DKinATL

Hey all,

So, I haven't had an older vehicle with a factory head unit in years, but this factory radio is something I would like to keep. The tape / changer / AM FM all work with no issues, so why replace it, right? Car has Nakamichi to boot, so no reason to make any changes. I my only option to connect my iPhone really one of those old cassette adapters from back in the day? They get mediocre reviews on Amazon, but they're cheap as hell, so I can buy a few just in case they're garbage and fail every few months like a lot of folks claim on Amazon.

I went ahead and ordered one just to see what the sound quality is like as I've never used one before, but are there any other options in 2017 to work with factory radios from back in the day?

Thanks!

LeX2K

Best solution if you want to keep the factory system is modify it to accept a line in signal. What year is your ES?

DKinATL

You and I have the same car. 2000 Platinum Series

LeX2K

Looks like I spoke too soon according to this post the Nakamichi unit uses a digital input so hacking is not so easy.

Power6

The Nakamichi digital input pertains to the hijacking the CD changer input. There are ways to get an analog signal in. I had my deck modified for an aux in on the back, with a discrete switch on the front. I ran that for a couple years. OP I still have that deck its a platinum/coach deck with the birds eye maple wood. Most likely you have that, I've yet to see a normal model with the walnut wood nakamichi deck, though I did pick up just such a headunit on ebay. Anyways the switch became a little flaky over time, but if you wanted to try it out, you can have the head unit if you pay for the shipping. Email me at andrew (at> agnostictech d0tcom.

I switched to an aftermarket deck to get the bluetooth. With a harness adapter you keep the Nak amp, it takes the RCA pre-amp outputs from any deck. I'm using a fairly cheap Sony, but two audiophile type features required IMO are time alignment and a good EQ, which when you spend some time with them, you can get good sound out of the Nak amp which is a pretty substantial little unit. The sony was a refurb and that is getting flaky so I might switch to another deck. The top end Kenwood Excelon single DIN units are another great option with TA and EQ and they are quite cheap.

DKinATL

I'll see what wood I have and reach out. Do you mean the switch you ran to the cabin is flaky? Or the mod itself in the back of the radio? Thanks for the post and the offer.

If you don't mind. Can you post a photo of your car with the aftermarket radio installed? I'm kicking around the idea of going with an aftermarket screen.