Just wondering. I was listening to my USB drive and then the XM and thinking how much fuller and crisper it sounds than my old TL type S and also my MDX Tech. I know the TLX no longer has the ELS system which brings it down a notch. Does anyone have the official specs on these systems ? It sounds awfully good to me and I feel no immediate need to upgrade.

 

Subjective debate, BUT, I think the 4G ELS system is one of the best stock systems I've heard. My 4G also sounds much better than the system in my 2010 MDX tech. A co-worker has a Jeep GC with the insane 19 speaker harmon kardon or something and it doesn't have near the punch or clarity of the ELS. He's pretty pissed for how much extra he shelled out. Father-in-law's BMW's sound like shit, and good friend's Lexus IS is very muddy sounding. No complaints with ELS here

 

The reason the same system sounds different or worse in other models is because there is no space based correction done.
On home theater AVRs, you have several room correction calibration options based on brands that makes your speakers sing compared to uncalibrated systems.
It's the same with the ELS. It was probably calibrated based on one or a few models when it first came out and not for the subsequent models!

 

The ELS is in the TLX.

 

Excellent answer.

 

Ah. Didn't know that. TY.
I assumed because DVD-A was gone ELS was gone also.

 

I agree the stock ELS system is excellent in the 4G TL. Especially how crisp the sound is. For the majority of us this is more than sufficient. The calibration must be spot on as mentioned above.

You guys find a difference between the packages? I'm on Tech so I think it's 400 watts or so? The base package is 280 or so was it not? That might make a difference too?

 

I believe 440 watt amplifier on Tech packages.

 

how does that compare to the TLX one g ?
I thought the TLX stereo was pretty good as well. I didn't do a apples to apples comparison though, didn't have the TLX long enough.

 

I've read conflicting info. One source said 455 wats, another source said 490.

 

How about 4G adv?

 

4G TL Tech and Advanced Packages: Acura/ELS Surround® 440-watt Premium Audio System with 10 speakers
2015 TLX Tech and Advance Packages: Acura/ELS Studio® 490-watt Premium Audio System with 10 speakers

 

Good info. I wonder why they scrapped DVD-A. Its the one thing that separated the Acura stereo from the pack of other good systems. Doesnt matter to me, but I'm sure it does to some. I wouldnt mind having the extra power vs DVD-A compatibility so perhaps I've answered my own question

 

Whether the 4G TL ELS is the best depends on whether you currently own a 4G. If you don't own a 4G, you'd naturally think that whatever you do own is better.

I thoroughly enjoy the sound in my 4G Tech, except for the tinny Sirius XM sound (which I've cancelled).

 

DVD-A is really outstanding on a properly mixed/mastered disc. It's the best sound I've heard inside a car (well, other than our V6s moving onto the high speed lobe).

 

This.

I had a TLX loaner (again) last week. Compared several of my DVD-A's (using my '13 MDX) vs. CD's in the '15 TLX. I, of course also compared CD to CD and MP3 to MP3 (320 kbps ripped by me from FLAC)

The MDX has it beat in most songs. And the 4G TL is even better from what I remember. So.. I think it's a step backwards but people care more about streaming audio and particularly Pandora controls than they do about DVD-Audio.

 

Plain and simple.

The music industry no longer supports the DVD-A format.

DVD-A is dead, and it makes perfect sense for Acura not to add unnecessary cost to its new products by scrapping the support for a dead audio format.

 

Then why are they still including a CD player in the new TLX? How much of a cost difference is a DVD player over a CD player? I'd say very little.
If they really wanted to eliminate unnecessary cost they'd remove the optical drive altogether (which I'm sure they will eventually).
Acura still hasn't given a good reason for removing the DVD-A support. When the lease is up on my 4g I'll just switch to an auto maker who still gives me the option to play high quality audio.

 

I have to agree with Cygnus here. If they are including the CD player, they may as well make it DVD-A compatible too. I mean shoot, DVD-A was the whole selling point of the ELS system for like a decade. I could understand trashing the optical drive altogether, but not this.

 

What cars still come with DVD-A?

 

What cars came with DVD-A 3 years ago ?

 

DVD-A requires paying a license fee per car. I'm sure it adds up to a lot of money over time.

 

What good is a DVD-A player when there is hardly any new music title published in DVD-A format, and when pre-owned DVD-A music discs costing hundreds of dollars on ebay and on amazon ?

 

My question was to Cygnus since he said he was moving to a car that supports DVD-A when his lease is up. Was just wondering what cars in 2015 and beyond support it. Don't really care what technology was used in cars 3 years ago.

 

A lot of people still have a lot of older DVD-A's.
Plus you can make your own.
Home Brewed DVD-Audio Discs | Stereophile.com

Personally, I have about 7 or 8 of them and they never cost me more than 20.00.
I'm not THAT picky when it comes to sound, I am good with a USB stick of 320kb MP3's. But some guys are and it would certainly be nice to have the option. Just like the cassette player was an option for awhile, backwards compatibility. But in this case, DVD-A is far superior to whats in the TLX now. Its a dated format I guess, but it is a BETTER format.

 

Time flies, technology advances, people move on.

What DVD-A does best is in the 5.1-channel surround music audio, not the 2-channel stereo music audio.

However, it needs a pro in order to create a good enough quality home-brew 5.1-ch audio disc.

Most comparatively newer retail DVD-A titles are protected by watermarks, and even til this very moment, there is still no easy way to remove these watermarks.

So, those who enjoy older DVD-A discs can continue to enjoy their pre-2015 TL's that are still DVD-A compatible.

Meanwhile, the newer generations continue to embrace the most current technologies in their 2015+ Acura vehicles, without that obsolete DVD-A capability.

I'm glad that we have well gone pass the time that someone still nags for a VHS or S-VHS compatible player in his/her modern cars which only plays DVD videos.

Same goes for the DVD-A format.

 

I'm still pretty amazed DVD-A died in the first place.

 

Yes but the difference here is the older tech is better than ANY of the newer technology.

 

My problem with ELS is that it doesn't seem as well tuned to MP3 as I would like.
All my music is 320k CBR MP3 and yet they don't quite sound right. Sometimes it just kills the bass and other times it pushes it too far.
Some adjustable equalizers would have been perfect. Or field/DSP modes!

 

Interesting.I record all of my mp3's off of spotify or google music with all volume(the source and my pc on high) using replay music. They sound better than the MP3's that got ripped off of my CD's and really good overall. I listen to everything pretty much. Except country.

 

I agree somewhat but I think the point is being missed that Acura is taking a step backwards in sound quality, and they're the ones who first put DVD-A into a car. There is no comparison between MP3's or CD's vs DVD-A on my ELS system, not even close. The ELS is tuned for DVD-A and not for other media. I personally have a bunch of DVD-A discs and there's always new ones coming out, that's all I listen to in my TL.
And to answer ggesq's question, the Hyundai Genesis has DVD-A. It's also an option in most Lexus cars and the Buick LaCrosse to name a couple. I tested them all with a DVD-A and to me the ELS sounded the best so I got a TL. I'd be more than happy though with a Genesis or a nice Lexus as my next car.
Either that or I'll buy my Acura when the lease ends and keep that.
It's just an odd move by Acura to remove that feature, especially with no explanation.

 

Most people don't give a hoot about sound system quality. Too busy yapping on their phones - "yeah, I'm on the 405 - traffic sucks" - really important stuff like that.

 

That's so true, I live in the valley and it seems like everyone is yapping on their phone or texting while they're driving. Actually, they do it everywhere, not just in the car.
I block it all out by rolling up the windows and cranking up some Rush on DVD-A.

 

pretty much dead on arrival

I agree sounds great

I enjoy the few that I own

with many streaming music today - the CD will be the next to die

 

honestly it's already died, no longer are the days of CD changers and such, now most folks are happy with a USB or AUX input.

 

I've never even put in a CD in the last 3 cars I owned!

 

The few CD's we have, we put in the MDX and had it scan them into the hard drive.

DVD audio discs? I have a few dozen of them

 

Very true on CD's. I have some DVD-A's and my USB drive and I'm set. I dont notice THAT much of a difference between a high bitrate MP3 vs a CD anyway, not enough for me to care at least.

 

The next generation of drivers is all about MP3s. The guy I bought my 4G TL from was twenty-something and didn't know about its DVD-A capability. When I test-drove the car I brought a couple of DVD-A discs with me and he was like "wow."

 

what settings do you guys have setup in ur 4G TL?

Center channel?
Bass?
Tremble?
etc...