So when I got my TL-SH I was not impressed with the sound system. Then again, I was listening to it with a blown door speaker. Turns out the center channel was toasted too.

So those are now replaced. And yes... I get it now. It is very very good. I'm not going to say its better than the Lexus Mark Levinson. Its different. Just as home speakers all produce the sounds differently. So do these systems.

The ELS has more Mid bass than the ML. The sound fills the car more because of this. But I feel the highs are not reproduced well. Not sure if its a tweeter issue or a DSP issue. One of the songs that it is very noticeable is Rush's - Red Barchetta. The china cymbals are almost none existent in the ELS. Porcupine Tree's - Fear of a Blank Planet sounds perfect. Sounds just like it does at home on my Klipsch LaScala's pushed by individual McIntosh 275's. Red Barchetta sounded perfect in the ML... as it did at home. But the ML made Porcupine Tree's album sound like I was listening to it in a 88 Ford F150.

Anyway... I said in my very first post that I thought the ELS sucked compared to the ML in my Lexus. I was wrong and take it back.

I think that I can do something to the tweeters and center to make it perfect. Im definitly going to attack the car with some dynamat soon. Any other suggestions. I'm all ears!

 

 

I feel embarrassed actually asking this, but to be honest, I've never heard of what a "blown" speaker sounds like. Are we talking lots of static and hiss? Or no sound at all?

 

Not sure what others have had. My door sounded like an unwound coil. The center I didn't even know was blown

 

Arcelyte, what audio materials are you using to do the ELS and ML listening comparison ?

 

Put a DVD Audio in before you make a judgement call on the system being better or worse than the other. This system rocks with DVD-A music.

 

Porcupine trees - Fear of a Blank Planet is a DVDA 5.1 disc.
Rush - Moving pictures is a Remastered Gold disc. (Hard to find now)

I wont say one is better than the other. It just depends on what you're listening to.

 

I've heard them both quite a bit (TL Tech vs LS460 with ML). You're right, at low levels the ML does sound better, it has more clarity and a more enhanced top end which is even more prevalent because the car is so quiet. The ELS seems to be tuned for a more mid range neutral sound. The center channel on the ELS is better though, it sounds like the singer is sitting on your dash on some songs. I'm guessing the sound on the ELS is closer to what was actually recorded.
Crank them up though and the ELS really starts to sound good. My Rush Moving Pictures 5.1 DVD sounds amazing in the TL and I can feel the bass drum hitting me in the back.
I've only tested them with 5.1 DVD's though, not really sure how MP3's or regular CD's would sound.
I think that Edmunds got it exactly right in their high end stereo sound off in 2009. They're both excellent systems but they sound a little bit different. I'd be happy with either one honestly.
Funny thing is, Edmunds tested a 2009 LS460 and I've learned from my own extensive testing and research that before 2010, the ML wouldn't play all the discrete channels on 5.1 DVD's, it converts everything to stereo. I wonder if they guy knew that when he was testing or maybe he had an early 2010 model? I'd love to see them update the test with the new 14 speaker ELS and Krell systems in the RLX.

 

The sound is only as good as the source material.
Does the ML have an equivalent sound source to DVD-A?
The TL tech rocks with DVD-A

 

DTS-Audio is my usual choice of testing with ELS.
Too bad it's a dead format.

 

What are your stereo settings at typically speaking... like if you could only set things up (bass, treble, sub, etc.) once.. what do you think the best "general" setting is? You know.. a setup that will sound good regardless of the song genre.

Could be a good starting point to tune to my own preferences. Obviously i've already tweaked the ELS system, but I'm curious what everyone else's preferences are.

Thanks, I'll share mine later.

 

Using my ipod and no EQ, I like +3 bass, +2 treble and all fad and Bal at 0. I change this depending on Vol. DVD audio Im at +1 treble and +2 bass.

 

I typically stream from my phone as well through bluetooth.

My Typical Settings (Alternative Setting):
Bass: +3 (+2)
Treble: 0 (-1)
Fader/Balance: 0
Center: -1
Subwoofer: +2 (+1)
SVC: High
Dolby: On

I like a deep bass, but not to the point where it sounds distorted because it is shaking the car/vibrating everything. I like it right up to that point... which seems hard to do because a lot of songs seem to generate enough bass to cause vibration/shaking/distortion in this car even with bass/sub at moderate levels.

 

Just saw an old friend over the weekend, who made the jump from a 3G TL to a new Lexus. He was on the fence as to what to do, since he needed to replace the TL, but wasn't hot on the TLX. But he has a trunk full of DVD-A's. Claims the sound on the Mark Levinson is arguably even better than on the TL, and it plays DVD-A. Downside, since it recognizes the DVD-A as simply a DVD, it cuts off while the vehicle is in motion. Which is, of course, a huge downside.

 

So it's completely useless then, lol.

 

Not completely. Pull into a secluded spot with that special someone, throw it into park, put a Marvin Gaye DVD in, and wait for the cops to tap on your fogged-up windows.

 

I'd like to think someone driving a Lexus has a home or something where they can get it on. Or maybe a hotel room. Car sex was great in high school, though

 

^ settings are useless with bluetooth audio. Quality is only 96 kpbs vs around 192 with most MP3's and around 1/4 of that for XM radio.

DVD-A's have a lot of data per second of audio so you are getting the full range of audio. Can't compared apples to oranges.

The ELS system works great at lower volumes and sounds balanced enough. The MLS systems requires higher volumes to get good sound but it seems balanced the whole way though the audio level range. With the ELS, you constantly have to tweak settings depending on volume.

I've found the 4G To have a great setup from the factory, just wish the tweeters weren't as harsh, and the sub was a bit better at handling looser bass notes.

The MLS system felt like crap compared to the Logic 7 in my 760. The ELS in all honesty out performs the MLS system in day-day music in my 4G TL, def. the opposite in my 3G TL and 2G MDX.