cheffip

Tom2

Check this out: https://www.cars.com/articles/rdx-ta...1420700666566/

It might help you out a bit. The top-of-the-line 16-speaker system sounds pretty good to me, but honestly I think it's comparable to the Bang & Olufsen system in my Audi, no better/worse. I don't consider myself an audiophile, but I'm probably picky enough to be considered one.

dcmod

I would even dare to say that the ELS 3D sound with 16 speakers is much much better than Mark Levinson, Bang and Olufsen and Bose car saound system . Especially when you play FLAC uncompressed 5.1 audio files .
I have owned the other 2 competing car audio systems. And its a big difference

catbert430

I've got the 12-speaker version.
It does not have the roof speakers for rear passengers or the speakers in the C-pillars and is 550 watts rather than 720.
It does have the roof speakers for front passengers.

It still sounds terrific, even with Sirius XM and is noticeably better than the ELS system in my TLX.
I've never had the pleasure of hearing the 16-speaker version.

Meto

When using lossless audio flac files, the sound is amazing and much better than the Bose system I had in my previous vehicle. The roof speakers make a lot of difference in my opinion

cbstsx09

I have the 16 speaker system in my Advance and I have actually gone back and listened to material I have heard for years on other cars and even in my home system and I have to say I have heard details that I have never heard before.

securityguy

I listened to both the 12 and 16 speaker systems, compared them to each other and my Audi's B&O system. All I can say is that the 16 speaker ELS system in my Advance blows them all away...wish I had the ELS in my Audi

The four extra speakers, IMPO, make a huge difference to the listening experience.

oblio98

Today I was listening to 5.1 24/48 files and I cranked the roof speaker volume to the max to see what affect it would have. It actually made the rear channels sound a bit fuller. I am going to leave them up like that for more testing, but I was surprised I hadn't thought of trying that in the past.

chkelly

The ELS 3d is better than C class Burmeister, FWIW.

Newsy1904

I have the bass turned back 2 stops usually with my 12 speaker system for most modern or remastered recordings.

Fleetwood Mac's remastered Rumours album has to be played with the bass back 2 stops. Ditto for a most of Norah Jones recordings.

I do most of my listening with high quality Spotify files saved to my phone or high quality variable bit rate rips of my own CD's.

With Sirius Classic Vinyl I put the bass back to default.

edit - I test drove an A-Spec with the 16 speaker set up and it did sound outstanding but the 12 speaker in my Tech package is still the best audio system I have ever had in a vehicle.

.

Burger Steak & Eggs

Anything special about the CD drive used? Just the normal drive that came on your PC or ...?

Newsy1904

Nothing special. Just the regular PC CD/DVD player you can buy for $40 or less these days and using Windows Media Player or other software to rip to a low loss variable bit rate, usually 200 to 320 kbps file.


.

Tom2

Just curious--which Audi do you have with the B&O system? Reason I ask is because they aren't all the same and my Audi's B&O system is certainly as good, if not better, than the ELS in my mom's Advance RDX.

securityguy

Premium Plus so I believe I have the top B&O system in my car.

Tom2

I meant which Audi? They aren't all the same, from model to model.

Tom2

I meant which Audi? They aren't all the same, from model to model. The B&O systems are good in every Audi model, but they certainly aren't the same. Some are better than others. The top-of-the-line B&O system sounds fantastic and specs out like this:
Bang & Olufsen Sound System with 3D sound is a 755‑watt 16‑channel amplifier that feeds 19 speakers.

For reference, the top ELS (found only on the Advance & the A-Spec RDX) specs out like this:
ELS Studio 3D premium audio system includes a 710-watt 16-channel amplifier that feeds 16 speakers.

Both are very good and it's hard to pick one over the other, but I will give the edge to the Audi because they highs sound a bit cleaner. Again, this depends upon the car. I believe Audi offers B&O in every car, while this top ELS system is only offered in the new RDX right now.

securityguy