Thinking of full revamp of audio system, have some questions

I have a JBL system in the 21 Tundra, and lets say its lacking in the audio department.

I was thinking of doing full revamp (head unit, speakers, woofer, amp, dynomat in the doors) and had some questions for the vets in the room.

I know crutchfield makes plugs to keep most of the buttons in the truck, but I haven't seen or know if certain comforts are connected to the factory system.

Glass breaker security system, or the system in general.

factory auto start

SOS function (we go camping, cant ever be too safe)

Will I lose these features? And are there any other factory features you do lose by switching out the system that I've missed?

Appreciate your input

 

Not with the right components to make the new system plug and play. Maestro integrates flawlessly with the truck. Every option you have now you will have if you replace things.
I tried my best to keep the stock hu and install a new system using. Dsr1 and then new amps and speakers. I thought it sounded pretty great. Did A LOT of tuning and got it pretty close to what I wanted. never intended on upgrading the HU.
HU started acting up so I replaced it and got ride of the dsr1 and without changing a single setting they system was what I have been trying to get for the last 2 years.
The stock hu sucks and it rolls of on the bass.
I got the

$1,399 kenwood dnr1007xr excelon 10.1" high definition navigation car stereo receiver with capacitive touch panel

kenwood dnr1007xr with the maestro and all the harnesses and every function works perfectly.

and the hu looks awesome.

I know most don’t want to dump that kind of money into the system but if your wanting everything and great sound it’s a decision you just have to make.

the JBL set up is hard to integrate with.

 

Not sure about the glass break stuff, but all the others you mentioned continue to work. You do also lose the compass on the dashboard, but I just use the one in Google Maps instead.

It is worth every penny over the JBL "Premium" audio. It's not super difficult to do everything yourself, but it takes time and you'll be pulling apart several panels on your vehicle. Give yourself time, and space to do the project and stay organized.

 

The glass break is part of the alarm module I believe and is located behind the dash on the left side of the steering wheel in the US. I would assume the opposite is true in Europe. So you shouldn't have any problem with that as it has nothing to do with the factory head unit. I have the non/JBL and was able to keep all the features but the compass that I didn't care about. As a side note the idatalink Maestro RR2 after market head unit integration solution will allow you to integrate up to 3 external accessories to be switched on using buttons in the head unit or from your steering wheel. So if you install some driving lights or light bars and you notice that there isn't much space to put a switch on the dash to control them with you can program one of the buttons on the head unit or steering wheel to do that. It will switch anything that uses a relay.

 

To add a few thoughts. I have not lost any functions the dash display. I have compass, nav, station and every function I had with stock head unit in.
Every accessory I had before replacing the head unit is still there.
I have the

$1,399 dnr1007xr excelon 10.1" high definition navigation car stereo receiver with capacitive touch panel

dnr1007xr with the maestro and a few more plugs.
I also had the jbl system but nothing original is still in the truck.
I had no intention of changing anything in this truck and then they went and put a stupid crappy upgraded system in there.
I even put all the original components in a box if I ever want to trade it in to put everything back in but the stupid stock hu died so I guess I can’t ever get rid of this truck. Man that sucks.

 

Ah bummer. I guess your stuck with it forever. What can you do?

I think the reason you still have the compass is your head unit is a navigational radio. My Sony is not a nav radio so there is nothing to report to the can bus. Hence no compass. But that doesn't matter since I have Apple Car Play with any number of nav options to use in conjunction with Siri.

 

I struggled with my bass the entire time I had the stock head unit. I tuned it many times and couldn’t get it right. I met up with a guy that is an incredible tuner and he got it better but it was never just right. My system is sq oriented and I wanted my bass upfront etc. It was just always a tad bit off. And I also had a time with it being low. I was always running my bass about +10 db on the control. Stock hu died and I relented and put in the

$1,399 kenwood dnr1007xr excelon 10.1" high definition navigation car stereo receiver with capacitive touch panel

kenwood dnr1007xr and wow. Now I run the bass control at about -2 and it’s perfect. I didn’t change the tune or eq but just added the new hu and got rid of my dsr1 and just run my minidsp 8x12 dl and it’s night and day difference. I actually had the same guy come into town and we met up and he wanted to retune it and I told him no that it was “that good”. He didn’t believe me but we got together and stared listening and he couldn’t believe the difference and he said it really is “that good”.
I didn’t want to change the stock and modify anything but I’m so glad the stock hu died. I’m finally completely satisfied.

 

it was more than I really wanted to spend but I got the kenwood and all the harnesses for $1400 from sonic electronics. You can get the lower end hu but I really like the gps function.
When you finally do you will kick yourself for not doing it sooner especially if you have a helix dsp. It is really that big of a difference. I fought it as well and did not want to alter anything in this truck but I still have not cut anything but that floating screen is a treat. You will not regret it especially if you really get into your music.

 

I will admit this was an extravagant expense for me. I would not have purchased this unit unless my stock one died but it did. Woohoo!!!!
But I do like the integration of this unit but any of the kenwoods will do fine. I don’t buy cds anymore. I just download flac quality from Spotify. It may not be as good as flac but it sounds crazy nice.

I am super happy but I did buy some stereo integrity tm8 8inch drivers and am going to put them in and do a three way instead of my stereo integrity 2 way but I’m in no hurry. I may not even put them in as I don’t want to change anything.

This unit integrates seemlessly into my vehicle. I am keeping all the stock equipment in a box to throw back in if I ever want to sell the truck but it’s only got 90k so that will be at least 8-10 years from now. Might as well enjoy it.

 

But why? I have my entire collection on three thumb drives and it ain't no small collection. You won't miss not having books of CD's you need to look through while driving and no more scratched CD's. Plus no more skipping when you hit bumps. The advantages really are there. CD's never where a good format for car audio. Over the years with the help of innovative designs by the manufacturers of aftermarket head units they became acceptable but never optimal. Now they are obsolete. I know it's a pain to rip your whole collection down to digital files but once you have done it you will wonder why you didn't do it earlier. Same thing goes for the stock head unit. If you have already spent the cash for the rest of the system you might as well go the final mile and geter done. Like Kevin said there plenty of good Kenwood units to choose from and all of them will be better then the crap the truck comes with. and most are pretty reasonably priced for what you get. I personally went the Sony route but could have just as easily went Kenwood.

 

My whole system is arc audio except the headunit. Have not made the change yet. Still have the JBL headunit running the dsr1 Rockford.

 

I know it’s more expense to replace head unit, but wireless CarPlay is a really nice feature to add. Plus it’s better to just have a good source for your music and build from there. Head unit was my first upgrade and was really happy with the swap. You don’t keep the factory mic either if you switch.

 

I decided this time when I had my audio guy do the install I stayed with the oem JBL headunit. Have had numerous systems over the years in my Toyota trucks and all my headunits were aftermarket. I was going to add the Kenwood 1057 but did not like the reviews and also was not sure if I was going to keep my truck. But I do plan to add aftermarket headunit if I follow thru it.