Mark Levinson in Lexus?

I have been into car stereos for alot longer than home audio where I am a newbie. I have my own high end car detailing business & one of my customers has the LX470 with the levinson upgrade. He and his wife are quite audiophiles with a full Krell HT & a Levinson/N801 2 channel system. To simplify things, The lexus system SUCKS in all capital letters (I demo'd it w/ some Steely Dan). My customer...as did an acquaintance from a high end shop in San Fran, verified that Levinson had nothing to do with the system other than lend his name to it. It is actually built by Harmon Kardon. For 5k, I will guarantee that the right aftermarket system will make the Lexus system sound like Bose in comparison

Ellery911, what do you consider good aftermarket systems, where does one get them, and how do you think the aftermarket will fit into the dvd-audio upgrade scene? By a year from now, dvd-audio car systems will be 'hot' but they will all be built, as in the case of the Harmon Kardon players, by the Korean, Japanese and Chinese midfi makers. What components (speakers, cables, amps, players) does an aftermarket company provide?

I have one. I bought a 2002 ES300 a couple of months ago and wouldn't buy it without the system... and it is SO worth it, it doesn't cost $5K for the system, not even $3K...
a link in case you want more detail http://www.marklevinsonlexus.com/

(by the way, all components have the Madrigal name on them.. I believe someone was stating that he thought that he heard that HK was making them.)

Anyway, I LOVE my 1 hour commute these days! The car is so quiet and the sound system is tailored for the interior.
It takes about 30 minutes to get really warmed up, then * oh * my * god *...
There is a 3 dimensional sound stage right above your steering wheel - no joke. right out over the damn dash board. Yeah, the sound is everywhere in the car, but the whole thing is gathered up and delivered to the driver in a most amazing way.
If you listen to really well-recorded CD, you can really hear the difference. It has a 6 CD changer in the center console. You just load up the cassette and they are neatly and safely tucked away.
I told myself that if I was going to spend that kind of money, I was not going to skimp; I was going to get EXACTLY what I wanted.

cheers,
aj

Angela, congrats, nice ride ya got! When I bought my Acura 3.2 CL Type S last year I thought..."oh jeez, the damned car has a Bose system". Many 'philes may wonder...why buy a car if it has a Bose system in it???? Size does count.. 265HP in a car weighing roughly 2500lbs, for one. Hehehehe..Before I even took delivery I was planning out my aftermarket system to replace the vile stock unit. Got the car, and truth be told the system really isn't all that bad. Bear in mind a car is not the ideal listening environment so it tends to be a lot more forgiving. Why carve up a real nice interior if it's not necessary? Find a car with a decent system, throw on your favourite driving tunes, and sing along at the top of your lungs like an idiot while those around you wonder what kind of pharmaceuticals yer on. And oh, watch out, speeding tickets can really eat into your CD/LP budget. Jeff

aj-On the ES it isn't that much($)but on the LS/LX/SC/GS it is big money, or at least it used to be! I too was impressed with the system on my 99 cadilliac catera it was bose and very good(it even played upside down while the car was on fire!) But now the monsoon nonsense in my GTi is JUNK! but it was only $300. After spending 30k on a car system and still not being happy with it I gave up, a loosing battle, the 12 volts D/C is a great idea but that's where it ends, IMO.

~Tim