Lexicon Sound System Review 2012 V8 Genesis

[Aquineas]

Ah. Makes sense that you familiarized yourself with AM/FM/XM instead of your original "concern". All of which could have been made known on a test drive or two. You did that, right? Test the things that were important to you on a $45K car?
Whatever.

Though I agree with what you're getting at, I routinely turn off the stereo during test-drives so I can hear the noises the car makes (or doesn't make, as the case may be). It really annoys me if a salesperson is with me and they insist on turning on the radio to show off the stereo when I'm trying to listen to the engine, transmission, and squeak/rattle factor .

 

[elshagon]

Apparently, for proper DVD-Audio playback you do have to check the "Surround" check box in the settings in order to get discrete high resolution surround audio. I had assumed that when you play a DVD-Audio disc the system would default to discrete surround sound, but with the Surround box unchecked the sound loses fidelity and the discrete sound. With the box checked, there is great clarity, frequency response, and channel separation. I would rate the DVD-Audio sound as very good.

http://theseconddisc.com/2012/08/22...offers-new-5-1-surround-dvd-audio/#more-16155

I find that leaving the "surround" box unchecked will play the original dvd-audio mix and checking it will expand the rears more towards the side. Think of it as 5.1 vs 7.1 playback. One thing you have to make sure with retail dvd-audio is you're playing the right group from the disc. Most have stereo and surround mixes and sometimes you have to switch to the right one on the Lexicon. I have the Skynyrd disc as well. Glad to have it, but not one of my demo dvd-audios for sound quality. I dropped my XM radio as I found the sound to be awful. I think FM is better, but I prefer the sound with the surround button checked. I spend 90% of the time listening to mixed dvd-audio discs however. I do find the Lexicon picky about brands of blank discs. It prefers dvd-r blanks for both single layer and dual layer burning. Also over time my discs I've made can develop skips without leaving the player, but seem to play fine the first time played

 

[BacktoHyundaibychoice]

I find that leaving the "surround" box unchecked will play the original dvd-audio mix and checking it will expand the rears more towards the side. Think of it as 5.1 vs 7.1 playback. One thing you have to make sure with retail dvd-audio is you're playing the right group from the disc. Most have stereo and surround mixes and sometimes you have to switch to the right one on the Lexicon. I have the Skynyrd disc as well. Glad to have it, but not one of my demo dvd-audios for sound quality. I dropped my XM radio as I found the sound to be awful. I think FM is better, but I prefer the sound with the surround button checked. I spend 90% of the time listening to mixed dvd-audio discs however. I do find the Lexicon picky about brands of blank discs. It prefers dvd-r blanks for both single layer and dual layer burning. Also over time my discs I've made can develop skips without leaving the player, but seem to play fine the first time played

Re 5.1/7.1:
Exactly! But I usually leave it engaged for the less aggressive albums, and revert to 5.1 when "enhancement" isn't needed.
Speaking of aggressive surround mixes...
Have you heard The Vicar yet? Neil Wilkes finest job ever, and with at least 3 demo material cuts. Just beautiful music too.
See Music For the Lexicon last page for more, or QQ.

 

[mtrot]

I find that leaving the "surround" box unchecked will play the original dvd-audio mix and checking it will expand the rears more towards the side. Think of it as 5.1 vs 7.1 playback. One thing you have to make sure with retail dvd-audio is you're playing the right group from the disc. Most have stereo and surround mixes and sometimes you have to switch to the right one on the Lexicon. I have the Skynyrd disc as well. Glad to have it, but not one of my demo dvd-audios for sound quality. I dropped my XM radio as I found the sound to be awful. I think FM is better, but I prefer the sound with the surround button checked. I spend 90% of the time listening to mixed dvd-audio discs however. I do find the Lexicon picky about brands of blank discs. It prefers dvd-r blanks for both single layer and dual layer burning. Also over time my discs I've made can develop skips without leaving the player, but seem to play fine the first time played

Thanks, that's interesting and I will check it out again. I didn't hear much channel separation at all when the box was unchecked.

With regard to selecting the surround track in the Lexicon system, I did not see an option to select the different tracks. Maybe that was the problem. Can you tell me where in the menu this can be done? Thanks in advance.

 

[elshagon]

Thanks, that's interesting and I will check it out again. I didn't hear much channel separation at all when the box was unchecked.

With regard to selecting the surround track in the Lexicon system, I did not see an option to select the different tracks. Maybe that was the problem. Can you tell me where in the menu this can be done? Thanks in advance.

I usually play discs I've made myself, but if I remember correctly somewhere in the menu is an option to play different "groups" from the dvd-audio. Group 1 may be the surround, group 2 stereo for example. I believe the Lexicon tries to default to the surround group but I may be mistaken. I did have one disc that defaulted to stereo and I had to switch it to the other group to get it to play the surround. I believe it was on of The Flaming Lips dvd-audios. Of course when I make my own discs I only include the surround so no need to worry about which one is playing.

 

[elshagon]

Re 5.1/7.1:
Exactly! But I usually leave it engaged for the less aggressive albums, and revert to 5.1 when "enhancement" isn't needed.
Speaking of aggressive surround mixes...
Have you heard The Vicar yet? Neil Wilkes finest job ever, and with at least 3 demo material cuts. Just beautiful music too.
See Music For the Lexicon last page for more, or QQ.

Thanks, I hadn't heard of that one. I will definitely check it out. I'm really excited to hear about all the new surround discs coming out soon, especially the Yes "Close to the Edge"!!

 

[mtrot]

I usually play discs I've made myself, but if I remember correctly somewhere in the menu is an option to play different "groups" from the dvd-audio. Group 1 may be the surround, group 2 stereo for example. I believe the Lexicon tries to default to the surround group but I may be mistaken. I did have one disc that defaulted to stereo and I had to switch it to the other group to get it to play the surround. I believe it was on of The Flaming Lips dvd-audios. Of course when I make my own discs I only include the surround so no need to worry about which one is playing.

Thanks! I will try to find these "Groups" in the menu.

 

[stevenmalone]

I recently purchased a 2013 5.0 R Spec with that same system and just by listening to the radio and streamed music; it doesn't sound as good as I thought it would for being a 17 speaker "Lexicon" sound system. I am not real familiar with Lexicon; but I do work for BMW and have heard the Harmon Kardon other luxury cars and they seem to be much better than our/mine Lexicon system. Kind of disappointed, but better than my Sonata! But who cares when my Hyundai has a 5.0!!!!

 

[nb_mike]

I just ordered a DVD-A of Marvin Gaye from Amazon. I will let you know next week how it sounds.
I don't understand why it Hyundai puts in a 7.1 system and it is very hard to find music to play on it.

 

[RSPEC429]

I recently purchased a 2013 5.0 R Spec with that same system and just by listening to the radio and streamed music; it doesn't sound as good as I thought it would for being a 17 speaker "Lexicon" sound system. I am not real familiar with Lexicon; but I do work for BMW and have heard the Harmon Kardon other luxury cars and they seem to be much better than our/mine Lexicon system. Kind of disappointed, but better than my Sonata! But who cares when my Hyundai has a 5.0!!!!

Radio and low quality streaming music will not do a decent system justice. If your source is crap, the audio quality will be crap, simple as that. Get a DVD-A to get a clear picture of what this system is capable of.

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[BacktoHyundaibychoice]

I just ordered a DVD-A of Marvin Gaye from Amazon. I will let you know next week how it sounds.
I don't understand why it Hyundai puts in a 7.1 system and it is very hard to find music to play on it.

Search for the thread here called Music For the Lexicon.
Good tips throughout.

 

[stevenmalone]

Radio and low quality streaming music will not do a decent system justice. If your source is crap, the audio quality will be crap, simple as that. Get a DVD-A to get a clear picture of what this system is capable of.

True, I haven't tried that yet. Thanks

 

[mtrot]

Radio and low quality streaming music will not do a decent system justice. If your source is crap, the audio quality will be crap, simple as that. Get a DVD-A to get a clear picture of what this system is capable of.

Well, while I have lots of DVD-A and SACD titles and am quite familiar and aware of how good their audio quality is, CD is still a quality format and should sound great on a good auto sound system.

Additionally, XM Radio sounds really good on my wife's Buick Rainier with the Navigation and Bose Audio system, significantly better than in my Genesis. Actually, that system in the Rainier sounds better than most other factory systems I have heard. It doesn't have thunderous bass, but the mids and highs are great.

I don't say the Lexicon system is a bad one, but from what I can tell so far, it does not seem to be that dynamic or have as good quality on vocals and instruments as the Rainier.

 

[elshagon]

I just ordered a DVD-A of Marvin Gaye from Amazon. I will let you know next week how it sounds.
I don't understand why it Hyundai puts in a 7.1 system and it is very hard to find music to play on it.

The problem is the dvd-audio format pretty much died out due to a number of reasons: Competing SACD format and lack of sales due to people preferring putting 1000 mp3's on a drive rather that listening to higher quality are the two biggest reasons. You can still find some dvd-audio discs for sale, and there are still a few being released.

 

[sawyer1370]

I am looking at a Pre-Owned Genesis and wanted to know how big of a difference is there from the Lexicon system with the Premium Package (14 speakers) and the Tech Package (17 speakers).

Would I really notice that much of a difference if I listened to them one right after the other? The system is going to be so much better than any audio system I have had in any previous car, so I figured I can't lose either way.

 

[Gunkk]

Well if you listen to any good source material in both (CD, DVD-Audio), you'll notice a difference. If you listen to compressed cr*p that comes from XM or highly compressed mp3 sources, it may not matter to you as much.

In fact, I think sometimes that the better the system (17) the more it highlights the flaws in the source material.

 

[elshagon]

I am looking at a Pre-Owned Genesis and wanted to know how big of a difference is there from the Lexicon system with the Premium Package (14 speakers) and the Tech Package (17 speakers).

Would I really notice that much of a difference if I listened to them one right after the other? The system is going to be so much better than any audio system I have had in any previous car, so I figured I can't lose either way.

The best the Lexicon can sound is with a good dvd-audio disc. I find the Lexicon does ok with cd or mp3, but nowhere near the quality you get with dvd-audio. I think XM depending on the station sounds poor. The main difference between the 14 and 17 speaker system is the ability to play dvd-audio discs. If you're not planning on playing dvd-audio then it may not matter as much which system to buy. If you want the best sound you can get out of your system then buy the tech package and figure out a way to get some dvd-audio discs to play on it!

 

[landtuna]

To be honest, I cannot tell the difference between the Lexicon in the Genny and the upscale JBL system I had in my 2000 Avalon BUT.....I have not yet tried audio recordings that take advantage of the 7.1 surround sound (or any DVD-A's for that matter).

I suspect the Lexicon is more capable than the older JBL system but with wifey barking away on her cell phone in the adjacent seat it really doesn't matter 'cause I can't hear it anyway.

I wish the Genny was a single-seater.

 

[sawyer1370]

Does the Genesis Lexicon system play SACD as well? I have a few discs from both formats. I will have to bring them with me when I narrow down my purchase so I can see what everyone is talking about.

 

[BacktoHyundaibychoice]

Does the Genesis Lexicon system play SACD as well? I have a few discs from both formats. I will have to bring them with me when I narrow down my purchase so I can see what everyone is talking about.

No. Not aware of any car audio that does.