Sorry I can’t help but I have this issue between my L322 here in the states and the one I keep in Monaco. Both have the same systems, but the one in Europe sounds 100% better and I find the processing inconsistent in the one here in DC.

 

None of your sources are very good. Try an Ipod at 256kbps and see how that sounds. Compression KILLS range and I think you may have used a different source. Output levels are consistent but I also wonder if they detuned the bass response a bit. I exclusively use my remaining Ipods because nothing new can compete with their potential, esp if you load them lossless!

 

Agreed, compression is huge.

With iPhone, I have "lossless" turned on. Only use it if you have an unlimited plan! Haha.

My wife, who has never cared about anything but bass..can hear the difference between her iPhone playing music on standard settings, versus mine on lossless.

I've found in cars like my R56 MINI Cooper, that the lossless feature improved audio sound and general "depth" tenfold.

Now, why your 16 sounded better than the 21 I'm not sure. I've driven both and haven't discovered that issue. I don't listen to a lot of bass heavy songs..

But it is worth a shot to turn on lossless and play around with different sound profiles in the iPhone. Bass boosted, Jazz, etc.

 

Agreed, compression is huge.

With iPhone, I have "lossless" turned on. Only use it if you have an unlimited plan! Haha.

My wife, who has never cared about anything but bass..can hear the difference between her iPhone playing music on standard settings, versus mine on lossless.

I've found in cars like my R56 MINI Cooper, that the lossless feature improved audio sound and general "depth" tenfold.

Now, why your 16 sounded better than the 21 I'm not sure. I've driven both and haven't discovered that issue. I don't listen to a lot of bass heavy songs..

But it is worth a shot to turn on lossless and play around with different sound profiles in the iPhone. Bass boosted, Jazz, etc.

Lossless is only useful in reality if the source is lossless. Otherwise it just avoids further compression.

 

I did some playing around with lossless files on a usb drive. Marginal improvement, if any at all. But I keep thinking that it can’t be the audio files if the same source sounded so great in my 2016. So I did some more digging and got connected with an audio engineer in the automotive space and learned some interesting things.

He said that it’s unlikely the physical components have changed since the 2016 and 2021 are both the same generation but that most car companies do adjust tuning and eq curves across model years to respond to customer feedback. So his theory is that engineers at Land Rover or at Meridian may have adjusted the eq curves at some point across the model years.

The other interesting point he made was that the amplifiers are made to be adjusted via software to provide this kind of tweaking to customer feedback, so theres a possibility the amp could be reprogrammed (ideally to the same eq curves as my 2016). Of course, the likelihood of Land Rover having and actually providing that level of software support is pretty low. But maybe someone out there will figure out how to do it at some point.

 

An Audiophile's perspective on how to achieve...

The Range Rover's Meridian audio system sounds absolutely fantastic when configured correctly. Audio is highly subjective, but when set up correctly, the range rover sounds incredible. In my opinion, it sounds better than off-the-shelf $600 stereo speakers from major audio brands like Klipsch...

www.rangerovers.net

Follow my post. My guess as to what is causing this change is sound signature is a combination of two factors.

First, in 2016 you were exclusively using Bluetooth. In 21 you cycled through a number of different audio inputs. Car playing apple music - if you have it set to lossless was the best one you tried; the USB connection is far superior.

Second, Meridian isn't going to change the EQ drastically. The interiors are fairly similar and so are the materials. The only thing that meridian could change that you might notice is the Meridian surround sound system decoding algorithm. Your Digital Audio Data gets decoded and then sent to the speakers. With the rise of the Atmos music fad, many high-end cars have added height channels to market their car's audio systems as 3D. With this said, the surround sound decoder has almost certainly been updated.

Also, Dolby has upgraded from Dolby Pro Logic and Dolby neo:x to Dolby TrueHD, which is a more accurate decoder.

If you're using poor audio files, the decoders can't do a proper and complete job as there is a lot of audio data that isn't able to be processed. If your tracks are missing highs, it may make the bass sound more accentuated.

Also, since Atmos Music is a fad that has recently come around, you might have set your phone to try to stream atmos music, but only are using Spotify (320kbps) or Bluetooth 250kbps. Make sure that you have your phone's audio streaming set to stereo and high quality. Stereo audio sounds the best. Surround sound is for movies and TV - it is added in cars for marketing. Reset your EQ to default. Also, make sure your streaming app's eq is set to neutral. About lossless audio in Apple Music

HD radio is bad, XM radio is bad, wireless car play is third best. 2nd Best is Wired Car Play. The best would be FLAC files on a USB but is functionally identical to using wired car play and lossless files.

The difference in the way the songs are played is likely a combination of using different audio inputs, updated surround sound decoders, possibly not having the correct audio streaming settings on your phone, as well as you playing with your car's EQ settings trying to fix things.

When you try to diagnose a problem, you need to have only one independent variable. It sounds like you are changing 4 different settings all at once hoping that you get it to sound "right". When trouble shooting anything, always compare ceteris paribus.Change one thing at a time; All else equal.

 

An Audiophile's perspective on how to achieve...

The Range Rover's Meridian audio system sounds absolutely fantastic when configured correctly. Audio is highly subjective, but when set up correctly, the range rover sounds incredible. In my opinion, it sounds better than off-the-shelf $600 stereo speakers from major audio brands like Klipsch...

www.rangerovers.net

Also, Dolby has upgraded from Dolby Pro Logic and Dolby neo:x to Dolby TrueHD, which is a more accurate decoder.

Sorry, no. Dolby pro logic is a technology from the early 90’s and never made it to L405. Neo:X is a DTS technology (not Dolby…), and TrueHD is a lossless codec found primarily on Blu-ray so it has nothing to do with our L405s.

Our RRs are equipped with up mixers, meaning they use technologies to derive multi-speaker signals from stereo signals; hence the « up mixer » name. We have three : Dolby, DTS, Meridian. The 825w system has Dolby pro logic II and the 1700w system Dolby pro logic IIz (which derives a height component for the ceiling speakers). They all have their characteristics and « color » but, it’s only my personal opinion, the Dolby up mixer balances and anchors best the dash signal against main left and right and the rest of the cabin.

So no there was no update and up mixers are not the reason you could have quality variations over the model years. I do agree ANC could be the issue here as it leverages out-of-phase processing to implement the low frequency cancellation.

 

I also traded my 2016 for 2019 several months ago and the first thing that I noticed was the sound of Meridian System noticeably worse in 2019 compared to 2016 model.

 

I have the same feeling, and while I didn't do a back to back comparison, I think the Meridian 825W in my 2015 sounded better than the same system in my 2018. At this point it is what it is because I don't plan to change any of the audio components or go back or an older RR

As an iPhone and Apple Music user, how can I get the highest audio sound quality possible? My Apple Music is set to Lossless and I can connect my phone via a Lighting to USB adapter to the centre console. Is this the best way to go?

 

I just learned about lossless and turned it on….can’t wait to see how it sounds. Good info here for people with zero audio knowledge

The 825W between my 2014 and 2017 also sound different. The 14 is better. Noticed the same on loaners with the 825w, the 14 is always better. Perhaps it’s due to the infotainment? Isn’t the 17 the same as 18+?

I am actually upgrading the sound system on both by upgrading the door card speakers from the autobiography model. It’s supposed to be plug and play and make a marginal difference. Upgrade runs about $700 per truck.

Food for thought: I have zero audio knowledge.
But A buddy upgraded his infotainment to the “Android 12 inch screen” on his 17 which came with a DSP function. He spent a good amount of time playing around with that and his truck sounds phenomenal now.

 

In finally got to a place I was happy with by going with full Apple Lossless setup. Apple say that CarPlay via USB cable can handle lossless, but they're pretty vague on the specs. From my research, I think I've determined that it can handle Lossless (up to 24-bit/48kHz) but can't handle hi-res lossless (ALAC up to 24-bit/48kHz)...I could be wrong on that.

Once I updated my library to Lossless and played around with the various audio settings on the Range Rover system, i'm pretty happy with the results. I just wish it didnt' take so much effort to get it dialed in when my 2016 sounded so good across the board with very little effort.

 

In finally got to a place I was happy with by going with full Apple Lossless setup. Apple say that CarPlay via USB cable can handle lossless, but they're pretty vague on the specs. From my research, I think I've determined that it can handle Lossless (up to 24-bit/48kHz) but can't handle hi-res lossless (ALAC up to 24-bit/48kHz)...I could be wrong on that.

Once I updated my library to Lossless and played around with the various audio settings on the Range Rover system, i'm pretty happy with the results. I just wish it didnt' take so much effort to get it dialed in when my 2016 sounded so good across the board with very little effort.

So your recipe is Apple music downloaded in their Lossless format through your phone connected into the USB under the center arm rest?

 

Interesting.

I find so much technology getting less and less user friendly.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

That sounds like your library is being altered by an EQ before going to the Meridian. Make sure the source is flat...unless you want emphasis somewhere

 

Thrilled to have found this thread. I thought I was going out of my mind or that I had a defect! Here's my completely and totally uninformed and rank speculation. I do not believe it is a source material issue.

Mind you, I have a L494 vs a L405 but it is the same. I just traded a '16 RRS/SC for a '19 RRS/SC. Both the '16 and '19 have the Signature 1700w system. One of the draws of the '19 was a large improvement in noise isolation. But the stereo in the '16 would reliably get loud enough to make your ears bleed if you wanted where as the '19 at times is "tame". Further, as noted elsewhere, the flat settings are WAY flat. No impact, no bass.

What I believe is happening which would account for all the above; I do not believe the '16 did Active Noise Cancellation but I'm all but certain that the '19 IS. That would account for the loss in max volume capacity and bass because most of the work in ANC happens at low frequencies. My dealer is useless for anything outside strictly pedestrian needs so if anyone has a dealer with a brain I would very much appreciate a request being made as to if ANC is in use AND if it can be turned off!

For now, I've found listening in stereo gives the best results, whereas on the '16 my preference was DTS:X with the height channels engaged. I also found that I must turn the subwoofer WAY up compared to what I was used to in the '16, and leave the bass flat or slightly elevated.

 

I think you are spot on with the noise cancelling issue. There is a great sound at low speed, however while driving faster, say around 62-75 mph, when exterior noise is higher, the sound is a mess. Turning it louder does not help. I read years ago about how the noise cancellation is done and there are microphones in the ceiling that adjust the output according to road noise. Also, it can't be disabled/adjusted...

 

Forgive me if this is a pedestrian observation, but I am presuming that the thread is pertaining to streaming or a bluetooth connection? Would any of the issues stated have bearing on a wired connection? Case in point, I have my iPod Touch connected via cable to the iPod port and at random times during a song playing, the sound will cease. Song continues to play but nothing comes through the speakers. I have tested the device solo as well as on my home PC, even having purchased my current iPod after believing it was my older version that was the problem and it checks out 4.0 on deck.

Anyone else encounter this ghost in the machine?

 

Forgive me if this is a pedestrian observation, but I am presuming that the thread is pertaining to streaming or a bluetooth connection? Would any of the issues stated have bearing on a wired connection? Case in point, I have my iPod Touch connected via cable to the iPod port and at random times during a song playing, the sound will cease. Song continues to play but nothing comes through the speakers. I have tested the device solo as well as on my home PC, even having purchased my current iPod after believing it was my older version that was the problem and it checks out 4.0 on deck.

Anyone else encounter this ghost in the machine?

Could your issue be related to the cable? Did you try the other USB port too?

The mentioned issues occur both in wired/wireless connections.


Also, I found the article about noise cancelling :

"With the advent of PHEV vehicles OEMs face additional NVH (Noise, Vibration & Harshness) issues. A particularly new issue, is a low frequency booming noise caused during charging of batteries using the internal combustion engine. During charging, the engine is operated at low rotational speeds and high loads, leading to pronounced low frequency noise. While in the past reducing low frequency noise either required large absorbers and/or heavy dampers, today the issue can be tackled by use of an Active Noise Cancellation system. Jaguar Land Rover decided to introduce an Active Noise Cancellation system in the PHEV variants of their vehicles. The system builds upon software by Müller-BBM Active Sound Technology GmbH and makes use of the existing audio amplifiers. The only extra hardware component required are microphones in the vehicle headliner. Overall, the ANC system only adds minimum weight to the vehicle but allows for noise reduction in excess of 10 dB at frequencies below 40 Hz during charge sustain idle operation. In addition, the system enabled JLR to cancel noise at other operating conditions, allowing several mass-dampers to be removed, offering weight opportunities of around 5 kg."

 

I'm not sure this is the reason for the difference between older and newer models but the audio system did change in 2017:

Audio System Update

•  The top level Meridian Reference Sound system includes ‘Conversation Assist’. This allows for easier conversation between front & rear occupants. Microphones above each occupant mix the occupants speech with the output from the audio system.
•  In addition to a phone, a second Bluetooth device can also be paired for audio playback. Bluetooth devices can now also be used while an iOS device is connected via USB.
•  For 2017, the Meridian Sound systems will incorporate a ‘Fresh Air’ subwoofer. This enables a reduction in speaker size and weight, while improving sound quality

Reducing size and weight seldom results in a better sounding speaker.

Source: https://www.ovalnews.com/2016/08/20.../2017-range-rover-usa-marketing-bulletin-mpr16-11-remote-start-has-arrived.html

 

I think you may have nailed it with the ANC observation. My 2016 (825W) was the best I had ever heard and with a 256kbps Ipod setup you could crank live music live or blow your mind with 1812. Everything was amazing. The 2021 system in my 2021 Westie sucks in comparison. Its like they dropped the peak input levels down by at least 10db.
So they did switch to a cheaper speaker! Ahaaaa!!!!

 

I have an iPod plugged in and it seem to have improved the sound quality compared to streaming from my iPhone.

Any tips for how to get rid of the annoying message that appears every time I turn the ignition on?

 

It's not the hardware. My 2019 sounded amazing until a software update and now it's hot garbage. I have also noticed since the updates my subwoofer control sends sub base to the door speakers not just the sub now. Previously it controlled just the sub. The software that controls frequency distribution is all jacked up now and the stereo I used to love I just simply leave off now.