02 Gs300

[PI100]

hi

does anyone know the best settings for the radio in a gs300 se 2002 e.g bass treble, balance etc.

also is the radio made by clarion or pioneer.

thanks

Paul

[Rodders_UK]

The radio is made by Pioneer

As far as the settings go - that's entirely down to your personal prefence mate.

You've probably noticed that the radio sounds "flatter" than the CD - that's a deliberate thing by Lexus (though who knows why) - it's supposed to be liked by "European ears"

[PI100]

the radio sounds pants in the gs, however my car is getting serviced and i have a sportscross as a loan car and the radio in it sounds very good.

[Steve ( West Mids )]

Mine in the 03 IS200 is set to Base 5, Middle 3, Treble 1 and back 1 ....... it seems best at that ( to my ears ).

[PI100]

does anyone have optimum setting for their gs300 radio.

any advice would be appreciated

Paul

[Stevie]

There is a problem with the radio in the Mk I GS300 that involves the eq. Dunno about the Mk II. There was a message on the forum about this last year. It is a (***** poor) design fault. To get anything like an accurate sound on FM, you have to turn the treble control right up.

Stevie

[Stevie]

I just love the way my bad language has been asterisked out! :P

[james2210]

I find that the following settings work best....

Music that my wife likes (Birtney Spears, Wham! and Christina Aqualung)

Bass-Doesn't matter

Mid-Doesn't matter

Treble-Doesn't matter

Fader-Doesn't matter

Volume-0

Music I like listening to

Bass-6

Mid-2 maybe 3 for a live Pink Floyd concert

Treble-4

Fader-1R or 2R if people with fat legs are in the back (they obscure the door speakers) :D

Volume-Really loud

I rate how good the music is on the POWER scale. If the line on the volume control knob is below the P on the word power, then it is probably just OK background music. The further up the scale, the better the music will be. For example, I would probably give the extended guitar/drums introduction at the beginning of Dire Straits' "Money for Nothing", a rating of 'W' on the POWER scale!

[torrent]

I don't believe any amount of tinkering will make the radio sound decent in the GS. To be honest, I'm not all that impressed with the sound system that comes with the GS at all. I quite like my music and have spent a fortune in my home system, shame I can't get the same from the GS.

Also, because the stereo is so integrated you can't really change it for something different. :(

[Stevie]

Torrent, the weakest part of the GS300 sound system is the door speakers and tweeters. The door speakers have a really nasty peak at 1.5 kHz that makes them very aggressive and 'shrill'.

If you swap out the front door speakers and tweeters it will make a big difference. Not the ultimate, but at least listenable.

Stevie

[djanderso]

I thought the GS has the Mark Levinson system?

[torrent]

Djanderso, That's an optional extra, which if I had purchased from new I would have plumped for.

Stevie, I hear ya. It's been on my mind for some time now. The ones that come fitted are dreadful. In some music you can sometimes hear a type of faint beep occurring intermittently. Very odd. It really lets down an otherwise damn near perfect car (imho).

[BillG]

I was so glad to see all of these comments regarding the radio. I have spent most of the day today trying to find a replacement for the standard "Premium Sound System" in my new GS300. For the past 14 years I have driven BMWs and this was my first Lexus. I didn't even think to try a CD in the radio before I bought it. I just assumed that the stereo system would be as good as the car. My last BMW, a 1998 528i, had the most incredible audio system, so I was spoiled. I agree with Torrent that no amount of tinkering will make the sound decent. I also agree with his later comment about how "it really lets down an otherwise damn near perfect car." I think the car is perfect, except for the audio system. I am going to try replacing the front door speakers and tweeters. Let me know is anyone else has tried Stevie's idea. Thanks for the comments.

[Rodders_UK]

Yeah - I swapped all my speakers - made a huge difference