Is there a way to replace 2001 LX470 Mark Levinson stereo system?

[Greg Morgan]

I went up to check out new head units at a reputable car audio place for my 2001 LX470 and the guy there said that this cannot be replaced by anything. He said he has tried before and this is a notorious issue. Is this guy speaking truth and I am just SOL or is there a solution he isn't aware of? Thanks for the help.

Link to pic of my stereo: Imgur

 

[Bretthn]

It can be replaced. You can retain the factory amp or bypass it.
I dont think there are any wiring harnesses that can be purchased to make it a plug and play install. This may be why your shop doesnt want to mess with it.

 

[trdcorolla]

I had the same ML radio you have and I replaced it with a aftermarket radio. I got the new double din head unit and a TYTO-01 wiring harness from Crutchfield. You'll also need a filler plate from ebay. You can search the forum here for the name, I already forgot. If you want to use your 2 factory antenna's you'll have to buy a antenna Y adapter.

 

[Somebodyelse5]

If you are willing to bypass the silly factory amp, it's pretty straight forward. A nice headunit will pump more power to the speakers than the factory amplifier will. Crutchfield.com has everything you need.

 

[Greg Morgan]

Thanks for all the responses. Good to hear it is at least possible. Forgive my ignorance but what are the cons of bypassing the factory amp?

 

[TXSunDevil]

Thanks for all the responses. Good to hear it is at least possible. Forgive my ignorance but what are the cons of bypassing the factory amp?

When I bypassed my factory amp I lost the subwoofer. My new head unit only had 4 speaker outputs and I didn't want to run anything in parallel.

 

[Greg Morgan]

Interesting. Well is there a thread out there has a walk through / explanation on how to do this replacement? I tried to do a bit of searching but couldn't find any detailed instructions. Mechanically, I can figure things out fairly easily but when it comes to wiring and such inside the car I am pretty inept. That is the reason why I was trying to have a person do it for me originally and I feel like without proper instruction I'll have no idea what I am doing. Again, thanks for all the help guys.

 

[aceLX470]

I just did this in my 2001 LX with the Mark Levinson System. The TYTO-01 worked perfectly to retain the factory amp. The Diagram included tells you exactly how to match each wire. It was pretty straight forward. I figure at the cost of the TYTO-01 I'll wait until the ML amp dies to replace it.

 

[Somebodyelse5]

When I bypassed my factory amp I lost the subwoofer. My new head unit only had 4 speaker outputs and I didn't want to run anything in parallel.

I'd like to add that losing the factory sub is sort of a hilarious con, they are useless and sound like absolute garbage.. on top of that, most of them are blown anyways... a good set of coax speakers with a decent head unit will sound far better than the factory "sub"... if you want bass step 1 is ditching the factory set up. A single 10" in a simple enclosure will be leaps and bounds better.


Just get yourself a decent headunit that you like and run new speaker wire to new speakers in the doors... this will immediately sound better than your 17 year old stereo system. You speakers and headunit will come with wiring diagrams.

 

[Greg Morgan]

I had the same ML radio you have and I replaced it with a aftermarket radio. I got the new double din head unit and a TYTO-01 wiring harness from Crutchfield. You'll also need a filler plate from ebay. You can search the forum here for the name, I already forgot. If you want to use your 2 factory antenna's you'll have to buy a antenna Y adapter.

So just to verify, this all I need to replace the system? A double din of my choosing, a filler plate and the TYTO-01 harness?

1. Remove old system
2. Fit the TYTO-01 wiring harness (which has instructions with it)
3. Connect the TYTO-01 to the head unit
4. Fit the head unit in along with the filler plate

Do I have that down correctly?

 

[Somebodyelse5]

So just to verify, this all I need to replace the system? A double din of my choosing, a filler plate and the TYTO-01 harness?

1. Remove old system
2. Fit the TYTO-01 wiring harness (which has instructions with it)
3. Connect the TYTO-01 to the head unit
4. Fit the head unit in along with the filler plate

Do I have that down correctly?

Just about, just be prepared for the situation where you have funky interference issues with the factory amp, which will require bypassing it. I initially tried to just use the harness but had weird noise/interference... so I just ran new speaker wires from the head unit to the speakers, solves the problem pretty easy...

 

[Wilsil]

Easy to do. I replaced mine with a fully integrated system with GPS, Bluetooth, DVD, camera etc.
Way better then the cassette and 6 CD player.

 

[janz3n]

I wouldn't even bother with the harness unless you want to go back to factory easily. I bought one but ended up not using it and doing this

 

[Greg Morgan]

I wouldn't even bother with the harness unless you want to go back to factory easily. I bought one but ended up not using it and doing this

Thanks for the video, its very useful seeing what your'e talking about.

So basically you clipped off the necessary wires to the factory harness then ran speakers wires from the new head unit to the new amp and then to the new speakers?

 

[Greg Morgan]

Also, I got a tip from another forum to check out the BeatSonic SLA 100/82AAD from beatsonic.com (obviously). Allows you to retain everything factory, basically plug and play. Besides the price, do you guys see any downside to this?

 

[TXSunDevil]

Also, I got a tip from another forum to check out the BeatSonic SLA 100/82AAD from beatsonic.com (obviously). Allows you to retain everything factory, basically plug and play. Besides the price, do you guys see any downside to this?

Looks like you will need a trim bezel kit also but that should work.

 

[janz3n]

Thanks for the video, its very useful seeing what your'e talking about.

So basically you clipped off the necessary wires to the factory harness then ran speakers wires from the new head unit to the new amp and then to the new speakers?

You got it. The hardest part was figuring out what wires were what. All the docs, posts and videos were for the other HU’s until that video was posted. Also, they make a thick wire with ~8 wires inside. Forget what it’s called but makes it one pull instead of multiple.

I used a cheap amazon trim bezel and it didn’t fit snug it rattled like crazy.

Also... get some spade connectors don’t use those buttconnectors. Saves a lot of headache when doing the speakers and adjusting stuff.

 

[Greg Morgan]

Looks like you will need a trim bezel kit also but that should work.

Looks like it comes with it, no?

 

[TXSunDevil]

Looks like it comes with it, no?

Yes you are right. I went to their website and they sell it both with and without the dash kit. Some mudders have reported the Ebay dash kit works fine.
LEXUS LX470 1998-2002 Radio Stereo Dash Kit Standard 2DIN SATIN BLACK KT-LX004B | eBay

If you don't mind parting with the coin that beats sonic looks like it will be plug and play. The other option would be cut the wires, trace them out and install a $30 Ebay trim bezel. Looks like a fun project

 

[Thingfisher]

I just got a 2001 LX470 with the ML non-nav and I'm looking to do the same thing - just replace the head unit and keep the factory ML amp and speakers. I know that replacing the entire system will probably sound better, but the existing system doesn't sound bad to my ears.

I've read all of the threads on doing this, and this seems to be the best thread that addresses a "plug and play" solution. I admire the work so many of you have done on wiring diagrams, but I want to do this myself and my time is limited. And I always under estimate the amount of time involved with these projects. For example, just removing, reconing and replacing the subwoofer took me a whole day (including glue drying time). YouTube makes everything look easy!

So, I'm looking at the Alpine ILX-207 double din unit. i have the bezel off of ebay. For the plug and play aspect, I've read that there are the following options: (1) some have said there is no plug and play option, (2) some have used the the TYTO-01 harness from Crutchfield for about $65, (3) and some have used the BeatSonic SLX-82AAD or SLA-82AAD for about $259, and (4) the Metra 70-8112 harness. The BeatSonic is spec'd to work with the ML system and the TYTO-01 is only spec'd to work with a JBL factory amp. However, the TYTO-01 has been reported to work with the ML amp.

From what I've read, the stock ML amp needs a digital, not an analogue 12v signal to turn on. My guess is that is the boxes in the TYTO-01 and BeatSonic harnesses make that conversion and send the correct signal. The Metra harness doesn't seem to have that capability.

So, I'm leaning toward getting the either the TYTO-01 harness or the BeatSonic harness. It would be great if the TYTO-01 works, but I am concerned about reports of noise in the system. While it's more expensive, the BeatSonic seems like it has the best chance of success for a simple, clean low-noise replacement. Am I right on this?