MTwiford's Audio Build

So I decided I have had enough of the absolute crap JBL system this truck came with and marketed as (Premium). More like premium ass sniffing. I could not find much information on audio builds where a JBL system was replaced. Most of the threads I have seen were for non jbl systems or if it was JBL, they did not keep the stock head unit. Hopefully this will help anyone who is trying to take on the JBL sound system and keep the OEM headunit.

The Taco Tunes system was one option but I have read so many mixed reviews on their stuff, it left me undecided. I have used JL Audio products in the past and always had good luck with them, so I chose to go that route.

I am fine with the OEM head unit. It does everything I want it to, I just hate the sound quality of the system. It is poorly tuned. The bass in doors is overpowering of the rest of the system. My doors rattled and it drove me insane if I turned it up. My main goal is sound quality. Im not a bass head or anything of the sort. All of the components I used in this install are high end items for acquiring the audio signal from the factory system and digitally processing it into a full range signal to output, as well as tuning ability. If that sounds complicated, dont worry, technology is a wonderful thing.

With most newer vehicles, manufacturers are making it more and more difficult to replace the OEM head unit because of the technology built into them. Many of these vehicles include factory amplifiers with channels that are broken up into a menagerie of different frequency ranges. If you tried to just add a line out converter to this system to add an aftermarket amp, you would only be utilizing that frequency you tapped into and would not be able to acquire a full range signal.

Here is a list of items I used in my install. If you choose to take on this project, some of these items are optional and you can get away with cheaper stuff if its not in the budget.

• JL Audio FIX 86 - $379.99. This is a digital sound processor (DSP). Other DSPs would work as well. The nice thing about the FIX is once you hook everything up, you simply hit the calibrate button and the FIX does the rest. It outputs a completely flat signal to work with. Depending on your goals, you could also use the FIX 82 which is a little cheaper ($329.99) with less outputs.
• JL Audio Twk 88 - $429.99. This is a system tuning DSP. This item is optional so dont feel like you have to buy it. The Twk 88 allows you to precisely tune the equalization, delay, speaker distance, crossovers, etc. Both of the above items are controlled with JL's Tun software.
• JL Audio HD900/5 amplifier - $1099.99. A 5 channel amplifier - (2) 100w front, (2) 100w rear, (1) 500w sub. There are many cheaper options out there for this. I chose this amp because I was impressed with the compact size, the R.I.P.S technology, and power output.
• Focal Expert PS 165FX Flax components - $649.99. Hands down some of the best component speakers I have ever heard. Again, there are many cheaper options out there if this does not fit the budget. Keep in mind, if you purchase a Twk 88, you can use it for active crossovers for the components. I used my focal crossovers in a passive setup for now but I may change it later.
• Soundskins sound deadening material - $99.00 / 11 sqft. I found this for $79.99 here. It comes in a tube. I have seen bulk kits available but $79.99 per tube is the best value. This is used not only like Dynamat, in the sense that it reduces rattling in the doors when you turn the volume up. It also eliminates road noise.
• Tech12Volts Speaker adapters - $34.99 - for mounting the woofers in the doors. I chose 6.5" woofers and the factory woofers are 6x9.
• Tech12Volts JBL wire harness - $44.98. This is a harness which allows you to connect to the factory amp and get the signals to connect to the inputs on your DSP (Fix 86 in my case). Worth. Every. Penny. You do not have to cut your factory wiring in anyway with this. This is not required but if you choose to cut up your factory harness and find all of the signal inputs, have fun with that! I will explain how to wire the harness to the FIX below.
• Fast rings - $24.99

The flow for my setup goes OEM HU -> Factory JBL Amp -> FIX 86 -> Twk 88 -> JL Amp -> Focal crossovers -> Focal components.

Some things to note:
- The factory JBL amp must remain connected in the vehicle. It is not replaced.
- If you run new speaker wire to the doors, be sure to route your wire completely before you cut it. If you plan on doing all 4 doors, I would say you are going to need between 75 - 100 ft of speaker wire.
-If you choose to use sound deadening, be mindful of the thickness of the matting. If you put it on in certain areas, it can make it a challenge to get the panels back on with everything lining up correctly.
-I have not added a sub yet. I wired my amp to the factory sub (if you even want to call it that..). I will update when I add a sub.
- Layout all of your equipment before you start running wires and tearing out stuff. Be sure everything fits and looks how you want it to.
-I removed the seats from my truck. If you do this, always disconnect the negative battery cable before removing the front seats. There are airbag sensors on them.
-Handsfree phone functionality will still work. You can actually hear people now..
-The last thing you should do is put the fuse in your power wire and/or distribution block and connect the negative battery cable back. Be sure to double check all of your connections to be sure they are good.

The outcome is better than what I expected. The sound quality is a night and day difference from the OEM JBL system. I will post pictures of parts of the install below. I will have to re-take some of them. I had to install the iOS 11 beta on my phone for some application development at work. With iOS 11, Apple introduced a new compression format for image and video. By default started saving all of my pictures I was taking as heic instead of jpg and nothing knows wtf heic is yet, so I cant upload them. I will need to convert or retake them. Anyways, hope this helps someone.

 

Seats removed. I also removed the center console. There are 4 bolts in the bottom of the console, as well as two screws in the front of it. Pictured is the PVC/Poly matting from the factory on the back of the cab.

 

Here is where I started sound deadening the rear. My son wanted to help. It is like tar, so I recommend doing this in the morning or somewhere cool. When the temperature heats up, this stuff gets more difficult to work with. I install the control knob in the panel next to the factory USB. This knob is optional. It does come with the Twk if you buy it. If you dont get the Twk and still want the knob, it will work with the FIX. I had to do some dremeling to get it to fit, but it turned out great. I will take some pictures of it with the actual knob on and panel installed in the truck later.

 

Amp installation. I wanted to flush mount the amp in the back. I took measurements, then cut out the foam first, while I still had the carpet out. Once I checked fitment and made sure the wires etc had enough space, I reinstalled the carpet loosely. I cut an "X" where the hole in the carpet was so I could then fold the flaps of the carpet around the perimeter of the overall cutout. I dont have a router or table, nor do I have the space, so I will probably have a car audio shop build a trim piece to put over the perimeter of the amp for a clean look.

 

Door speaker installation. I am going to buy more sound deadener to do the top inner panel of the doors. I did not have enough to do that part. Even with what you see here, it made a big difference in road noise on my truck.

 

This is how to wire the FIX to the harness I mentioned in the OP. I will try to get pictures of this when I can.

143 larger plug male side plug into factory amp

These are your signal wires

Green subwoofer (+) to channel 8 of fix input

Green with Black Subwoofer (-) to channel 8 of fix input

Purple center channel + not used. tape off

Purple with Black Stripe center channel - not used. tape off

Gray Right Front Speaker (+) to channel 1 of fix input

Gray with Black Stripe Right Front Speaker (-) to channel 1 of fix input

White Left Front Speaker (+) channel 2 of fix

White with Black Stripe Left Front Speaker (-) channel 2 of fix

Black wire = Ground. Plug into the group input on the fix.
_____________________________________________________________
J142 smaller plug

Male side . this plugs into the factory amp signal wire

Yellow = Constant 12 volts . to 12 volts input of fix 86

Green left rear door mid/tweeter + to channel 5 of fix

Green with Black - left rear door mid/tweeter to channel 5 of fix

Purple right rear door mid/tweet + to channel six of fix

Purple with balck stripe right rear door /tweet - to channel six of fix

Gray Right Front Tweeter (+) to channel 3 of fix input

Gray with Black Stripe Right Front tweeter (-) channel 3 of fix input

White Left Front tweeter (+) channel 4 of fix input

White with Black Stripe Left Front tweeter (-) channel 4 of fix input

 

Sub'd.


Get it? Lol. May have some questions after you get done with the build up.

 

Sure, no problem.

 

Crossovers hooked up and mounted in center console area

 

DRC 200 installed with LED indicator.


This is the FIX input wiring. I will try to get more detailed shots when I remove the seat this weekend

 

Nice write up. I am running that JL fix 86, same amp, same front channels and I got matched 6.5's for rear channel and 2 shallow 12's. Question I didn't do the install and I am thinking I need to recalibrate my fix 86. I just found out all my gains are set to about 1/3. If I turn them up to about 2/3 or a bit more the sound is insanely louder but at low/zero volume I get static. How far do you have your front channels and did you calibrate with your rca's removed?

 

What color are the lights on your fix?

 

I'd have to go look. I have never seen any on it.... maybe because whenever the stereo is on I can't see it(under pass seat).

 

Look at the top of the unit. All the lights should be green. If they are not, you may need to calibrate it. I can’t imagine a shop not calibrating though. I have not even begun to start tuning mine yet but it will be different because I’m using a Twk to tune. I believe the FIX has a graphical eq you can play with. When you run the software, you can see the input signal ranges and the calibration status. If you can’t see the lights, just plug up your laptop and do it in the Tun software.

Keep in mind though, the FIX is an oem integration DSP, so the tuning ability is limited. The calibration will sum the inputs to get you a full range signal. From there you could add a Twk for finite tuning if desired. It’s not a necessity though. I would just play with the Tun software and the fix to see if you can get a better balance.

For the input sensitivity, you can use a multimeter to measure the output voltage on the channel. I believe the disc the FIX comes with has the hz tracks needed for this. Take a look at this video. It will explain how to properly set your gain.


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2eRYzXBmWq8

 

I am sure they did. My buddy is the guy that sells all the stereo system builds for radio station promotional vehicles and does their custom build designs. He had his installer do the work. They ran all new wiring and dynomated the crap out of my doors and stuff to. Anyway i was just curious because others have not had the static at low volume.

Back to your question with a song playing the status lights were green but if the song went quiet or i turned it down the L, R input lights would go amber and there was static. I haven't played with the disc yet as i just found it last weekend while replacing my cabin air filter and thats what lead to thinking of calibrating it. I will check out that video on how to set the gains here in a bit. I am assuming that if the disc plays certain hz and you are using a meter....this is a different method then say using an O Scope?

 

Yeah you basically adjust the gain until you get to the specified value for your amp on the meter. If you don't know what that is, look at the manual or on JL's website. They have all of the recommended output voltages listed for all of their amps. The static could be coming from some of the frequencies being off. You may need to play with the EQ settings in the Tun software. Just keep in mind they are limited.

 

Is your static and constant shhhhhhhhhh sound?

 

Thanks for the info Mike! I just watched that video. I will take a meter to them maybe tomorrow and download that Tun software also just so i can see whats going on with them. Im not looking for competition level sound...just making sure that it is properly tuned and get rid of that static at low volumes.

 

Yes. But you can't hear it unless the volume level on the factory deck is set at like maybe 4 or lower. Any louder and I can't hear it on any channel.

 

I'm looking forward to reading what your results are like. I really wanted to keep my factory head unit, but I couldn't get rid of the white noise. These head units put out a dirty signal.

 

Yep, I hope you can find a way to get rid of it, but Toyota's head units put out dirty signal. Nothing I did would get rid of it. After spending all the money on a complete overhaul of the sound system, I decided I couldn't live with it and got an aftermarket head unit.

 

I have heard the same thing. I almost pulled the trigger a couple times on a deck but decided to wait because i don't drive the truck as much now. Ill post up my findings and corrections hopefully tomorrow. Im going to look for the voltage numbers on Jl's website right now though.

 

FWIW, I have no static or hissing in my system at any level. All of my EQs are flat and my amp gain is a little over a 1/3 for the components. Is your input voltage set on low or high?

 

On your amp

 

There was one other guy here that said he didn't either.

 

i

I am not sure. Ill go check.

 

input voltage is set to low

 

Ok that is what I have mine set on as well. Adjust your gain like you were saying and lets go from there.

 

Ok sounds good. Also tried to download that Tun software but it needs a windows pc. Damn this Mac

 

Sail panels modified and tweeters mounted