Genesis G70 Lexicon Sound System

[G70girl]

Hi owners! I am a soon-to-be G70 owner. I'm wondering if somebody could comment in a bit more detail on the quality of the G70 Lexicon sound system? Every review seems to entirely gloss over this point. I have no experience with Lexicon (and little with Harman Kardon, its parent company).

I am a bit of an audiophile and I listen to a lot of music in the car, so I'd appreciate a nitpicky response. Any highlights / criticisms of the sound system?

I'm coming from a Mercedes C300 with a Burmeister sound system, which has been EXCELLENT. When I test drove the G70, I was not thrilled at first blush with the sound, but I think some of the setting were whacky and I didn't have time to fiddle or customize?

Thoughts? Grateful for any feedback!

I love the Lexicon sound system! I think it sounds great and it is crystal clear when listening to it loud! Pink Floyd sounds great in it by the way!! And it does have great bass!

 

[Toddasaurus]

^Agreed. I love it.

But, take my opinion with a grain of salt. All my previous cars had total garbage sound systems at best, so anything would've been an upgrade honestly. Haha. Even so, I think the lexicon system sounds really really good, it has all the things.

 

[Imp]

Has anyone compared this system to that in the S60/V60 Bowers & Wilkins? I haven't heard either, just curious. I know I'll listen to them both, and I'm not looking to buying a moving sound system... but, I do like music.

--kC

 

[ephone1]

Throttlehouse on Youtube reviewed both cars (comparison). The Bowers & Wilkins was considered much better.

 

[nezro]

Anyone know how this setup compares to the Mark Levinson in the recent IS/RC Lexus cars? Word on the forums is the recent ML setups aren't as great as the older ones or at least the one in the LS.

 

[BobLoblaw]

I have a '13 Lexus GS with the ML system, and I test drove the G70 the other day. Overall I'd say the bass in the ML system isn't as strong and 'showy' as the G70's, but is probably more 'accurate'. Both sound crisp otherwise. The G70 is the more 'fun' one to listen to when you really want to hear the bass lines come through, whereas the ML stays controlled no matter how high you turn it up.

TBH, most upgraded systems with 10+ speakers are going to do just fine with XM or BT audio. And as @Imp points out, is anyone really trying to buy a $5k reference sound system on wheels???

 

[marianne]

How does dance music sound? I listen to a lot of techno and house, so I was happy to see the there are mid controls available. So many cars don't have that nowadays.

 

[Beefer]

^ Good...I listen to BPM all the time.

 

[Toddasaurus]

Sorry, I only listen to metal, more metal, super metal metal, kinda somewhat metal - and occasionally a smidgen of classical and NPR.

And all of the above sounds great with the Lexicon sound system, in case you wanted to know.

 

[Falldog]

This reminds me, Spotify sounds like crap, but I'm guessing that's an issue with Android Auto/Spotify I need to research. Listening to songs I downloaded with high quality sound awful.

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[broervudu]

Falldog makes good point, another consideration for example is Bluetooth connection vs directly connecting. My music (high bit rate copies) sound great directly connected (apple car play) BUT if I play the same music over Bluetooth... just horrible...

 

[Beefer]

Lexicon pushing their audio in the G70...cool...

Part 1...

Part 2...

 

[Bastiat]

Thanks, Beefer. I had not seen these ads. As others have noted, sound system perceptions are subjective, and some people don’t like totally accurate sound reproduction. Also, speakers and electronics do have a break-in period. It is also very difficult to reproduce music accurately in a vehicle.

I like the Lexicon system. To my ears, the highs are what I would call crisp, vice harsh. The mids are quite nice. I listen mainly to jazz, orchestral music, and 60’s-90’s pop, so bass is not as vital for me as for some. That said, I do like it loud. It is the bass that is somwhat problematic. I have set it to minus 5 believe it or not: good bass should be felt in the chest in addition to being heard. The impression should be “thunk” rather than “boom”. It is very difficult to reproduce this in a vehicle given the space limitations. Audiophile home system subs can weigh hundreds of pounds and take up lots of room.

I have not heard the latest BMW sound system, but the Lexicon has impressed me overall.

 

[OMG70]

So something I discovered while digging through my phone's dev settings (Galaxy Note 8, Sprint, latest Android version available) is that I could change the codec used and some bit rate stuff for bluetooth streaming. Theoretically you should be able to get CD quality/level streaming through bluetooth if your hardware is compatible with LDAC codecs (designed by Sony, previously exclusive to Walkman devices)

Has anyone done some testing with this to try to improve their audio from the Lexicon system or have any information about the hardware/software used in the car to handle bluetooth? Currently at work so I haven't tested, but I'll try to remember to test some stuff later.

Disclaimer: Not sure if iPhones can do this (probably not), but I think most updated Androids will have these settings in their dev menus

 

[danygenesis]

So something I discovered while digging through my phone's dev settings (Galaxy Note 8, Sprint, latest Android version available) is that I could change the codec used and some bit rate stuff for bluetooth streaming. Theoretically you should be able to get CD quality/level streaming through bluetooth if your hardware is compatible with LDAC codecs (designed by Sony, previously exclusive to Walkman devices)

Has anyone done some testing with this to try to improve their audio from the Lexicon system or have any information about the hardware/software used in the car to handle bluetooth? Currently at work so I haven't tested, but I'll try to remember to test some stuff later.

Disclaimer: Not sure if iPhones can do this (probably not), but I think most updated Androids will have these settings in their dev menus

I didn't know about it. I went to the Dev menu and as you said there are many Bluetooth submenus with codec, audio bits per sample, , playback quality, etc. When I got the change I will test them.

 

[Ruissimo]

After listening to regular MP3 files and creating my own 5.1 surround sound FLAC files from DVD Audios purchased when I owned a 2012 R-Spec, I can tell you the following about the G70 Lexicon in the Prestige and above trims:

1. The system is VERY good - FLAC sounds a bit crisper to my ears than regular MP3s, but for most folks, streaming MP3s off a flash drive will be just fine. Surround is much better in FLAC files, but those were created from 5.1 DVD-As meant for surround sound... so that COULD be the reason for the difference
2. The system is not as good as the 17-speaker Lexicon in my 2012. It is definitely missing bass, depth, range and clarity. I spent a LOT of time listening to that system. It is very noticeable on songs where I can absolutely tell instruments aren't as "crisp" and loud. The surround in the 17-speaker system was also superior

What I can't account for is whether or not these FLAC files from my DVD-As are being processed at a lower quality than the '12 was processing directly from the same DVD-As.

Having said all that, I am very happy with the sound system! The breakneck effect from this car definitely distracts me from the stuff I mentioned in point 2) above XD

 

[OMG70]

After listening to regular MP3 files and creating my own 5.1 surround sound FLAC files from DVD Audios purchased when I owned a 2012 R-Spec, I can tell you the following about the G70 Lexicon in the Prestige and above trims:

1. The system is VERY good - FLAC sounds a bit crisper to my ears than regular MP3s, but for most folks, streaming MP3s off a flash drive will be just fine. Surround is much better in FLAC files, but those were created from 5.1 DVD-As meant for surround sound... so that COULD be the reason for the difference
2. The system is not as good as the 17-speaker Lexicon in my 2012. It is definitely missing bass, depth, range and clarity. I spent a LOT of time listening to that system. It is very noticeable on songs where I can absolutely tell instruments aren't as "crisp" and loud. The surround in the 17-speaker system was also superior

What I can't account for is whether or not these FLAC files from my DVD-As are being processed at a lower quality than the '12 was processing directly from the same DVD-As.

Having said all that, I am very happy with the sound system! The breakneck effect from this car definitely distracts me from the stuff I mentioned in point 2) above XD

I'd turn the radio off a bit more if the exhaust noises were a bit louder (and I didn't have the sunroof rattle)

 

[Toddasaurus]

Damn you guys.

I had no idea Bluetooth audio was lower quality than when plugged in until I read this. I definitely can hear the difference, too.

I was playing around with the dev settings for Bluetooth audio in my phone, I want to test out a few options but frankly I don't have the time to do it anytime soon. Too many higher priority projects.

Interested to see what others find messing with those options. I have a feeling that the system default may already be at or close to the highest quality anyway. Hopefully I'm wrong!

 

[OMG70]

So upon messing (just a little, not much) with it I'm not sure if it was a placebo effect or there was really a step up in quality. Didn't check the data for the song file as I was doing so while in traffic, but the bluetooth settings wouldn't hold for me if my screen went off of that settings page, including if I just hit lock and set the phone down. I'll do some more accurate testing next time I remember, but for now I'm enjoying my SXM trial. I'm too cheap to pay for that shit

 

[Ruissimo]

for now I'm enjoying my SXM trial. I'm too cheap to pay for that shit

It's $10 a month. Skip one Dunkin Donuts a week and it's paid for!

Here's what I do: I put a reminder on my calendar when my six or twelve month subscription is up for renewal, BEFORE they charge me. My conversation goes like this:

Me: "I want to cancel my subscription. I can't afford $120 for radio."

SXM: "Blah blah blah what if we give you the current promotional price?" (This is around $5-$10 month per radio, I have two cars.)

Me: "Okay I guess."

10-minute call once or twice a year, that's it.