I also have a Lexus with the Mark Levinson system. I was pretty good stock. I now run my IPhone with camera adapter usb out into an IFI hip dac headphone amp through the aux jack in the system. I have had many audio nuts who are blown away by how good it does sound through the dac. Deep tight bass, and great separation of instruments. Is it as good as my home system? Don’t be stupid! Is is good enough to look forward to my two hour daily commute to work? Hell yes!
Concerning high end audio names in new cars
It made sense to me when high end audio manufactures started selling their brand names to the likes of BMW. I really had to look twice when I saw the Jeep Grand Wagoneer on a commercial with large blue MacIntosh meters on the dash! I went to the website just to make sure my eyes weren't deceiving me. It's just fluff of course. I've been in several vehicles with supposedly high end audio systems. I wasn't impressed with any of them. I wonder what impact if any the Mac meters will have on the general public. I hope audiophiles steer clear of this model car as it could prove to be a distraction for sure.