I've seen a few posts about what's the best way but I was looking to get more info.

What I can't or don't want to do:

1) New head unit. There has to be a better way plus I want to keep the NAV intact.
2) Tape adaptor. You lose so much of the depth of the music plus I've tried it with my car and it didn't work.
3) FM tuner adaptor. Same as above, the sound quality goes down the drain.

So really I'm looking for some way to hard wire my Ipod into the stereo. Anyone have any ideas? Post a link if you've talked about this or said what you've done before.

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

Search is your friend. There are a ton of threads out there about this. I personally use a VAIS SL2i-UP unit and love it. There are others out there as well but again, just search and you'll find a bunch of threads on this. Good luck

 

Sorry, I was trying to consolidate all of the threads, thanks for the input though.

 

The GROM USB2 is cheap... and with recent firmware updates it is performing reliably enough. It still has some quirky moments but overall it's not too bad for the price.

I prefer MP3s off of standard USB drives instead of being tethered to a proprietary ipod interface. The GROM USB2 unit will also interface with iPod if you get an extra cable for it.

 

there are a few ways as mentioned. i think quite a few members here including me have the vaistech on our cars and i think it works very well

 

I recently installed the VaisTech VML and like every minute of it. It's a product which fills the gap created by factory-fitted audio like Lexus with ML and which does not have an iPOD or USB interface.

What I'm going to do next is to replace the iPOD wih an old HDD I recovered from an old laptop in order to free up the iPOD for other use.

Before VML, I hooked up an iPOD using tape adaptor, which is only about $8 on Amazon. I was surprised the sound quality was as good as the VML. Only problem is you can't control from the built-in Nav or steering. Also, I had to separately turn the iPOD on and off.

 

As someone who tried GROM for a few weeks (returned that one) and settled down on VML, I would highly recommend VML. It wasn't even a choice for me since GROM only displays track listing on '06 models due to an older Lexus firmware compatibility. It’s the only advantage for you since you will be able to see track listing and will save some money. But overall I found it to be very unreliable, USB stick supplied by the vendor wasn't recognized half of the time and I even tried other brands too. VML works beautifully. Period! This is my most valuable mod!!! Since I already have SLS box installed, I put VML box right behind center console audio/display unit. Fits in there like a glove

 

Isimple from TSS-radio.com get it with the Sirius sat radio
receiver. Works with your touch screen.

 

how much is the vaistech VML and how hard is the installation...do u have to take the center console out?

 

vml, probably around high 200s. yes you need to take the nav/radio unit out to install

 

Can someone show me what this unit looks like?

Does it allow me to plug in a USB storage device and play the music that's on that USB?

Do the song names appear on the display?

Let's say the product is $200...how much to install it?

 

if you want usb as well, then you need vml

yes, song names will appear on the display

 

there is a big difference how it displays if you have gen 4 navi, 2006 GS. If you have the newer gen 5, 2007 - current, the display feature is by far better.

We have a DIY thread on how to install. Its pretty easy