21 TRD Pro JBL Upgrade

For anyone on the fence with dealing with @james@tech12volts and getting any of his products, come on off of the fence. He is still in business and is extremely responsive to all emails and questions. I had the non-JBL system in my truck and it really sucked a**. I emailed James on what I wanted and the rest is history. I drove to Alma, GA which was a seven hour drive for me and I have ZERO regrets. I have my dream system installed which includes the Kenwood Excelon Reference Series 1057 headunit, JL Audio speakers and 5 channel amp, along with a custom box with two 10" subs that rattle my teeth.

 

Yes I do!

 

I was just going to comment that the biggest problem w/the newer JBL systems are not only the crappy plastic sub box and cheap paper sub, but also the way the system processes the audio signals. The quality has dropped over the years. The JBL amp that James is selling has a good DSP (digital sound processor) built in, which is one of the reasons that amp makes a big difference.

If you end up buying something else for an amp, etc. you'll need to either add at least a good sound processor or new head unit to clean it up.

 

Hey Randy, could you PM me about the instructions as well. Just received my equipment but not sure where to find or start looking for instructions to install it.

 

You can send an email to James - he’ll replace pretty quick.
I need to redact the info he doesn’t want shared (personal phone number) and then post it up here. Just got mine installed yesterday

 

Here's the instructions that were emailed to me. I redacted James' personal phone number from this per his request in the instructions.

Also including some information he included in the email with the instructions

 

I agree! James has provided me great service aswell!

 

For everyone that has installed this amp,
Any issues with a hissing or humming noise or thumping/popping when turning on and off? I plan to order this and want to make sure there are no surprises. Any negatives at all?

 

When I first turned the truck on after installing, I noticed a hissing/humming...because my volume was turned up where it needed for me to hear my sound driving home the day before with the windows down (around 35 or so). When I turned on the music I about shit myself trying to get it turned down...
Now I'm running 8-15 average on the volume and don't hear any feedback at all.

 

You guys sold me on the amp! Ordered it from James on Friday and can't wait to hear the results. I was close to adding the sub but decided to wait. Can always add it later if I'm not happy with the bass.

 

I couldn't believe how much effort went into engineering such a "plasticky" generic sub/box in the OE JBL system. You'll be amazed when you pull that thing out of there, which you will ... Seriously, I'm surprised JBL would put their name to the "upgraded" system in these trucks. My '08 JBL system was night/day better than the system in my '21.

Congrats on the upgrade and don't forget to post some pics during/after the install along w/your feedback!!!

 

Tacoma's JBL systems are way better, and use larger front speakers to boot! I with you, how can a $60k+ truck have a worse JBL system than it's $30k counterpart.

 

Ya gotta get the sub and box!

 

Just don't use the OEM sub...aftermarket sub box is a must.

 

wonder if JBL amp from Tacoma would be plug-n-play in a tundra and make a difference in sound?

 

I received my replacement JBL AMP/DSP from James today. I have his after

I'm thinking too many variables w/head unit, connectivity, etc... speakers, etc.... better off to just spend the money and get the JBL amp/dsp upgrade from James@tech12volts; then you know you'll have more power, better signal processing and proper tuning to your system

 

BTW mine showed up yesterday.... Pre-wired, pre-tuned for my system, and ready to plug n play!!!

 

Let us know how the install goes and what you think about it.

 

So you just run a new power from battery and a ground then plug it all in?

 

I removed my JBL and went with 2 JL Audio 13.5" slim subs.

 

Will do! I've already have his box/sub installed, so once this is finished it will be a combo of his amp and custom CM single sub box/sub w/factory head unit and remaining speakers....

Unfortunately, I'm tied up w/family stuff. So, it might be a week or so before I knock this out!

 

I have his sub box too. Other things came up and I haven’t ordered the amp yet

 

Yes... 8ga power wire to the battery through the firewall; ground under the seat.

Signal will pass from head unit to current amp; current amp to new JBL unit; new JBL unit to speakers... those connections will all be made through plug in connectors.

The amps adjustments (tuning) are made through a computer connection (Windows only no Mac) to fine tune and match system specs in lieu of hard dials or switches. Those adjustments and settings are made by James, before he ships out, to match your system config. Saves a bunch of time and trial/error on the settings since James has already worked through that w/our systems.

 

Yep. Pretty much. He sends it with a tune on it. I dialed down my master volume (it uses a windows app and usb cable) a few steps but the tune sounds great compared to factory settings

 

Got my amp from James earlier this week and plan to install today. Looks pretty straightforward. Will let you know how it goes and try to post pics later.

 

Got it installed! I was by myself and took my time, about 2.5 hours. It really does bring the system alive. I will be getting the sub soon. The new amp shows you just how bad the stock one is. I'm probably going to dig into the amp settings and make some adjustments to fit my taste. Seems to be lacking mid-bass in the door speakers. I think someone else posted a video about adjusting the amp that I need to find again. I mounted the sub remote in the center console. Got the idea from @RainMan_PNW. Just drilled a hole in the bottom of the console and ran the wire to the amp. The new amp rack does extend farther back under the seat and interferes with my Husky rear mat. No big deal, just won't let the mat lay flat. Shout out to James again for making it so simple!

 

Would the sub remote be able to be mounted in a switch blank and installed in an empty switch spot?

 

Would you call it night and day difference? Besides the sub, any distortion or weird noises? Any pictures showing the interference with the mat?

 

+1 to all the above. I have the single sub box and amp. While it was in the shop in Alma having James and his team run down a truck harness issue caused by the previous owner, I had them install JLs in the doors and a set of BLAM LFR50s in the dash. The system is whisper quiet with no hiss or distortion. What a difference! As someone else also mentioned, I did do a minor tweak to the DSP tune to bump up the door mid-bass and tune the center dash down a bit. The app is available on the JBL web site. There are also several YouTube videos on it which I’d recommend checking out before diving in. Tons of variables to tweak. James sends the tune on a thumb drive and remember to save the files after downloading to the amp! Shout again to James for the outstanding product and customer support!

 

Just now getting caught up on the thread. Not sure if the sub remote could be modified to fit in a blank switch. You'd probably need to modify the housing. It's made to be surface mounted, it's got tabs on each side for screws. I'm not sure I'd call it night and day, but it is substantially better. I think night and day would be adding the amp and replacing the speakers. There is a slight hiss that you can hear if the engine's off and no music playing. The stock system had it and it's not any better or worse. Music or road noise covers it up. I'm probably not done playing with the settings yet, but need to drive it around and hear it more before making any changes. Basically I added bass back into the door speakers and lowered the cutoff frequency to the sub. I thought the stock sub was "boomy" and I wanted to limit what it trying to do and fill it in with the door speakers. I will complete it with the @james@tech12volts sub eventually. Here's a pic of the floor mat. It looks worse than it is. I think if the new amp could move forward about 2", it would be fine. The back seat provide so much leg room it shouldn't be a problem. I'm 6'5" and it wasn't an issue unless I wanted to push my feet under the seat as far as I could. I may try to rearrange the amps in the future, we'll see. Like @bstringrandy said, watch the videos on the amp adjustments first. They provide a lot of insight on how to use the software before jumping into it.