QUOTE(acronis @ May 25 2008, 08:49 PM)
I found it amusing that one of the more curious comments came from the Automobile mag reviewer who quibbled dubiously about whether the Lexicon sound system could match or equal the Lexus Mark Levinson’s by boasting, "An optional 500-watt Lexicon stereo might not be the equal of the Mark Levinson's system offered by Lexus, but it will meet the expectations of all but the pickiest audiophiles, and there's easy access to the equalizer function." Don’t forget the operative word here is “might” which was most likely provoked by this reviewer’s "wow" realization that “I can’t believe this is a Hyundai” deer-in-headlight remark.
Well, both Lexicon and Mark Levinson are brands owned by the same audio manufacturer, and Mark Levinson is the higher-end brand, although they're both very high end. The Lexicon brand is more technology-oriented with audio processing and whatnot, whereas the Mark Levinson line is more about crazy expensive mono amps and preamps.
Anyways, if you were to go solely by brand reputation and hierarchy within their corporate structure, the Mark Levinson system is the winner. And many of the Lexus models actually had their interiors designed along with the engineers from Mark Levinson to optimize acoustics, so in all likelihood the Levinson system you'd find in the LS is still the better system.
Not saying the Lexicon system isn't a great system, but it is a slightly lower end brand even if it's found in Rolls Royces (most likely because of whatever contracts Harmon and Lexus have).
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/amplifier-p...-amplifier.htmlIf you read that review about a Lexicon amp it starts off with a little explanation about where it is in relation to Mark Levinson. Although I will say that although it says that technology trickles down from the Levinson division, this doesn't really apply to DSPs since Lexicon is the DSP division so the DSP chips have managed to migrate up into Levinson sound processors (but with upgraded Levinson components).
Somewhat ironically, the review compares Levinson to a Rolls Royce and Lexicon to a Mercedes...mostly ironic because Lexicon is the system in Rolls Royces ;)
This post has been edited by tekdemon: Jul 7 2008, 03:54 AM
Real-world Reviews, Sort of
Jul 7 2008, 03:45 AM
