A few audio questions

Not new to Tundra or Toyota but I have some questions for you audiophiles.
I have a '17 CrewMax non-JBL SR5 and I want a HU that will have Apple CarPlay where I can use Waze and use the HU for talk to text, listen to podcasts, etc. I also want to keep my steering wheel controls functional.
It doesn't have to be the cream of the crop but I want something reliable. I may upgrade the speakers eventually but I highly doubt I will be adding a sub anytime.
So my questions are....
1- Can a JBL Entune system plug and play into my '17 and work and have CarPlay (wired or not)
2- Can an aftermarket HU do what I am after and not have to spend 1K to do it. Like a mid-price ($500ish) Kenwood unit
3- I want to keep my steering wheel controls for volume, scan, channel up/down.

I think that is all so any advise will be greatly appreciated.
Mike

 

I will try to answer your questions:
1) NO, if I am not mistaken, the JBL requires different wiring harnesses than the non-JBL
2) YES, Kenwood and Pioneer both have head units sub $1k that are capable of your requirements
3) YES, you can with a Maestro or a PAC module. Personally, I chose the Maestro because of all the added benefits.

 

This is correct. You will lose some functionality in the truck dash cluster there is a very detailed thread on it somewhere in this forum.

 

Thanks for your answers guys. I ended up ordering a system from Crutchfield that will be in today. Kenwood Excelon 6906, iDatalink harness and the Maestro RR with all the installation stuff Crutchfield recommended. Should be a plug and play after programming and wiring.
I'll post after the install.

 

Cool! Good luck with your install, bud! If you have any issues, just let us know. I will do my best to help.

 

One question guys....
On the Maestro harness, there is a pink wire for speedo and not on the Kenwood harness. I am assuming that I don’t need to worry about that?
Will I be able to see the speed on the HU screen?
TIA

 

Just watch this video of Dean @ 5Star Car Stereo connect the Maestro-Toyota harness to a Kenwood H/U harness. He makes it super simple and tells you EXACTLY which wires you utilize and which ones you do not (and NO, you will not need the pink wire)! It made my install ridiculously easy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhiMy1GPayE

 

Thanks Preacher. Much appreciated. Helps a lot.
I have the wiring of Maestro connected to the Kenwood harness and hoping the install goes smooth when I get home from work this afternoon.

 

The speed is reported on the OBD bus along with everything else that is on the screens on a Kenwood which makes it pretty easy and simple to get the displays up that you want.

"Who loves you baby?" if you know what I mean.

 

If you did your harness connections as Dean did, in the video, your remaining install should be entirely plug and play. One thing that I did not do (and did not realize until after said install) was order an antenna adapter. And no, I am not talking about the XM/Sirius/GPS antenna adapter. I'm talking about an adapter for the FM antenna. When I was ordering and preparing for my build, nowhere did I see anything that indicated that I would require an adapter for my Kenwood H/U. So, temporarily, I am without FM stations (which is not a big deal, since I listen to music via thumbdrive and talk radio via an app on my phone). But I did order this adapter on Amazon which should resolve this little problem but it sucks that I will have to pull the head unit back out:

$12 Metra 40-LX11 Antenna Adaptor Cable for Select Lexus/Toyota

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JYHSDKO/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?smid=A2A3E3I2PR5WZ9&psc=1

 

Got it in and working. Only one call to Cruthfield wondering “where the heck does this plug in” and he explained it perfectly. Only thing is I don’t have a signal on my Sirius radio. I even pulled it and double checked my connections and all good. Could just be where my truck in the driveway is but I was able to activate my factory Sirius in the same location. Maybe it’ll connect when I take the truck out. Definitely woke up the factory speakers and the sound is fantastic! Super easy to learn and very intuitive.
All in all, Crutchfield made it super easy with the entire package and I am a happy customer.
Thanks for your help Preacher. That video helped a lot too.

 

Glad to help! Regarding your Sirius issue: did you order the Maestro Sirius antenna adapter?

 

Yeah. It’s all connected right. I’ll drive the truck today and see if I can get it to connect.

 

That’s EXACTLY what I was recommend you to do. The 6906 will do everything you want as long as you get all the Maestro add-ons.

 

Stupid question, but did you switch your account over to the new radio? You can do it right on Sirius’s website.

 

Yeah. I sent the refresh signal numerous times and nothing. I'll pull the truck out of the driveway whwen I get home from work and send the signal again.
And an FYI.... Sirius charges $15 just to change receivers.

 

I just switched mine from my old pathfinder to my Tundra and they transferred it for free and tacked on another 90 days free. You may want to call them. Once a year, I call them and tell em I want to cancel my service because I can’t afford it anymore. They then offer me 1 year of full unlimited service for $119.

 

After getting the HU in, I am now "considering" replacing the factory front speakers to get better bass response. I do not want to wire a sub and do all of that. Just run new speakers off the HU power.
I am looking at the matched set of Kenwood KFC-P7PS. Any of you guys have these with the tweeters that are part of the package?

 

No experience with the Kenwoods but I just put some infinity ref6530’s in and they are decent. I am amplifying then and they took a lot of tuning to get em just right because of the 3 speakers in the dash that I left connected.

 

Thanks Grumps.
What HU are you using?

 

Stock non-JBL one for now. Just did the amp/speakers/sub upgrade so I’m gonna wait till the fall to swap the head unit. Hoping the Kenwood DDX8906S drops in price a bit more.

if I could do the speakers all over again, I’d probably go with the JL C1-650’s. From what I’ve heard, from they are a bit warmer than the infinity’s.

 

Went up to my local auto stereo shop and looked at and listened to the Hertz, Kenwood, and JL.
I ended up buying the Kenwood KFC-XP184C's from them. I wanted to support the local owner instead of buying online this time.
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_113XP184C/Kenwood-Excelon-KFC-XP184C.html

 

Ver

Very nice! Looking forward to your thoughts on them with the stock HU

 

I installed the Kenwood Excelon 6906S so I won't be able to tell you how they sound with the stock HU.
Sorry Grumpus

 

That’s right I’d still like to know what you think of them after you put em in. I may swap mine out when I put a new HU in

 

Will do. Probably be tomorrow before I get to that project

 

Watch out for the covers behind the door pulls when taking the panels off. I had to order a replacement for the passenger side after prying it out “the wrong way”. Also, make sure you find a suitable place for the crossovers that won’t be in the way of the foam blocks attached to the back of the panels. I lucked out and mounted the crossovers directly underneath the metal tab that the panel attaches to and the foam block just cleared it upon reinstallation.

 

Thanks man. I have had the drivers side panel off when I installed the auto window module.
For the crossovers, these woofers have them built into the wire input on the back of the speaker so I’m lucky in that regard.

 

Ohh...I like the idea of that a lot. I’ll definitely take that into consideration if and when I decide to replace my fronts

 

After not being able to get the Sirius radio to work, I pulled the HU last night and played around with the antennae's a bit. I plugged in the antennae that comes with the Sirius and wouldn't you know that I had a signal. That means the TO2 harness to the factory antenna is bad so I called Crutchfield and they are sending out another TO2 harness.
That is come serious customer service! I am so glad I bought the HU and install items from them.
I will be installing the new Kenwood door and tweets this afternoon and will post back about how they do.