Further To The Aftermarket H/u Debate

[blimft]

Hi all

Very interested in the ISO lead for IS200 SE, (ERR3 on mine). Couple things i wanted to confirm

1) i thought the internal amp split up the signals & distributed them around the speakers, and that was the problem with replacing the amp. and also what made the system sound so good.

2) most people who have replaced h/u with after market models are presumably running from h/u now, hence full frequencies to all speakers?

3)is it possible to install a new amp? and how would that work out with he existing speakers? ( understand that the rears are separate units with different ratings.

sorry there's a lot to go at, but i want to replace my faulty h/u but dont want to sacrifice the great sound.

cheers

[IRLRs200]

Hi all

Very interested in the ISO lead for IS200 SE, (ERR3 on mine). Couple things i wanted to confirm

1) i thought the internal amp split up the signals & distributed them around the speakers, and that was the problem with replacing the amp. and also what made the system sound so good.

2) most people who have replaced h/u with after market models are presumably running from h/u now, hence full frequencies to all speakers?

3)is it possible to install a new amp? and how would that work out with he existing speakers? ( understand that the rears are separate units with different ratings.

sorry there's a lot to go at, but i want to replace my faulty h/u but dont want to sacrifice the great sound.

cheers

simple solution upgrade all the speakers the standard arent great, buy after market amp for the 4 new speakers. And if you want to add sub stick in another amp for that and a new HU. And your sorted Sound will not be sacrificed, it will improve greatly

[blimft]

so just coaxial all round'?...or comps etc?.

in light of comments about how the lexus is put together, i would rather poke myself in the eye than try to replace any of the speakers.

So the ISO lead sounds fantastic, but i was curious as to how much work would be involved. and what the options are..

any other thoughts?

[IRLRs200]

so just coaxial all round'?...or comps etc?.

in light of comments about how the lexus is put together, i would rather poke myself in the eye than try to replace any of the speakers.

So the ISO lead sounds fantastic, but i was curious as to how much work would be involved. and what the options are..

any other thoughts?

Well its a good bit of work to change the speakers, you really have to know what your doing. Other option is to get someone to do it for you but you will pay a good bit for it

[blimft]

anyone know if the ISO lead powers all 8 speakers?....and whether the speakers get all the frquencies at once?...

[Monster-Mat]

the amp controls the headunit on the is, not the other way around, all the headunit does is house the tape deck, cd player and the radio, functions, the controls are on the HU but the electronics that control the volume etc etc are in the amp

if your going to replace the headunit, the only real option is to remove the amp, and speakers and rewire them in, the std speakers are designed to be run with the lexus system, there not the common ohm rating so its a half hearted job just leaving them in, in my opinion

the rear speakers are split to a sub and midrange, abd are fed seperatly, although mounted together, so if you run a normal signal to either the sound will be distorted, the split in frequencys is done in the amp

[IRLRs200]

the amp controls the headunit on the is, not the other way around, all the headunit does is house the tape deck, cd player and the radio, functions, the controls are on the HU but the electronics that control the volume etc etc are in the amp

if your going to replace the headunit, the only real option is to remove the amp, and speakers and rewire them in, the std speakers are designed to be run with the lexus system, there not the common ohm rating so its a half hearted job just leaving them in, in my opinion

the rear speakers are split to a sub and midrange, abd are fed seperatly, although mounted together, so if you run a normal signal to either the sound will be distorted, the split in frequencys is done in the amp

no as far as i know th iSO lead will only power 4 speakers, 2 front and 2 rear, Seriously, do what Mat said replace all the orginal speakers. No point in changing just the headunit as your factory speakers wont work properly with the new HU. There is lots of HOWTO's in the work shop section that cover everything step by step

[gerbo]

This problem gets worse the more I read about it. First of all this new lead from eBay is our saviour and will solve all problems. I took this to be true and have just purchased same, costing €100. Now I read that this is not correct, that the factory speakers will be s**t when fed from my new Head Unit using this new lead. :tsktsk: hell, what is the actual story

[Monster-Mat]

the ISO lead only works on the S model cars with no external amp

[blimft]

the amp controls the headunit on the is, not the other way around, all the headunit does is house the tape deck, cd player and the radio, functions, the controls are on the HU but the electronics that control the volume etc etc are in the amp

if your going to replace the headunit, the only real option is to remove the amp, and speakers and rewire them in, the std speakers are designed to be run with the lexus system, there not the common ohm rating so its a half hearted job just leaving them in, in my opinion

the rear speakers are split to a sub and midrange, abd are fed seperatly, although mounted together, so if you run a normal signal to either the sound will be distorted, the split in frequencys is done in the amp

Thanks monsterMat...brill reply, straight to the point, just what i need to know!...any tips on replacing/rewiring speakers?....i am quite happy to leave stock spkrs in, to avoid the hassle

the ISO lead only works on the S model cars with no external amp

I dont mean the standard Iso lead...maybe i am using the wrong term...this is the lead off eBay, designed to bypass the amp on IS200 SE.

[Monster-Mat]

belive me, you will not be getting the best sound for your efforts if you use the OEM speakers, an extra couple of hours work changing the speakers will be much more worth the effort........trust me

if the iso connector you have is to bypass the amp, then surely the new headunit, has exactly the same item, a plug, with wires coming out of it...?

all you need to find is a switched live, and perm live and an earth...why not just use the plug and pig tail wires that come with the new headunit

[IRLRs200]

belive me, you will not be getting the best sound for your efforts if you use the OEM speakers, an extra couple of hours work changing the speakers will be much more worth the effort........trust me

if the iso connector you have is to bypass the amp, then surely the new headunit, has exactly the same item, a plug, with wires coming out of it...?

all you need to find is a switched live, and perm live and an earth...why not just use the plug and pig tail wires that come with the new headunit

That amp bypas lead comes with everything you need Mat switched, perm and earth aswell, so its basically just plug in your new HU into the new lead and thats it.

[Monster-Mat]

That amp bypas lead comes with everything you need Mat switched, perm and earth aswell, so its basically just plug in your new HU into the new lead and thats it.

im sure it does, but the plug which you get with a new headunit, also has, switched live, perm live and earth, aswell as the wires for the speakers

thats the point im making......it bypasses the amp anyway...why buy another plug with leads on

[IRLRs200]

That amp bypas lead comes with everything you need Mat switched, perm and earth aswell, so its basically just plug in your new HU into the new lead and thats it.

im sure it does, but the plug which you get with a new headunit, also has, switched live, perm live and earth, aswell as the wires for the speakers

thats the point im making......it bypasses the amp anyway...why buy another plug with leads on

I get ya, i did this orginally but trying to find the 3 wires in question can be a bit tricky if you dont know what your doing. i had to cut the 3 wires from the factory wires to get the power needed, which means it will be very hard to convert back to the orginal setup. I just think this ISO cable makes it easier for people that aren't too sure what to do

[Monster-Mat]

so, your saying there is a cable, that plugs into the oem wireing, that works with the is200 SE and SPORT wire loom, that converts the oem wireing to the new HU, if so how does it bypass the amp, i take it it doesnt have the other wires that go to the amp, just a few wires with 2 plugs on, one that fits the oem radio plugs and one that will fit the aftermarket radio

im not understanding the need for a seperate item for an aftermarket radio, considering an aftermarket radio, has the plug with the wires needed

[lee_iceman]

so, your saying there is a cable, that plugs into the oem wireing, that works with the is200 SE and SPORT wire loom, that converts the oem wireing to the new HU, if so how does it bypass the amp, i take it it doesnt have the other wires that go to the amp, just a few wires with 2 plugs on, one that fits the oem radio plugs and one that will fit the aftermarket radio

im not understanding the need for a seperate item for an aftermarket radio, considering an aftermarket radio, has the plug with the wires needed

Mat, you remove the big connector from the amp, the one that goes to the speakers and has all the power wires. This new cable plugs into that connector and the other end is an ISO connector for your new radio.

Takes around 15mins to install, the reason I use it is because I don't have half a day spare to upgrade and rewire all the speakers. I don't play music loud so don't get any distortion at all.

[Monster-Mat]

right now its been explained...

so it bypasses the amp to headunit cables

[lee_iceman]

right now its been explained...

so it bypasses the amp to headunit cables

Yup

[Monster-Mat]

right now its been explained...

so it bypasses the amp to headunit cables

Yup

ok...excellent........

(i still say it would be better for Hi-fidelity to replace and re-wire the speakers though)

[lee_iceman]

Oh yeah, I do have all speakers and cable in the garage, its just finding the time

To answer your question blimft, if you enjoy listening to music loud then upgrade the speakers.

[blimft]

Thanks iceman, do you still get the solid bottom end that you get from the oem system?...and would the aftermarket h/u drive the speakers ok?..

[IRLRs200]

Thanks iceman, do you still get the solid bottom end that you get from the oem system?...and would the aftermarket h/u drive the speakers ok?..

max you get from most after market HU's id approx 50 watss per channel, you could always buy a seperate 4 channel amp to power all the upgraded speakers, for best sound and a good solid bass

[codlord]

I recently fitted the amp bypass cable people are talking about (IS200 Sport) with a half-decent Pioneer stereo (nothing special, 50w per channel, no additional amp and kept all stock speakers) and in my opinion its better than the stock headunit (but not that much better). And yes it does drive all the speakers.

I am sure you will get better sound with new speakers but I upgraded primarily to get aux-in for iPod not for amazingly better/louder sound. I thought the stock HU/speakers are good so for me the new headunit alone is fine. Mine does have more adjustability though so you can send low-range or full-range to rear speakers and tweak bass output in various ways to get the best out of it using the stock speakers.

Hope this helps people decide what to do without doing/spending too much.

[Monster-Mat]

I recently fitted the amp bypass cable people are talking about (IS200 Sport) with a half-decent Pioneer stereo (nothing special, 50w per channel, no additional amp and kept all stock speakers) and in my opinion its better than the stock headunit (but not that much better). And yes it does drive all the speakers.

I am sure you will get better sound with new speakers but I upgraded primarily to get aux-in for iPod not for amazingly better/louder sound. I thought the stock HU/speakers are good so for me the new headunit alone is fine. Mine does have more adjustability though so you can send low-range or full-range to rear speakers and tweak bass output in various ways to get the best out of it using the stock speakers.

Hope this helps people decide what to do without doing/spending too much.

you sure it drives all the speakers, there are 8 of them, the amp which you are bypassing splits the frequencys down, so if your bypassing it, how does the cable sort out the frequency split

[lee_iceman]

It powers 6 as far as I can tell, the ones it doesn't power are the mids/tweeters in the rear.