2019 crewmax jbl system gut job

I got this truck may of last year. I’ve always had premium audio from the factory and usually it does the job rather well. My Subaru STI that I got rid of for a Tacoma had the Harmon kardon system and I thought it was very well balanced. The Tacoma and the tundra both had the JBL system with the technology package.

I thought the sound was good enough but the overall volume of the stereo was pathetic. Needless to say the Tacoma went and was replaced with the tundra. I bought the tundra vs leasing the tacoma. So I decided to do a stereo overhaul. Pics are at the end.

It started with a kenwood excelon xr600-6DSP fed by the factory head unit using a maestro AR and the harness. I attached a picture of the end result of the rear speakers. It sounded way better for about 6 months. Then the rear speakers blew. I had added a JL audio stealth box with an HD750/1 powering the subwoofers. I mounted the kenwood amp under the driver seat with the brackets from the jbl amp and some painted plywood.

I didn’t document all of it photographically as it was an evolving situation over time.

I decided to replace all the door speakers and went with components front and rear. Rear components are a waste of money but my neurotic side got the best of me and I had to do it as it came with factory components. I went back and forth between many brands before settling on the pioneer tsz65ch. It’s a 6.75” midwoofer with a 1.1” aluminum dome tweeter that they describe with some fancy witchcraft.

Obviously I did the fronts first. I bought 56 sq feet of notice black 80 ml sound deadener for the doors only. I ended up using about 9 sq ft a door which covered most of the inside door skin and the important areas around the speaker. You’ll see in the photos some random scraps I just threw on there. I also used fast rings.

Crutchfield says nothing fits. They are wrong. I got all the gear from them anyway. I replaced the front 6x9 with the supplied adapter after dremeling it to hell. I matter behind the factory speaker bracket and between the adapter and that bracket. The factory front tweeter had a mount that I was able to use to pin the tweeter in place. A positive to the way the bracket fit, was it slightly aimed the tweeter down. Not too low, just enough to tame those witchery beasts.

I found a 10mm bolt in the door that I used to secure a piece of strapping and mounted the crossover to that from the rear. It’s in the hollow of the door and left plenty of space. This also give me access to the tweeter attenuation on the crossover by simply removing the window switch panel. This whole process took about 4 hours since I had to figure out the fitment/mounting of the crossover and tweeter while I went. The next door only took about an hour and a half of that 4 hours.

The rear doors were a breeze since I got the rust off my car audio install elbows. Same principle as the front for the mat. I may have used more mat in the rears just to make the door a bit heavier and satisfying when it closes. Best Buy stocked a direct adapter to 6.75” that all I had to do was snap some tabs off.

the crossover was mounted in the same manner. The tweeter fit right in the factory mount and I zip tied the top piece pinning it in the orientation I wanted. The rear doors were weird. I had to tape the old tweeter connected in place after cutting the resistor for it in order to get sound. The tweeter appears to be the main source of power for the rear door as there were 4 wires. I duct taped it out of the way and left it there.

prior to all this, I bought the tech12volts custom ported enclosure for the JL audio 10tw3 and replaced the stealth box. I felt like the stealth box didn’t cover enough range of notes with authority like I wanted. I’m not trying to set off car alarms, but I’d like to be able to get some good thump if I see fit. James got the box to me in about a week and did the custom JL logo on it. Not that it matters since it’s behind the seat but why not. This box was built and tuned to my subwoofers.

I’ve got to hand it to him. The turn around time and price for a custom subwoofer enclosure was great. The subwoofers now hit the low notes like they should.

with the new components and the new subwoofer enclosure, this stereo is amazing. I’m running the components on a high pass 12db linkwitz crossover set to 97hz. I’m letting the passive crossovers for the work and left the eq flat. The factory 2.5” mids in the dash are crossed over at 880hz with the same linkwitz 12db high pass. I’ve got the gain down as far as it can go on those or they scream at you and it can be unpleasant.

pioneer really stepped their game up with these components. They sound better than most high end brands I’ve used in the past.

moral of this story is that Toyota should be charged criminally with calling that JBL system an upgrade.

 

This what happens when you amplify the factory speakers with that kenwood amp by the way.

 

Wow that’s ridic

 

They are 2 ohm speakers that were not designed to hand 100 watts rms. However, a mechanical failure like that was unexpected. I knew they wouldn’t last but I figured a voice coil would have smoked before that happened. So kudos to jbl in that aspect lol.

 

Nice write up and welcome from Central Penciltucky

 

Thank you.

 

weird how the rear door speakers blew. The woofers seem to be of better quality than the front 6x9's. My OEM rear "JBLs" are still going strong being powered by my AudioControl 6.1200 , I know its a matter of time before I blow mine.

 

The 6x9 were fine. The tears are made of cheap crap for the cone. It’s very thin. I imagine it flexing over time caused creasing which cracked and tore. The rear tweeter on the passenger side blew as well.

 

Welp, guess that answers my question of whether or not I’ll be upgrading the components.
Very clean looking install. I see the wires for the TO3 but no DSR1. Did you mount it to the botton of your amp rack?

 

Where did you get the foam surrounds?

 

I believe those are fast rings....

 

I just tucked it under the amp rack. It’s accessible from the passenger side easily. I used the maestro. No DSR1 as my amp is made for oem integration.

 

That’s exactly what they are. Amazon. Roadkill fast rings

 

After a few days and a couple rides to and from work, I’ve got to say, these components sound awesome! I’m still trying to iron out some of the frequency punch in the face when listening to metal music. Aside from that, they sound amazing.

I did expect a bit more mid bass from them. I’ve heard of the fast rings on the rear killing bass. I’ve only seen it on Amazon reviews so I don’t know how much stock to put in that. Anyone else using the fast rings? Thoughts? Experience?

 

Sorry if I missed it, but what did you do with your dash? Disconnect?

 

The center speaker is disconnected. The factory mids in the corners are still connected but turned almost all the way down. I am using them for filler until I decide what to replace them with.

 

Great post and thanks!

Did you use the factory speaker wire from your amp to the door crossovers?
Looks like it from the photos
I'm debating if I need to run new lines to all the doors for my install. I think the factory wiring is 18 gauge if I am not mistaken.

 

Did you use all 3 pieces of the fast ring?
Did you have to trim any of it for inside the doors?

 

yes I used the factory wiring. For the amount of power going to the speakers that wiring is fine.

 

Yes, I used all three pieces. The solid one that goes on the inner door skin needed about a third of it trimmed because the crash bar is in the way.

 

After a week of listening to the pioneers I decided I could t stand them. They really fatigued my ears with basically everything I listened to. So back to Crutchfield they went. I replaced them with morel tempo ultra 6 3/4” component sets.

 

the tweeters are much bigger than the pioneers and therefore required some work on the rear. Not ideal but I can still attach the factory tweeter if I need do.

I don’t hear any imaging issues with it setup that way but the back is mostly for fill anyway.

 

I thought the RF DSR1 was the only way to go. I feel like I could have saved some money by using the maestro AR and the harness. They list my amp as compatible. Ohh well whats done is done. I was told the DSR1 was the way to go. I guess it cant hurt to have 2 DSP's cleaning up the factory deck. I have Zero Hiss or buzz and it sound pretty high end in my truck to my ears.

Very nice install Blistering Fish.




My Install DSR1 and AudioControl 6.1200 <-- great amp lots of power and flexibility. Easy to set up with a USB cable or the wireless BT link I purchased separately. I can control the DSR1 or the AudioControl from my Mac, iPhone or iPad. Im use the old days of turning gians.

 

I am still considering replacing the factory deck. I was looking at how to make my amp work with an aftermarket one. Idatalink told me if used the maestro AR it would work with RR. If it didn’t I was looking at that amp you have. I could use more power to my door speakers. How do you like that amp?

 

Clean install yourself.

 

Those Morel's look beefy!

 

thats because they are lol. They want more than the 75 watts I’m giving them. I foresee a kenwood excelon xr600-6DSP on here for sale soon.

 

Damn...at 4.5x what I paid for my K170s I hope they rock. Your system is definitely a few steps up in terms of quality compared to mine. I'd love to go Audiocontrol amp as some point. Nice install...hope you enjoy it!

 

I have no experience with them but the specs on their amps seem to be awesome. At a HEFTY price tag. Once you go DSP, I feel like it’s hard to go back. I know some aftermarket units have a DSP built into it. But I’m not sure about the quality, etc.

 

Drastic change of plans. I traded the truck in today. Got a corona virus 0% deal on another make much better equipped. Up for sale is the maestro ar, the harness and the kenwood xr600-6DSP. If anyone is interested dm me. I’d like to get $350 for the amp and the maestro/harness. Buyer pays shipping.