2024 “1,200 Watt” JBL amp…Where is the power going?

I purchased my ‘24 iforce Max at the end of May. While I can enjoy the “premium” 12 speaker JBL system, it certainly leaves much to be desired.

I think I could make do by adding the Beat Sonic amp, but I feel the reviews out there don’t fully touch on where the audio is being improved. In a YouTube video’s comments, they state their product only enhances the front speakers. That being said, any perceived improvements in bass aren’t coming from the sub at all. I could see the benefit in tightening up the highs though.

I really want to know where the 1,200 watts in the under seat amp is being allocated.

I have tried my damndest to get additional spec information on this system with no luck at all.

First, I reached out to JBL who told me this audio system is considered OEM equipment and, because of that, they do not possess any spec information on the speakers, sub or the amp.

I then reached out to Toyota. They told me I could subscribe to a database for $25/mo where I could search for the information I was looking for and “maybe” I could find it in there. I chose not to.

Recently, I noticed Crutchfield had finally added research photos for the 3rd gen Tundras.

In a chat with a Crutchfield rep, he claimed he wasn’t seeing 3 in-dash speakers. Their own photos show 3 speakers. He also claimed he had no spec data on the speakers and stated “if the 1,200 watts is peak then it’s probably mostly sub.” The rep also told me he had no speaker spec information because the dealers don’t share with them. Funny enough, in their research photos, you can see a sticker on the back of one of the rear door tweeters that it says 20 watts.

Why does this information seem to be so guarded and does anyone have any spec information for the speakers, sub and/or amp??

I really only want to upgrade the sub at this point, but it’d be nice to obtain some info on the rest of the speakers without having to tear all the door panels off multiple times.

if the under seat amp is mostly taking care of the sub…is it safe to say any aftermarket sub that would fit in the space would be an upgrade to what pathetic sub is currently there stock?

Sorry for the long post and if this has been touched upon before. I’m still new to the forum and trying to learn how to search for the info I’m looking for.

Ryan

 

There’s almost zero chance it’s even sending out 75w x6 + 150w x1 RMS. I think that 1200 watts that was advertised is just peak handling power of the combined speakers not actual output from the amplifier.

There’s a thread that (name redacted) posted a while back before he got banned that had the JBL speaker specs and but I don’t think it ever went as granular for the amplifier output by channel.

 

That’s what I assumed as well especially after talking to Crutchfield.

Not sure why these details are so protected.

I’m assuming replace it all or add the beat sonic for the front soundstage and upgrade the sub with its own amp are the best options.

 

Couldnt you just splice in, properly of course, rca low level inputs to the line in of the amp to add a second mono amp for a subwoofer? My son and I did this to add an amp and subs to a bose system in his Infiniti, and I did the same to my Silverado, also a Bose system.

 

1200 watts is almost certainly total peak power of the system. In my 2021 non-JBL, the rms speaker specs are all stamped on the speakers:

dash corners: 13w rms
dash center: 10w + 10w rms
door woofers: 35w rms
rear tweeters: 20w rms


I checked on Ebay for pics of the 2022+ OEM JBL speakers and found front/rear door woofers, dash mids, that don’t have anything stamped on them, at least not that I can see in the pics.

I’d guess that in a 2022+ with JBL the rms numbers are roughly:

Dash corners: 15-20w
Dash center: 15-20w
Front woofers: 35-50w
Front tweeters: 20w (saw what you were saying about Crutchfield with the 20w tweeter pic)
Rear woofers: 35-50w
rear tweeters: 20w
sub: 150w

That would total around 4-500w rms on the low end or maybe 5-600 on the high end, but somewhere in the ballpark of 400-600w rms.

Peak power ratings have always been kind of gimmicky in car audio/marketing to make things seem crazy powerful, with peak ratings often being 2x 3x or 4x the rms rated power. That’s definitely the case here and in any OEM “premium” audio system, the dead giveaway is always in the wiring. The wiring for the door woofers, the sub, and the power/ground wire for the sub would have to be noticeably thick if the amp was pushing 1200w rms.

 

This is kinda what I was thinking power wise, especially after seeing the sticker stating 20w for the rear door tweeters.

Ideally, I’d like to replace all the speakers, but my biggest issue is the sub. Can’t stand the overall “boomy” bass the JBL sub provides.

I don’t really know the best way to replace everything with the premium system installed. Can everything be removed other than the head unit or does everything have to be tied into the existing amp under the driver seat?

If the Beat sonic plugs into the head unit harnesses and upgrades the front speakers that makes it seem like that’s not necessary.

I’m not opposed to splicing into existing wires, I’ve just never done it before and car audio speaker wiring (Specifically harnesses) has always been confusing to me.

 

Check out my latest post in another thread here: https://www.tundras.com/threads/jbl-upgrade-speakers-and-sub.147189/#post-3692474

It kind of outlines the big picture. I’m not 100% certain the wiring diagram i found is for JBL but i’m fairly confident it is. Basically to replace all the speakers you’d need a lot of amp channels, or you could leave half stock and replace the door woofers and tweeters for a more modest upgrade. To do just a sub replacement would be pretty easy, you could grab signal at the sub, put it into a line output converter with bass restoration and then to an amp, or an amp with dsp, and you’d just run new power and ground to that location.

 

awesome. Thank you!

 

I linked the wiring diagrams in that thread as well. All in all the biggest determining factory really comes down to budget and time you want to invest. Upgrading the sub would be a fairly easy weekend project, whereas doing all the speakers on top of a sub would obviously be more expensive and time consuming. If you settle on which route you'd wanna go, I'm happy to chime in with options for upgrading/how it would all mesh depending on budget/time etc.

 

I appreciate it. I’ll post here when I come up with some options.

 

Does anyone know if the stock head unit for the premium JBL system powers any speakers or if the amp under the driver seat does all the work?

 

Amp does it all. I made a post earlier today that has all the full diagrams for each year here: https://www.tundras.com/threads/complete-audio-system-wiring-diagrams.147490/#post-3696306

Click and open the imgur album in a new tab and scroll all the way to the bottom for 2022+ years with JBL

https://imgur.com/a/2000-2022-tundra-audio-video-wiring-diagrams-8dhRMXW#4GAH6Tr

 

that’s awesome information! Thanks for posting.

Given that the amp does it all, what in the heck is the Beat Sonic amp doing to improve sound?

I’ve seen them post in YouTube replies that it’s a 4x45 and boosts the “front channels.”

 

Front channels tells me everything I need to know…not to buy it, lol

 

Garbage in garbage out! The factory head unit continues to be the weakest link IMHO. You can replace all the speakers and amplify the stock signal and still end up with total garbage.

first thing I did with my 2018 was gut the entire sound system and redo it all. Buy once cry once rather than doing piece by piece as you realize it continues to be crappy.

just my $.02

 

I see on the specs it says 4x45w, it looks like it T’s in on both the 10 and 28 pin connectors behind the stock head unit. Idk what it’s doing/how it works, but I’m guessing it’s “stealing” the signal and amping it slightly more than the factory amp? It doesn’t mention any sort of DSP features or auto-tuning, it seems like it’s just a 4x45w amp with a pre-wired harness.

Unfortunately for 2022+ owners they’re kind of “stuck” right now with stock head units as I don’t believe anyone makes an aftermarket dash trim kit yet and iDatalink hasn’t done the Maestro RR for those years yet.

 

I didn’t realize the newer tundras didn’t have the option of total replacement. Yet another reason I’m grateful I have a 2.5 gen.

hopefully the audio manufacturers get on the ball and get newer owners some options!

 

I think a better option than the beat sonic amp would be a Kicker Key: Kicker 47KEY200.4 Compact 4-channel car amplifier with automatic tuning DSP — 50 watts RMS x 4 at Crutchfield

Slightly less expensive, still 4 channels and slightly more power beat sonic, but key difference is the Kicker Key has an auto-dsp function. Only thing is you'd have to figure out DIY'ing a wire harness, or emailing the folks at AutoHarnessHouse to see if they could make one for you. For owners with a 2022+ truck, it seems like the only real options to upgrade are either get an LOC with some sort of signal restoration like Audiocontrol's Accubass, getting a dedicated DSP and keeping the factory amp, or getting both a dedicated DSP and aftermarket amp or a combo DSP/amp. I'm guessing that in both JBL and non-JBL 2022+ trucks the head unit is sending out a fairly processed/tuned signal, or the amp is doing some processing, to protect the factory speaker options.

 

I’ve seen mixed reviews on Taco Tunes, but do you have any experience with their JARVIS unit? Looks as if they’re claiming it provides an actual “upgrade path” for both subs and speakers by being installed between the head unit and the amp. Listed as plug and play with their harnesses included. $700-$830 depending on the package though is kinda rough, but plug and play is what you’re paying for I guess. ‍♂️

 

Where does the power go? It goes to the magically land of unicorn flatulence and big foot musk. Ok, really, it just goes in to voice coil as distortion causing heat. MFG’s are allowed to rate power as RMS and Peak at % THD. Peak is mathematically 200% of RMS, as it clips the waveform hard and basically oscillates between 100% power on each rail (+ then - rail, the potential difference between the two behind the voltage supplied).

But lately, MFG’s have been fudging the numbers by taking the RMS power rating of a driver at a clean signal (let’s say less than .1% THD for main drivers and 1% THD for subs) and pushing the signal until reaching 10% distortion - usually doubling or tripling the power in short term bursts. THEN they double it again to reach a theoretical peak power by pinning it to the rails.

The amplifier may be capable of producing said peak power for a momentary burst, but not actually supply that voltage for any period of time beyond a few hundred microseconds. The voltage is supplied by depleting the capacitor banks since the current supplied through the power feed can’t sustain anywhere near that voltage. Thus, they are speaking truth, but being heavily deceptive.

I typically derate the rating by 6 to 10x to get true power output. So a 1200 watt factory system is good for 120-200 watts total power output.

 

I don’t have any experience with it and I haven’t seen anyone post about it but I’m sure someone’s bought it. It looks like it’s essentially a T-harness with a line output converter/maybe a DSP? Idk enough about 2022+ but if it’s just any harness and loc it seems like they must be charging a premium for being one of the only, if not the only people offering a plug and play solution. Reason I wonder if that “Jarvis” has any pre-tuned DSP functionality os because they offer their own LOC called an Ntune, but maybe it’s the same thing different name, in which case yeah $800+ is steep for a T harness and LOC. An

$129 Audiocontrol LC7i 6-Channel Line Output Converter with AccuBASS

Audiocontrol LC7i is $130 on Amazon, and then I believe AutoHarnessHouse sells harnesses that go between the head unit and amp you just have to splice their harnesses yourself to get leads to the input of a LOC, DSP, or DSP amp.

 

After browsing many threads, I decided to reach out to tech12volt to see what exactly I need in order to upgrade the whole system at some point in time when budget allows.

right now, I only have the budget to upgrade the sub, but I don’t wanna cause any future headaches when I decide to upgrade the speakers too.

Thanks for all your input @Snert and everyone else too.

 

I’ve found that morel components are the best ! A dsp 12 channel amp will do everything you could possibly want or need