Packrat1

Not sure I can agree with you on this one. Time is money and I want everything to work perfectly. I am sure you spent a number of hours on this workaround.

I think that buying the Beatsonic harness and plugging it in a matter of seconds after you pull the head unit out is well worth it. Especially when everything works the first time around. To each their own.

Antolope

Hey Packrat1,

I guess I will agree with you some. My problem was that I was doing 2 of these, mine and my wife's. When I saw the price of the Beatsonic unit ($400 per) I got major sticker shock. Not to mention the RX-82 doesn't do it all, you still have to go to axxess for your steering wheel controls, and then there's the problems with the fading on the beatsonic unit.

So in the end, even though I went through a lot of trial and error the only thing I lost that the beatsonic unit would have let me keep is the sound to the NAV, cause everything else I got without the RX-82 and at a much cheaper price!

Apples to apples, your still wiring both to the new HU, both setups are plug and play, and with both setups you're still buying and programming the steering wheel controls, etc. So aside from the fact that I was fumbling around in the beginning, I got everything the beatsonic kit gave me (like I said except for voice on the NAV) at a much cheaper price.

I hope that my fumbling will help others not fumble and make the install easy. Even in hindsight I would still choose to lose the voice on the NAV than pay the outrageous $400 per unit to keep the NAV voice especially if your new HU can also do NAV. But that's just me and that's what this thread is about right? Alternatives to the beatsonic unit and what the draw backs are. I'm just listing my experience. And chiming in. :-)

RX4HV3TT

Hey guys!!

Good evening to all.

Ive been following this thread and a few others on here for about two months which relate to fitting a double din head unit to the RX!

The reason im replying to this thread is due to the sheer tenacity of antelope and the input from gasconguy.

Tbh everyone's input helps which makes this a great place to ask questions.

Being my first post do take it easy on me

I have a silver 2005 RX400h se -l which has the nav, ml 6 disc hu & separate DVD player with screens mounted in the head rest.

I have two options and just would like advice on which would give me the best sound and what is required to make everything work, however i don't mind losing any minor options like sound from the sat Nav *** prefer to use my mobile.

Option one is to use my jvc kw av70 hu with oem amp which powers the speakers.
I would also want to add another amp and sub to run from my head unit which also has blue tooth. At present the previous owner has kindly left a parrot Bluetooth along with an I phone adapter that works with the current hu

Option two and my preference is to use same head unit but run two amps, one to run the standard speakers and the other to run the subwoofer.
Would this be possible?
The standard head unit is OK for what it does but it doesn't have enough range for me.

Whatever parts I need I can hopefully pick up when I come to new York next month with my family for a week.

Tbh I was set on getting the beat sonic rx82 but if i can save a few pennies I can treat myself to some other goodies too.

Many thanks and any advice greatly appreciated

gasconguy

I have all the stuff to put in but still have not visited with an installer to talk through everything. In short, if you use the oem amp for anything, I am 100% sure you will need to buy the ADBOX1 ($135 on Amazon but a lot of people buy them on eBay for less). There is another harness you would need as well, the TYTO or something like that, and you probably want steering wheel controls to remain functional which I have found you can do from about $40 on up.

What I still don't know is if I am going to need the ADBOX1, but I think i will. I think I will need it to retain accessory power. In short the ADBOX keeps all the stuff that has nothing to do with audio but is in that audio path/bundle working once you change out a HU. It also is needed to retain some of the functions of your oem amp, which as you probably know controls the fade and balance for your system, rather than the HU.

I am switching the head unit out, not using the oem amp, and using 2 aftermarket amps. I have no Nav and no ML. Nor do I have any DVD screens anywhere. I would guess you are in for an expensive ordeal, but I could be wrong. I will update for my situation once I talk to an installer. Good luck to you.

RX4HV3TT

Thanks for your reply gasconguy

I do have a budget in mind but my main hope is that someone has done the full install without any hitches.

Is there a lead that I can fix to the OEM amp leads after removal so I can use aftermarket amps?
If that I possible that would be great.

I'd also like to know where you would run the power lead from as its usually done from the battery in the engine compartment.

LophatRX

Wow, I am pretty good at stereo install and usually cause I just follow the directions to the tee. Some of this stuff does confuse me but I have also skimmed some of the post involving the NAVI. I have an 04 RX 330 without NAVI, no ML. I have a used Pioneer AVH-P1400dvd from my other car that is a Toyota based car, Scion XB2. So I want to install this deck into my RX. I was looking at Amazon and they have this package of :
Metra 99-8159s Dash Kit
Metra TYTO-01 JBL amp harness
Metra ASWC-1 Steering wheel control interface

All for under 150 bucks. I am hoping that is all I need. I only want to to be able to use the factory steering wheel controls, listen to music from my Iphone or my wife's Samsung Note, and eventually add a small subwoofer to the deck through the RCA. Am I on the right track or would I still also have to buy the AXXESS -ADBOX1 to allow for fading from front to back on occasion?

gasconguy

If you want to use the factory amp - and it is what controls all the fading - then yes you need the ADBOX1.

LophatRX

Oh, yea that's great still looking at about 300 for everything then , ugh.....lol.

RX4HV3TT

trip to NY is fast approaching!!!

can anyone give advise what I need to buy to get my system working if I unplug the factory amp and use

4 channel amp for the OEM speakers
2 channel amp for the subwoofer (connected to double din hu)
keep steering controls
keep climate control & reverse cam
not too bothered if I lose the OEM satnav voice as I don't use it.

I was going to purchase the beatsonic at first but I want full function of the fader/balance from the new dd hu.

sorry for a similar post to my previous one, I think this is more direct at what I need.
if someone can kindly supply a list that would be much appreciated.
car is 400h se l with ml & nav.
Is it advisable to change the battery for a yellow top, add a power cap then run power from battery?
thanks once again

gasconguy

Well, I finally found a place in town that is not your usual Car Toys-type place, but a bunch of dedicated pros. Not trying to dis anyone associated with Car Toys, but have heard the same typical nightmares about them as every other big chain place like that... anyway, this guy was able to tell me over the phone that when NOT USING the factory amp, the ADBOX1 would NOT be necessary, even to retain the accessory power.

Now, he was very confident, was one of the owners, said we would be rewiring everything so should be okay, but that said, he did not ask about Nav or ML so at least over the phone he was not exactly on the same page as me, but he has the reviews and the confidence that I am feeling good about taking this to him. So I will next week. If I stay through install, I will see if I can get pics and post a whole bunch of stuff. If I don't, I will at least verbally update...

ho0n

For this particular question, I suspect you'll get better feedback from the Audio/Video forum, only because you won't find too many RX owners who have done the ICE setup you're considering. Also, I feel as though Lexus wouldn't really change their methodology for dash circuitry from car to car, so you'll probably be able to get a solid answer from the other folks here!

chris948

Why would you need an ADBOX1 if you're adding your own amp? That is car stereo 101.

Read the description - "Auto-Detect System to install aftermarket radios in vehicles that require a data interface." You wouldn't need a data interface if you're supplying your own amp. You're basically taking everything specific to lexus sound and removing/replacing it.

The Nav you're going to lose, you already knew that. The ML doesn't really matter, again you're replacing it/rewiring around it. I would specifically ask about the steering wheel controls if those are important.

ho0n

The question arises because there are other functions that we seem to discover are routed through the instrument cluster and stereo, so there's still that slight chance that the car still has to "see" the stereo, even if you'd run RCA's to an aftermarket amp. That's probably the precise reason why gasconguy mentioned this stage–if anybody has experience with such a setup, s/he might be able to weigh in, instead of talking about "car stereo 101," which doesn't really get us anywhere.

gasconguy

Yes exactly. There are many things the ADBOX1 allows you to retain depending on the vehicle, but the only one that has given me a fit is "retains accessory power." The Car Toys person said, yes then you will need that because it retains accessory power. Well I can read, and that didn't inspire any confidence that they know what I am talking about. The guy I spoke to yesterday said, we can make sure your accessory power is working without the ADBOX1. We can rewire.

And yes, thanks ho0n, that's exactly why I posted that above, because it has remained unanswered in this thread and anywhere else I have looked. While it seemed logical that I would not need the ADBOX1, as was your hypothesis, I never could get a definitive answer, but I am close enough now to pull the trigger on the install with what I have.

I still need to purchase the remote steering control. On that note, it sounds like people have struggled getting the Metra ASWC to work fully with all HU's, while the Pac model is a little cheaper and seems to have a better record. So I welcome any thoughts on that as well.

ho0n

The ASWC in conjunction with the ADBOX gave me no problems. It was plug-and-play at is best; all I had to do was look out for the light code, then I just tucked it into my console.