CinLexus

I just got a new 07 RX350 and first of all I'd like to say hello to everyone. I've used forums sites in the past to get answers with other cars and I'm looking forward to learning from this site as well. Now to my question...

After having a sub in my last car it's a almost a necessity now. It adds so much depth to everything I listen to. Since I am leasing I can't just replace the stock receiver... so I was wondering if anyone knows whether or not it's possible to just run the wires needed to connect an amp and sub to the stock head unit? Any help is very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance! B

phiton

I was wondering the same thing as a sub and amp would improve the dept of the music but i havn't been able to find any info on it. Did you get the mark levinson system?

CinLexus

Unfortunately, no I did not get the ML system. I'm sure it sounds great - and I'm not complaining about the stock system. It sounds really good - it's just that a sub completes it - you know what I mean. Hopefully someone can help.

duoclai

I've used a similar item like this in the past and it seems to work okay. (It’s not the professional way, but it's an easy DIY project).

http://cgi.ebay.com/RCA-Line-Convert...QQcmdZViewItem

Go on eBay and search speaker wire 2 RCA 4 AMP.

This is what I did on my previous SUV: (It’s a Honda and NOT a Lexus!!!)
-Open the trunk, and locate the rear speaker: tap both Left and Right speaker wire onto the module similar to the one link above.

-On the other end of the Module for RCA out put. Run a RCA cable from there into your RCA input on the AMP.

-Connect your Sub speaker cables to your AMP speaker output and that it.

-Adjust the loudest for your sub thru the amp.

-To connect the Power and ground cable for your AMP, I've connected to the cigarette lighter plug in the back of truck. (Required removing the cigarette lighter plug for tapping the wires).
*It's not the best way to do it, but it's also the easiest and cleanest way IMO.
Connect the red and remote wires from the AMP together and tap it into the hot wire of the cigarette lighter plug. Tap ground to ground wire.

If you’re into the Hardcore Audio, then run the AMP power cable to your car batteries. Since it a lease car, I don't know if doing that will void your warranty.

Clean install requires hiding all lose wires in the car panel. When you bring your car in for service, throw A GYM bag or car cover to cover you’re SUB. I don’t think there going to check what you have in the trunk, but will open your hood to do oil change or whatever.

Hope this help..

Battousai

unless you are an expert i wouldn't install it yourself. specially if you have a nav on it.

duoclai

Battousai, I don't think it will have any effect to the OEM Audio player with or without the Nav..
All that module or any module similar to that do is basically take the audio signal output from your OEM audio player without RCA output (speaker signal) and convert it into RCA output signal for use with aftermarket AMP. Most AMP required RCA input directly from the main deck player.

Most aftermarket CD player comes with 1 or 2 pre-RCA outputs. Since most OEM audio player does not come with pre-RCA output, this is a simple work around. Therefore, when adjusting the loudness on the SUB, you have to manually tuning the small **** on the AMP. Some AMP comes with SUB control.

*Note: buy doing it this way: you’ll getting all the Mid, Tweets, and Bass setting as set on your main deck to that speakers that you’ve tap into.

I’m no audio technician, but I’ve had that setup in my car and it works fine.
Again you won’t just get the bass only sound, but every mid-high and tweets coming out of your SUB. When it on loud, you probably won’t notice the mid-high. Another thing: depends on your AMP, there a setting for high, mid, or bass output. So you need to play with that till you get the sound you like coming out of your sub.

The good thing about it is: with the AMP, it pushes loudness to your SUB and not to all your original speakers, since it’s the only speaker connecting directly to the AMP.

One bad thing: “POWER WIRE”… the power, remote and ground wire are pretty small when tapping into the cigarette lighter plug. Remember to use an extra fuse for power wire.

Cheers.

CinLexus

Does anyone know if a place like Best Buy can wire a sub to the stock unit?

Vinnyraj

CinLexus,

This is how I added an aftermarket amp to my exisitng system. I do not have the ML system. As you will read from other posts from this forum, the ML system actually does not add much to the stock system. It also makes it harder to add other peripherals such as the Vaistech module for iPod integration if you have the ML system.

In any event, SoundGate sells an LOC (Line Output Converter) for this car. The stock (OEM) sub is located under the rear-passenger seat. The tricky thing about Lexus stock amp is that it does not have a "power wire" from the factory head unit. The stock amp is powered through the speakers wires. So what does this mean to you? I found out the hard way that you have run a power wire for the amp in addition to your 4 or 8 gauge wire (or whatever gauge you use) that runs from your car battery. I have my power wire piggy-backed onto the ignition wire. I have a splitter so that I have one wire that runs back to the after-market amp, and then another wire that runs to a toggle switch that I had installed. This can be done with a very clean look by installing a switch in one of the empty slots next to your "Power Door" switch.

Hope this helps...if you have any questions, let me know. The system sounds incredible now. Its crisp / clean, no rattling, deep /rich bass.

CinLexus

Thanks Vinn...

Sounds pretty easy - but I'm just a little confused. You mentioned there is a stock sub under the rear passenger seat (which I was unaware of) and that you ran an aftermarket amp to it? What size is the sub and how big is the amp you installed?

Also - what's the reason behind the toggle switch?

Is there anyway you can take some pics of the setup. This is the first I've heard of running it in this way and I'm really curious.

Thanks, B

Vinnyraj

Cin,

The Lexus stock system has a factory amplifier to power the speakers (ML system also has an amp). I am not sure about the wattage on the factory amp...I wasnt looking to replace all the door speakers / amp at this time, so I left that alone. I felt that the mids and highs are fine the way they are...for now.

The Soundgate LOC is used to pick up the signal you need. If you use Soundgate (which I recommend...they are an authority with A/V car audio equipment...in fact the Vaistech module that many of us talk about on this forum...SoundGate is one of their big branded resellers). A lot of after-market car audio shops use Soundgate's products. Enough of a plug for Soundgate, although I will say I wouldnt go for a cheap LOC that you can find at other places - you may cause some serious damage - meltdown). Point is, you use the LOC to pick up the signal from the factory sysem. I would ask a audio shop tech or Soundgate to tell you whether you are supposed to pick up the signal before it goes into the factory amp or immediately after.

You want to catch the signal as close to the amp as possible for the cleanest signal...this way, you can ensure absolute minimal loss of signal strength for the factory speakers.

Why the toggle switch - The wire for my gain control that I have for my Kicker amp was cut. And proprietary as Kicker is, they have a "telephone" jack type connection for the gain control. Since I needed some kind of control for the amp while the car is on, I installed the toggle switch so i can turn the amp / sub off when I want. Since I was already getting power from the ignition wire, it was an easy step to split it for the toggle switch. More importantly, since I piggy-backed off the ignition line, the kicker amp would stay "On" even with the car off, unless you switch it off. The good thing is that if you turn the car off before you turn the toggle switch off, the sub makes a loud "ThumP" to let you know that you forgot the turn the toggle switch off. (I know this is not necessarily a good thing, but its just a minor surge of power...it wont damage anything).

Why the ignition line - The Lexus factory amp is not powered from the head unit. Some newer amps pick up the power from the speaker wire...this makes it more difficult to just "add an amp." The ignition line is a good source to tap.

I can take a picture of the toggle switch, but unfortunately, I didn't have the camera with me when we did the audio work adding the amp/sub.

hope this helps...

MasoNation

yes of course.. Hey or you can do it yourself