hazouma Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 HI GUYS, just got a new 2002es,the car is great BUT THE STOCK RADIO IS RIDICULOUS,compared to my previous '97,also the stereo cannot be easily changed by a dbl din aftermarket gadget as was the case with my'97 model,as you all know it comes as a one unit with a certain shape with the ac unit.also the radio skips some stations and the reception is not ok,and what the heck is the ASL SYMBOL,want to change the whole unit without hurting the appearance of my dish board. any help will be greatly appreciated. thx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pj8708 Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 HI GUYS, just got a new 2002es,the car is great BUT THE STOCK RADIO IS RIDICULOUS,compared to my previous '97,also the stereo cannot be easily changed by a dbl din aftermarket gadget as was the case with my'97 model,as you all know it comes as a one unit with a certain shape with the ac unit.also the radio skips some stations and the reception is not ok,and what the heck is the ASL SYMBOL,want to change the whole unit without hurting the appearance of my dish board. any help will be greatly appreciated. thx ASL stands for "Automatic Sound Level". When this feature is on, the volume automatically increases as the speed of the car increases and the subsequent road/wind noise increases. Leaving it off means the volume will stay the same regardless of the car speed. Frankly, I've never noticed much difference either way. In my experience I've never seen any after market product that is going to look OEM or close. A better bet would be e-bay, a good wrecker yard, or here on the forum, our authorized vendor for Lexus audio parts, "dcfish". PM him for information. Additionally, have you searched this forum/club for other members who have replaced 2002 ES head units and where they got there parts? There is a LOT of info in the search engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hazouma Posted October 10, 2011 Author Share Posted October 10, 2011 hi PAUL, thanks for the full and complete reply,and also the detailed explanation,regarding the aftermarket replacement,i actually was looking for a tool or an installment that will allow me to change the OEM radio unit by a more suphosticated one w/o hurting the looks,i was able to find one of those before for my previous'95 and'97,but due to the design of the 2002 looks more complicated,i think it is harder.i'm a big acouastic fan and the stock radio not the nakamishi version is very humble although the speakers and built-in sub are great,anyway i will check the ebay and the salvation yards according to your advice,and also i will contact dcfish, thx for your great help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike B. Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 The speakers are a major weak link in the audio system. All things being equal, I'd rather replace the speakers and keep the stock head unit - that will make a much more significant improvement in sound quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hazouma Posted October 16, 2011 Author Share Posted October 16, 2011 hi guys, just wanna keep you posted,first thx MIKE for the reply,i searched hte e-bay,but as i expected nothing is suitable,most of the stuff out there are OEM which is the same of mine,i didn't even find the ML Vversion there,also no luck in the yards,maybe i'll try MIKE's idea although the audio specs are directly linked to the head unit i.e the bass and the treble especially the inferior ranged also the options of the preset music genres(jazz,rock,etc..) anyway,anyone who managed to change his stereo unit with a decent one,plz tell me your experience. thx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike B. Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Well, I have a 2000 ES that is equipped with the stock Pioneer system. I changed out the speakers only (not even the sub yet). Major, major upgrade in sound quality. I purchased Boston Acoustics ES series speakers front and rear. The stock speakers are single cone full range in the rear and use an add on tweeter in front but still use a full range driver in the doors. Result is muddied mid range and harsh, tinny high range. The Boston speakers I put in the rear are coax speakers and component speakers in front. Nice clear and defined high end, very open and much better soundstage. You'll have to change your speakers anyways so why not change them first, it's not very involved and you may not want to change the head unit. I was planning on a double din nav unit but am waffling now because the system sounds so good... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hazouma Posted October 18, 2011 Author Share Posted October 18, 2011 hi MIKE, your experience result as you descriped is very tempting to applyaccording to your description;maybe you have a point as the head unit distribute all range of the notes and octaves adequately,so maybe it is the speakers as you suggested,i'll shop around for the BOUSTONS and look for the HARMEN CARDON (as used of course, or my wife will file for a divorce soon)also i'll see the SONY XPOLDE and the CLARION. i hope it will turn out well,and i'll post the outcomes soon. regards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike B. Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 hi MIKE, your experience result as you descriped is very tempting to applyaccording to your description;maybe you have a point as the head unit distribute all range of the notes and octaves adequately,so maybe it is the speakers as you suggested,i'll shop around for the BOUSTONS and look for the HARMEN CARDON (as used of course, or my wife will file for a divorce soon)also i'll see the SONY XPOLDE and the CLARION. i hope it will turn out well,and i'll post the outcomes soon. regards. Well, the Boston Acoustics that I purchased were on ebay. I paid $78 for the front speakers and $55 for the rear speakers. All were brand new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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