Poor audio quality kenwood head unit

Now there's a name I haven't seen in a minute. They sold the brand back in 2016 that converted it into a budget line using Chinese components. I think that's why you see so much hate.

There are a ton of SFF (small form factor) amps on the market today. I posted several offering up suggestions in a similar thread here: https://www.tundras.com/threads/200...lacement-recommendations.137710/#post-3484182

Reply #13 lists some specific models if interesting and @Khunter0211 the advice in reply #11 may be a good read for you if you plan to do your own install.

I like the small form factor amps on the market because most only ask for a 12awg power lead which is much simpler to wire into the cab cleaning/discretely, much more so than the 4awg my JL 900w/5ch amp wants...

 

Thanks. I'll look.
FYI: I have concluded Class D amps are NOT for me. Period. I will not waver.

 

Explain?

 

https://www.tundras.com/threads/poor-audio-quality-kenwood-head-unit.152372/page-2#post-3799675

I have no dog in that fight, hence not replying on it earlier.

Crutchfield (I think) does a great job of laying out the pros/cons in an unbiased way: https://www.crutchfield.com/S-UVBchGrD0DQ/learn/which-amplifier-class-is-best.html

But yeah. I think there's a time and place for each.

 

So his argument is THD of a class D is a deal breaker despite it being used in an environmentally noisy car. Despite its heat and power consumption advantages which are well suited for automotive use.

Got it

 

This is what's in-hand for my truck, it should tell you where I stand on D class. There's a time and a place for AB. My Tundra isn't either.

 

Good article - all should read it.

Yes, it's primarily the switching and output filtering I don't care for.
IMHO, automotive audio is the perfect environment for Class AB, since tube amps are far too delicate. My cost/benefit analysis goes like this:

$1,500 for 100 watts?
THD at Rated Power: Main Channels: <0.03% @ 4Ω per channel Subwoofer Channel: <0.05% @ 4Ω (Average at 1 kHz)
I also peeked at the lowest cost 150 watt 4 channel unit: DS18 G1800.4D... THD is 0.01% (@ #ohms not specified)
The 50% more powerful and much cheaper unit has much lower THD. They are getting better, although the cost for doing so is high, apparently.

Also searched far/wide for THD specs on their comparable Class AB unit: DS18 SMD-200.4AB... THD is 0.10% (@ #ohms not specified)
(interesting - would not buy the brand anyway)

Crutchfield only has two Class AB 4-channel amps listed which are capable of 101-200 watts (likely, only for guys like me). There are eleven Class D units.

With televisions, I get it (digital is now the ONLY option).
With mobile sound, I don't get it: I'm not jumping on the E-Car wagon; 12V efficiency is not an issue (for me); I'll go with Class AB.

PS: Just noticed shifty's signature... Good one!

 

I finally installed the simply speakers replacement foam on the front two woofers. The bass is much better, no more rattling sound when the volume is turned up.

A subwoofer will be my next purchase. Thanks for everyone’s input and suggestions. I have learned a lot during the whole process.

 

Subs… I would probably go powered, something like the JBL Nano. The two big challenges are routing a fused power lead from the battery, and getting a clean input signal.

Usually - speaking in general terms here, not 1st gen tundra terms - people will use a LOC (line output converter), which takes an amplified, speaker-level signal, and converts it to a lower-level signal you can feed over RCA to an amp. PAC is sort of an industry staple, but better brands like AudioControl sell units. Because I dunno if the OEM JBL amp is crossing over signals it outputs, I’m not sure if I’d want to LOC off its feeds with Posi-taps. Surely it’s getting a low-level signal from the head unit you may be able to tee off of though? I’d need to look at the EWD.

It’s entirely possible, depending which OEM radio you have, you may be able to snake a signal off the head unit to convert. Some OEM radios, especially those that supported CD changers, have an “AUX” (auxiliary) output which can output a low-level signal that would feed a sub. I believe kits like the GTA kit, which adapts hands-free and Bluetooth input into the OEM radio, may somehow use that function. I haven’t had to dig on this for the 1st gen Tundras, so I’m intentionally speaking on generalities to give you a visual and/or ideas.

 

I have a Kenwood Excelon DNX695S hu. I like the idea of the JBL Nano. Would this go under the drivers seat? I have seen the sub setups on this forum with a sub under the back seat in the storage compartment. But the simplicity of the Nano is worth looking into.

 

Damn I keep forgetting you’re running aftermarket audio with an amp port kit. My bad. I have an older brain, forgive me.

Yes, JBL Nano uses (from memory) a 6x8 driver, it’s amplified, fits easily under the seat (it’s less than 3” tall IIRC) and it only requires a 14awg power lead so it’s something very easy to slip thru the firewall boot, alongside the factory wire harness. Just untape the wire bundle at the firewall boot, slip your 14awg lead thru, and once the power is run, re-tape the wire bundle at the boot. 14awg is thin enough to not cause issues doing this. Make sure to fuse the power lead within 12” of the battery, ideally. Note your ground wire needs to be equally gauged, and must be secured to something metal with no paint on it, ideally using some form of terminal ring if bolted down, as it should be.

6x8 driver may not sound substantial in size. Don’t let it fool you. I’ve known dudes who can seriously fool you with 6x9s, and I’ve got a pair of 8s in my truck. A properly designed box can kick substantially even using a 5-1/4” driver.

 

No problem, you help a lot of people on this forum.
It looks like the amp requires a 10g wire. Can that still fit through the firewall boot and be retaped?

Would something like this be all I need for the install?

 

When I tap into the speaker wire for the amp can I just use the wire from the rear amp? I was planning to use posi-taps to connect the new amp speaker wires to the left rear and right rear pos and neg wires. Will this work? Also do you still want to avoid having your power cable and RCA cables running side-by-side? I’m open to better and more efficient ideas.

 

Which amp, specifically? Because when I look at the specs ("Details" tab) at Crutchfield on the JBL Nano, it clearly shows it comes with: "Input Harness: A 12", 10-pin input harness includes: Power and Ground (14 AWG), a Remote Input wire, and Left&Right High Level Input wires"

I realize Crutchfield is telling you to buy a 10awg amp wiring kit, that's pretty standard for medium-to-light amps. A wiring kit like what you linked that is pretty typical for install and will give you much of what you need. I'm not a fan of that specific brand (EFX), but that's not the point: Point is, 10awg is much thicker. 10awg, depending on sheath thickness, is usually around 4mm-6mm thick (~1/8"). Compared to 14awg which is typically closer to 2mm-3mm thick with sheath (~1/16"). 2.5mm is an very do-able passthru. 5mm, not so much.

tl;dr - If the Nano's harness has a 14awg power and ground input, why would you run a power wire twice as thick? I wouldn't go larger than 12awg, but because you won't see substantial power drop from the battery to the amp, I'd just get a 14awg fused lead, or use Crutchfield's CK12 kit. At least you'll have a fighting chance to snake the wire thru the factory firewall bundle with 12awg, cleanly.

NO! Your aftermarket head unit will has a "SUB OUT" with RCA ports at the rear, I urge you to use those so you can unleash the options in your head unit to shape the sub's sound! See below reference from your Kenwood owner's manual.

Posi-taps are the proper connector to use for tapping a standard, un-shielded wire, but you're shooting yourself in the foot knowing you have an aftermarket radio that should have a subwoofer output, OR has a basic RCA out.

I do see the OEM JBL amp receives its right/left signal over shielded wires which are red, white, green, black, it appears they're on the smaller harness plugged into the OEM JBL amp (the top-most connector). But because those are shielded, they're likely low-level inputs, and I would NOT use Posi-taps on a shielded wire! Thankfully, you already have an aftermarket head. If you didn't have the PAC unit installed, we'd be having a different conversation right now. I'd probably advise someone who wanted to tee a low-level signal off the OEM JBL amp to splice in RCAs and use an RCA Y-split. But man ... that's a lot of work.

And yes, always avoid running RCA and power cables parallel to each other for more than a foot or two, when possible. On customer, personal, and competition installs, I typically ran all my signal wires down passenger side, and power wires down the driver's side, and if there was no easy path down the door sills on either side, I'd tape as-flat-as-possible on either side of the transmission hump, if available.

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Oh, and in case anyone from the future stumbles upon this, here's where I'm (A) figuring out the OEM R/L signal is between OEM head unit and amp, (B) how I know those wires are shielded, which is why I suspect they're low-level inputs, which are typically shielded to avoid noise, and (C) why you wouldn't Posi-tap a wire like that, because as you see, the shelding foil or wire that's wrapped around the wire is tied to ground, so when you Posi-tap'd that wire, the stinger would pierce the shielding, then touch the signal wire inside, bridging it to groung, which is liable to fry/blow something.

Note pink boxes/circles on the right, ovals show those four Right/Left wires are shielded, and the shield is tied to ground. Anyone capable of welding could easily solder on a pair of RCA leads off those wires though... there are ample options for styles of connectors out there, in build-your-own-RCA kits.

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Incidentally, with reference to my own post...

... I have now completed replacement of two amps (one fried) in my 2005 Corolla XRS with two of these (150x4) amps. Versus the Eclipse 50x4 and Phoenix Gold 100x2 previously under my seats, there's certainly more LOUD coming from the new amps; especially nice for the dual cone (sub)woofers of my 6x9's. However, overall impression is that the sound is more 'shrill' than before.
May need to fiddle with the Equalizer still. But overall / perhaps / as an experiment for the Eclipse (front & rear-deck highs) -- I might be willing to try a similar Class D amp (150x4), unless cost prohibitive.

 

I just chatted with Crutchfield and JBL rep about the JBL Nano subwoofer. It needs a 10awg for power because the supplied harness is a 10 gauge power and ground wire not a 14 gauge wire.

 

Not that I doubt the Crutchfield rep, but Crutchfield's own site says that's not the case:

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Sadly I checked JBL's Quick Start guide and their Spec Sheet and it doesn't tell you what gauge.

Either the tech you're talking to is incorrect, or the person who originally measured the wires on the harness is wrong. But I found at least one other site also showing the Nano harness is 14 AWG, so .... I think the tech is potentially wrong.

 

This is turning out to be comical. Why would the JBL rep say it’s 10 gauge? The manual for the nano says nothing about 10 gauge or 14 gauge power or ground wires.

 

This can certainly be the case. The tech said it’s probably a 10 gauge wire and then I asked don’t they have a spec sheet and they said they’d have to send somebody out to measure the wire. Lol and that would take time.

 

I'd make em measure it. Someone had to've measured it at some point, else it wouldn't be right there, in print. Did the tech even look at the specs from their own website? I'd be shocked if it was actually 10awg. Not even the Alpine KTA piggyback small form factor amps call for 10 gauge.

 

This guy put one in his Ford Maverick, and said crutchfield had him to a 10awg also, but the "wire that came in the box was 14awg": https://www.reddit.com/r/FordMaverickTruck/comments/14x98wk/jbl_basspro_nano_fits_perfect_in_hybrid/

 

He says it looks like a 14 gauge. I don’t think he measured it either. The black and red wire look very thin to me.

 

That's 14awg.

You'll be fine using 12awg kit CK12 from Crutchfield.

 

So I will also need RCA’S. Any recommendations?
How will I connect the 2 power cables and ground together? distribution blocks?

 

Either solder and heat shrink or but connect would be two common methods. I only use distro blocks if I need to fork one larger power into multiple smaller runs. RCAs, purely depends on where you are mounting the sub. I like JL’s RCA cable offerings. Stinger makes solid quality. I see a LOT of people using Knukonceptz (sp?) for wiring over the last several years, in fact, I want to say that’s one of the brands the guy on CarAudioFabrication channel uses, but may be wrong. I know he’s a huge AudioControl fan, but drawing a blank on his signal cable preference.