Hey guys.

Can someone help me understand the difference between factory sound systems optional in the Lexus lineup (specifically the Rx400h). I've never really been radio 'crazy' with the "subs" or "decks" or whatever they're called, but i wanna know the difference between these.

(1) The radio on my 08 Rx400h seems to be different than the one that comes on the 04-06 Rx330.
My radio has gold lettering above the CD slot, stating it plays 'MP3's" and "WMA's" whatever they are.
It also has an AM-SAT button vs the standard AM button.



(2) The radio's on the 04-06 Rx330 do not have the gold lettering, and has the standard AM button without the SAT feature.


(3) THEN, there seems to be another type available for the 04-06 Rx330, the same as number 2, just with the gold lettering "Mark Levinson" above the CD slot.



So what's the difference between the three? Can they be interchanged? Thanks!

no one?

One of them is the standard head unit, one of them is for vehicles equipped for Satellite Radio, and the other is for the Mark Levinson system.

I dont' know if they are interchangeable, but to answer your question about WMA's and MP3's, both are forms of digital music media. WMA is short for Windows Media Audio. MP3's are a fairly universal form of digital music media. What that means for the radio is you can put a CD with MP3 and WMA files on it into the CD player and the system will recognize them. So....the CD does not have to be in the standard Compact Disc playable format to work in the system.

You will notice that the knob on the right says both FILE and TUNE. FILE is for the digital media. You can scroll through your files on the CD...and if the files have the correct metadata, the track information should appear in the system display.

Hope that helps somewhat!

--Duckman

The mark levinson is like the old Nakamachi head units in the LS400. You could have the standard Pioneer system in the LS, or you could have the upgraded Nak system. It's all in the ohm's of the speakers, and the tuning "and imaging" of the sound. I had the standard Pioneer system in my LS, and now have the mark levinson in the GS. The standard, in my opinion, was more "meaty", as where the mark levinson is more "crisp". My LS was two speakers up front, two in the back, and the sub along the back deck. My GS is two in the front, two in the back, sub on the back deck, and a "centering" speaker in the front dash about the stack. I must admit, the imagery of the mark levinson is simply fantastic!

is the difference between units in the speakers or in the center radio console?

Its the speakers, the amp, the whole system geometry.

The "Mark Levinson" is an upgraded system: better amp., different specs., and speakers include a woofer. The other system is the 'standard' Lexus system (made, I believe but cannot swear to, by Panasonic). The standard system's sound is less 'clean', the bass is definitely 'muddier'. However, when I got my '09RX350, the Mark Levinson system could not be purchased 'alone' but came withoin a package (and I don't remember what the package contained).
Everything can be interchanged or converted at a price in $ and time and exasperation, but I would guess that the systems are essentially not a 'plug and play' exchange, if only due to the woofer in the ML system and the need to drive it appropriately.
The MP3 and WMA labels indicate that the CD players play compressed files in the MP3 and WMA formats, which are the most used. MP3 is more the "Apple" variety, and WMA is a MSFT Windows format. MP3 is most popular, but - just listening - on the same compression level (i.e. same file size), WMA sound a touch cleaner than MP3 for the same piece of music.
So many people have gotten so used to hearing music in MP3 or other compressed format, played on systems that aren't very 'transparent', that they don't miss the difference with uncompressed 'tracks'.

Its probably Pioneer not Panasonic.

Let me correct you on something. AAC is Apple's preferred format, if you buy something on iTunes it will be in that format, it is a low-compression format so it has a better sound. WMA is Microsoft's preferred format. MP3 is kind of everybody's general format, the problem though is that MP3 is highly compressed so you loose some of the super highs and lows. In my opinion AAC sounds the best but that isn't supported by the CD player.

Thank you for the comment, and I stand corrected. I don't know about AAC, but for both MP3 and WMA you can set the level of compression that is desired, and I have found that, at the same level, WMA sounds a little better than MP3. It behooves one to set less compression, of course.

Agreed

Ah i see now.

How do i burn a CD in WMA format? I can burn them the regular way (no idea what format, but the way everyone does it lol) and in mp3 (where you can fit like 100 songs on a single CD) but never heard of the WMA...

All you need to do is use Windows Media Player.
1) Put in the CD you want to put in WMA format.
2) Go to the Rip tab on Windows Media Player
3) You will see the list of songs to rip. Song information should come up automatically, but if it does not, you should see a Find Album Info button on the screen to help you find the album name and song names.
4) When complete, the WMA files will be on your computer
5) Insert a blank CD and format it to allow you to drag and drop files onto it using Windows Explorer
6) Copy the files from your computer to your CD and then "Finish" the CD so it can be read in other devices.

If the files you have are already in MP3 format or some other format on your computer, you should be able to find a freeware that will convert from whatever format they are in to WMA. Then just just follow from step 5 above.

Hope that helps,

--Duckman