Entry Level Luxury Performance Sedans

qbrozen

In the end I'm still stuck with a cruddy BMW Logic-9 million stereo

well, there ya go. hehe.

BTW, I rip all mine at 320. Higher rates are on their way, I'm sure. Of course, that will just make people have to buy new Ipods to support it. But it should make Apple happy. Pretty soon they won't bother producing anything BUT ipods.

blueguydotcom

ipods are curious little things. I can't understand why they're still making them with spinning HDD.

BTW, does anyone know if the G35's HDD is solid state or an old fashioned spinner?

goddess_1

'preciate the feedback! And, I understand where you are coming from about the turning radius, etc. Perhaps one day we will all be lucky enough to afford a fleet of desirable cars to rotate through our various needs and moods.

Let me just say that I do not envy you at all with the snow situation - that takes more grit than I can muster! If I were one of the first settlers, I would have perished instantaneously . . .

allargon

This is purely subjective. I tested all 3.

IMHO, it was the Acura TL, Lexus IS350 and Infiniti G35 -- in that order. Heck, the outgoing CTS almost sounds better than the new G35. (I wasn't too impressed by the G35's audio--handling was another matter.)

plekto

A few tips for good encoding:

- Get Audiograbber. It's easy to configure external plugins.
- Get the latest LAME codec and install it - drop everytihng in the Audiograbber directory and restart the app.
- Set the mp3 encoding to 256Kbps, maximum quality(48k), dual stereo. This results in a 8-9mb file for most music and takes a little longer to encode.(few seconds, at most). Also turn on error correction.

256K is at best metal tape quality. A bit over 17Khz maximum frequency and about 1/3 the dynamic range of CD as well. But it's fine for normal listening in the car.

Most MP3s are encoded at 128Kbps, average quality(44k), and joint stereo. It sounds a lot like AM Stereo - with the same bleedover from each channel and distortion.(8.5Khz top end and barely anything for dynamic range - it's worse that a typical 11Khz computer game sound)

Note - if you really want to get best quality, set it to VBR 0 - which makes it go up to 320K sampling down to 128K or so for simpler passages. Sounds fantastic, but 15Meg files can be common.

souji3

Yes, i remember reading something like that too. the one I read rated the Acura TL as the best, but that was before the 2007 G35 came out.

ivan_99

Heh…I suppose I should have clarified…I like sitting in them…not driving in them (but I suppose being driven in them would be ok as well)

carmonkey

That commercial caught my attention too. I thought the premise was a bit shaky though.

Check out an engineer's analysis of the commercial proving its impossibility - http://lexustech.org/Performance.htm

rockylee

Well that is in the 08' Cadillac CTS :shades:

Rocky

qbrozen

did the board glitch? blueguy and me each have duplicate posts (8088 and 8089 are the same as 8075 and 8077).

Oh well.

plekto - i don't think 15 meg music files should bother anyone these days considering the size of mp3 players. To me, a couple of thousand high-quality songs is an easy choice over 4000 low-quality.

plekto

Me, either. I can still fit 100 songs on a MP3 cd to stick in my car. Times 6 for the changer... that's a lot of music.(about 30 hours without a repeat). More than enough for any drive, even long trips across several states.

VBR 0 often creates files in the 6-7mb size, since not al music is horribly complex and needs the higher bitrate. I get about 80-100 songs as a result.

circlew

Plekto,

Do you think we will see dvd-rom capability in these players soon? We could listen to over 3,000 songs on a single disk.

Regards,
OW

kyfdx

Yup... a few hiccups...

blueguydotcom

Why bother with CDs and DVDs if they've got built in solid state disks? There's really no reason for an old fashioned spinning HD when a 32 GB SSD could be dropped in the car for under $200.

Better yet, have a base SSD HD of about 32 gb and then offer two things:

1. 80211n - up to 200 mbps transfer rate so you can just send info/gps updates/route planning/mp3s to your car from your house/pda/office.
2. USB/SD connectors to plug your mp3 player/usb drive/flash cards into the car.

USB is already showing up in cars. The 335is built after march are supposed to have a built-in usb port.

Anyone know if the G35's stereo only takes data off discs? Is there another way to transfer data to the stereo HD? Yep, just checked online. You can use a flash card to listen to music. No transfering from the flash card. Weird.

Apparently, the G35 system only allows you to play the songs, not scroll and select songs. Weirder.

souji3

whats the point of having a flash card slot and a harddrive if you can't transfer music to the harddrive?

blueguydotcom

Guess Infiniti set it up so only ripping from CDs will put the music on the HD. Lots of 07 G35 owners are apparently getting 2 GB flash cards and plugging those in for music.

rdhing

Hello, I am very much lost and can't decide on which Intro. Luxury car I want to purchase. However, I do know what I am looking for and below is my list:

1) GPS
2) Mobile Link
3) Entertainment system to watch DVD
4) Audio unit should be able to play MP3s
5) Premium sound

Once I get few names of cars then I can narrow down based on ranking, performance, TCO, etc. However, the above list is the something which I require if I am getting into Luxury car. My budget is about 25 - 35 k and I would prefer to shop for a 2006 model rather than 2007. I live in the Dallas area.

Any advise would be appreciated.

blueguydotcom

1. all of them have navi systems available. honda's is by far the best.

2. no idea what mobile link is.

3. do you mean for backseat passengers? that'd be aftermarket. no manu is allowed to sell driver-facing DVD players that can show TV/movies; it's against the law.

4. AFAIK, all cars sold today can play MP3s from CDs

5. premium sound is a wishy-washy term. some people like the sound of boston acoustic speakers but to me they're warm and 1970s sounding. I like crisp, hard sounds. Shrug, to each his own.

25-35k - you're essentially down to a few cars - assume MSRP:

TL - 34k with navi
TSX - 30k with navi
A4 2.0T - maybe with navi
G35 - 34-35k with navi
IS250 - maybe
Maybe a stripped 325/328 (pretty much impossible with navi at those prices)

joe131

I think I read about a manufacturer dash-installed DVD system in a car or truck recently, but it could only play a DVD if the transmission was in Park.

plekto

I can't remember the makers, but a few manufacturers have a DVD-Audio player in their car. This also plays MP3 CDs - so it will - surprize.. play DVDs with 4.6 gigs of MP3s on them.

Plus, IIRC, most have in-dash changers. That's 5*4.6 Gigs. Why use a 20 gig IPod when you can burn DVDs for less than a dollar each?

Edit - I checked - Cadillac and Audi seem to be on the ball here. The 2008 CTS with the upgrraded audio appears to be the same system as the current STS has.

souji3

The Lexus IS with Mark Levinson sound system and LCD plays DVDs while the car is parked.

blueguydotcom

Those are aftermarket system which will play DVDs on cars. Maybe now they've got ones that play when a car is in park (are you sure it's not a mod as people are always asking for that mod on Bimmer forums). Why people need something like this is totally beyond me. All the time I see idiots driving around alone with movies playing on LCDS facing the backseats. This serves no purpose other than to draw attention.

blueguydotcom

You can watch DVDs on a parked IS with the mark levinson system.

And naturally people are modding it to play DVDs while the car is in motion. Because ya just need to watch Sense and Sensibility while doing 65 in the number 3 lane. :confuse:

joe131

Hahaha. Like spinner wheels?

joe131

maybe they are listening to the movie?

circlew

Paying for a navi system from the factory is throwing money to the wind. Get a Garmin for $350 and your done. It's portable to use in any car you drive in.

Regards,
OW

blueguydotcom

Got my mom a Garmin Nuvi 360 for xmas and that thing is sweet. It's small, sharp, gives great directions and she can use it on her next trip to Europe. We're programmed all her favorites local spots, so when she visits she can get around easily. The built-in bluetooth is perfect for her too.

Personally, I use Tomtom with a PDA for work and it gets the job done for my travels around the country and outside it.

That said I'll probably pay for my fiancee's next car to have built-in navi. Why? She's scary bad with directions. I'll say to go north and she'll get confused. It's pretty easy to figure out as we live in city on the pacific ocean! Having something that's always on and pointing her in the right direction = peace of mind for me.

In some instances in-car navi can be useful. For the most part I think it's an exceedinly overpriced toy with limited functionality:$300 in software and parts that the manufacturers mark up to 2k. And it can only be used in the car; as we travel out of town mostly by plane, I fail to see the day-to-day value.

When navi in cars is standard - like AC, power windows - or down around $400, I'll consider it. Until then, portables for me too.

habitat1

"Paying for a navi system from the factory is throwing money to the wind. Get a Garmin for $350 and your done. It's portable to use in any car you drive in."

But if I try to mount one in our 911, TL or MDX it tends to interfere with the dash mounted bobble head dolls, hanging fuzzy dice and wintergreen air freshener. Not to mention my suction cup pen and pad holder and non-Bluetooth hands free phone adaptor. :surprise:

circlew

But if I try to mount one in our 911, TL or MDX it tends to interfere with the dash mounted bobble head dolls, hanging fuzzy dice and wintergreen air freshener. Not to mention my suction cup pen and pad holder and non-Bluetooth hands free phone adaptor.

You must be a cop!

Regards,
OW

habitat1

"That said I'll probably pay for my fiancee's next car to have built-in navi. Why? She's scary bad with directions. I'll say to go north and she'll get confused. It's pretty easy to figure out as we live in city on the pacific ocean!"

Combine that with her previous faux pas of having bought a Volvo and I can only conclude that she must be really, really cute. Congratulations.