Confused- JBL 6 CD vs Toyota 6 CD. What's the Diff?

[ezobens]

Hi,
I just purchased a 99' Solara 5-Speed and the car came with an aftermarket Sony CDX-M630 unit that looks cool and all but the "Fast and Furious" graphics and display are just pain annoying for this 45 yo family man.

I would perfer to jank this player in favor of a factory 6 CD unit- But I can't seem to find out what (if any) difference there is in the 'JBL' 6 CD stereos vs the no name Toyota 6 CD stereo? The units themselves look identical other than the JBL logo on the front so what gives?
Are these units one in the same? Is the only difference the amp?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
Elm

[briantek]

I believe it depends on whether your car had the upgraded JBL headunit which includes a JBL amp (behind the glove box) and JBL speakers. If it did you would need to go with the JBL factory unit.

[blaK]

I hated the stock JBL head unit, you can never tell what volume your at, the e q sucked and the speakers sucked so after I had the car for a few days I went to a mobile store and got brand new gear all around.

Try a new head unit. Do you want an ipod in your ride, how about satellite radio.

A great and simple radio with plenty of power is a Alpine CDA 9857 http://www.alpine-usa.com/en/products/p ... l=CDA-9857 runs for about $350 and the next step down would be CDA 9856 http://www.alpine-usa.com/en/products/p ... l=CDA-9856 still a great piece for about $200.

And if your car did come with an amp, the radio's power would amp up your speakers. And amp bypass is what they would have to do.

[Ruski]

hey we covered this topic in Toyota nations Forum. the jbl have a prewired amp that is located in the corner where the radio sits.i say get a after market radio much better sound quality, looks great, and more options

[NRDriver]

if you want the JBL 6 that much, i would just go ebay. theyre on ebay all the time.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/00-01-02-03-Toyota-Solara-OEM-JBL-Radio-w-CD-Cass_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ38640QQihZ009QQitemZ190046942209QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW#ebayphotohosting

[ezobens]

OK, I know this isn't a popular move for most of you- But remember, I'm 45 and my hearing is already shot so I don't need 800 watts to keep me entertained
I just picked up a 6 CD JBL with amp off of ebay (thanks for the suggestion!).
My question now is do I need to buy a hrness from Toyota to connect the radio to the amp since my car didn't come with it initially?
If so, does anyone happen to have the part number handy?
Also, do I need to fabricate a harness to go from the amp to my speakers as well?
Thanks again for all your help!
Elm

[blaK]

Buy the harness at circut city or best lie.

[ezobens]

I'm a little confused-
Why would BB or CC carry a factory wiring harness from the factory radio to the factory amp? This would seem to be a dealer only item?
I found a part number 82142-06040 in my Toyota parts catalog that looks like it may be the correct item but the description only says 'wiring harness'. It doesn't specify if it's for the radio/amp or what.
Anyone have any experience with these things?
Thanks!
Elm

[NeFaRiOuS_SLE]

Actually, when he said "harness", I guess he meant wiring harness, which is a component needed to convert the OEM wiring to be able to be used with the aftermarket stereo.

To retrofit a JBL amp to one not equipped with is going to be more difficult since it needs more components to run properly, which means re-routing the existing wires, getting the amplifier its own power source, routing it back and finding a place to put the amp. If that's something you want to do, more power to you and I wish you luck, otherwise it might be easier just to resell the stereo and get a CD changer that's non-JBL. Also, be sure that it is the newest production model possible (up to 2003); some people might sell it because the internal spring is shot due to aging.

[ezobens]

Thank you for clarifying..
Yeah, I'm a glutton for punishment and I love a challenge so I'll see how hard this is going to be. I just ordered the factory harness from Toyota for the external JBL amp so I am hoping this will be more of a plug-n-play vs total rewiring.
I'll keep you posted!
Elm