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Why Lexus is more fun than you think...yes this is audio

108.235.157.25
Posted on October 18, 2016 at 04:36:21
MannyE
Audiophile

Posts: 2088
Location: Miami Beach
Joined: March 4, 2001



Because they stubbornly held on to the cassette player until 2009. If you think used LP and CD are cheap, they sell cassettes by the pound! Since it's the car and who cares about sound, I am having a blast. Bonus... they don't sound so bad. It seems someone over at Lexus with considerable power must have been a tape head.

 

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The cassette of Combat Rock rocks! Cassettes rule! Nt, posted on October 18, 2016 at 05:22:27
geoffkait
 Nt

 

RE: Why Lexus is more fun than you think...yes this is audio, posted on October 18, 2016 at 05:53:11
AbeCollins
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 "...someone over at Lexus with considerable power must have been a tape head. "

Nah, it's called catering to their ancient and bland market demographic. Only in recent years have Lexus tried to refresh their image with their over the top boy racer front facia. ;-)

BMW iPhone & iPod integration. No CDs. No tapes. No mess

Stream over the 4G LTE cellular data network or play stored music

Streaming Amazon Music

Streaming Pandora

Playing uncompressed files stored locally on the iDevice

Streaming the news

Streaming Business news

Streaming more news



 

Would it be fair to say iPhone and iPod integration is intended for the non-audiophile Now Generation?, posted on October 18, 2016 at 07:13:37
geoffkait
 ;-)

 

NO - my IPod Classic is ripped with 16/44, posted on October 18, 2016 at 07:32:00
G Squared
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  Since: May 23, 2023
 It's decent SQ for the car.
Gsquared

 

Not for me!, posted on October 18, 2016 at 07:40:55
E-Stat
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 I'm an old Baby Boomer audiophile who loves using a similar Apple Play integration / external USB drive with my new Ridgeline. I have quick access to all of my 900 odd albums in addition to any streaming service.

With a push of the button on the steering wheel, I can ask Siri most anything. :)

 

Most audiophiles would think so but...., posted on October 18, 2016 at 08:08:19
AbeCollins
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 ...most don't realize that iPhone & iPod integration mean a direct digital connection from the iDevice to the car's audio/infotainment system. The internal DAC and analog stage within the iDevice are completely bypassed for better sound quality. It is merely a digital transport to the car's DAC.

Add thousands of uncompressed music files (in my case mostly 16/44.1 CD rips) along with easy access via voice commands, steering wheel controls, visuals on the Nav screen, and you have a very convenient setup.... that sounds great!

CarPlay and Android Auto take it up a significant notch in newer cars. My system is designed by the auto maker and they are all having a hard time keeping up. The smart auto makers are adopting CarPlay and Android Auto (by Apple and Google).


 

RE: Not for me!, posted on October 18, 2016 at 08:16:23
srdavis2000
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 My 2007 Ridgeline has a pretty good sounding sound system in it - for an auto.

 

I listen to the tires, the exhaust, the road.. the wind. Not music... in my car when I drive., posted on October 18, 2016 at 09:47:19
Smelly_Socks
 I guess I just find listening to music too distracting from the joy of driving.
I LIKE to pay attention to driving. Instead of doing all I can to pretend I am not actually driving...

 

Aaaaaand point missed..., posted on October 18, 2016 at 09:50:36
MannyE
Audiophile

Posts: 2088
Location: Miami Beach
Joined: March 4, 2001
 That cassette in the picture cost less than a nickle considering the amount of great cassettes that were in the box the thrift lady said, "5 bucks...get that thing outta here" I have owned that car for 7 years and never thought of popping a cassette in there.

This morning the garbage men were all dancing when I played Rock the Casbah (did i spell that right?) and I was pleasantly surprised that the sound wasn't awful, like I thought it would be. All I remember from cassettes is that horrible hiss.

But the point was to relax and have fun. OF COURSE modern auto music solutions are better. OF COURSE there are literally millions of songs available at the touch of a button or through voice control and OF COURSE they sound great.

Do you want to come over an tell my kids Santa isn't real? Maybe we can add on that they won't have as much opportunity for a good job to the mix? Oh! I know! Let's also mention global warming will probably sink their inheritance of Miami Beach property into the ocean. :)

 

I'm with you..., posted on October 18, 2016 at 09:50:43
mkuller
Audiophile

Posts: 38130
Location: SF Bay Area
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 ...on my 2015 BMW 535i Harman Kardon sound system I plug in my iPod with 6700 songs in Lossless for road trips.

The album cover shows on the screen as it plays.

And surprisingly, the Audioquest Cinnamon USB to iPod cable made a big difference in the sound quality.

I haven't seen a cassette tape in years - next someone will retrofit a Muntz 8-track player.

 

I assume you're driving something exciting?, posted on October 18, 2016 at 10:01:03
MannyE
Audiophile

Posts: 2088
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 I am with you. When I drive my 1969 Road Runner convertible, I want nothing but the roar of that big block 383 with all 4 throats feeding gasoline and air into the beast and the chirp of the rear tires as the 425 foot pounds of torque snap my neck back and it's all I can do to keep 2 tons of metal, oil and anger going in a straight line. No radio needed.

But in my, let's face it, milquetoast LS430 with as much personality as the color beige, I need some tunes.

What vehicle are we talking about here?

 

Same, posted on October 18, 2016 at 10:33:23
grantv
Manufacturer

Posts: 7727
Location: B.C.
Joined: January 15, 2002
 I daily drive my 04 Z06 (400FT LBS stock in under 3100# car) with light mods (headers, aftermarket cats, tune), rarely listen to the radio. The engine sound is enough enjoyment to my ears.

 

RE: Same, posted on October 18, 2016 at 10:51:01
MannyE
Audiophile

Posts: 2088
Location: Miami Beach
Joined: March 4, 2001
 Turning on the radio (if you have one) in a real sports car is totally missing the point as well.

 

RE: Why Lexus is more fun than you think...yes this is audio, posted on October 18, 2016 at 12:31:23
acres verde
Audiophile

Posts: 723
Location: Big Easy
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 I call it the crab mouth. Remember how the Predator's mouth looked in the movie. I think that's where they drew their "inspiration". Deciding not to sit listlessly on it's laurels, Nissan has taken the leap with its new Maxima to try and one up Lexus by having the grill within the grill look,thus recalling the original Alien with its jaws inside the jaws look.

Next time you see one of these cars on the street, especially the Maxima (cuz the look is newer), see if you don't catch my drift here.

 

RE: Aaaaaand point missed..., posted on October 18, 2016 at 12:31:59
AbeCollins
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 I was just taking this opportunity to take a stab at Lexus! Toyota is an extremely conservative company IMHO but it's worked for them for many years. Fact of the matter is, they made awesome cars that are supremely more reliable than most.



 

RE: Why Lexus is more fun than you think...yes this is audio, posted on October 18, 2016 at 12:39:57
AbeCollins
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 Preditor was one of my favorite Arnold movies. I see the ressemblance. I'll have to keep my eyes open for the new Maxima.

I think Audi started it all if I'm not mistaken. They were one of the first to 'big mouth' on their grills. ;-) I called it the giant grouper look.




 

RE: Why Lexus is more fun than you think...yes this is audio, posted on October 18, 2016 at 12:46:09
acres verde
Audiophile

Posts: 723
Location: Big Easy
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 That big Audi grill reminds me of the gaping maw of the baleen whale as it feeds on krill.

 

RE: I'm with you..., posted on October 18, 2016 at 13:55:42
AbeCollins
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 2015 BMW has a more recent infotainment / cellular 4G LTE telematics system than my 2013. BMW is retrofitting my 2013 with the newer system free of charge. Otherwise, many of the telematics features will no longer be supported in the older setup. They gave me a choice of a $300 gift card or the retrofit upgrade. That was a no brainer. One of the reasons I bought the car with the optional 'technology package' was for the extended telematics and infotainment features. They will start retrofitting older vehicles in early 2017.

 

RE: Why Lexus is more fun than you think...yes this is audio, posted on October 18, 2016 at 14:20:37
SgreenP@MSN.com
Audiophile

Posts: 3538
Joined: April 23, 2007
 I have a Porsche with the very expensive Burmeister sound system. To ME, the less expensive Bose is very nearly the same...Disappointing.

 

RE: Why Lexus is more fun than you think...yes this is audio, posted on October 18, 2016 at 14:27:22
fantja
Audiophile

Posts: 15519
Location: Alabama
Joined: September 11, 2010
 Nice pic! MannyE.

some cassestte tapes do sound very good. I owned a very nice collection through the 80's until I switched to the CD.

 

RE: Why Lexus is more fun than you think...yes this is audio, posted on October 18, 2016 at 14:44:32
MannyE
Audiophile

Posts: 2088
Location: Miami Beach
Joined: March 4, 2001
 Lots was made about the Mark Levinson system in my Lexus to which I replied... meh. The subwoofers all degrade after a few years, cheap paper cones blow, and now that the system is ten years old, the proprietary parts are unobtanium from third parties and stupidly overpriced at the dealer. Sounds a little better than the standard OEM stereo, but not much.

The way car companies integrsate the stereo into the climate and other systems make removing the sub-standard parts and replacing with vastly superior third party equipment a nightmare and very very expensive. I spend enough money on my home stereo. When this goes tits up, I will just throw a boom box in the car.

 

RE: Aaaaaand point missed..., posted on October 18, 2016 at 14:46:01
MannyE
Audiophile

Posts: 2088
Location: Miami Beach
Joined: March 4, 2001
 You BMW guys are just pissed the LS is faster than the 740 (750? I can't keep up with numbers anymore) :)

 

RE: I'm with you..., posted on October 18, 2016 at 14:55:04
MannyE
Audiophile

Posts: 2088
Location: Miami Beach
Joined: March 4, 2001
 Wow! That's pretty cool actually. I have never heard of a car company doing that. I can only guess people started balking at multi-thousand dollar nav/stereo systems that were obsolete in the first few months of ownership (example.. the very expensive Lexus ML stereo with navigation) and stopped getting them. An upgrade path is one way to remedy that situation.

 

RE: Why Lexus is more fun than you think...yes this is audio, posted on October 18, 2016 at 15:01:46
MannyE
Audiophile

Posts: 2088
Location: Miami Beach
Joined: March 4, 2001
 I think they all meet in the same secret room Hillary uses to meet with world bankers (the ones that are plotting out downfall) to laugh at us for buying these cars with ridiculous grills.

They are all mad at Cadillac for not playing along...

 

Exactly, posted on October 18, 2016 at 17:16:31
E-Stat
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 Don't know about Manny, but I'd rather have tunes playing for trips. :)

 

RE: I'm with you..., posted on October 18, 2016 at 17:45:03
AbeCollins
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I believe certain features like automatic crash notification, service interval notifications to the dealer, sending navigation information to the car's onboard GPS via Google Maps on a PC, and 'connected drive' features would stop working. Connected Drive gets me realtime weather, news, messages, and some other features. My iPhone BMW Remote App would stop working too including features like lock the doors, flash the headlights, honk the horn, and locate the car on the map.

Those are capabilities I paid extra for in the technology package and it wouldn't be right for BMW to abandon customers who paid for this capability. I'm sure it's costing them a lot more to do the retrofit than the $300 gift card offer they proposed. If you accept the gift card, you also accept the fact that you lose all the cool technology features.


 

RE: Exactly, posted on October 18, 2016 at 17:48:13
AbeCollins
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There are times when I want to be deeply engaged in the driving experience with exhaust note and such. But on cross country freeway road trips on cruise control, it's nice to have easy access to thousands of tunes w/o fumbling for physical media.



 

RE: Aaaaaand point missed..., posted on October 18, 2016 at 17:49:57
AbeCollins
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 The 7-series have always been the cruise liner (tugboat?) of BMW cars. ;-)


 

RE: I'm with you..., posted on October 18, 2016 at 19:58:14
MannyE
Audiophile

Posts: 2088
Location: Miami Beach
Joined: March 4, 2001
 $300 is what the Lexus dealer charges to say "hello." I'm sure it's much the same at Bavarian Motor Werkes.

I'm sure if you went in to have that work done out of warranty it's 4 figures for sure.

 

RE: Aaaaaand point missed..., posted on October 19, 2016 at 10:55:16
kentaja
Manufacturer

Posts: 4614
Joined: March 26, 2001
 Those interested in performance don't buy 7-series BMW. That is for the luxury oriented crowd much like Lexus. Decent performance but more oriented towards ride comfort, personal luxury.

 

My Honda truck, posted on October 20, 2016 at 18:17:37
E-Stat
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Joined: May 12, 2000
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 comes within 0.02 G lateral cornering capability and 1 second 0 to 60 time with the LS460 - for half the price. :)

 

It's because of books on tape, posted on November 5, 2016 at 13:58:31
Vik
Audiophile

Posts: 1135
Location: Rochester, NY
Joined: January 1, 2002
 I read an article quoting an exec at Toyota as saying Toyota maintained the tape player for so long because because there was a significant portion of their customer base that listened to books on tape.

I love Lexus/Toyota in general. Their trucks in particular are the finest in the world seen everywhere from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. Reliable, safe, and overbuilt their resale value reflects their reliability. Look at how fast a BMW or Mercedes depreciate compared to a Toyota/Lexus. That alone speaks volumes about the quality of the vehicle. (I own Benz e550 too; I appreciate the vehicle for what it is: a toy.)

 

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