March 2008
The Landcruiser Prado is a very refined car when compared to any brand or model made between 2003 – 2012. The interior is a comfortable and quiet place to be. As a result it is a perfect place to upgrade the standard stereo system to a unit with greater audio quality. Sound quality is a relative thing and while the standard system has pretty good sound for a basic system but its certainly not top end. Since there aren’t any instructions on how to install a new stereo system in the Prado I decided to post my own.
To start off with the Toyota’s head unit: The standard stereo in the Prado will usually be a 2-DIN sized Fujitsu Ten mode (Branded)l. In Australia the part numbers are 08600-00988 or 08600-00989. That’s the OEM or standard stereo model I got anyway and it obviously varies between the various trim grades and year models. The same model is found on other Toyota’s.
The criteria for the replacement and new stereo system was simple. A good looking, double DIN touch screen with the ability to play CD/DVD, accept inputs from the Apple iPod and iPhone a built in AMP and reasonably priced. I did not want a built in GPS system because I prefer the portable GPS units from Garmin and TomTom are easy to update and replace and certainly more fun!
So the models I looked at included the following – and there were lots to choose from:
Kenwood DDX7039. DDX7032. DDX8032BT
Alpine IVA-W202E
Clarion MAX386vVD MAX686BT
JVC KW-AVX710
Pioneer AVH-P6850DVD
Price ranged from $749 to over $2000 for the various and latest models.
What I ended up with is the Sony XAV-W1 AV Center. The reasons I chose it above the others are, that it had the clearest screen and best color compared to the others. It physically looked the nicest and seemed easiest to use! It was still a current model and the only double DIN AV stereo offered by Sony. See the other side of the page for the proper review of the XAV W1.
If money was not an issue I would pick the Pioneer AVH-P6850DVD and ONLY because you can get the AVG-VDP1 module for it that allows you to get vehicle dynamics information since this module has GPS, Gyroscope, G sensor and a speed sensor that you can see on the main screen.
Sony XAV-W1 Specifications
I’ve only posted the technical specifications that I believe are the most important.
Screen Specs: 1,152,000 pixels – 800×480 – Active Matrix TFT – 7 inch diagonal – Motorcised Touch / Wide Screen – PAL/NTSC/SECAM
Audio/Video Formats: DVD, VCD, DivX, JPEG, MP3, WMA, CD, SA-CD, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD+R, DVD-R. DVD+RW, DVD-RW, DVD DL
Amplifier: S-MOSFET Max 52×4 Watts – (RMS 17×4 Watts) – DivX – Dolby Digital – Dolby Pro Logic II – DTS
Inputs: 3 AUX RCA (Audio/Video) – 1 Video only (Cam/Nav) – 1 Mobile phone ATT – 1 Car illumination control – 1 Sony BUS for audio – 1 Sony BUS for wired remote – 1 Wireless infrared controller – 1 Radio antenna – 1 Park brake sensor – 1 Microphone input – 1 Reverse camera sensor – 1 Unilink
Outputs: Sub-woofer – Center – Video only – Video/Audio Front/Rear – Audio Left/Right – ZxZ audio out – Powered antenna control – Remote for AM
Features: 8 Wallpapers – 4 preloaded 4 user defined – 3 spectrum analyzer displays – DVD resume – User defined custom button – animated buttons – 5 set positions for screen angle – manual override dimmer control – Demo mode – Equaliser 62Hz, 157Hz, 396Hz, 1kHz, 2.5kHz, 6.34kHz, 16kHz – AUX input volume control – High and Low pass control –
Optional mods: HD radio – XM radio – iPod controller – OEM steering wheel control adapter controller
Due to a change in the format of the website the Prado stereo installation guide will continue in another post.
Toyota LandCruiser Prado stereo upgrade – Part 1
Toyota LandCruiser Prado stereo upgrade – Part 2
Toyota LandCruiser Prado stereo upgrade – Part 3
Toyota LandCruiser Prado stereo upgrade – Part 4 – iPod/iPhone/iPad connectivity
Toyota LandCruiser Prado stereo upgrade – Part 5 – Speakers
Toyota LandCruiser Prado stereo upgrade – Part 6 – Conclusion