Consideration Between Trims & Sound Systems: 2023 MDX

925 Views 26 Replies 16 Participants Last post by TickedOffTypeS, 1 d ago

rob_

Discussion Starter · 13 d ago

Hello.

We might decide to get a 2023 MDX (lease). We were deciding between two trims, the Technology & the A-Spec. There are some differences, but the kind of (big) one is the sound system. The Tech package has the ELS Studio 12 speaker sound while the A-Spec has the 16-speaker ELS Studio 3D. Is it worth the extra money for the sound system and some extra sporty things?

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Rafale

· #2 · 13 d ago

The sound system, only you can answer that.

Are you an "audiophile"?

Do you listen to "inferior" sound sources such as sat radio or FM?

The source of the music matters, if listening to highly compressed sound such as sat radio, 12, 16 or 25 speakers won't make a difference

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Chazzy J

· #3 · 12 d ago

The 16 speaker sounds really nice. Worth the upgrade in my opinion if car audio is a primary shopping factor.

IanCH

· #4 · 12 d ago

The reason to go for Aspec IMO is the appearance improvement. I had a bare base awd MDX loaner and the sound system was fine.

Obviously the upgraded systems sound better, but its not like the base is F tier.

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louvnj

· #5 · 12 d ago

I have an Advance, I don’t know if there are more differences than just the 4 extra speakers with the 16 vs 12, but fwiw, I’m 6’4" with long legs so I have the drivers seat pretty far back and those 4 extra speakers in the "roof grab handles" are far enough in front of my head that I don’t hear them. If I purposely lean forward to get my head in line with the speaker, I definitely hear the benefit of those 4. I wish those speakers were adjustable/tiltable forward and back.

Reactions: 1

mellowrider

· #6 · 12 d ago

rob_ said:
Hello.

We might decide to get a 2023 MDX (lease). We were deciding between two trims, the Technology & the A-Spec. There are some differences, but the kind of (big) one is the sound system. The Tech package has the ELS Studio 12 speaker sound while the A-Spec has the 16-speaker ELS Studio 3D. Is it worth the extra money for the sound system and some extra sporty things?

i looked up the aspec 16 speaker package on the acura site. if the 4 extra speakers are the ones in the ceiling and there are no other differences, i'd say it isn't worth it. i have a type s advance, had a regular advance, the effect from the ceiling speakers is nominal. crank it up in the system settings and it just sounds whack. it's a serviceable "fill" for the soundstage if you're really picky.

don't bother enabling whatever the neural sound setting is. it sounds terrible, like it resamples the audio and makes it sound like it's a low bitrate mp3 or somewhere between 8 and 16 bit 44k wav. the top end is attenuated and sounds awful.

rob_

Discussion Starter · #7 · 12 d ago

Rafale said:
The sound system, only you can answer that.

Are you an "audiophile"?

Do you listen to "inferior" sound sources such as sat radio or FM?

The source of the music matters, if listening to highly compressed sound such as sat radio, 12, 16 or 25 speakers won't make a difference

Sometimes, we use FM. However, 95% of the time, the system will be used with Bluetooth. I wouldn’t say I’m an “audiophile” but I listen to music very frequently lol

rob_

Discussion Starter · #8 · 12 d ago

Chazzy J said:
The 16 speaker sounds really nice. Worth the upgrade in my opinion if car audio is a primary shopping factor.

For us, it’s not a primary factor but a highly preferred thing to have a nice sound system. Is there a large difference between the 16 and the 12 speaker system?

rob_

Discussion Starter · #9 · 12 d ago

louvnj said:
I have an Advance, I don’t know if there are more differences than just the 4 extra speakers with the 16 vs 12, but fwiw, I’m 6’4" with long legs so I have the drivers seat pretty far back and those 4 extra speakers in the "roof grab handles" are far enough in front of my head that I don’t hear them. If I purposely lean forward to get my head in line with the speaker, I definitely hear the benefit of those 4. I wish those speakers were adjustable/tiltable forward and back.

Is there a big enough difference to have them? Based on what I see the only difference between the Tech’s 12 speaker ELS studio and the A-spec and advance’s 16 speaker ELS studio 3D system is those four extra roof speakers. Are there more differences?

rob_

Discussion Starter · #10 · 12 d ago

mellowrider said:
i looked up the aspec 16 speaker package on the acura site. if the 4 extra speakers are the ones in the ceiling and there are no other differences, i'd say it isn't worth it. i have a type s advance, had a regular advance, the effect from the ceiling speakers is nominal. crank it up in the system settings and it just sounds whack. it's a serviceable "fill" for the soundstage if you're really picky.

don't bother enabling whatever the neural sound setting is. it sounds terrible, like it resamples the audio and makes it sound like it's a low bitrate mp3 or somewhere between 8 and 16 bit 44k wav. the top end is attenuated and sounds awful.

so it’s not worth it?

Chazzy J

· #11 · 12 d ago

rob_ said:
For us, it’s not a primary factor but a highly preferred thing to have a nice sound system. Is there a large difference between the 16 and the 12 speaker system?

I never really tested out the 12 speaker system, but the one I had in my A-spec was really nice. I recommend the song Linkin Park - What I’ve Done. Sit in both vehicles and see if you notice a difference.

I will be blunt for the roof speakers - I can barely hear them. They are discernibly no different no matter the setting. That said, I don’t know if they’ve tuned the 12 speaker different from the 16. The 25 speaker in my Type S is awesome, but having owned the A-spec for 20k miles, I still feel like the audio tuning in the A-spec had slightly punchier base. My settings between the two are identical.

So again, worth it to sit in them side by side with one song and see if you can tell a difference. I am no audiophile, so your mileage may vary

Reactions: 3

mellowrider

· #12 · 12 d ago

rob_ said:
so it’s not worth it?

i don't think it's worth it.

interestingly i have a similar observation as chazzy j, in that the 2022 advance had better bass at moderate volumes than the type s advance. i also agree with the recommendation to sit in them and try things out. i don't know if there's different tuning or whatever between the systems.

Someonemdx

· #13 · 12 d ago

I have a Tech and listen to pandora over bluetooth everday on it. it's just 'meh' to me. It's fine for what it is, but it's nothing great. Maybe if i used a usb stick with high quality mp3's i would be more impressed..

rob_

Discussion Starter · #14 · 11 d ago

mellowrider said:
i don't think it's worth it.

interestingly i have a similar observation as chazzy j, in that the 2022 advance had better bass at moderate volumes than the type s advance. i also agree with the recommendation to sit in them and try things out. i don't know if there's different tuning or whatever between the systems.

The standard MDX Advance and the MDX Type S Advance have 2 different ELS sound systems. The normal MDX Advance (and A-Spec) have the 16-speaker ELS Studio 3D, while the Type S Advance has a 25-speaker ELS Studio 3D Signature Edition sound system.

sergeymb

· #15 · 11 d ago

A-Spec in addition to a 3D sound system has ventilated seats and fog lights.
When I leased my A-Spec in February A-Spec's residual was %1 higher and discounts on the A-Spec were also bigger. As a result of all this the montly payment was almost the sane as for Tech. Made chosing the A-Spec a no brainer.

eurojap

· #16 · 11 d ago

sergeymb said:
A-Spec in addition to a 3D sound system has ventilated seats and fog lights.
When I leased my A-Spec in February A-Spec's residual was %1 higher and discounts on the A-Spec were also bigger. As a result of all this the montly payment was almost the sane as for Tech. Made chosing the A-Spec a no brainer.

As others have mentioned, in addition to the audio system and a few specific features like ventilated seats and fog lights, the most significant difference is the interior and exterior appearance packages. The A-Spec looks considerably different inside and out. Primarily out but, the flat bottom wheel, pedals, aluminum trim, etc., all add up to a sportier vibe overall. Unless the audio is really important, the appearance package is the primary difference to consider. Not having compared directly with the other trims, the audio in the A-Spec does sound great.

louvnj

· #17 · 11 d ago

rob_ said:
Is there a big enough difference to have them? Based on what I see the only difference between the Tech’s 12 speaker ELS studio and the A-spec and advance’s 16 speaker ELS studio 3D system is those four extra roof speakers. Are there more differences?

i haven’t driven an MDX with the 12 speaker nor 25 speaker systems. I listen to mostly pop and rock from the 70’s onward, usually on Apple Music, or live recordings I download to my phone. I seem to notice those speakers more if there are quiet portions of a song with spoken words, for instance, I listen to the Phantom of the Opera soundtrack and it is phenomenal. But for everyday listening, I don’t think they do anything. I also have them set for maximum volume vs the other speakers and still they are not really noticeable. Again, my seat is adjusted way back, maybe if your ear is at the speaker it might be more noticeable.
‘The only instance where it is a help, is when I have the sound system set to only play music in the front row, or only on the drivers side. I occasionally have used this with my kids in the car, as they have always complained about my music choices and volume for many years! So generally if they are in the car I don’t put anything on but this front row only/ driver only does let me without complaints. But of course it sounds like crap because you have no subwoofer or back speakers and for driver only setting, it’s got to be playing mono or something.
You should try both systems and judge for yourself if it’s important to you.

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Shooter41

· #18 · 4 d ago

The ceiling speakers are not the difference between the 12 and 16-speaker systems. 2 of the additional speakers are in the rearmost pillars. If you look back there from the front they are in round nacelles. I believe they are woofers but I'm not certain. I don't know where the other 2 additional speakers are. I did at one time but I've forgotten.

I've never heard any of the systems other than the 16-speaker that we have, but IMO it's a disappointing system. I expected much better. I would not upgrade just for that. There are plenty of other useful features that made us want to go with the Advanced, but if you truly don't care about them then I would just stick with a Tech. I do think it's a ridiculous de-contenting that even the Tech doesn't have a heated steering wheel. I know you can get it from the dealer but you have to buy an entire new steering wheel and you just shouldn't have to do that. All vehicles in this price range should come with this feature. There are certainly much cheaper vehicles available that have it.

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Matztrk

· #19 · 3 d ago

So I went from Advance to Type S advance and can tell you Signature system is amazing not just extra speakers but extra sub speakers in the floor by driver and passenger are just amazing, quality is priceless in sound most of my music is 5.1 and separation is just amazing its like going from 7.1 system to 12.3 system if you can hear the difference between those 2 you will between the cars

Reactions: 1

tabletop

· #20 · 2 d ago

I like the mdx sound system, we have the tech package. I just stream audio via my phone on master quality tidal, if that makes any difference. I really hoped they had a cd player as cd sounds a lot better. My other car has a 4 amp system,. with a processor, and full active, and I am satisfied with how the mdx sounds with stock implementation. I wouldnt be upgrading it, or maybe if there was a chance to just replace the speakers with something else but I'm afraid it will just ruin it.

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