Audio Upgrade Nightmare - Any Advice?

Background noise comes from having the output levels too high on the lc7 and/or the gains on the amps too high. The outputs on the Lc7 need to be matched to the gains on the amp based off the input signal from the headunit. It took me some time to finally get everything dialed in.

 

Yes they need to be matched, but no, the low end white noise comes from dirty head unit signal. At least in my case and many others. Removing the had unit and replacing it solved the problem.

 

Here are pics under the seat



And I don't know if I hear a hiss or the white noise. It is present at startup, switching inputs or stations, but when music is coming out, you can't tell unless there are soft spots in the song. I realize I can turn down the gain on the amp to minimize it, but it's always there.

 

What do your grounds look like? Also, your power cable is sitting right on top of your rca’s. You want those two cables to be as far apart as possible as the high amperage power wire can introduce noise into the rca signal. You need to get any power wire away from any of the signal wires.

 

The people on the internet don’t know crap about your installation, nor do they have to be happy with the money you spend.

If you want a headunit and not a dsp, tell Rick that and have him install it all and fix your install. If you put the headunit in, he has to take it all apart again to run new RCA cables to your amp so you aren’t saving anything.

 

The factory head unit would be a great unit for a library. I have a Phoenix 2nd gen along with a sub from https://www.12volt.solutions/
and am very happy with the sound now. In time I will be replacing the stock speakers from 12volt and possibly adding another sub for the passenger side. Anyone needing info on speaker info just ask @Pudge for info.

 

Yes! That is the noise I'm talking about. It probably wouldn't bother a normal person... Lol. But I just couldn't take it. One thing I loved about that setup was the amount of power it generated. Set up looks nice.

 

Anyone know how the head unit feeds the amp? I read the amp powers door speakers and head unit feeds dash speakers. My truck is stock and when I changed head unit only dash speakers work. No sound from door speakers. There are no extra cables behind the head unit. Everything is plugged into my kenwood via T02 harness and a Maestro box. So confused. Ideas?

 

The maestro and to2 harness should take care of every speaker. Double check all the connections

 

Ok, so here is where I'm at now. Another $3k gone. Got the HU replaced with that Kenwood 906S and all the Maestro gear. The shop said it would all be pointless if I didn't get a better amp. They sold me a Diamond HX600.4 for $700 and another $500 for new 4ga wires and to re-run everything. The other shops had power cables and RCA cables running down the same door channels. One even had a perfectly good cable, ran it into the cab, cut it, used electrical tape to fuse a really crappy power wire once it was inside the vehicle.

I was really impressed with the amount of work they put into it. They literally had a pile of cables and speaker wire in my bed that we chunked in the trash. So, I get in, first thing is an audio pop. "Is that ok? Does it bother you?" "Well yes, I just gave you $3k and it's effing popping?" They are going to fix it. I also noticed I have a loud 'noise floor'. It is exactly the same as it was with the LC6i, I thought this was the white noise. HU didn't solve that at all. I am going to have them turn down the gains.

Also, they switched me to an active set up where: tweeter are on the rear channel of the amp, front door speakers are on the front channel, rear door speakers are being powered by the HU. Because of this, I don't have fader. They did this to give me a proper 'sound stage' up front and it does sound really good, but why the eff couldn't it be done properly with the new HU? I thought that was the whole point. When I sit in the back, the volume is not very audible out of those speakers, with everything clearly being heard in the front. Not a big deal, but sucks for my kids b/c the sound is uneven.

Anyways, I am so done with this, calculated that $1800 was literally flushed down the toilet. Had to take out a Snap! loan for the new amp and install. If this doesn't get any better, I'm trading in the truck and getting a 2020 model. This is ridiculous that no one knows how to work on these Tundra's (at least not around me).

 

This is why I do my own work. Car audio is very simple to do. My setup using the stock entune radio sounds amazing. You should start doing some research and start trouble shooting everything and stop paying people to do shitty work.

 

Lol where are you at? Sounds like I could pay you!

 

I have the shitty head unit and new amp and speakers with a duel 10" sub

I am so happy that I have someone to go to in my area for all that stuff that are honest.

One of the first things he said was "We have done many installs for a Tundra"
Which means he knows that there is a difference.

Then he listened to my system and said "I will take your money but you dont need a new head unit"

I love the sound mine produces.
Oddly though, I want a new head unit

 

Haha. I’m in south Louisiana. I really would take a look at everything for ya if I could. I wouldn’t even want your money. I enjoy fixing shit haha.

 

Where did you go this time? I know Rick didn’t do you like that.

 

Nah it was over there...Jake sold me on the amp upgrade, they decided to make it active. As mentioned, the install is super clean and thorough, just don't think it lived up to the hype! I heard you were going with the DSP, good luck!

 

I don’t know Jake. Never heard of him. What’s Rick say?

I have a 3 way active front set up. Problem is having enough channels to run everything active. I need 9 channels to run rears and my DSPs only have 8. 1st world problems.

 

Jake is the owner. Rick thinks it's all good I guess. He gave me a like a 20 min tune, not the 1.5 hours I was billed for. Will be addressing it when I take it back for the popping. Hopefully they can make it right..

 

I sure would. I’m kind of shocked to hear that.

 

And the hits keep on coming! Brought it back to address the turn on pop and the hiss. I also mentioned that the tweeters were very loud and I still couldn't hear a lot of mids. I was told before noon that the pop was how they had the speakers hooked up, so they were going to change that. Twenty minutes before arrival I am called with a story about how they determined it was the amp, they put 3 more in, and then a display, where all of them popped. They had a separate HU and battery in my truck, with some kind of meter to record to send to the amp manufacturer. They put a DD SS4b in and the popping was gone. They claim that amp is better than the Diamond amp and the same price, but its older and can be had for cheaper than $700.

Driving home, I am like, it sounds OK, vocals are now kind of muffled, and I don't hear the sub. I also notice that fader works, where before they had tweeters and front doors on the amp for a sound stage, so fade didn't work. The back speakers where now audible, because I mentioned they were just passing distorted noise before. Get home, notice the sub was completely unplugged (so much for the two hour tune they claim they did) easy enough. I then look at the amp and see one set of RCA cables going into Channel 1 & 3 - WTF - i had 2 sets before, I paid for 2 sets, the Kenwood HU certainly supports 2 sets.

Immediately call back. 'Sorry about the sub not being plugged back in' then I get a story for the one RCA pair about how now I am in a bridged setup to bring out the mids and create a better noise floor (thus no hiss). I don't now why I need the worlds most powerful 4-channel amp if I'm only using 2 channels via RCA? I don't understand why it's not like this:

RCA's from HU to amp (2 sets: FL, FR, RL, RR)
Speaker wire from amp to Left Door Component Passive Crossover - to Door Speaker - to Dash Tweeter
Speaker wire from amp to Right Door Component Passive Crossover - to Door Speaker - to Dash Tweeter
Speaker wire from amp to rear Left and Right door

Or maybe the setup I have is good now? I mean the sub sounds a hell of a lot better, the mids do 'kick' a little more. I think my brain is just warped on what I need to expect.

 

Jesus, what a fiasco! This is why OEMAudioPlus stays at the top of my audio upgrade list.

 

Good gravy... I sometimes wonder what it would be like to pay someone to install the ultimate system. I think I'm pretty happy with doing it all myself. Especially after reading about your trouble. I've been putting systems in my vehicles for 25 years now. I just don't know what's so difficult about getting yours to work right. Sorry man!

 

I tried the factory HU with LC7I set up....I have really good quality focals in the Doors with a sound digital amp running them, and a kicker hideaway for the sub and I too was getting the Hiss when the volume was down or quiet parts of music.
When I had a really high quality flac file playing it sounded really good but the factory HU simply just didn’t have enough sound adjustments to make satellite radio sound even close. I replaced the HU with a Kenwood and got rid of the SP....after messing around with sound settings and crossover points in the Kenwood I finally have it dialed in where even the “compressed” satellite stations sound good and higher quality files sound really nice. To get the sound of want I do need to have the loudness setting turned on so I do still hear a little hiss if I’m not driving but the sound quality and separation is night and day from the Kenwood compared to the factory HU.

 

Alright guys, last bump until this is solved, I'm working on the nerve to call the shop and want to make sure I'm right before laying into them! I'm really trying to avoid driving around to get a 'second opinion' - learned my lesson plenty!

As stated, the DD SS4d is in bridge mode, with one RCA set from the HU going in (Ch1 / Ch3), and 4 speakers wires going from the amp to the front component cross over where it splits off to tweeter and door speaker. As far as I can tell, rear doors are still powered off the HU b/c there is nothing more going to or coming from the amp. It's just so strange the rear actually has decent sound, when it did not before, especially if they didn't change any wiring. Oh, and I also noticed that they pressed the button for 180 phase on the sub, I have no idea if on purpose or accident. I did read how bridging an amp throws the right channel out of phase and it seems like the sub is in-line with the right channel. This shop is really big on 'Sound Stages' and digital time delay by speaker position.

Should I ask the shop why the didn't hook up all 4 channels to the amp, then all 4 sets of speakers wired to the amp? Like I said, it sounds decent, but I did notice that my phone calls play on all the speakers with low volume, when I'm pretty sure it should be front speakers only. I essentially think that the entire truck is running off front channel inputs. I am also reading that bridging, while good, may not be the best idea unless you're working with subs. I think the shop was just lazy the other day, didn't want to pull the HU to disconnect rear speakers and do it right.

again, what I have:
Kenwood DMX906s
DD Audio SS4d
Hertz Mille Legend 165.3 up front
Alpine S Series 6.5 in back
Alpine PWE-S8 powered sub

 

TBH, you're equipment list is about as simple a set up as you can get. There's no reason any competent stereo shop shouldn't be able to get all the functionality you want and those components to sound good.

First off, go back to a passive set up using the crossovers that came with your speakers. Going full active is not for the amateur or someone who is not familiar with tuning T/A, phase, crossover points/ slopes etc. And even the most experienced tuner will tell you it takes HOURS to tune a fully active system. Second, it looks like they set up your HU in Network mode in order to run a true 3 way active setup. In most cases this will eliminate your fader and decrease the rear speaker levels, as the rear speakers will mostly be used just for fill. NIX that, and go back to a traditional 2 way set up. Front RCA's to your bridged 4ch. amp -->Hertz crossovers, rear speaker outputs-->Alpine crossovers, SUB RCA to your Alpine sub. Set your basic T/A settings according to speaker distances to the drivers head. Set your crossover on the powered sub to the highest point and phase to 0deg. Then use your Sub settings on your HU to control phase, crossover settings, etc. Front and Rear HP filter settings can be initially set to 80-100Hz and likewise for the Sub LP filter. You can adjust to your liking from there. Depending on sub placement, crossover points etc, you may need to switch the phase to reduce cancellation and improve the sub response.

1 Pair of RCA's to your 4ch amplifier should be OK as most new multi channel amps have have a 2 or 4ch input switch. This just means you can power all 4 channels with just a pair of RCA's. Also I don't know where you read bridging channels on your amplifier can cause phase issues. Unless you're wired out of phase. Meaning speaker wires are swapped or you connected them to the wrong outputs on the amp (common mistake).

Oh and turn on pops are fairly common and can be easily fixed with a simple delay module. Tons of companies make them. Not necessarily a problem with the amp itself. BT volume should likely be in HU settings. And I believe BT calls are routed to all channels in aftermarket HU's. Could be a HU setting as well.

 

@dubless - thanks for the input! Glad to know how its wired at least OK. I'll have to check that 3 way mode in the HU. I believe it is back to a passive set up, so we are good there. The powered sub, only dials are LPF (3/4 position) and Gain (1/4 position) so I'm not sure where those need to be set, and yes, I set phase back to zero on it.

HP for the front is at 70hz, rear is at 120hz, sub 100hz - everything at an 18 slope. I do keep adjusting it, but trying not to stray to far from what they set. I will try 80-100 on the front.

 

If the HU is set to 3 way mode (Network) then you're probably still active. If so AND your passive crossovers are still connected then there's something really weird going on. I'd check that out first. Also are you controlling the sub with HU controls or the controls on the SUB amp? If through the HU then open up the X-over setting on the sub amp. There could be some redundancy there that could be causing issues.

 

Crap! I got the weird thing, yeah, the HU is in 3-way mode. And when I checked the passenger side, I assume the bridged wire pair from the amp is going to the crossover, then from the crossover, wire going up to the tweeter and then another routed to the door area. I can't check the driver side easily b/c the crossover is in the door, but possibly the same. This explains a lot...should I change back to a 2-way network and see what happens, or are we looking at a re-wire situation necessary?

As for the sub, the controls on there were set based on recommended settings from the manual. I do have a sub level knob I keep at the halfway point. I don't do much at the HU then the crossover specs stated above, not using Bass Ext or Bass Boost on the HU even though its nice sometimes!

 

replace head unit, that all you would have needed. Kenwood makes a few good ones. sorry for your troubles.

 

Well in 3 way mode as long, as you set your HP filter setting low enough, in theory it should still work fine. Especially since you're not using the rear RCA. In the 3 way mode the filter settings are (Could be different depending on MFG so check your manual):

- Front RCA's are HighPass only
- Rear are Bandpass depending on front HP setting and LP setting on the SUB
- SUB is Lowpass only.

So your SUB should be fine but the Front stage configuration is a bit weird. And you're fader may or may not work (again depending on the MFG). If it were me, running passive, I'd switch it to 2way and start the front HP setting at around 80Hz. Keep the SUB filter (H/U) at around 80Hz as well and open up the filter setting on SUB amp. Make sure the front RCA are going into the 4 channel amp. Make sure the amp is switched to 2ch. input (if applicable). Bridge the outputs (double check polarity in the manual) to 2 channel and run them into the Hertz crossovers. If they used the original wire harness then just double check they tapped into the right wires and that polarity is correct. You should be able to reference one of the sticky posts at the top of this form for the correct wire colors. Then just measure the distances from each of the speakers to the drivers position and input them into the T/A settings. That should be baseline. You can fine tune to your liking from there.