Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Automotive Meridian vs...

Depends how many miles you do, I was doing 40k miles a year, 30k of which were in a 4 months period, I needed to have a good sound system.
Not one that plays really loud, but one that sounds good when played at normal levels, and that is what is tricky in a car.
I am only doing 20k miles a year now in my main car, but still want a decent sounding system that I can play my music on, and DAB so I can listen to 5 Live clearly.

Nice to here the XKR was pretty good, the Jag thing is an itch that needs scratching and decided on an XKR last week.

5 Live, or 5 Live SX?

Both!

And I quite like 6 Music, some really good stuff on there too.

Gutted Jazz FM has come off DAB though as that was the station I listened to most.

+1 for BBC 6 music... popular with all in my house. Great track picks almost all the time.

I went to listen to another Lexus GS with the ML surround sound system installed. In many ways, it sounds very similar to the Lexus standard stereo. It has the same bass weight, the same even bass response, good imaging but the whole thing gelled more as a complete system compared to the standard system which sounded a little disjointed between bass and the rest. However, the upper mids were too prominent, like in the other ML equipped car I listened to. I also preferred the standard system treble, it was much more refined there and not as fatiguing. Of the two DSP modes, I preferred surround mode off. It sounded most natural and most relaxing of the two. From what I can tell, the ML system is all about more detail at the expense of refinement. At least that's how it sounds to me.

I was also interested to see how well the ventilated seats worked and today, a warm day with warm seats, they don't cool my back at all but the legs area is cooled nicely.

I love the car. I love the tech and the drivetrain. It's quick, smooth and really quiet at urban speeds, although at 70mph its no quieter than my A6 (measured with an SPL meter on the same road). If I was going to buy it, I'd probably opt for the standard 10 speaker system and not the ML.

When I started this quest, I was convinced that I'd sit in a Freelander, love the M 825w system and then realise that I'd have to buy a Freelander. I was expecting 5Ks in the car to be my experience and it just wasn't. If I'd had my eyes closed, I couldn't have told you it was anything special at all, certainly not the M signature sound.

Is it me or is that taking things just a touch too far?!

No and Yes
Hector

That was a 3 word reply Hector & you could have done without the first 2.

Haha, I did have to bite my tongue.

The assertion was made in another thread that Lexus is particularly quiet. I had to verify it. Yes, I know I'm a bit OTT but a quieter environment is easier on the ears. That's why noise cancelling headphones were invented, after all.

How hard is it to come up with a stereo that sounds easy on the ears in a car environment. Turns out it is pretty damn hard and even the high end options available from well known audio brands can't get it right. I'm not the only one. Plenty of others complain about shouty/fatiguing upgraded factory fit stereos.

You're absolutely right, but then even most aftermarket set ups tend to sound quite bright.
That is why I like Pioneer so much, always sounds so much smoother than the rest.
I have an Alpine W925R in my ML at the moment, an although better than most Alpines over the last 10 years it still needs a fair amount of tweeking with the parametric EQ to tame it, and it never sounds 'smooth'.

I went with it as it is one of the only double din units with DAB and proper time alignment, which to me is one of the most important features.

I have been impressed with the Logic7/Harman/Top Hi-fi* system in the E generation of BMWs, along with the underseat subs they have given a pretty 'nice' sound for a factory system.

But the basic system in the E and S Class Mercs have also been good, helps they have 6.5" drivers in the doors so you get some fairly decent weight from them, and the tweeters never sound shrill. Just adding a nice amp to the factory set up can give some pretty good results too.

But, no matter how good you get the system, if you are having to crank it up to get over cabin noise you are fighting a loosing battle.

The cabin noise in my E350 Estate was terrible, and because of that it needed driving to the point where it sounded shrill, a real shame after the two previous generation E Class's sounded so good.

Personally, I'm finding Chris G's reviews rather interesting.

I'm a bit surprised by some of the reactions. As a group, I'd have thought that most of us share the "You spent how much on a stereo?" or "What the heck are those?" to big speakers or acoustical treatments. It seems odd that some of us would be reacting analogously to Chris's and others' desire for high quality audio in a car environment.

Plenty of us spend more time in the car than we would choose. It doesn't seem odd to want decent fidelity in the car's audio system.

I do, of course, share the concerns with distracted driving. It's common here to see things like texting while driving, even though illegal. I look forward to self-driving cars, hoping they are widely adopted by folks who'd rather be doing something other than driving.