Levinson in Lexus

Nobody puts worse audio systems in there cars than Porsche. I have a 911 and the system in it is a travesty. Regards, Mike

Joh@teacher: I pictured the same thing. I also pictured a pair of Maggie's leaning against the back seat.

FYI--the Lexus system is evidently more than a rebadged Harman Int'l system. I too thought it was just a rebadged Infinity at first, but then read an article in a car audio mag that gave a little history on the idea. It seems that many Lexus execs in Japan are Levinson owners, and wanted to implement it into the vehicle. Madrigal DID actually do a complete design of the system, with all speakers and amps, etc. It includes a center channel, and a sub, and individually amped speakers. Phil Nuzio of Madrigal made many trips to Japan to ensure that the system was done right. The result is apparently the best factory system ever--although I have yet to hear it.

How much does it cost? I know the answer, "If you have to ask...". But since I will not be buying a Lexus anyway, I am curious. I went to hear the Subaru Outback, using the McIntosh stereo, but they did not have any in stock. Just the LL Bean Edition models.

Well, I just bought a new Lexus LS 430 a couple of weeks ago with the Levinson system installed. It's nice, nicer than many factory installed systems I've heard, but it is NOT audiophile quality by any means (and I'm a little disappointed, but after all it is just a car system, albeit a bit on the expensive side.) While it really does have some nice detail (you can here hall ambience, etc.) I find it WAY too bright (for the levels I want to listen at) and much more colored than a good home system. I must say it impresses people when I play it, specially with something with bass, or cleanly recorded, but an audiophile would definitely not be impressed.