Theoretically supports all models of Lexus ES 2018-2021 and recent current generation not equipped with Mark Levinson sound system
Except for the executive version and the two limited editions, the current ES is not equipped with a complete set of Mark Levinson audio systems. The Pioneer audio quality with its own 10 speakers is of medium to high quality and can play a better role. This article will share my two years of tossing experience. Discussions are welcome.
Goal: Improve the sense of hearing and entertainment of the audio-visual system.
Standard: No replacement of in-vehicle hardware, the system comes with its own adjustments and with the help of portable hardware.
At present, there are many questions raised by car owners or potential car owners for test driving about the audio system, that is, “why is there no sound in the rear row of the ES?”. After this conclusion, there will be several opinions that many people agree with: “The power of the built-in power amplifier is not enough”. “The 10-speaker pioneer has a general effect” and so on. There are also many car owners who will replace the car hardware to replace the original car’s built-in audio and power amplifier in order to obtain good sound quality, and even dig out the Mark speaker or power amplifier in a fish for modification. If you have seen the scene of the replacement of the horn, I believe that most car owners are reluctant to disassemble the doors and seats. If they encounter an unskilled master, it may have a certain impact on the driving quality and NVH of the vehicle. At the same time, online shopping of so-called second-hand car dismantling parts Mark Levinson accessories is not recommended. Let’s not talk about whether you can buy genuine products. Even if you buy genuine products, the number of speakers will be different. The power of the original car of the single power amplifier is different. It is unknown whether it will cause a load on the power supply of the car, and there will be certain risks. Therefore, it is not recommended to disassemble the original car audio equipment. On this premise, is there a way to improve the sense of hearing as much as possible and solve the problem of silence or small sound in the rear?
The answer is it can be solved. Through the use of these two years, I found that the ES audio system has a characteristic that “there are more software interventions for audio playback”. Through the audio setting menu, we can find several options, such as “surround”, “speed linkage”, “sound field”, etc. These options are to change the sound effects through software intervention to meet user requirements.
When the original car leaves the factory, the default tuning is for the driver in the front row, so it will cause the rear row to be “silent”. Some car owners will change the “sound field” but find that how to pull back, the rear exhaust sound is still limited, but the front row is smaller. After a series of tests, the current setting steps to completely solve the situation are as follows:
1. Reduce the impact of the system on the software on the audio, and turn off the “speed linkage” and “surround”.
2. Adjust the “sound field” to the rear of the car by 3-4 bars.
3. Since the software simulation is turned off and the sound field is adjusted, the volume needs to be increased. Generally, it is about 30 to 35 during the driving process, depending on the individual situation.
4. Adjust the EQ. This item is more subjective and can be adjusted according to your own preferences. My setting is 301. Try to avoid using various sound effects of mobile phone players, it is difficult to achieve a good sense of hearing.
The above, basically solve the problem of silence in the backstage, and compare the appearance settings, the sense of hearing can basically be improved by the ears, it should be noted that if the input audio source is changed (for example, the original use of Bluetooth or U disk, replaced by CD), there is a certain probability You need to repeat the settings for the new audio source, but you don’t need to follow it. After the basic settings are confirmed, some minor problems that come with ES have been solved, and the follow-up is the input sound source part. The following is the experience sharing of various sound source input.
Solution: Mobile phone Bluetooth (recommended).
I personally think that this solution can achieve a balance between convenience and sound quality. At the same time, after connecting to Bluetooth, you can use the car Bluetooth to answer calls, providing high driving safety. Since the highest Bluetooth audio specification supported by the car is AAC, the FLAC format and high-bit rate MP3 mode are completely sufficient, and you don’t need to pay too much attention to the audio file specification. Currently, mid-to-high-end Qualcomm chips and Apple all support it, and the sound quality is acceptable. At the same time, Bluetooth can display lyrics (a function without practicality), but because the principle is similar to turning pages on the screen, the music time will also be refreshed when the lyrics are displayed.
The advanced gameplay of this solution is to use a portable Bluetooth amp. I have tried two BR series from FiiO, and the sound quality has indeed improved. It can fully satisfy the transmission performance of the mobile phone APT-X, but the improvement is limited and inconvenient. Need amp, mobile phone, Bluetooth connection of car machine, and often forget to charge the amp, so the convenience is poor. This solution sacrifices the convenience of Bluetooth and cannot achieve the sound quality of wired connections. If you have a spare amp, you can consider it, and it is not recommended for other situations.
Option 2: AUX.
The operation of this solution is relatively retro. If you choose to use a slightly better AUX cable (shorter), if the sound source and hardware are good, the sound quality is acceptable (I have tried mobile phone direct push and Shanling’s player, and there is basically no difference). However, this solution has many disadvantages: 1. AUX direct connection cannot cut songs through the multimedia buttons of the steering wheel. 2. The host screen cannot display any music information. It is inconvenient to operate and has poor aesthetics.
Solution: Baidu carelife (equipped with 2020 ES and subsequent models)
Personally, I don’t like mobile phone connection. If you are used to using carelife, you can try it. The main disadvantage is that the content and audio source of the platform cannot be guaranteed. It is a bit rate streaming media and is good for listening to programs such as Himalaya.
I changed my iPhone this year, Apple Music is really good, and listening to music with a lossless Bluetooth connection is also good. Advanced can be connected by USB cable. After connection, the audio menu “Bluetooth” will become the name of the mobile phone. You can select it. The sound quality is good and the cover can be displayed.
Scheme: U disk playback (current self-use scheme)
This solution is currently used for personal use. The read and write speed of ordinary U disks can fully guarantee the transmission speed of high-bit-rate audio files. At the same time, in addition to lyrics, media information (cover) can be displayed, and it is close to the convenience of Bluetooth wireless. The main disadvantage is that if you need to change songs frequently, it will be more troublesome for the car owner, but the car system comes with a single folder for playback, and you can create a folder in the U disk.
In addition, the U disk mode can make the car display the music album cover through DIY music files, which is a little tossing. The car only supports the display of the picture cover with a resolution of 300×300. What we need to do is to find the cover file first, modify the resolution, and put the adapted resolution file into the music file. After loading the music files, use third-party software to obtain song information and automatically match the cover. This step is not difficult, the player that comes with windows can be.
Post time: Aug-22-2022