Gen 1 audio upgrade query

I installed a Dual XDMA 6630 in the CD changer slot. It is very tricky to remove the finish panel without damaging it (I broke several tabs but glued them back on with epoxy). I now have bluetooth and ipod controls. It wasn't easy but, I'm glad I did it.

 

I got from Parrot the MKi9200 product and I have iPhone, SD Card, USB, Aux to plug in to listen music and also bluetooth, and a new small screen. Check it on Parrot page to see. I mount it near the air vent in front of the driver (wirelles control). Hope it helps!

 

here is the update with the Parrot that I installed.

 

Yes I can. I forgot to take a pic last night but, I will tonight and I will post.

 

Here are some pics for you of the install. I really like it and it is so much better than the cassette. Hope this helps.

 

Can you remove the front facing of the radio?

 

No, I didn't. I thought about it but didn't want to spend a lot of money on an 11 yr old car that could die tomorrow.

 

Don't think the car could die tomorrow, i think it will last as much as it did until now

I'm planning to change the speakers, but not now, instead i installed two front tweeters from a crashed Toyota Avensis and it improoves the sound.

 

I have replaced the speakers in my Gen 1. It was a lot of work, because the original speakers are molded into housings designed to specifically fit into the irregularly shaped holes - both on the rear deck and the front door panels. So, big job.

I was able to get 6.5" coaxial speakers into both locations. For the rear deck I found nearby holes that I was able to use - along with nuts, bolts, large fender washers, and foam tape - to secure the speakers into place. The door mountings were more involved. The holes there are irregularly shaped. I had to craft mounting plates out of cabinet grade 3/8" plywood that would overlap the existing holes, and mount the speakers to the plates before installing the plates on the doors.

Before you tackle doing something similar, I discovered a downside from this upgrade. The additional bass energy leads to vibration, and the vibration leads to resonant noise. I have re-checked the mountings and they are secure, but without additional insulation and sound dampening you will very likely hear annoying resonant buzzing.

So, I'm preparing to do the job over, and am installing only midrange speakers in the door and rear deck. I already have some small 1" tweaters mounted above the dash. For the bass, I will install the Kenwood KSC-SW10 subwoofer I have read about in these forums under a front seat. It's the only one that I found that has low enough power requirements to trust with my Prius 1's inverter.

Hope this helps,

Scott C.

 

Does your original radio works? How did you install it? Did you use that y adapter? Sorry for all the questions but I'm looking into doing the same thing.

SPH-D710 ?

 

Yes, the head unit has a removeable faceplate.

 

The original radio would work if I plugged it back in but I have it unplugged because I don't want to take the chance of both of them being on at the same time. I simply tapped into the wires by removing about a 1/4" of insulation and soldering the new wire to the exposed wire and covering that with tape and zip ties. The smart thing would have been to use the Y adapter but, I didn't know about it when I did it. With this type of installation, you will lose some of the functionality of your MFD (some of the buttons don't work) unless you keep the stock stereo plugged in. I don't think its a problem to keep it plugged in but, I just chose not too. I am confident I could plug it in and maintain all functionality. I just don't trust my family to not turn it on while the XDMA is on. Even if that happened, I don't think it would hurt anything.

I do want to caution anyone trying this install that removing the center dash panel is tougher than the procedure on the CoastalTech website (http://coastaletech.com/instruction.htm).

You have to remember, if you have a Gen I, it is at least 8 yrs old. 8-11 yr old plastic is very brittle and breaks easily (especially at low temps). When you go to remove the center panel (step 9 of the above instruction), if you simply pull on it, you WILL break the clips. I found a plastic panel removal tool (available at Harbor Freight) is very helpful but you will still probably break at least one clip (probably more). If this happens, glue it back on with epoxy. I broke 3 clips when I did it despite extreme care.

S9a also attempted this and ruined his entire panel. I'm not saying don't do it, because YOU CAN. I'm just saying be EXTREMELY careful. Be ready for a time consuming job. It took me 2 days (about 12 hours of work) because of the broken clips and the extreme care I took to solder and tape up each individual wire. I wanted a professional install and I assume you do as well.

 

In my install, which I will be posting pics in my thread one of these days, I installed the Blu Logic Bluetooth, which has a "Y" for the radio power and audio, plugged those into the radio, maintaining radio (and MFD button by plugging in the AVLAN cable into the radio) functionality.

It seems nearly impossible to get the actual Y cable for the CD changer or t9200 player, which would allow MFD display functionality plus additional audio accessories (those being iPod/Aux (PA15-TOY), CD changer, or t9200, or the MiniDisc changer).

I might try to make my own Y-cable but I've already buttoned the dash back up after the Blu Logic install. I did have to use superglue on some cracks. I can confirm that the dash facia is very fragile when being removed.

 

Quote: (I broke several tabs but glued them back on with epoxy.)

Just did the same in adding factory cruise and an OEM cd player yesterday - so, what glue did you use? I've not found anything that's both clear and sufficiently binds that gray plastic. While the right side (passenger side) clips pulled out nicely, the left side of the facia, as it tapers past the air vent, ended up cracking as the tab behind the mid-point area cracked...so I'm now trying to find the best glue to bind up that crack and make it disappear.

On the bright side, the factory cruise install went perfectly - used the wheel and cruise OEM kit from Metro Toyota @ $160 - and the factory CD install went perfectly, too.

 

I just used Loctite Epoxy glue. If you get the one that cures in 5 minutes, you can glue it from the back, wipe off the front and hold it tight for 5 minutes (an awful long time to hold something). Put a generous amount on the back. In your case, it might be good to have someone else wipe off the front while you hold it.

PS: It will be very hard to make the cracks completely "disappear" but, you can make them almost disappear.