05 to 07 Legacy Stereo Swap

[mrplow83]

So I am in the middle of a stereo project on the LGT.  As any driver of a 05-06 Legacy driver will tell you, the stock stereo sucks and has no aux ports/cassette player or anything to connect a mp3 player to(besides a HORRIBLE FM transmitter..shit is pure evil).

But the best part is, the stock stereo is part of the climate control and is one single unit basically making all ways of installing a aftermarket stereo impossible without heavy modification.

To solve this problem, you can either install the 'Jazzy' mod which modifies the stock CD player to accept an Aux port...or what I have done buy a used 07 Legacy stereo(which supports XM radio, Aux, MP3 CD player, FM/AM) and make it work.  I just wanted a more unmodified stereo setup, which would be alot easier to explain to someone in the future if I decide to sell the car.

However, the project has a few problems with everything fitting correctly.  The 05 and 07 Legacy wiring harnesses are slightly different when it comes to hooking up the AUX port. Everything else is a simple plug-and-play scenario.  

So I am in the process of working with a company in Georgia that makes an adapter to make the AUX  pod work.  If everything goes as planned, every function of the 07 Legacy stereo will work on my 05 LGT. There is alot of talk about this on the leggy forums, so the post is basically to sum up the research that I have found for anyone else who decides to go this route.

 I'll update as the project progresses.

[aldog1330]

Sounds like a good option if you can get it to work.  When I had my Legacy, you had 3 choices - deal with it, get the Jazzy mod, or buy a cleansweep.  I had the cleansweep in mine.  Of course, the shop that did it did a hack job on the wiring (which is why I will never let another audio shop touch a car of mine), and I feel bad for whoever ended up with it.  The cleansweep worked great.... was just a pain in the ass with cables running everywhere and another volume knob to control.  Id love to see the outcome of your project when you finish it.

[Capitalandmotors]

how are you making out with this? subaru has listed in the 2010 accesory catalog a new aux input option that may work for you, it includes the cable from the aux in to the back of the radio. 

is the company in georgia this guys
http://ae64.com/

i just ordered a harness for the jdm heater controls from them, so i can put any radio in my LGT.

[korpsepatrol]

here is a nice explanation of the jdm hvac setup and how it can work in our legacies...
http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=113589

[09legacyseoo7]

newer legacys with the harmon kardon system in them have the aux jack in the armrest.  i think even the regular factory ones had them too i remember when looking at my car the original car i looked at had it in there but didnt have the harmon system.  not sure if it was an option or standard.  Either way works great no issues at all use my ipod and when i forget that i can hook my blackberry up to it and use pandora or slacker radio

[mrplow83]

An update, I finally completed my 07 Stereo swap in the LGT Saturday.  To sum up the project I wanted to have a satellite radio and an aux port for my ipod, but wanted to keep the factory look.  Having an 05, my options to do this (because of the head-unit/climate control setup) were either the Jazzy Mod, Buy a 07 Stereo and get the adapter kit, or buy the JDM Double Din kit(which I found out about AFTER I started this project *groan*) I opted for the 07 Stereo Swap so here is what it boiled down to.

Just want to thank Fred @ Capitaland for the parts and the time to lookup the things I needed from Subaru
and David Carter from ae64.com for the help with constructing the i85 Breakout Adapter

Parts used:

Stereo from a used auto parts website from a 2007 Subaru Legacy- $300
Clarion Satellite radio kit from Subaru(to fit the 07 Stereo setup)-$300
Adapter kit for 05 Stereo Wiring Harness modified to fit Aux Pod from 07 Subaru Legacy-$40 http://ae64.com/i85breakout.htm
Aux Pod-$(cant remember, but wasn't much)
10ft Satellite Radio Antenna Extension Cord $20

How I did it(Sorry about the bad pics):
1) Took out Center Console and installed aux pod behind the e-brake.  I was going to place it in the armrest compartment, but I thought it looked better outside and to get it in the box would have been a pain.  I believe you can actually buy that compartment separately with the aux pod already in it.





2) Ran the wiring w/ the i85 adapter under the gearshift and into the radio compartment.  You can see the i85 adapter(the little white plug dangling off of the side near the gearshift.





3) With the aux pod wiring done, I wired the satellite radio antenna extension cord behind the dash and up along the a-pillar and then across the top of the windshield to the passenger side top-corner.  I took out the air vent on the driver side as well as the lower dash panels and was able to sneak it up through.  Running it across the top of the windshield was easy because there is a little lip that the wires were able to tuck into.

4) Connected all of the plugs and carefully tucked all the wires in place and zip-tied them.  Here was the finish product



The results:

Time: 4 hours

Cost: Roughly $670

Sound quality is much better from this stereo(considering its made by Panasonic and not the 05's which is made by some no-name company)

I have full working satellite radio, aux input, and 6 mp3cd changer.

[flutyr525]

thats the same setup my sister has in her 08 legacy...i love that setup, its fantastic. looks good. glad its finally together for you.