Genesis G70 Lexicon Sound System

[NLJ]

You can get great deals with SXM if you call to cancel. I once paid $45 for the whole year.
But SXM is a waste of time unless you want the news channels or other talk radio. Their music channels just loop.

 

[Ruissimo]

You can get great deals with SXM if you call to cancel. I once paid $45 for the whole year.
But SXM is a waste of time unless you want the news channels or other talk radio. Their music channels just loop.

Talk radio... I agree with you.

News channels are worthless; 2 minutes of biased content followed by 4 minutes of commercials. Tell me again why I pay for a subscription!?!

The music channels are okay. I like the older stuff (60s, 80s, etc) and there's definitely more variety there than the top 40 of different genres. Hits 1 and Kidz Bop drive me insane. It's the same 7 songs over and over and then I find myself humming them in the shower.

I'm gonna need to keep the kids in the minivan from now on.

The quality of SXM ain't bad to be honest.

 

[OMG70]

I'm too cheap to buy the Dunkin too lmao. My theory is: if I'm going to pay for my music, I might as well get a Spotify/Tidal subscription so I can pick what I want.

With that said, I haven't had new music on my phone in a few years and it is starting to wear on me. Might have to bite the bullet and actually... *gasp* spend money...

 

[Bourbonncigars]

The quality of SXM ain't bad to be honest.

If by "quality" you mean the sound quality (rather than the music selection), it seems to vary quite a lot from channel to channel. Some sound great, some sound compressed to hell.

 

[Beefer]

I do the same thing...one phone call a year to threaten leaving...and I get $100 per year. I always squeeze out the web access as well...so I can listen on the phone app/computer wherever I go. That is huge for me.

Radio stations blow where I live...so SXM is on all the time. Plus...I love my BPM and Ozzy channels

 

[NLJ]

So I heard somewhere that you shouldn't call to cancel if it came with the G70. Let it expire and don't renew. If you cancel, you will lose the data services and won't have live traffic and weather anymore.
Not sure if it is the same for the US!

 

[Ruissimo]

So I heard somewhere that you shouldn't call to cancel if it came with the G70. Let it expire and don't renew. If you cancel, you will lose the data services and won't have live traffic and weather anymore.
Not sure if it is the same for the US!

So what happens when you expire? No more radio but all the services remain? I'm confooosed.

 

[NLJ]

So what happens when you expire? No more radio but all the services remain? I'm confooosed.

Yup. I still have weather and traffic. If you call to cancel, they unilaterally cancel everything. And you'll have trouble gettinudata services alone added if you end up with a rep that doesn't know the difference.

 

[Ruissimo]

But I like the radio... so what do I do then?

 

[KptKrunch]

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.

Thanks Bastiat - good info. I'm looking into buying a Genesis - it's my mid life crisis car. I use it for work though so the 3.3T is out (the better my gas mileage, the more money I make - but I want to be comfortable in the vehicle especially when I have those 3 to 4 hour hwy trips and sound is a big priority - not the be all end all but it's still there).

I'm also a self proclaimed 'audiophile' and have had healthy and eye opening debates with many people regarding what you have stated. I'm also a (very) amateur guitar player.

Electronics - what you say has merit - IF it's tube driven. My Fender Blues Deluxe Tube amp (Guitar) definitely sounds better once the tubes warm up. solid state - nope. Speakers.... no. I proved it to myself and others with speakers. Speakers will 'loosen'up but that process goes by very fast. But the sound quality, unless you're an Owl, you'd never detect. What 'breaks in' is the human ear (and brain)- it breaks in to the sound that you hear day in and day out. What you get used to.

BTW - the speakers - I had a speaker, after 3 months of ownership, blow up on me (crossover) - so needed it replaced. So now I have one speaker that is 'broken in' - one speaker that is 'brand new'. I had my son switch out the speakers - did not hear one iota of difference - brand new (was still sealed in box before I hooked it up that is lol) to a speaker with about 300 hours on it (100 hours a month is about right - it's on all the time either for music, TV / movies, or radio). I couldn't tell blindfolded, son couldn't, friends couldn't. Zero difference.

So apologies as I'm not trying to start a debate or anything here. Just relaying my own experiences. I find that if you don't like the way something sounds 'out of the box' don't let people say 'don't worry, it will break in and you'll like it' - it doesn't break in. Your ears and brain is what breaks in to the sound. Something that sounds like you describe - crisp and harsh, someone who loves 'BOSE" would hate it. But if they listened to that system enough, they'd begin to realize that 'crisp and harsh' is actually more accurate and detailed, not the masked/ muddy sound they have grown accustomed to.

Alan Shaw from Harbeth puts it best - go to a club and sit as close as you can to the drummer (especially if it's jazz). The cymbals will eventually drive you crazy - very harsh very bright - all systems that promote long listening sessions will 'tone that shit down' . I prefer the accuracy as and you mentioned with your bass you can always eq that stuff down. BOSE - you can't. So happy this car doesn't come with BOSE. My current vehicle has a Harman Kardon so I know the sound but I believe that the Lexicon (from what you and others are describing) would be the step up like the Genesis to Hyuandai.

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[Gnarlly]

Thanks Bastiat - good info. I'm looking into buying a Genesis - it's my mid life crisis car. I use it for work though so the 3.3T is out (the better my gas mileage, the more money I make - but I want to be comfortable in the vehicle especially when I have those 3 to 4 hour hwy trips and sound is a big priority - not the be all end all but it's still there).

I'm also a self proclaimed 'audiophile' and have had healthy and eye opening debates with many people regarding what you have stated. I'm also a (very) amateur guitar player.

Electronics - what you say has merit - IF it's tube driven. My Fender Blues Deluxe Tube amp (Guitar) definitely sounds better once the tubes warm up. solid state - nope. Speakers.... no. I proved it to myself and others with speakers. Speakers will 'loosen'up but that process goes by very fast. But the sound quality, unless you're an Owl, you'd never detect. What 'breaks in' is the human ear (and brain)- it breaks in to the sound that you hear day in and day out. What you get used to.

BTW - the speakers - I had a speaker, after 3 months of ownership, blow up on me (crossover) - so needed it replaced. So now I have one speaker that is 'broken in' - one speaker that is 'brand new'. I had my son switch out the speakers - did not hear one iota of difference - brand new (was still sealed in box before I hooked it up that is lol) to a speaker with about 300 hours on it (100 hours a month is about right - it's on all the time either for music, TV / movies, or radio). I couldn't tell blindfolded, son couldn't, friends couldn't. Zero difference.

So apologies as I'm not trying to start a debate or anything here. Just relaying my own experiences. I find that if you don't like the way something sounds 'out of the box' don't let people say 'don't worry, it will break in and you'll like it' - it doesn't break in. Your ears and brain is what breaks in to the sound. Something that sounds like you describe - crisp and harsh, someone who loves 'BOSE" would hate it. But if they listened to that system enough, they'd begin to realize that 'crisp and harsh' is actually more accurate and detailed, not the masked/ muddy sound they have grown accustomed to.

Alan Shaw from Harbeth puts it best - go to a club and sit as close as you can to the drummer (especially if it's jazz). The cymbals will eventually drive you crazy - very harsh very bright - all systems that promote long listening sessions will 'tone that shit down' . I prefer the accuracy as and you mentioned with your bass you can always eq that stuff down. BOSE - you can't. So happy this car doesn't come with BOSE. My current vehicle has a Harman Kardon so I know the sound but I believe that the Lexicon (from what you and others are describing) would be the step up like the Genesis to Hyuandai.

As a self-confessed audiophile and semi-professional guitar player (only using tube amps I think the Lexicon system is great but I personally can’t stand Sirius XM radio. While the station variety is great, I immediately notice the compression and lack of dynamics. I’ve never renewed a subscription because of this and prefer to just use higher bit rate audio files through Apple car play with my phone plugged in via USB. Call me a dinosaur, but I do miss having an actual CD player.

 

[Truck Norris]

As a self-confessed audiophile and semi-professional guitar player (only using tube amps I personally can’t stand Sirius XM radio. While the station variety is great, I immediately notice the compression and lack of dynamics. I’ve never renewed a subscription because of this and prefer to just use higher bit rate audio files through Apple car play with my phone plugged in via USB. Call me a dinosaur, but I do miss having an actual CD player.

Completely agree with this. Sirius XM quality just makes me die a little inside. I've been using files on a USB stick and just started trying Tidal out over the network, however likely will stick with the USB/phone storage for music. So happy NTFS is an accepted format for USB so file sizes can be whatever you want for music.

 

[maxsilver]

As a self-confessed audiophile and semi-professional guitar player (only using tube amps I personally can’t stand Sirius XM radio. While the station variety is great, I immediately notice the compression and lack of dynamics. I’ve never renewed a subscription because of this and prefer to just use higher bit rate audio files through Apple car play with my phone plugged in via USB. Call me a dinosaur, but I do miss having an actual CD player.

That was my biggest complaint with satellite radio as well was the poor sound quality. I enjoyed the available selection of stations fine but couldn't stand to actually listen regularly due to the audio artifacts.

Quick question for you, are you able to stream music and use google maps simultaneously when plugged into USB? I've been using a usb stick full of tunes, which locks out the ability to use android auto.

 

[Gnarlly]

That was my biggest complaint with satellite radio as well was the poor sound quality. I enjoyed the available selection of stations fine but couldn't stand to actually listen regularly due to the audio artifacts.

Quick question for you, are you able to stream music and use google maps simultaneously when plugged into USB? I've been using a usb stick full of tunes, which locks out the ability to use android auto.

I haven’t tried Android auto. I’ve been able to stream music fine while using the Apple maps app but I haven’t tried google maps as well. I’m pretty happy with the implementation of the Apple maps app and haven’t felt a need to switch.

 

[Truck Norris]

Quick question for you, are you able to stream music and use google maps simultaneously when plugged into USB? I've been using a usb stick full of tunes, which locks out the ability to use android auto.

I can confirm you can stream music and use google maps simultaneously.
You can also listen to the radio/SiriusXM and use google maps.

It's to bad there are not two USB inputs so you could run USB/android auto at the same time (or at least not have to unplug one for another). I think someone mentioned on this forum a while back a splitter doesn't work either.

 

[Ruissimo]

It's to bad there are not two USB inputs so you could run USB/android auto at the same time (or at least not have to unplug one for another). I think someone mentioned on this forum a while back a splitter doesn't work either.

This right here! I want to use carplay AND be able to listen my USB music.

 

[KptKrunch]

As a self-confessed audiophile and semi-professional guitar player (only using tube amps I think the Lexicon system is great but I personally can’t stand Sirius XM radio. While the station variety is great, I immediately notice the compression and lack of dynamics. I’ve never renewed a subscription because of this and prefer to just use higher bit rate audio files through Apple car play with my phone plugged in via USB. Call me a dinosaur, but I do miss having an actual CD player.

LOL - not a dinosaur - I hear you loud and clear. I think a few mentioned it already and I agree - XM /Sirius is fine for talk radio - sports, Howard, etc. but that's it. Personally I don't subscribe - when tooling around town I usually just listen to local sports talk radio and on long trip I use, believe it or not, my old iPOD. It's not the greatest but through my aux jack sounds as good as any sat service. Only issue is it's an iPOD - looking into getting a better device that can hold my DSD's and FLACs but in no hurry. I too will miss the CD player though could always get one installed. But I have become spoiled with having a lot (not all) of my songs on once device. Can't wait for my test drive (though I don't think I'll be listening to the music while driving) - have it booked for the end of the month.

 

[Flycaster]

As far as SMX cost goes, I never paid more than $5/mo; usually 6 months at a time. I just make sure that I get back to them before each subscription is up to work another deal. At this point, as I have been doing $5/mo for several years, I merely tell them bye-bye if I don't get the same deal. However, when I first started with SMX, I said all my friends pay only $5/mo...and that was enough to seal the deal.

 

[Falldog]

SMX quality is fine on the channels I listen to.

Still need to figure out why Spotify via Android Auto sounds like thrash tho.

 

[elsid88]

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!

Pink Floyd Dogs Of War sounds awesome using Android Auto playing off of TIDAL