Radio/stereo for LC 100 (1 Viewer)

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Hi there

We have a 1999 LC 100 in the family that has 137 K miles so still has a lot if life.

Bought it used back in 2002.

Been having issues with the stereo which is quite old i guess. What are good sources/website and models for radio that can fit the LC 100 ?

The radio of the 1999 are quite of large compared to newer models.

Thank you

Jay
 
I believe most if not all double din head units will fit without even using a kit.
 
Affirmative. No kit needed. Get your radio from Crutchfield. Get the wire harness adapters from them as well. When I did mine I also got a 2 into 1 antenna adapter as you will see the stock radio uses 2 different antennas. I also had to get an adapter to go from the micro antenna end to a standard antenna end that gets plugged into the 2 into 1 adapter. Call Crutchfield they will get you what you need
 
Crutchfield is the online place to start.

Your stock radio is called a Double Din its 2X the size of a single din so anything listed as Double Din should fit. You can also go with a single din radio and get a spacer or shelf to fill the void.
 
Hi there

We have a 1999 LC 100 in the family that has 137 K miles so still has a lot if life.

Bought it used back in 2002.

Been having issues with the stereo which is quite old i guess. What are good sources/website and models for radio that can fit the LC 100 ?

The radio of the 1999 are quite of large compared to newer models.

Thank you

Jay



Get one of those new CarPlay radios (Alpine or Pioneer).....

I'm sure there are lots of other double-DIN choices out there, but I just want to see somebody install one in an older LC so that I don't have to be the guinea pig!!! :)


-G
 
Are LC 100 known to have issues with their speakers ?

Jay
 
Are LC 100 known to have issues with their speakers ?

Jay


I've got a DS door speaker that's either blown or just disintegrating.

It seems like the foam surrounds just turn to dust over time, or become unglued. It's a pretty easy thing to fix, but I think the sound quality was never really that impressive so a lot of guys just swap them for something else.


-G
 
Get one of those new CarPlay radios (Alpine or Pioneer).

Having owned an AppRadio, I don't know that I really get the draw. You can clip your phone into a Ram Mount and have all of your Apps right there on your phone. But somehow having it ported over to a 2Din head 4" away is an advantage? I guess if you want it to keep the phone in your pocket it could be an advantage. But the phone is up higher in your field of view, albeit with a slightly smaller screen.

You can get a really nice non-nav Kenwood for ~$300-$350 with Bluetooth streaming, HD Radio, Rear Camera input, Pandora control, etc. Or go Nav for about $600. I opted for the later with a DNX571HD. While I more frequently nav with Wave on my phone, Kenwood/Garmin has complete offline maps (and with a SD card for topo upload). I like that I have that as a backup. More than once I've had MotionX have a gap in tiles. And yes I do carry paper Delorme atlases. For $200 more it was worth it to me to have the redundant Nav capability. When on road I can Nav around on the Kenwood and have the phone running Torque.

Crutchfield is the online place to start.

Crutchfield fills a great place in the market for people who are willing to pay a premium for a perception of service. SonicElectronix has much better pricing and great service / support as well. They are an authorized Kenwood dealer (I emailed Kenwood proper to verify).
 
Are LC 100 known to have issues with their speakers ?

Jay

Since they're the factory 16 year old speaker. It'd be a good idea to just change them. Especially since you're upgrading your head unit.
 
Since they're the factory 16 year old speaker. It'd be a good idea to just change them. Especially since you're upgrading your head unit.

Yeah, it's not that their bad per se, it's that the world has evolved quite a bit since then. The internet boom cheapened chips and memory for every imaginable device and that was just taking hold when these vehicles were built.

At a minimum, you should have bluetooth connectivity for devices. Speakers are just a great luxury..
 
Having owned an AppRadio, I don't know that I really get the draw. You can clip your phone into a Ram Mount and have all of your Apps right there on your phone. But somehow having it ported over to a 2Din head 4" away is an advantage? I guess if you want it to keep the phone in your pocket it could be an advantage. But the phone is up higher in your field of view, albeit with a slightly smaller screen.

You can get a really nice non-nav Kenwood for ~$300-$350 with Bluetooth streaming, HD Radio, Rear Camera input, Pandora control, etc. Or go Nav for about $600. I opted for the later with a DNX571HD...


While I think that phones clipped to the dash is an aesthetically dubious solution, I am also resistant to the whole Apple CarPlay thing in as much as I understand it so far. First of all there is no volume knob..... I really like a knob that can be turned for setting volume. Push buttons are rarely large enough to reach easily and are usually not accurate enough to allow you to get the setting "just right" without overshoot or undershoot. From the YouTube videos I've seen, it also appears that CarPlay relies far too much on Siri voice recognition to process commands, and /or you have to do a LOT of touchscreen work to select options. It seems like an awful lot of time spent with eyes off-the-road to be considered a safe automotive interface (IMHO)

Clearly, almost anything that is swapped in to that double-DIN space in the dash (even a lower end solution) is going to be miles ahead of what the factory gave me in 2001..... I don't think I care much about NAV stuff, so a solution that gave me decent wireless streaming and a good handsfree Bluetooth telephone connection would probably suffice (as long as it has a real volume knob!) :)


-G
 
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To me the stock system sounds great if the factory speakers are still in good shape. If it had true Bluetooth, I'd totally leave it as is. These were $50k+ vehicles back then, so they have to be nice.
 
To me the stock system sounds great if the factory speakers are still in good shape. If it had true Bluetooth, I'd totally leave it as is. These were $50k+ vehicles back then, so they have to be nice.


It's more a question of technological obsolescence. For a modest amount, you can improve the sound and functionality greatly. Fifteen years is a long time in technology years..
 
It's more a question of technological obsolescence. For a modest amount, you can improve the sound and functionality greatly. Fifteen years is a long time in technology years..

I agree. I found a very decent double din Pioneer HU for about $250. X2600bt? Bluetooth and can have a backup camera added. There's a Audiovox camera that will fit it according to Crutchfield for under $100. I think most entry level speakers would be better than stock.
 
I think most entry level speakers would be better than stock.

So true. I've only replaced my head unit, door speakers and 1 of 2 subs and it sounds dramatically better.

When the amp is finally replaced, it's going to be a concert hall:)
 
I installed a Kenwood DNX771HD in my son's 2000 TLC for Christmas. In addition to replacing the factory stereo, that no longer played discs and turned itself off every time you touched the volume knob, it added navigation, bluetooth, mobile device connectivity, and a reverse camera. My only complaint so far is that it sticks out of the dash a little more than I would have liked. Had it been my decision, I would've probably gone with the DNX571HD for the volume knob and possibly a little closer to flush fit with the dash. My son preferred the slightly larger screen of the 771.

We have not upgraded the speakers yet. I'm kind of curious if anyone has used the Focal ISS 165 in the front doors and ISC 165 in the rear doors? (I remember the 80 series required extremely shallow speakers in the front doors, I haven't looked inside the 100 series doors yet.)
 
Yeah, it's not that their bad per se, it's that the world has evolved quite a bit since then. The internet boom cheapened chips and memory for every imaginable device and that was just taking hold when these vehicles were built.

At a minimum, you should have bluetooth connectivity for devices. Speakers are just a great luxury..


The 100 series speakers last a long time. Just replaced my 13 year old front driver and passenger ones (bottom door speakers) Our issue was that the stock speakers were severely blown (for a 2003 100 Series). However, since they lasted over 10 years, these speakers are reliable.

I decided to choose a pair of Kicker 40 CS674's. they were relatively cheap, (>$100 a pair) and only required some slaughtering to connect. (in addition to removing the door panels to access [which you have to do anyways for any speaker on the 100 Series])

Overall, if your speakers are over 16 year old, I would replace them with something more modern(your choice). As technology is evolving, sound quality evolves too.
 
We have not upgraded the speakers yet. I'm kind of curious if anyone has used the Focal ISS 165 in the front doors and ISC 165 in the rear doors? (I remember the 80 series required extremely shallow speakers in the front doors, I haven't looked inside the 100 series doors yet.)

I've got a pair of the Focal K2 Power 3 ways up front and a pair of the Access 2 ways in the second row (both 165s) that fit well inside the door speaker moldings w/ some modification.
 
Focal is grabbing lots of market share, their products are solid. I've got my eye on some Focal Arias for the homestead.
 
Well...... Guess I'm going to be my own CarPlay guinea pig. :)

My primary objection with all of the CarPlay solutions was the lack of a conventional volume knob. I hate volume buttons. They are never precise enough, and I hate the disconnected feeling of pressing the + or - button multiple times to make a proper adjustment.

The breakthrough for me was the discovery of the JL Audio line driver. (CL-RLC)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001UDQ1VI/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This adds a simple volume knob to any stereo, and has the side benefit of being a line driver too....cleanly increases the source voltage to 7.5V. Also, since it doesn't send the actual audio signal through the volume knob the sound quality doesn't get compromised!

So my next step will probably be to pick up the Alpine ILX-007 CarPlay unit ($599) and go from there.


Does anyone know where the factory amp is in the JBL factory system? Under the seat perhaps?


-G
 
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