I have a 2006 LS 430 that I’m thinking about switching out the radio and cassette for a new Entertainment system with Bluetooth music, and USB ports. Anyone have any experience with this and recommendations? Thanks,

 

Just put a bt45 unit in, takes less than 30 mins to hook it up to your currenthead unit. Do a search for more info

 

I am goign to be ripping out my stupid mark levinson system in favor of a whole aftermarket setup. I am tired of dealing with no bluetooth sync

 

Can you send more specifics about the unit you installed?

 

https://www.crutchfield.com/S-CKPDal...-BT45-TOY.html

Search the forum for more info

 

I just went through an ordeal switching out my stock unit for an aftermarket stereo. I have a 2004 LS430 non mark levinson with no navigation. Is possible you will need an interface module, in my case I used model TYT0-11 along with an antenna cable extension with an adapter. Good luck.

 

My Pioneer something-or-other installed on my non-nav car using a BeatSonic install kit. Did stereo, camera, and all speakers except the tweeters. Sounds pretty good, but I wish I had ran a small amp for the speakers because going through the factory amp sounds good but not great. I mean, much better than stock but you can only adjust things so far. I think I'm into the whole system for about $1000. Nice having Android Auto (the cable is key to success) and running Google maps for navigation along with my Amazon music account.

Watch out for the install kit that Crutchfield sells, it's crap. All of it. Crap. Buy once, cry once with the BeatSonic kit...

Search the forum, this topic has been beat to dea... covered extensively.

 

I've been really happy with my Mark Levinson system once I went through and did the Simply Speaker foam repair kits on all speakers, and added the VAISTech SoundLinQ3 for Bluetooth. While the speaker repair was a bit of a project, in the end I think it was worth it, as it's a surprisingly well balance system once it's back to original standards. Never had one issue with the VAISTech bluetooth component either.

 

I got a SL3b that gives me full Bluetooth.
https://www.vaistech.com/

Good luck

 

In June 2009 at 52,000 miles, I installed the Vaistech SL2Vi unit in my car. This allowed me to connect to my iPod Classic which has 120 GB installed in the glove box. This let me have access to my personal music collection (mostly all CDs) and play them in my car. The unit is completely concealed and operated thru the Nav Screen, allowing me to access any of the CD's while displaying the artist, CD name, and individual title of each song on the Nav screen. The iPod is charged while in the car and I only take it out when I want to add or remove music. This unit has worked flawlessly ever since for 11 years. I can attest to the quality and reliability of this Vaistech unit. My UL included blu tooth so that was not a consideration.

 

Thanks. it's an excellent suggestion.

 

+1 to what jayclapp said:

In November 2009 at 80,000km, I installed the Vaistech SL2Vi unit in my 2002 UL (Bluetooth not an option til 2004). This allowed me to connect to my iPod Touch 3rd Gen 64GB, installed in the pop-out tray above the seat heater switches. This let me have access to my personal music collection (all FLAC converted to WAV converted to ALAC) and play them in my car. The unit is completely concealed and operated thru the Nav Screen and steering wheel controls, allowing me to access my iTunes playlists while displaying the artist, album name, and individual title of each song on the nav screen. On the nav screen while driving (due to cutting speed sensor wire and grounding the parking brake signal at the back of the nav screen), I can watch videos from YouTube using WiFi/cell phone hotspot, and can watch tv shows/movies/videos synced to the iPod via iTunes.

The iPod is charged while in the car and I only take it out when I want to add or remove music (I could sync over WiFi but this causes the iPod battery to drain faster, and maybe the car battery too). The SL2Vi is going strong, 11 years and counting. However, once a year or so, usually in very cold weather and possibly due to weaker car battery in such weather, the SL2Vi loses configuration and I have to redo the dipswitch programming procedure. Also, sometimes my right audio channel cuts out due to the wire being loose on the harness attached to the SL2Vi box, but a quick wiggle and ensuring the box doesn't move around will fix it. Aside from those 2 issues, the SL2Vi works beautifully.

 

Thanks for the detailed reply. Good information. Tell me, is there any change/improvement to the resolution of the NAV screen after you install the Vaistech?

 

Nav screen is a fixed resolution, my guess is 720x480 or less. The video input feed is analog, and high-frequency and/or high-resolution signals will not show correctly. But any resolution and quality that the iPod Touch 3G can natively play, it will show just fine on the screen. The quality is pretty decent - you'll definitely need to adjust the RGB, contrast, and brightness settings on the nav screen to watch movies with relatively accurate color, as the default settings are way off for true color calibration.

 

Great. This is al very helpful. Now, the Vaistech folks have a couple of installers in my area they list on their website, but both have gotten lousy reviews. Is it an installation than any tech could do. I had Best Buy do an upgrade on my Boxster S and they did a good job.