LX470 Stereo Upgrade with Nakamichi (1 Viewer)

[PabloCruise]

Finished product. Overall, I'm extremely happy so far. I read that some may experience interference so I bought the recommended ground loop isolator from Radio Shack for $15. Didn't hear any interference so i'm returning it
The Pioneer deck is amazing. As soon as I hooked up the USB cable and iPhone, i only had to recognize the phone via one button push. Calls are made easily via the Phone button on the deck. Also, the deck keeps your phone contacts so making calls is super easy. One button push and you can select missed calls, recent calls, etc. This deck has about 8 different color schemes too so you can personalize the buttons vs outer surround or make all one color. Pandora works great and overall sound quality is much better than the Nakamichi. I used the external mic cable and mounted just near the console.

Only one real thing is was disappointed with was the trim panel. It includes 2 super thin pcs of adhesive for sticking to the inside of the dash panel. The adhesive strips were junk IMO, didn't hold up so first attempt at installation the panel fell thru the back of the radio...DOH. I used a few small spots of super glue on the inside to hold to the inner flange of the dash and this fixed. You can't see it so not a big deal.

@sk8salomon - Checking back on this - does your phone plug into the deck via USB? Or Bluetooth? I didn't see any clues in the picture.

Thanks!

Do you still like this set up?

 

[jwright503]

I'll be completely overhauling my 99 nakamichi system with a new pioneer 4100nex, morel tempo ultra doors, kenwood 900 watt 5 channel and 8" hertz sub next week. Paying to have shop do it to avoid puling the hair I don't have out.

 

[Gold Leader]

Thred is great! I just installed my new deck and it works great. Also, I would not do this without buying the kit to fit the dash. I went the amazon route for $28

Amazon.com : DKM Double Din Radio DVD Stereo Frame for Lexus Lx-470 2002-2008 Toyota Lc-100 1998-2003 Dash Trim Kit Fascia Inner Size 173*98mm Black : Car Electronics

 

[Gold Leader]

The new CD player is a bit loud, any way to turn it down?

 

[PabloCruise]

The new CD player is a bit loud, any way to turn it down?

No volume knob?

 

[PabloCruise]

Thred is great! I just installed my new deck and it works great. Also, I would not do this without buying the kit to fit the dash. I went the amazon route for $28

Amazon.com : DKM Double Din Radio DVD Stereo Frame for Lexus Lx-470 2002-2008 Toyota Lc-100 1998-2003 Dash Trim Kit Fascia Inner Size 173*98mm Black : Car Electronics

View attachment 1225329

What head unit did you go with?

Did you plug into factory amp?

Thanks!

 

[PabloCruise]

I'll be completely overhauling my 99 nakamichi system with a new pioneer 4100nex, morel tempo ultra doors, kenwood 900 watt 5 channel and 8" hertz sub next week. Paying to have shop do it to avoid puling the hair I don't have out.

Did this subwoofer fit the factory enclosure?

 

[jwright503]

Did this subwoofer fit the factory enclosure?

I ended up going with a 10" Morel in a sealed box, but no, from my research only a very inexpensive 6" driver from a brand I never heard of fits in the stock enclosure due to not enough magnet space. I read it also sounds terrible and is a worthless addition. I considered having a custom enclosure built in the stock location but the $1000+ premium for the fiberglass fab didn't seem worth it. I covered my little box with a blanket so it's not visible and it sounds pretty incredible, likely better than the quarter panel location for acoustics.

 

[jwright503]

Investing in a head unit that brings all of the modern convenience of google maps, great bluetooth, pandora/spotify and a back up camera has made my truck so much more enjoyable on a day to day basis. Not to mention the fidelity is as good as high end headphones. We dynamated the hood, firewall and doors which has made the overall ride that much quiter and tight.

deck with trim piece

• jwright503
• Mar 15, 2016

Pioneer NEX4100

Sub

• jwright503
• Mar 15, 2016

Morel Primo 104 in sealed box wrapped in close to OEM carpet

ports

• jwright503
• Mar 15, 2016

Upper left port for Apple CarPlay, lower for HDMI. Upper right for Android Auto, lower aux

Interior post stereo install

• jwright503
• Mar 15, 2016

 

[PabloCruise]

I ended up going with a 10" Morel in a sealed box, but no, from my research only a very inexpensive 6" driver from a brand I never heard of fits in the stock enclosure due to not enough magnet space. I read it also sounds terrible and is a worthless addition. I considered having a custom enclosure built in the stock location but the $1000+ premium for the fiberglass fab didn't seem worth it. I covered my little box with a blanket so it's not visible and it sounds pretty incredible, likely better than the quarter panel location for acoustics.

What year is your rig? LC or LX?

IIRC, we either got 2 x 4" or 1 x 6" woofer(s), depending on year, and 100 vs. 470.

You went Pioneer? What unit?

Thanks!

 

[jwright503]

What year is your rig? LC or LX?

IIRC, we either got 2 x 4" or 1 x 6" woofer(s), depending on year, and 100 vs. 470.

You went Pioneer? What unit?

Thanks!

Mine is '99 LX, same as yours right? I believe there is 1 6" driver in the rear vs the 2 4" in the non Nakamichi systems. I went with the nex4100 as it was widely regarded as the best double din of 2015. It also is only one of few that does android auto (7" screen required) which I needed. The Pioneer 8100 is nicer with built in gps but also 3x as expensive. This deck uses your phone's gps and with google you can download pretty large maps to use offline, thus negating the need for a GPS chip in your deck. The voice commands are really good with the ability to send and reply to texts hands free as well as saying "take me to the nearest Costco" with flawless interpretation. I found this new on eBay for $450. We also installed a bypass so you can watch video at all times. I have a chromecast plugges in and can stream anything that is playing on my phone, although I have never really used it yet. Maybe when my twins are older...


Also, I've been slacking and haven't installed that tow receiver yet, hopefully this coming Monday. thanks again!

 

[PabloCruise]

Mine is '99 LX, same as yours right? I believe there is 1 6" driver in the rear vs the 2 4" in the non Nakamichi systems. I went with the nex4100 as it was widely regarded as the best double din of 2015. It also is only one of few that does android auto (7" screen required) which I needed. The Pioneer 8100 is nicer with built in gps but also 3x as expensive. This deck uses your phone's gps and with google you can download pretty large maps to use offline, thus negating the need for a GPS chip in your deck. The voice commands are really good with the ability to send and reply to texts hands free as well as saying "take me to the nearest Costco" with flawless interpretation. I found this new on eBay for $450. We also installed a bypass so you can watch video at all times. I have a chromecast plugges in and can stream anything that is playing on my phone, although I have never really used it yet. Maybe when my twins are older...

Also, I've been slacking and haven't installed that tow receiver yet, hopefully this coming Monday. thanks again!

That is funny, I was wondering if you got the receiver on yet, but I definitely miss a lot of activity in here. The 100 section moves a lot faster than the Pig forum!

And yes, same as me - '99 LX. I think I knew that at one time, but forgot.

Thank you for the info on the 4100! It sounds like you will pull a lot of data through your phone if you use it to the full capability, eh?

 

[jwright503]

That is funny, I was wondering if you got the receiver on yet, but I definitely miss a lot of activity in here. The 100 section moves a lot faster than the Pig forum!

And yes, same as me - '99 LX. I think I knew that at one time, but forgot.

Thank you for the info on the 4100! It sounds like you will pull a lot of data through your phone if you use it to the full capability, eh?

I suppose it depends on how much you drive. I always have Pandora on and use maps a couple times a week and probably average less than 3 gb a month on Verizon. I've been driving a lot more than I normally would, 2k+ a month and have been using less than 3gb. And who knows how much of that is from me reading news, surfing etc. Shouldn't be a factor if you have a decent data plan.

 

[PabloCruise]

This seems to be the biggest thread when I search for Nakamichi in the 100 series section.

Has anyone tried making a wire harness adapter by taking apart the Nakamichi head unit and adapting that pug to the aftermarket head unit?

Or, on the flip side, has anyone tried taking apart the 22 pin plug at the end of the LX470 wiring harness and reconfigure that to match up to the aftermarket head unit?

 

[Gold Leader]

No volume knob?

No, not as simple as that! Yes it has a volume knob. It seemed like the line out levels were different from the different sources: radio, CD, Bluetooth...

I think it is due to the cheap unit I bought, a soundstream, I am going to upgrade to a pioneer.

 

[99RichieLx470]

No, not as simple as that! Yes it has a volume knob. It seemed like the line out levels were different from the different sources: radio, CD, Bluetooth...

I think it is due to the cheap unit I bought, a soundstream, I am going to upgrade to a pioneer.

You are double amplifying the speakers. Your sound is being amplified by your new deck and then sent to the factory amps where it is amplified again. If you can't turn your radio more than 1/4 of the way without it maxing out then that's a problem. It has little to do with the quality of the deck. You want to send pure unamplified sound to the factory amps. Use your preamp outputs to do this or bypass the stock amp completely. Your sound quality will degrade quickly with the impedance mismatch. Each time you listen to your radio it will slowly sound worse and worse.

 

[bamabrock]

This seems to be the biggest thread when I search for Nakamichi in the 100 series section.

Has anyone tried making a wire harness adapter by taking apart the Nakamichi head unit and adapting that pug to the aftermarket head unit?

Or, on the flip side, has anyone tried taking apart the 22 pin plug at the end of the LX470 wiring harness and reconfigure that to match up to the aftermarket head unit?

You can buy male and female 20 pin toyota adapters, so could you repin the lexus 22pin male plug into the 20pin toyota plug to be able to use the toyota adapters for aftermarket radio? It looks like 18 of the 22 holes have pins in them
Stereo Wiring: Land Cruiser / LX 470 (1998-02)

I cross referenced them and the 22 pin has an extra illumination wire at pin #13 and pins #17, #19, #21, and #22 don't directly correlate to the 20pin plug as they are individual speaker ground wires and the 20pin plug has one pin #16 to ground. I'm guessing that the two illumination pins #4 and #13 on the 22pin plug could be combined into pin #2 on the 20 pin plug and the individual speaker grounds (#s17,19,21,22) on the 22 pin plug could be combined to pin #16 on the 20pin plug. Very doable

I bought a standard ISO connector to repin an android radio for a GM truck last year, so its not hard to do with a small flathead screwdriver.
Car Radio Stereo Wire Wiring Harness Combo for select 2000-up Toyota Lexus

 

[PabloCruise]

You can buy male and female 20 pin toyota adapters, so could you repin the lexus 22pin male plug into the 20pin toyota plug to be able to use the toyota adapters for aftermarket radio? It looks like 18 of the 22 holes have pins in them
Stereo Wiring: Land Cruiser / LX 470 (1998-02)

I cross referenced them and the 22 pin has an extra illumination wire at pin #13 and pins #17, #19, #21, and #22 don't directly correlate to the 20pin plug as they are individual speaker ground wires and the 20pin plug has one pin #16 to ground. I'm guessing that the two illumination pins #4 and #13 on the 22pin plug could be combined into pin #2 on the 20 pin plug and the individual speaker grounds (#s17,19,21,22) on the 22 pin plug could be combined to pin #16 on the 20pin plug. Very doable

I bought a standard ISO connector to repin an android radio for a GM truck last year, so its not hard to do with a small flathead screwdriver.
Car Radio Stereo Wire Wiring Harness Combo for select 2000-up Toyota Lexus

That is brilliant! Re-pin the Nakamichi 22 pin connector so you can use the 20 pin LC harness referenced above and plug that into your aftermarket deck! I like that. I realize it is probably not rational to want to avoid cutting my LX harness, but I am.

When I look at the differences between the Nakamichi 22 pin and the '98-'02 LC 20 pin connectors, I see the following:

• LC 20 pin uses 13 actual wires
• Nakamichi 22 pin uses 18 actual wires
• LC 20 pin has wire for Signal Ground & Ground
• Nakamichi has E Ground (?) as well as separate conductors for FR-, FL-, RR-, RL-

I wonder why the 2 different Illumination conductors in the Nakamichi harness, but I am with you, combine the 2. Or if I wanted to take a really long time, I could try the 2 different Illumination pins (#4 & #13) and see what happens.

Last thought/question... This would tie the head unit into the amp, yes? So I would want a pre-amp signal out to the Nakamichi amp, which might require use of RCA cables, yes? In which case I wonder if the Metra harness from Crutchfield would be a good idea? Metra 70-8112 Receiver Wiring Harness
This Metra harness uses 14 conductors though, vs the 13 (of 20) in the LC harness. What up with that?

And, would tying together the individual speaker grounds in the Nak/LX harness do bad things to the factory amp?

Thanks for this idea - I love it!

 

[PabloCruise]

Is it me, or does the Metra adapter look incompatible with the LC 20 Pin?

Metra:

LC 20 pin:

 

[bamabrock]

That is brilliant! Re-pin the Nakamichi 22 pin connector so you can use the 20 pin LC harness referenced above and plug that into your aftermarket deck! I like that. I realize it is probably not rational to want to avoid cutting my LX harness, but I am.

When I look at the differences between the Nakamichi 22 pin and the '98-'02 LC 20 pin connectors, I see the following:

• LC 20 pin uses 13 actual wires
• Nakamichi 22 pin uses 18 actual wires
• LC 20 pin has wire for Signal Ground & Ground
• Nakamichi has E Ground (?) as well as separate conductors for FR-, FL-, RR-, RL-

I wonder why the 2 different Illumination conductors in the Nakamichi harness, but I am with you, combine the 2. Or if I wanted to take a really long time, I could try the 2 different Illumination pins (#4 & #13) and see what happens.

Last thought/question... This would tie the head unit into the amp, yes? So I would want a pre-amp signal out to the Nakamichi amp, which might require use of RCA cables, yes? In which case I wonder if the Metra harness from Crutchfield would be a good idea? Metra 70-8112 Receiver Wiring Harness
This Metra harness uses 14 conductors though, vs the 13 (of 20) in the LC harness. What up with that?

And, would tying together the individual speaker grounds in the Nak/LX harness do bad things to the factory amp?

Thanks for this idea - I love it!

IIRC, the metra aftermarket harness did not have the illumination wire in it and I had to borrow a wire and pin from another cheap harness I grabbed at walmart. I used the 70-8113, which is the 20 pin. the 70-8112 is the 15 pin. Since you would be rewiring the vehicle male end anyway, I would think the 20 pin would be easier to use in conjunction with the amp bypass harness 70-8116 if the nakamichi amp has the same imput plug as the one in the LC

http://www.amazon.com/Metra-70-8113...&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00

the best kits brand has the illumination wire, if you want to keep the factory amp
Amazon.com: Best Kits BHA8112

Is it me, or does the Metra adapter look incompatible with the LC 20 Pin?

Metra:

LC 20 pin:

That looks like the adapter I used on my 2000 LC a couple of years ago. There are two harnesses, that one to use the factory amp and one that bypasses it. I still have the other harness meant to bypass the factory amp in my garage.
http://www.amazon.com/Metra-70-8116...&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00