I leased a new 2014 CT200h about a week ago. My first Lexus. Starfire Pearl. Nav with Premium package. I traded in a 2011 Prius pkg 3. I like how the CT drives and handles. The Prius was a good vehicle, but boring. The CT is much more fun to drive and is much quieter than my Prius was, especially when the paved surface is rough.
begin rant...
However, the "10 Speaker Premium Audio System" is abysmally bad. I'm not expecting perfection but I expected something worthy of Lexus and the words "premium audio system".
The stock JBL system in the Prius that I traded in sounded much better and was much better balanced.
10 Speakers? The speaker in the middle of the dash area appears to just be for nav and bluetooth voice and does not seem to output any music. The sub in the back appears to do next to nothing but output booming sounds. Subs are supposed to thump, not boom. Bamboo speakers? In my opinion just a gimmick - get rid of it as it seems to do nothing for the sound quality. Tweeters in the lower A-pillar pointing at the left and right? Who was the sound engineer that made that decision? For the driver, having the tweeters placed in this way makes the high frequencies appear to come from one side - the right. The tweeter in the left A-pillar can't be heard by the driver, as it is located in such a poor position and is pointing toward the right side of the car instead of angled to point towards the driver. Anyone with a critical ear or a bit of audiophile or sound engineering background knows that mid and high frequencies make up the sound image and highs especially can be very directional. Tweeters are directional and don't radiate the same level of sound across a 180 degree radius so the tweeters in the lower A pillar contribute to a completely unbalanced sound stage for the driver and passenger. The overall balance for the stock system is so bad that for the first time ever in an automobile I have owned I have to use the balance control and set it two clicks to the left to make the system sound somewhat balanced.
I kick myself for not paying a bit more attention to the audio system during the test drive. I mistakenly assumed that since it was a Lexus that they would not "go cheap" on the "premium audio system". Sadly, I was wrong.
Knowing what I know now, I'd not purchase the CT. If they "went cheap" on the "premium audio" in what is supposed to be a luxury or high quality brand, I wonder what else they "went cheap" on?
Lexus needs to come to their senses with this audio system. There is nothing that makes the existing system in my CT a "premium audio system". The speakers need to be upgraded all around and the tweeters either need to be in the doors or preferably co-axially mounted with the left and right dash speakers. Then they need to spend a bit of time listening to the system to get it right. There is no excuse for a supposedly "premium" system to be so incredibly bad. if they insist on lower A-pillar tweeter mounts, at least change them so they point more towards the driver and passenger instead of at the opposite side of the car.
end rant...
So my big question is this: Is there anything that I can do to fix the audio system without spending a ton of dollars? Like I mentioned above, this is a lease so any changes or mods have to be invisible and 100% reversible. The head unit seems to be a non-standard size so it will probably need to stay but it seems like the rest of the system needs to go. I've already looked at the speaker replacement threads in the do it yourself section and it appears that while it can be done, all of the speakers are non-standard sizes and/or mounts requiring modifications and/or adapters. There also appears to be a crossover located behind the head unit that limits the dash speakers to output of mid and high frequencies only.
It sounds like I'm either going to have to spend a bunch of dollars to fix the audio or just trade the CT for something better. I'd appreciate any insight that anyone can offer, and thanks for listening to my rant.
begin rant...
However, the "10 Speaker Premium Audio System" is abysmally bad. I'm not expecting perfection but I expected something worthy of Lexus and the words "premium audio system".
The stock JBL system in the Prius that I traded in sounded much better and was much better balanced.
10 Speakers? The speaker in the middle of the dash area appears to just be for nav and bluetooth voice and does not seem to output any music. The sub in the back appears to do next to nothing but output booming sounds. Subs are supposed to thump, not boom. Bamboo speakers? In my opinion just a gimmick - get rid of it as it seems to do nothing for the sound quality. Tweeters in the lower A-pillar pointing at the left and right? Who was the sound engineer that made that decision? For the driver, having the tweeters placed in this way makes the high frequencies appear to come from one side - the right. The tweeter in the left A-pillar can't be heard by the driver, as it is located in such a poor position and is pointing toward the right side of the car instead of angled to point towards the driver. Anyone with a critical ear or a bit of audiophile or sound engineering background knows that mid and high frequencies make up the sound image and highs especially can be very directional. Tweeters are directional and don't radiate the same level of sound across a 180 degree radius so the tweeters in the lower A pillar contribute to a completely unbalanced sound stage for the driver and passenger. The overall balance for the stock system is so bad that for the first time ever in an automobile I have owned I have to use the balance control and set it two clicks to the left to make the system sound somewhat balanced.
I kick myself for not paying a bit more attention to the audio system during the test drive. I mistakenly assumed that since it was a Lexus that they would not "go cheap" on the "premium audio system". Sadly, I was wrong.
Knowing what I know now, I'd not purchase the CT. If they "went cheap" on the "premium audio" in what is supposed to be a luxury or high quality brand, I wonder what else they "went cheap" on?
Lexus needs to come to their senses with this audio system. There is nothing that makes the existing system in my CT a "premium audio system". The speakers need to be upgraded all around and the tweeters either need to be in the doors or preferably co-axially mounted with the left and right dash speakers. Then they need to spend a bit of time listening to the system to get it right. There is no excuse for a supposedly "premium" system to be so incredibly bad. if they insist on lower A-pillar tweeter mounts, at least change them so they point more towards the driver and passenger instead of at the opposite side of the car.
end rant...
So my big question is this: Is there anything that I can do to fix the audio system without spending a ton of dollars? Like I mentioned above, this is a lease so any changes or mods have to be invisible and 100% reversible. The head unit seems to be a non-standard size so it will probably need to stay but it seems like the rest of the system needs to go. I've already looked at the speaker replacement threads in the do it yourself section and it appears that while it can be done, all of the speakers are non-standard sizes and/or mounts requiring modifications and/or adapters. There also appears to be a crossover located behind the head unit that limits the dash speakers to output of mid and high frequencies only.
It sounds like I'm either going to have to spend a bunch of dollars to fix the audio or just trade the CT for something better. I'd appreciate any insight that anyone can offer, and thanks for listening to my rant.