Another picture....

 

To my ears...YES. 100% Yes.

 

Pioneer AVH-X3500BHS. No built in NAV as I wanted to keep my old NAV separate and I've got the latest update anyways. But, completely expandable for NAV, backup camera, etc. 6.5" chassis and 0.375" nose. There was plenty of room for the door to operate freely and enough room behind to tuck in all the wiring and the Beatsonic unit as well.

I measured the Factory unit. 6.5" chassis, 0.75" nose and 0.5" ****. Total 7.75". Agree that the higher the **** on your replacement unit, the better the chance of door clearance.

Born2x, thanks on the black control unit. Just made sense to me rather than it standing out in the silver finish. I originally tried to remove the face plate but there is one edge that is glued. Instead I spent hours taping over and down inside the buttons. Two coats Rustoleum hammered finish to give it texture more like the dash pad and two coats satin black. Time will tell how well it stands up to UV and heat.

 

I just put in an Pioneer AVIC 8000NEX. Rather than going the Beatsonic route, I replaced the entire system (all speakers, subwoofer, amp), and in the process also removed the factory nav (left the screen in there for future use). After a couple of weeks of use, I think I made the right choice with the Pioneer. Fits perfectly.

 

Thanks to all for the input!! I went ahead and just ordered the AVH-X3500 as I didn't really feel like dropping another $500-$1000 on a new radio even though I have a new one that Im almost certain wont fit because of the button, and went ahead and ordered that before even test fitting mine so Ill be selling my kenwood and wait for the new one to come in and also my harness which should be here any day now. I like the black finish on it too! yea I would've probably tried and find a way to remove the face plate before painting it but looks WAY better than the silver finish

 

Just wait for the new head units, it should not be much longer. then you won't have to use all the add on products.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sc-...uestion-3.html

 

Throw,

Pioneer has promised to have a firmware update on all it's NEX products in the near future that will include CarPlay. But that's good news for Apple phone users. I don't care to deal with Apple. So I'm hoping (although I highly doubt it will happen) that CarPlay spurs MirrorLink (android) to produce a usable product.

Regards, Dan

 

My Parrot system add-on has all of the add-ons except the satellite radio. I mostly use the bluetooth and hdd (usb flash for 16 gigs of music). Much cheaper and less invasive than newer stereos, looks completely stock, and it works great (including being able to use a backup camera).

 

This is a helpful discussion. I just bought a low mileage 2002 and it has the original audio system - a fantastic car with an antique audio system. New cars and their sound and Bluetooth systems have me completely hooked. I use an FM tuner type device in my older pick up truck, but can't bear the thought of such ugly stuff in an SC interior.... not to mention getting better functionality.

I put an aftermarket unit in our 1997 LS400 and was able to find one that wasn't too gaudy and the light colors were similar to the other light colors in the dash area (greenish). I did not want to detract from the classical elegance of the LS interior. I have that same concern for the SC.

I don't know car audio installation. I'm curious about the Beat Sonic kit. I looked on-line and it costs $430 and I assume that just gets you the mounting device. Why the Beat Sonic?

I appreciate the heads up about chassis and nose depth. I will soon be talking to the best installer I've found. Even if he is the best, he may not see very many SCs. There's no substitute for first-hand experience like yours.

 

The Beatsonic device comes with the hardware face for a Double Din radio to fill the void when you replace the ML head unit. The advantage of the Beatsonic integration device allows the user to incorporate the OEM amp, speakers, wiring, navigation and controls on the steering wheel. The following radio dimensions will fit perfectly in the slot without interfering with the closing door. There are two dimension you need to consider for the head unit to fit properly.

Radio Chassis - (W x H x D): Width by Height by Depth ( 7 in. x 3-7/8 in. x 6-1/2 in.)
Radio Nose - (W x H x D): Width by Height by Depth ( 6-3/4 in. x 3-7/8 in. x 3/4 in.)

 

I have a friend who is 25 years in the car audio/video install world. When I mentioned messing the Lexus ML system, he cringed. I told him about the BeatSonic interface and he was pleasantly surprised.