No AUX port. Are there any other options? 06 Lexus GS
10-23-13, 11:59 AM
#16
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Too much iPhone products out there and not enough Android support !!
10-23-13, 03:49 PM
#17
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I ordered the GTA car kit today. I have read some reviews where people are saying that it is like CD quality. Hopefully this is true. I will let you guys know how it sounds once I have it installed.
10-24-13, 03:07 PM
#18
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The install was just like the video shows... no big surprises, I did have to wiggle and pry the stereo out of its spot with a bit more effort than the video shows.
As I put the radio back in I noticed the "y" splitter wire coming from the deck is long enough to go under the support bracket at the bottom following along with the power wire for lighter, the first time I slide the deck back in the wire got squashed under the stereo bracket !!
I ran the main box to the spot they suggested, then the wires into the center console. I used a side cutter to snip a rectangular notch in the upper right corner of the bottom panel in the center console box so I can run the wires up and they just sit in the console.
Simple to use:
It works on Tray 4 of the CD menu, I've only had this car for a week now and find that whole center dash control unit to be pretty sad for functionality. Aside from that I don't have an iPod with me right now but I plugged my Samsung Galaxy in and jumped on you tube to listen to few tunes.
It sounds good for the BASE system ( not the ML ), I switched between my Samsung and a regular store bought CD. The CD sounded better but not by much, that could also be the you tube video or quality of mp3 I have in my phone ??
Easy, Clean and Quick Install.. for the price I'm happy with it being hardwired in and not wireless or BT that seems to never work well on my phone.
Let's see now if the build quality is good to last for a long time ?
Simple as it is, I'm pretty sure it will ?? Time will tell !!
10-24-13, 04:55 PM
#19
10-25-13, 05:53 AM
#20
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The only thing I found very odd was ( of course I didn't read the instructions for how to use this kit ) the way you scrolled through your playlists ?
I was stuck cycling through the same songs on playlist 1, tapping on the main screen and steer wheel buttons and could get to all my songs ? My wife hit the lower button on lower right side of the console " Ch Disk ", that was the Trick and now it moved onto the next playlist BUT on the Info Screen it showed it as Disk 5, then Disk 6 and so on. Strange but it worked
Ohhhh.. it does show the Song Title and Song Info on the Main Screen.
The setup worked and sounds very good !!
Note to Samsung user:
I was listening to a song through "you tube", it must have been a bad recording because I had my phone and stereo volume up high to hear the song. Well.. an email notification came in and "BONG" the loudest email I EVER GOT !
Scared the Crap out of me !!
I better turn off my email when I'm driving ? lol...
10-25-13, 07:28 AM
#21
Pole Position
Great write-up David. Thanks for sharing.
Did you try the aux input? Just wondering how that sounded as compared to the other connection.
Also, I have an i-phone 5. I assume this means I'll have to buy the converter plug from Apple in order to get this to work (or just use my old i-pod touch that I don't use anymore).
e
Did you try the aux input? Just wondering how that sounded as compared to the other connection.
Also, I have an i-phone 5. I assume this means I'll have to buy the converter plug from Apple in order to get this to work (or just use my old i-pod touch that I don't use anymore).
e
10-25-13, 07:56 AM
#22
Pole Position
I guess the other option would be to go with the more expensive Vaistech unit that uses a usb port instead. With that set up, you would use your own wires to connect up to the car.
10-26-13, 08:58 AM
#23
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Great write-up David. Thanks for sharing.
Did you try the aux input? Just wondering how that sounded as compared to the other connection.
Also, I have an i-phone 5. I assume this means I'll have to buy the converter plug from Apple in order to get this to work (or just use my old i-pod touch that I don't use anymore).
e
Did you try the aux input? Just wondering how that sounded as compared to the other connection.
Also, I have an i-phone 5. I assume this means I'll have to buy the converter plug from Apple in order to get this to work (or just use my old i-pod touch that I don't use anymore).
e
The iTouch I tried sounded better but did have very good quality MP3 songs.
Sure I saw something on the GTA site about the iPhone 5 ??
I'm done with Apple products and sick of iTunes erasing ALL my data or crashing my phone !!
10-29-13, 05:40 AM
#25
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Working well... I'm daily driving the GS and have a 45 min. drive to/from work, never listen to the radio so this adapter is working all the time I'm driving.
The only thing I've noticed that I would say is a small glitch... you get a very subtle "beep" when you switch songs while any Apple Device is plugged in ?
The "beep" is very faint not a harsh noise when you move from one song to the next.
Actually I wonder now... does it do that with CD music ?
Maybe it's just my select buttons that are making that noise ??
I'll try it tonight on my drive home.
Other wise I'm happy with it so far.
Now I have to fix the other common stuff that goes wrong with the GS series cars.
My Tire Pressure monitor just started winking at me this morning
Oh Well.. time to Search the Forum for answers !!
The only thing I've noticed that I would say is a small glitch... you get a very subtle "beep" when you switch songs while any Apple Device is plugged in ?
The "beep" is very faint not a harsh noise when you move from one song to the next.
Actually I wonder now... does it do that with CD music ?
Maybe it's just my select buttons that are making that noise ??
I'll try it tonight on my drive home.
Other wise I'm happy with it so far.
Now I have to fix the other common stuff that goes wrong with the GS series cars.
My Tire Pressure monitor just started winking at me this morning
Oh Well.. time to Search the Forum for answers !!
10-31-13, 07:26 PM
#26
Driver School Candidate
Yeah unfortunately for us 06-07 they didn't have AUX ports. I believe that addition was part of the mid model upgrade in 08.
A great alternative would be to order the 3.5mm adapter unless you MUST have the controls on the screen. The 3.5mm adpater is better because unlike the other adpaters which are phone specific, you can plug any device that has a audio port on it into the radio via cd changer and have your music or play a movie from something like a iPad through the car speakers.
There are some adapters which support both types of phones and also have the 3.5mm jack but they are pretty expensive >$150.
Hope this helps!!
A great alternative would be to order the 3.5mm adapter unless you MUST have the controls on the screen. The 3.5mm adpater is better because unlike the other adpaters which are phone specific, you can plug any device that has a audio port on it into the radio via cd changer and have your music or play a movie from something like a iPad through the car speakers.
There are some adapters which support both types of phones and also have the 3.5mm jack but they are pretty expensive >$150.
Hope this helps!!
10-31-13, 07:38 PM
#27
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So I finally got my car back from service and have installed the GTA car kit. All I have to say is its amazing. One thing that I noticed is that audio seemed a bit off in the beginning but then i turned off the surround sound option and it sounds amazing now. I'd definitely recommend this option for an AUX input. I have both the 3.5mm jack and the apple connector routed into the armrest.
10-31-13, 09:04 PM
#29
I received my kit on Saturday and installed it on Sunday. At first I connected my iphone5 through the iphone connection (added an apple 30pin to lightning cable) but it was way too staticky. It turns out my phone is the problem and not the GTA kit. So instead I returned the cable ($40, damn apple) and am just using playing music through the AUX cable. It sounds really good. Way better than the the iSimple I had before. The iSimple would start to develop static at around volume 30. With the GTA car kit, it's a lot better but not perfect. Sometimes it'll develop static at around volume 50 and sometimes at around volume 60. I check this by pausing my music and turning the volume up. But if I put the volume all the way down and then all the way up, there's almost no static at all all the way up to volume MAX. I'm still going to keep playing with it, but as it stands I am really happy with this kit. With music playing, it is crisp and you can't hear any static (it's mostly just me being picky).
