You should get a replacement head unit for the IS, I've had a GROM previously but have now gone full android and gotten a way better experience with my XTRONS head unit, for US cars the HVAC controls will work flawlessly and the audio quality is retained if you get a good branded one like XTRONS or Teyes
Hey, could you send me a link or model of the one that you got? I know the common TS10 and tesla like ones that people use to get fully android, but the built in DAC and AMP is terrible, so It would really be nice to find a android head unit with a decent DAC and AMP that uses the OEM shape and plugs
@@yurii39 GROM is good if you’re a pre facelift vehicle, if you’re a facelift like I am there are many quirks and glitches especially if you’re not in the US
@@yurii39 I would get a grom Vline, but I don't have a screen in my car. Retrofitting a OEM one is costly and not worth it. I wish I could, but 3rd party ones are my best bet
Bro growing up watching your Chanel I always wanted a is, finally got one in 2019 but it was the 250, now 2022 I finally got a 350, and one day eventually an isf 🎉🎉🎉
Im also considering that android radio. It’s starting to catch attention in the third gen GS community. The one specifically sells on Ali express and has options to use cameras too and audio customization.
For my IS350 is used a very similar product. Aston SoundTek A2. The price went up (and maybe the name changed a bit since now it has BT 5.1?) so this looks like a good alternative. I paid $40 back then but $60 is pushing it. If anybody is looking for bluetooth in their older car. Make sure it's at least bluetooth 4.1 (bluetooth 4 uses the same tech as LTE and could cause issues). I use my phone's data for Spotify. Second, make sure it's not a battery operated bluetooth adapter. Make sure it has capacitors and also comes on with power. Read reviews, not many things survive car heat! The SoundTek I have has lived through being in a dark grey car with black interior on 100F+ days directly in the sun. I assume the BK01 has done similar for Marty since he's used them for so long. I never glued mine and instead just keep it in the ash tray so I just reach and press the skip button. I have the wire running into the center console for power and aux next to my knee. Never had a problem. I also had to buy a very low profile 12v usb adapter to clear the lid of the console. The music quality was good enough for my ears, and I came from a custom audio set up in my previous car. I just kept my android one notch down from full volume. I didn't notice a difference between aux from phone or aux from bluetooth. A+ from me. Oh and this one doesn't have a stupidly large and harsh blue LED like every other car farkle does. Looks like the BK01 doesn't either, thank god haha The convenience of not having to pull out my phone and still have my music was worth every penny. I was never going to pay for the GROM system, though it looks swanky.
Oh and for phone calls my car's handsfree took over so I never used the built in call feature on the SoundTek A2. So I have no opinion on that. The IS just took care of it for me, pausing music and then resuming.
a good tip to make this sound system sound even better is putting the sound focus 2 steps back, i see u have it on the middle in the sound setting options
The sound system is great, I just noticed that with a few songs especially with high pitch drums, voices and rock music hurts my ears and sounds bad, moving it back 2 steps makes it sound a whole lot better
That GTA adapter you showed is a much better and cleaner solution, its also sold under some other brand names like Yatour. Besides not having wires running everywhere it also allows you to utilize your factory steering wheel controls for changing the tracks etc as it pretends to be a CD changer.
Have a very similar setup with a comparable bluetooth adapter and noise isolator in my 06 IS. Definitely the easiest and cheapest setup for handsfree music and calling
For the older IS’s, i prefer the BT FM transmitter. No excessive wires. Audio is still great as well. Next/previous works as it should too. And the BT phone options still works as oem too.
Never seen an FM transmitter that works with factory controls! FM transmitters always have static for me and cuts out frequencies. The aux is a good in between
I've been using this thing for so long after your first video on it! I even got my friends on it too, one of them has a new WRX and hates the bluetooth on it so he uses this instead haha
i ended up changing the head unit. got one bt similiar like that but had lot of the ground noise. Now got carplay , cool screen but the volume inst the same . just cant win 😂
Is it the Chinese android head units? They often use iffy built in DAC and Amplifiers, which while not terrible themselves, the built in circuitry doesn't always provide the cleanest power to them, which causes them to have a very bad "noise floor" (The term used to describe the hissing sound that all audio equipment make, but noticeable on inferior ones). If your willing to read and research a bit, people have used capacitors to clean up the power going to the DAC and AMP circuitry to reduce the dirty noise. Ill post a thread below to get you started
@@georgekallely7103 thanks but the unit solved that problem(noise) the volume inst just as loud as is was with oem but i can live woth that is just my weekend car anyways
@@Vic-zp5ft oh huh, wonder if it's wired to the stock amp then the speakers, or is the wires directly plugged into the amp. The stock amp is definitely better than the headunits built in one since it's made by pioneer
I got this Bluetooth thing when I first got my car so glad I don’t have it anymore mine has so many issues kept having this clicking noise, sometimes wouldn’t work and the wires get in the dam way 💀 I have had GROM since and I don’t regret it
Really? Wow. I never had an issue with 3 years combined of experience with it. It’s definitely a cheap way to do it but of course there are lots of other options if you wanna spend the money
@@MartyMotoring yea when it worked it was fine but it had too many issues in my experience so I decided to just make a permanent solution and haven’t looked back 🙌🏽
Playing via aux in both my UK spec IS250 and JDM IS350 isnt that great quality unfortunately. l then tried Grom in my IS250 and playing via Bluetooth made is sound so much better, CD quality in fact. I tried a Bluetooth adaptor to fit directly into the headunit at the back in my JDM IS350 and it doesn't work, sucks as aux quality is just so bad compared to streaming via Bluetooth. I would try your solution marty but it still plays through aux unfortunately
Yeah aux isn’t the best quality, but it’s the easy and cheap way for now. I’ll be focusing more on the audio stuff later since there’s so much other stuff I want to do to this car. Just can’t justify the $600 for GROM when I have carplay in my daily already 😂
@@MartyMotoring yeah £540 is a bitter pill to swallow for what's basically a glorified Android tablet. But yeah your solution certainly gets the job done. I would go with the new head unit route but then I think I'd miss the Japanese girl speaking to me when I turn on the car 🤣
I know that you want to keep it OEM but those Chinese android units are so much better than OEM. Yes it might not be OEM but I'd rather have Bluetooth, apple car play and if you're a android user you can literally download any apps from the play store🤷🏽♂️ I have RUclips, Spotify, Netflix, Disney,Amazon video on my Android unit but you must have a hotspot to ur phone so u can connect the system. I'm literally playing your video while sitting in NYC traffic . For me those android units are a game changer ..
They look cool and I’ve installed my fair share of stereos but usually they don’t integrate well with HVAC or the sound quality isn’t as good as stock, even though you get a lot of other features. Just been my experience. But I would like to watch RUclips on the screen like I did in my Tacoma 😂
Is the mic quality for calls better or worse than the factory bluetooth, my car when using the factory one has a slight electronic sound in the background which gets a bit annoying
@@MartyMotoring I feel the same way my ISF the mark Levinson system doesn't seem like it has as much Bass as my friends IS350 base non Mark Levinson system so what I did is add an all-in-one Rockford Fosgate sub and amp 10 inch and it's a lot better now
@@nathanlopez5667 I did my own 10 inch sub and amp, and had to use an LC2i. I'm curious if you did the same since I couldn't find a better way with the ML system.
@@0Rookie0 nope I did with my older Lexus my gs430 I use that same accubase lc2 line out converter it's a bit pricey but it was worth it for the ISF it was just a cheap line out converter they did not recommend the lc2 although I could have got it if I wanted
There are plenty of bluetooth adapters on the market. The one you have you like and yet you said in a reply thatvthe ML lacks bass? Are you kidding? I'm in England and my is250 SE-L has ML and with the bluetooth adapter I have which only cost in total (adapter shallow cigarette power with USB and a 90° USB to usb) under 15 British pounds so perhaps 15 bucks. My ML kicks ass. The rear window dances to drum and bass. The system in your car must be faulty. It's that simple.
What Bluetooth adaptor do you have? I bought one from Bluemusic to fit into the back of my head unit and it doesn't fully work; in the sense that when pressing disc/aux it doesn't recognise the other device, but my phone connects to it via Bluetooth still, strange. Maybe it doesn't work because mine is JDM Lexus so head unit is a bit different. Sucks as I had a grom vline before and the music quality is so much better being played via Bluetooth than Aux
I have a US spec 2006 IS350 Luxury and it's sub was pretty poor. I read into the sound rolloff they have on the ML and it's kinda wimpy because of it. People blow them up often but somehow mine was fine. Now granted it's still good enough but it wasn't like the dedicated 10 inch sub I put in and am use to. But if yours is good, then by all means, enjoy!
Ewwwww hell no bro hell no. That things garbage !!!! Get the grom!!!! You won’t regret it ! Also they have a cheaper grom just for Bluetooth and man that’s amazing too. The sound quality is far above what those shitttttttty aux cord adapters are and they don’t come lose and pop n crackle and the audio balance between calls isn’t wack either. I just sold my is350 and I had started with this exact ba garbage thing and used it for like 6 months and man I got tired of so many things about it. Get the grom either one
Haha it’s not that bad for $30 and sounds decent. Never had an issue here! No pops or crackles, but of course it isn’t going to be as good audio quality as straight digital Bluetooth. This is just a cheap way to do it. Grom looks cool but $600 is steep
Does anyone know about the from bluetooth adapter? I was trying to talk to one of the sales reps and he said I didnt need my aux function for it to work
That sucks because not only do I not have the screen but I also don't have Bluetooth for media just phone calls so I have to get one of these asap for my 2011 is250
yeup I pretty much bought mines around the time you made the first video on this thing and it still works
You should get a replacement head unit for the IS, I've had a GROM previously but have now gone full android and gotten a way better experience with my XTRONS head unit, for US cars the HVAC controls will work flawlessly and the audio quality is retained if you get a good branded one like XTRONS or Teyes
Hey, could you send me a link or model of the one that you got? I know the common TS10 and tesla like ones that people use to get fully android, but the built in DAC and AMP is terrible, so It would really be nice to find a android head unit with a decent DAC and AMP that uses the OEM shape and plugs
Garbage, xtrone is awful fitment and terrible sound quality, especially if i have mark levinson
Grom is way better, OEM look and features in 1 click, sound quality doesn’t change
@@yurii39 GROM is good if you’re a pre facelift vehicle, if you’re a facelift like I am there are many quirks and glitches especially if you’re not in the US
@@yurii39 I would get a grom Vline, but I don't have a screen in my car. Retrofitting a OEM one is costly and not worth it. I wish I could, but 3rd party ones are my best bet
Bro growing up watching your Chanel I always wanted a is, finally got one in 2019 but it was the 250, now 2022 I finally got a 350, and one day eventually an isf 🎉🎉🎉
i dont even ned a bluetooth adapter im just here cause your content is always great
Just got a 08 gs350 today, ordered this just now !
This is what I use in my 2008 IS250, works extremely well!
Im also considering that android radio. It’s starting to catch attention in the third gen GS community. The one specifically sells on Ali express and has options to use cameras too and audio customization.
For my IS350 is used a very similar product. Aston SoundTek A2. The price went up (and maybe the name changed a bit since now it has BT 5.1?) so this looks like a good alternative. I paid $40 back then but $60 is pushing it.
If anybody is looking for bluetooth in their older car. Make sure it's at least bluetooth 4.1 (bluetooth 4 uses the same tech as LTE and could cause issues). I use my phone's data for Spotify. Second, make sure it's not a battery operated bluetooth adapter. Make sure it has capacitors and also comes on with power. Read reviews, not many things survive car heat!
The SoundTek I have has lived through being in a dark grey car with black interior on 100F+ days directly in the sun. I assume the BK01 has done similar for Marty since he's used them for so long. I never glued mine and instead just keep it in the ash tray so I just reach and press the skip button. I have the wire running into the center console for power and aux next to my knee. Never had a problem. I also had to buy a very low profile 12v usb adapter to clear the lid of the console. The music quality was good enough for my ears, and I came from a custom audio set up in my previous car. I just kept my android one notch down from full volume. I didn't notice a difference between aux from phone or aux from bluetooth. A+ from me. Oh and this one doesn't have a stupidly large and harsh blue LED like every other car farkle does. Looks like the BK01 doesn't either, thank god haha
The convenience of not having to pull out my phone and still have my music was worth every penny. I was never going to pay for the GROM system, though it looks swanky.
Oh and for phone calls my car's handsfree took over so I never used the built in call feature on the SoundTek A2. So I have no opinion on that. The IS just took care of it for me, pausing music and then resuming.
a good tip to make this sound system sound even better is putting the sound focus 2 steps back, i see u have it on the middle in the sound setting options
wait where did you see this? which settings?`
@@mads1720 at 1:32 it says rear and front and u can change it
The sound system is great, I just noticed that with a few songs especially with high pitch drums, voices and rock music hurts my ears and sounds bad, moving it back 2 steps makes it sound a whole lot better
Stumbled upon this video a year later and I’m ordering this right now!
That GTA adapter you showed is a much better and cleaner solution, its also sold under some other brand names like Yatour. Besides not having wires running everywhere it also allows you to utilize your factory steering wheel controls for changing the tracks etc as it pretends to be a CD changer.
For sure it’s a little cleaner solution if it works well and you don’t mind spending the money! Might have to try it out
@@MartyMotoring I think the Yatour one I bought sold for around 80 usd on amazon. It's not nearly as expensive as the GTA branded one.
These and many other bluetooth adapters work absolutely fine but just make sure to source any sort of ground isolator as it's a total game changer.
I have the GROM. Works great.
Same here. One of the best things I have installed on my car.
No issues with updates and stuff?
@@MartyMotoring I’ve never had a problem with updates. I’ve updated it a few times now and everything works fine.
GROM is amazing it works perfectly too 🔥
Have a very similar setup with a comparable bluetooth adapter and noise isolator in my 06 IS. Definitely the easiest and cheapest setup for handsfree music and calling
Is that adaptor you got still plug into the aux, or does it plug directly behind into the headunit?
@@MattHealy13 Same setup as the video
For the older IS’s, i prefer the BT FM transmitter. No excessive wires. Audio is still great as well. Next/previous works as it should too. And the BT phone options still works as oem too.
Never seen an FM transmitter that works with factory controls! FM transmitters always have static for me and cuts out frequencies. The aux is a good in between
I've been using this thing for so long after your first video on it! I even got my friends on it too, one of them has a new WRX and hates the bluetooth on it so he uses this instead haha
i ended up changing the head unit. got one bt similiar like that but had lot of the ground noise. Now got carplay , cool screen but the volume inst the same . just cant win 😂
Is it the Chinese android head units? They often use iffy built in DAC and Amplifiers, which while not terrible themselves, the built in circuitry doesn't always provide the cleanest power to them, which causes them to have a very bad "noise floor" (The term used to describe the hissing sound that all audio equipment make, but noticeable on inferior ones). If your willing to read and research a bit, people have used capacitors to clean up the power going to the DAC and AMP circuitry to reduce the dirty noise. Ill post a thread below to get you started
@@georgekallely7103 thanks but the unit solved that problem(noise) the volume inst just as loud as is was with oem but i can live woth that is just my weekend car anyways
@@Vic-zp5ft oh huh, wonder if it's wired to the stock amp then the speakers, or is the wires directly plugged into the amp. The stock amp is definitely better than the headunits built in one since it's made by pioneer
@@georgekallely7103 thats plug play no cutting no snipping wires. dis not do it myself took it to aun audio shop. 🤣
I got this Bluetooth thing when I first got my car so glad I don’t have it anymore mine has so many issues kept having this clicking noise, sometimes wouldn’t work and the wires get in the dam way 💀 I have had GROM since and I don’t regret it
Really? Wow. I never had an issue with 3 years combined of experience with it. It’s definitely a cheap way to do it but of course there are lots of other options if you wanna spend the money
@@MartyMotoring yea when it worked it was fine but it had too many issues in my experience so I decided to just make a permanent solution and haven’t looked back 🙌🏽
Playing via aux in both my UK spec IS250 and JDM IS350 isnt that great quality unfortunately. l then tried Grom in my
IS250 and playing via Bluetooth made is sound so much better, CD quality in fact.
I tried a Bluetooth adaptor to fit directly into the headunit at the back in my JDM IS350 and it doesn't work, sucks as
aux quality is just so bad compared to streaming via Bluetooth.
I would try your solution marty but it still plays through aux unfortunately
Yeah aux isn’t the best quality, but it’s the easy and cheap way for now. I’ll be focusing more on the audio stuff later since there’s so much other stuff I want to do to this car. Just can’t justify the $600 for GROM when I have carplay in my daily already 😂
@@MartyMotoring yeah £540 is a bitter pill to swallow for what's basically a glorified Android tablet. But yeah your solution certainly gets the job done. I would go with the new head unit route but then I think I'd miss the Japanese girl speaking to me when I turn on the car 🤣
I know that you want to keep it OEM but those Chinese android units are so much better than OEM. Yes it might not be OEM but I'd rather have Bluetooth, apple car play and if you're a android user you can literally download any apps from the play store🤷🏽♂️ I have RUclips, Spotify, Netflix, Disney,Amazon video on my Android unit but you must have a hotspot to ur phone so u can connect the system. I'm literally playing your video while sitting in NYC traffic . For me those android units are a game changer ..
How does it integrate with the climate controls though...
They look cool and I’ve installed my fair share of stereos but usually they don’t integrate well with HVAC or the sound quality isn’t as good as stock, even though you get a lot of other features.
Just been my experience. But I would like to watch RUclips on the screen like I did in my Tacoma 😂
Sick! And I love their new album 🔥
Older 2IS models** my 2011 has Handsfree + Music bluetooth OEM
Yup lol my 2011 had Bluetooth with streaming music too
Can you do more videos on the xB
Sure! Got one coming!
🔥🔥🔥🔥
Thanks man
thank you for this!!! btw, where can i get that f badge on your center console bro? subbed :))
For sure! I got it on ebay for cheap, just search Lexus F badge.
Is the mic quality for calls better or worse than the factory bluetooth, my car when using the factory one has a slight electronic sound in the background which gets a bit annoying
Sick thank you , question we’re did you get that gold carbonfiber skin
I believe it comes with the isf model
It’s an IS-F that comes factory
I only listen to am radio
How is the sound quality with the Mark Levinsion?
It’s ok, I feel like the non-ML audio was punchier 🤔 I turn surround off and bass up 😎
@@MartyMotoring I feel the same way my ISF the mark Levinson system doesn't seem like it has as much Bass as my friends IS350 base non Mark Levinson system so what I did is add an all-in-one Rockford Fosgate sub and amp 10 inch and it's a lot better now
@@nathanlopez5667 I did my own 10 inch sub and amp, and had to use an LC2i. I'm curious if you did the same since I couldn't find a better way with the ML system.
@@0Rookie0 nope I did with my older Lexus my gs430 I use that same accubase lc2 line out converter it's a bit pricey but it was worth it for the ISF it was just a cheap line out converter they did not recommend the lc2 although I could have got it if I wanted
There are plenty of bluetooth adapters on the market. The one you have you like and yet you said in a reply thatvthe ML lacks bass? Are you kidding? I'm in England and my is250 SE-L has ML and with the bluetooth adapter I have which only cost in total (adapter shallow cigarette power with USB and a 90° USB to usb) under 15 British pounds so perhaps 15 bucks. My ML kicks ass. The rear window dances to drum and bass. The system in your car must be faulty. It's that simple.
What Bluetooth adaptor do you have? I bought one from Bluemusic to fit into the back of my head unit and it doesn't fully work; in the sense that when pressing disc/aux it doesn't recognise the other device, but my phone connects to it via Bluetooth still, strange. Maybe it doesn't work because mine is JDM Lexus so head unit is a bit different.
Sucks as I had a grom vline before and the music quality is so much better being played via Bluetooth than Aux
I have a US spec 2006 IS350 Luxury and it's sub was pretty poor. I read into the sound rolloff they have on the ML and it's kinda wimpy because of it. People blow them up often but somehow mine was fine. Now granted it's still good enough but it wasn't like the dedicated 10 inch sub I put in and am use to. But if yours is good, then by all means, enjoy!
Must be different. The bass isn’t that great on this car but I’m used to bigger subs 😂 Aux will only sound so good and has its limitations too
Clutch
Ewwwww hell no bro hell no. That things garbage !!!! Get the grom!!!! You won’t regret it ! Also they have a cheaper grom just for Bluetooth and man that’s amazing too. The sound quality is far above what those shitttttttty aux cord adapters are and they don’t come lose and pop n crackle and the audio balance between calls isn’t wack either. I just sold my is350 and I had started with this exact ba garbage thing and used it for like 6 months and man I got tired of so many things about it. Get the grom either one
Haha it’s not that bad for $30 and sounds decent. Never had an issue here! No pops or crackles, but of course it isn’t going to be as good audio quality as straight digital Bluetooth. This is just a cheap way to do it. Grom looks cool but $600 is steep
There's barely any audio difference between using a bluetooth adapter with a ground isolator and using a straight AUX cable.
Only had bad experiences with the grom. Don’t do it!
What if my aux button doesn't work for some reason?
the aux board circuit is fried, same for me they must’ve sucked
@@htownvlogs3883 expensive fix?
@@moyopedro2557 shouldn’t be more then 400
Does anyone know about the from bluetooth adapter? I was trying to talk to one of the sales reps and he said I didnt need my aux function for it to work
Anything I can do about my 03 Benzo with no Aux?
If you have mark levinson don’t get the Chinese shit. Get the grom
First 🎉
Awesome Besign working 100% 🫡 thanks for advice 🙏
Did they fix that issue after 2009? I have a 2012 IS 350 and I have Bluetooth for both phone and media. I wish that it had the DVD option.
In 2010+ they got built in Bluetooth for music and all, my 2011 had it also. But they took away the DVD 📀 option I believe
That sucks because not only do I not have the screen but I also don't have Bluetooth for media just phone calls so I have to get one of these asap for my 2011 is250