even with DVD-A.

For the Krell system to be worth it, the RLX package needs to be uber-quiet.
Any feedback from those that have driven the car on interior noise levels vs the second gen RL?

My plan is to get an SH-SH-AWD RLX with every last option, but if the noise level is high, I might skip the Krell system (unless bundled with one of the higher-end packages).

projektvertx

iTrader: (2)

It's my understanding the FWD RLX won't be hitting dealers for test drives until later this month or early next month. The AWD ones won't be around until later this year. That's what I was told by the guys at Acura.

Colin

Yes, Krell is a standalone option (above the Tech Package) but if you get the Advance Package, you're getting Krell as a part of it.
Actually, most dealers will receive the first 'coverage' units very soon. I believe ours will arrive on the 16th. Inventory ie. cars to be sold, will arrive closer to the official launch date of March 15.

CeEl

Do you have a list that shows what is included in each Package?

Colin

I'm working on one for my webpage, I just don't know how much to include or not include. It's enough to make your head hurt.

RLX
310 hp 3.5 L 24 S. VTEC engine with direct injection
Variable cylinder management
Amplitude reactive dampers
Precision All Wheel Steer
Jewel Eye LED headlights
Automatic open trunk
Tri zone climate control
On demand multi view display
Keyless access system with smart entry and pushbutton start
Pandora interface
Electronic parking brake
Hill start assist
Multiview rear view camera
And new safety features Forward Collision Warning, Lane Departure Warning, And a new drivers knee airbag

An RLX with Navigation Package is $50,950 and adds
Acura navigation with 3-D view
Acura real-time traffic with street and freeway conditions
And next-generation AcuraLink with available connected service

The RLX with the Technology Package Is $54,450 and adds:
Blind spot information system
Rain sensing windshield wipers
19 inch aluminum alloy wheels and high-performance tires
Phonebook exchange for Bluetooth hands-free link
Milano premium leather trimmed interior
Acoustic front and rear side glass
Powerful folding and heated side mirrors
Acura ELS studio premium audio system with 14 speakers

A new package the RLX with Krell audio package is $56,950
It replaces the ELS audio system with a Krell premium audio system.
And adds a power rear sunshade and manual rear door sunshades

Finally, there is the RLX with the Advance Package for $60,450
Lane keeping assist system
Collision mitigation braking system with heads up warning
Adaptive cruise control with low-speed follow
Parking sensors front and rear
Heated and ventilated front seats
Heated rear seats
Electronic pretensioners for the front seat belts

JonFo

Thanks Colin, guess I'll wind up with a Krell system in any case, as I'm going for the SH-SH-AWD Advance Package.

CeEl

Thank you! Adding the heated seats to the top tier is a bit of a weird marketing choice. Wonder if they are available in the lower trim levels as well.

Colin

Actually I'm 99% sure that front heated is standard, the addition of cooling and rear seat heating is the Advance Package addition. BTW, the e-Pretensioners are trippy!

Rocket_man

Colin, I think the laminated glass is on all RLX's. It was on the RLX Navi that I saw. Unless this is version is over and above the standard acoustic glass.

weather

I wonder if anyone knows if you can get one without the wood trim interior?

Rocket_man

Yeah that is not the most attractive 'wood' I've seen in a high end car. I can't recall if that was real wood or not, I don't think it is. It looks a lot like those plastic wood trim add-on pieces. This should have been real wood, or at least less fake. I think it is standard, at least on the non-SH-SH-AWD cars.

Colin

Are you sure it was a Navi not a Tech? We never saw a Navi or Krell, all the cars at the event were Tech and Advance. Anyway, I mostly transcribed the info from our data sheet, so that's what they told us.

Rocket_man

It could have been the Tech. Hard to tell the difference and there was no sign next to the car. But there were tweeters in the door side panels front and rear. That may be the new 14 speaker ELS which would have made that car the Tech vice the Navi.

Colin

I just had some quality listening time with the new RLX with Krell and RLX with upgraded ELS. It is Krell by a huge margin! Things to note, the Krell system does not play DVD-A. Somehow, I'm not sure how I missed this detail. It does however support DTS which is probably a good thing since those discs might be easier to find.

So, lacking a DTS disc, I switched to a CD for my listening. Tomorrow, I'll bring a few CDs from home but I had a few things to listen to here. I used E. Bernstein "The Magnificent Seven" from the Telarc CD "Round-Up" to compare the two systems.

Without a doubt the Krell audio system has a significantly wider dynamic range. The highs are much higher and the lows significantly more "solid". I should probably mention at this point that I generally like audio that is a little "rolled off" on the high-end. For example, years ago I deliberately selected Magnaplanar MGIIc's versus MGIII's because I didn't care for the ribbon tweeter in the latter.

The Krell system seems a little on the bright side to my ears, back in my audio days I didn't like titanium dome tweeters and I still don't. However I was able to fix this with a very small adjustment to the treble (But for this discussion all controls were left "flat").

I found the amount of detail stunning. You could practically hear each stroke of the violin bow as they pulled it across the strings. Some of the brightness was mitigated by the higher quality center channel speaker. Considering how much work this does in the ELS system I've always felt it was a place that could be improved considerably and I believe the Krell system has done it.

I felt that the bass response was also excellent. The Krell system was not only deeper, but faster as well. I'm not kidding when I say it sounds like a good pair of Magnepan MGIIIs or Martin Logan's with a small woofer. This may sound a little over-the-top but it gave me chills to hear it. Having been out of the audio business for so long, it was amazing to hear this level of detail in the lower ranges. In comparison, the ELS system sounded muddy although slightly "punchier".

KeithL

Very disappointing as I have several DVD-A I keep in the car!

JonFo

Thanks for the detailed report.

As a MartinLogan owner, good to hear you believe the Krell system to perform at close to that level. Good, clean bass is critical, nice to hear this one delivers.

Colin

On the off chance that I fed it a bad disc, I tried another this morning. Same thing. I'm pretty surprised and not surprised at the same time. We need to face facts that the format (and physical media) are a dying breed but it's hard to see them abandon a format they've (solely?) championed for so long.
Even with a "mere" CD the detail was impressive. Today busted out an OLD test CD!

Once again, I was quite impressed with the level of detail. You can hear Jennifer Warrens inhaling between verses of the Famous Blue Raincoat and Billy Cobham's drums have impact yet sound controlled. Once again, I felt the system was a little bright, but I can't tell if it's "me" or the titanium domes.

Switching to my Gold Sheffield Labs "James Newton Howard" disc was equally revealing. The detail in the bass guitar on "Gone Buttlefishin'" was outstanding. Also, stripped of the 'glossy' GRP production of the Alpine disc, this sounded a little smoother on the top end.

It's important to note that we're talking about the quality of the bass response and not the quantity. With the Krell, you can hear the timpani's rolling in towards the end of "Planet Krypton" on the Alpine disc. With the ELS, there is a sense of the rumble, but not the individual drum hits. I suppose it's difficult to explain, but I suggest that when you preview these, use some music you're familiar with and allow enough time for some back to back comparisons.

getakey

great review

Colin

I should add, I misspoke earlier. The Krell is not equipped with titanium dome tweeters but rather magnesium dome tweeters.

dwest1023

Thanks for the review Collins. When I was at the DC auto show, the only source, I had for the Krell system was FM. Even from that source I could tell the bass was very detailed. I have owned Krell equipment for quite awhile and was happy to see Krell enter the car audio business. I just hope the Krell system is available in the New TLX as I'm not a fan of theRLX styling. The 3rd generation RL interior looks much more eloquent to my eyes. The RLX interior looks cheaper to me. Since my very first car, I love dual pipes out the back and to see Acura abandon that, I don't understand. I like my cars to look fast even if they don't go fast. Being single with no kids, the RLX is too much car for me.

TSX69

Acura & Krell Audio Team Up to Deliver Opulent Car Audio

Krell, “a leader” in high end home audio equipment, today announced their very 1st car audio system in partnership with Acura. The system made its debut in the brand new 2014 Acura RLX, a hotly anticipated luxury vehicle that was also unveiled today at the 2012 LA Auto Show. I was on hand to get some hands and ears on time with the new car and the system.

Scattered throughout the vehicle are some 13 individual speakers and a single 100-watt subwoofer. But these aren’t any ordinary speakers. The system’s tweeters are composed of lightweight magnesium cones that are said to increase detail, while 6 mid bass drivers are made from an ultra strong material called Zylon. The combination of these 2 elements results in not only sturdy and long lasting speakers that will survive the test of time, but a system that reacts extremely fast to music and should more closely mimic the original recording. Finally, powering the entire RLX’s speaker system is a 400-watt Krell amplifier and Acura’s dual screen infotainment system.

Sonically I can say that the Acura RLX’s Krell audio system is 2nd to none, at least in terms of a 1st listen. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a competing system on hand to compare 1 to the other, but Krell’s system nailed it in terms of dynamics, leaving me pining for a further listen with a wider variety of music. To be candid, I only listened to the music built-in to the car’s HDD. So suffice to say, a 2nd listen using Spotify should reveal how the RLX’s Krell system would stand up to what I would deem a real world use case. Nevertheless, Krell’s new car audio system, without any tweaking or new fangled DSP settings, was analogous to that of a pair of high end headphones; a full spectrum of sound was discernible, something many car stereo systems struggle with, resulting in a muddling effect.

If you’d like a listen, head to the LA Auto Show on November 30th when it opens to the public. Or you could wait until the Acura RLX goes on sale this Spring, which is expected to carry a $60,000+ price tag.

Timmy18

What about getting into the RLX at the dealers and testing it yourself while adjusting it in the settings? Krell better do more thumpn' and less tight, quick bass hits. I want people to be able to hear that I have a high end system in my 60K dollar car form a distance.

JonFo

Oh God, NO!!!

A 'high-end' system is actually defined by having quality, not just quantity.

The real problem is most car-audios suck big time in that department, loud and highly distorted bass ruins the music.
I mean, you really think that having 25%+ THD in the bass is actually 'good'?

Unfortunately, most people have not heard a good enough system that can play both loud AND low distortion as they don't come cheap.

But for a few bucks, you can go to a live Jazz club (no artificial amplification) and hear the double bass and drum kit, that's what clean bass actually is.

I applaud Acura/Krell for actually delivering what seems to be a quality-first product.

acuralvr1

I'm going to give the Krell sound system another listen. I heard it using XM/Sirius Friday parked and on the road taking a test drive- I wasn't impressed. Very suprised by this. I will go back and take a listen with a couple of my CD's. Dissappointed that Acura isn't continuing to support DVD-A.

To the audiphile who doesn't like the way DVD-A sounds on his RL with Bose 5.1 I wonder what discs you own? Hotel California and 2 Steely Dan discs I have blow away ANYTHING I've ever heard in a car. I've never listened to the Bang & Olson system in the 5 Series BMW, but that's a $4500 add on.

I will say that other source material sounds mediocre in my '07 RL; but DVD-A is a conversation piece for my passengers.

2011TL

acuralvr1,

I listened to the Krell system last Friday at my dealer - Pohanka in Chantilly, VA. As an audiophile I came prepared and brought my dts version of the Eagles' hell freezes over. Hotel California is one of my reference selections for testing a system. I have it in DVD-video, DVD-A, CD and dts 5.1.

I prepped for the test by listening to the dts 5.1 version of Hotel California repeatedly in my 2009 TL SH-AWD Tech on the way to the dealer. The Krell system is easily superior to the ELS in clarity, dynamic range and bass response. It came very close to the aftermarket system installed in my 2002 MDX Touring using Boston Z6 speakers and Boston sub with over 1,000 watts of Alpine HU, audio processor and amplification and Dynamating of the entire interior. The difference in the sub response was particularly noticeable - very tight.

I think most TL owners will agree the the ELS system is very good, especially with a surround sound source. On the way home it's sound was clearly inferior to the Krell!

JonFo

Oh, it's much better than most factory car audio's, but that does not make it great audio.

Specifically, it has boomy, distorted mid-bass, it is artificially boosted from 60Hz to around 120hz, with THD in the 10%+ range. In the lower registers, THD must be 20% or better, not at all 'tight'.

I have 40+ DVD-A's, include the entire Porcupine Tree catalog, many classical pieces, and a good bit of Jazz as well. They all sound way better than a CD for sure, but not up to my standards of quality. So I hardly use the cars audio system, instead relying on Etymotic ear-pieces and the iPhone.

The Audi A7 B&O system is much better than the Acura Bose system BTW. But still not quite 'there' for me, definitely not worth the upcharge Audi wants.

getakey

"So I hardly use the cars audio system, instead relying on Etymotic ear-pieces and the iPhone."

Does compressed music from an iPhone really sound better than CDs or DVDs over the car audio?

Colin

Can I add that I don't understand why we're discussing B&O as if they're some sort of reference for audio quality. IMO, their gear is a triumph of industrial design and 'high end' in that they charge a LOT of money for it. But (again IMO) it's hardly any kind of standard by which to judge audio quality.

dwest1023

^^^ I agree. I am a long time audiophile and have worked in the industry. I have never been impressed with B&O other than design. That is what you pay for with them. they sound has never been anything special to these ole ears. Now if Conrad Johnson would do a car tube amp......

Colin

Yes indeed! I've got a PV10 sitting un-used on the shelf as we speak (along with a Studer Revox cassette deck and original Quicksilver amps).

dwest1023

Yes Sir, those where the days. I still have my Nachamichi dragon cassette deck. Some car manufaurer is in partnership with Meridian, but I can't for the life of me remember who it is. I had a Meridian 508 CD player and it was one of the finest players I have ever heard. I need to take some music with me so, I can REALLY listen to the Krell system. I'm afraid though, I might buy the RLX just for the Krell.

Colin

I should have gone with a Nak CR-7 vs. the Studer. Ahhh Meridian. We had those too. Meridian, Quad, C-J, Sota, ET, Magnepan, KEF, a/d/s were all in our store.

neuronbob

Oh man, AVSForum in the house..... I consider myself a noob audiophile. All I've got is some Emotiva stuff....serious bang for the buck if you can tolerate their quirks.