Mark Levinson 25 speaker sound quality is horrible.

[Eric Sorensen1]

I'm not hearing good things about the sound quality in the new LX. I had an 2015 LX570 and it was excellent. I'm curious what new owners say about it.

 

[El Chorizo82 9]

In for the info as well. I haven't read much about them yet.

 

[jjtoyz]

I can’t comment on the 25 LX but my wife has a ML system in her 24 RX500h and the sound quality is severely lacking. Additionally I found that the 24 LX600 is also severely lacking. I think it’s safe to assume the 25 systems will be the same.
Our observations after spending a fair amount of time tweaking the levels:
The system sounds very hollow/tinny
It lacks warmth and depth
I’m fairly certain the problem is not the components but the crossover points. I’m now wondering if that is something that a knowledge Lexus tech can change. Hmmmm

 

[El Chorizo82 9]

There is a thread on the GX 550 site about the Levinson in it... it might offer you some insight: https://www.lexusgxforum.com/thread...dio-sounds-terrible-on-the-gx-550-luxury.463/

 

[gomboy86]

I'm not hearing good things about the sound quality in the new LX. I had an 2015 LX570 and it was excellent. I'm curious what new owners say about it.

So, Its not super great, and what happened with mine was, i got a faulty amp, so mine kept cutting out, not great after having the car for about 2 days. Back at dealership getting new amp installed.

 

[Eric Sorensen1]

There is a thread on the GX 550 site about the Levinson in it... it might offer you some insight: https://www.lexusgxforum.com/thread...dio-sounds-terrible-on-the-gx-550-luxury.463/

Good point about a break in period. I noticed that with a new pair of Klipsch home speakers I bought.

 

[El Chorizo82 9]

So, Its not super great, and what happened with mine was, i got a faulty amp, so mine kept cutting out, not great after having the car for about 2 days. Back at dealership getting new amp installed.

At least they were able to figure it out relatively fast, it sounds?

 

[hilljf]

I found that after about 10-15 hours of use the sound opened up and was much richer and balanced with a cleaner low end. I think the speakers need a break in period to sound best.

 

[El Chorizo82 9]

I found that after about 10-15 hours of use the sound opened up and was much richer and balanced with a cleaner low end. I think the speakers need a break in period to sound best.

I've recently read that sound systems/speakers like this might need a break in period. I didn't even know that was a thing... Guess it really is. Found some good discussion on it here:

 

[gomboy86]

At least they were able to figure it out relatively fast, it sounds?

Yeah it was just a faulty amp. But it’s so new they are waiting on it to come from Japan. Haha.

 

[gomboy86]

I listen mainly to podcasts so I don’t really care about the speakers. They just need to work. But the speakers weren’t the problem it was the amp.

 

[El Chorizo82 9]

I listen mainly to podcasts so I don’t really care about the speakers. They just need to work. But the speakers weren’t the problem it was the amp.

A lot of my friends listen to podcasts at like 1.2x or 1.5x speeds... seems a bit weird to me. I guess it's kind of common.

 

[Eric Sorensen1]

Well, my LX700h came in and the sound system is WEAK. My factory 2010 GX460 had better bass. Same with fading to the rear, the new LX is just as weak with a tin-can sound and no volume. I can't find the 25 speakers - I can only verify 19 speakers either visually or by sound.

3 in front doors+roof (6 TOTAL)
3 front dash speakers
2 in 2nd doors and roof (4 TOTAL) (The lower 2nd row door speakers don't appear to have any sound or are not there)
2 each in back hatch door
1 mini-sub (can't be bigger than 6") passenger side 3rd row
Total- 16
Only the front door lower speakers have any bass, and it's not very low. The rear sub is not that low, but works.
Maybe my 2nd row lower door speakers are not working. If they did, it would make a big difference.

The speaker break-in can't fix these issues, but will help with how the music sounds and maybe increase the sound levels.

Anyone find the missing 9 speakers?

 

[Eric Sorensen1]

I'm not hearing good things about the sound quality in the new LX. I had an 2015 LX570 and it was excellent. I'm curious what new owners say about it.

So, I brought in my LX700h with it's "25 speaker Mark Levinson" sound sytem that costs $2660 extra, and dropped it off to check the stereo to see why it is so wimpy (very little base, 2nd and 3rd row sound terrible). Turns out, the big lower speakers in the 2nd row doors are what the service department called "Dummy" speakers - you can see them but they are not speakers, which explains why it sounds so bad in the back. I can only verify 16 speakers of the 25 it is supposed to have. If I was a lawyer, that would be a class-action lawsuit. I guess I could have gotten and Escalade and had a better stereo and more luxury gadgets, but I want this SUV to run for 15+years.

 

[El Chorizo82 9]

So, I brought in my LX700h with it's "25 speaker Mark Levinson" sound sytem that costs $2660 extra, and dropped it off to check the stereo to see why it is so wimpy (very little base, 2nd and 3rd row sound terrible). Turns out, the big lower speakers in the 2nd row doors are what the service department called "Dummy" speakers - you can see them but they are not speakers, which explains why it sounds so bad in the back. I can only verify 16 speakers of the 25 it is supposed to have. If I was a lawyer, that would be a class-action lawsuit. I guess I could have gotten and Escalade and had a better stereo and more luxury gadgets, but I want this SUV to run for 15+years.

I would definitely be upset as well, and I'd contact Lexus and find out what the real deal is. If you do some digging we might be able to get an article written up about it to get more exposure!

 

[hilljf]

This is not good. At a minimum we should find out where the 25 speakers are supposed to be found?

 

[ShottsCruisers68 6]

Are any of the speakers coaxial? If so they might be counting the center tweeter an actual speaker (WHICH IS WRONG).

 

[hilljf]

I counted 25 speakers in my Overtrail. This is only if I included the small items on the ceiling which would seem to be microphones but could be dual purpose.

 

[ShottsCruisers68 6]

Those are not mics. They are speakers. Take peek at my next Post...coming soon.

 

[ShottsCruisers68 6]

So I love my week-old LX700h. What a ride! But the ML stereo SUCKS! It is NOT a full-length, 3-row system. ONLY the front speakers put out the main sound. From there all the way back the speakers just output "surround sound". So the 2nd and 3rd row folks just get low-volume "echo" sound. You can confirm this my fading all the way to the rear speakers (bottom of the touchscreen chart) then turning the volume up. All the ceiling, door, and rear speakers output only "echo/surround". TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE! ME=PISSED! 2D mode is BETTER but the tone still sucks. Need to crank the bass up, mid alone, and treble down. It helps!