Next project. Stereo and speakers

As the title states the next project is stereo and speakers for the 06 double cab. The current setup (jbl) is not up to par. Everything is blown from what i can tell. Few questions for the audiophiles here. Should I go coaxial or component? From what I have read so far coaxial is probably fine for me. I would like to keep everything total under 1k. Thats head unit (double din) speakers, amp (if necessary) and sound proofing materials. I dont need the best but dont want stock either. No sub. Just want good sound and no rattles. Ill post this in the stereo section if you fellas think I am better off getting info there. Cheers men.

 

I vote for components. A nice set, doesn't have to be expensive but don't buy the cheapest you find. I am partial to Kenwood stereos, been using them for several years with several vehicles now. I am team Android and I really enjoy Wireless Android Auto. If you don't have to have wireless, they have some double din headunits that have a short chassis that is only like 3 inches deep which makes install easy peasy lemon squeezy.

Swing by Crutchfield, put in your vehicle details, find the stereo you like with the features you are looking for and add it to your cart. They will list any needed adapters/wiring harnesses needed to install in your vehicle.

 

Crutchfield is pretty legit. Lots of inventory is out right now. I assume its covid and "chhyyna" related.

 

Is pronounced "Gyna" LOL

 

Check out this bad boy.

https://www.kenwood.com/usa/car/excelon/dmx1057xr/

 

I installed this Pioneer DMH-1500NEX I love the thing

 

I went with the DMX706s for mine. I have a mini amp behind it in the dash since the DMX706s is a shallow chassis. I have thrown out that old ugly white charger and replaced it with a slim USB C QC charger BTW.

 

Do you have the Link for mini amp?, is it more powerful then the OEM?

 

There are various mini amps with around 45/50 watts RMS/channel. About double what most double din aftermarket units offer. I can't remember the brand of the one I have in my DC but I also have one in my F150. That one is a Kenwood that is 45x4 RMS. I think the one in my DC is also 45x4 RMS.

Not sure on the OEM JBL unit but the stock factory option is like 8-10 RMS per channel. LOL

 

I remembered! Its the MB Quart NA2-320.4. Its 40x4@4 Ohm and 80x4@2 Ohm. I purchased off Amazon, it was $80 then.

$120 MB Quart NA2-320.4 Compact Four Channel, 320 watt Powersports Amplifier, Black

https://www.amazon.com/MB-Quart-NA2-320-4-Powersports-Amplifier/dp/B06W53BFT5



The Kenwood I have in my F150 is the Kenwood KAC-M1824BT.

https://www.crutchfield.com/S-J84Kii6BifW/p_113M1824BT/Kenwood-KAC-M1824BT.html

 

I agree. Component speakers with a small amp. The doors should already be set up for components, and adding an amp isnt too difficult.

 

I would vote components if you don't plan on a sub, only way to get a reasonable mid-bass response. But with these systems over the years it sounds like any change will be an improvement. Coaxial in the rear is fine as that should just be fill anyway by design.

 

2nd vote for components, but note some companies make components which include coaxial drivers. Don't recommend the latter, in case I need to add that.

2nd vote for Crutchfield. They'll give you, often for free, the extra bits to make your experience as plug-and-play as possible, AND make sure your equipment will fit, AND give you direct professional phone support if you hit a wall, PLUS better prices than most online outlets, PLUS guarantee their stuff. You can't beat that.

For your head-unit, decide two things up front. 1) Do you need, want, or plan to play CD and DVDs? 2) Do you need to have knobs and buttons, or are you steering wheel controls - if you have them - OK for you? If 1 is a NO, most 'media player' type receivers are shallow-mount, cheaper and packed with features. Knobs are purely preference. '04-'06 are plug-and-play to add steering wheel controls, and I find having my wheel controls are plenty good for me, and I'm normally a knob guy!

I decided my smartphone can play all the media I need over bluetooth connection, so I chose a media player receiver vs CD/DVD, went with the

$290 Alpine ilx-w650 7" Double DIN Touchscreen Digital Multimedia Receiver with Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto

Alpine ilx-w650, and love it. It's shallow-mount. Alpine sells a small amplifier you can piggy-back off the unit inside the dash if you want to expand on power later, but not have a throbbing system where you need to find a place to hide amps. DC owners are lucky, more room and cubbies to stick subs and amps.

When you pick your components, take this former installer tip. Think about (a) your early setup and the (b) the end goal of your system. There are two main types of components: those offering specific-range sound, or wider-range. Specialized component speakers like those from Focal, Hertz, MB Quart, JL Audio and others tend tend to be more specific-range, thus if you don't have amps to power them and-or subs to round out the bottom end, chances are you're not going to get the big sound you expect buying the big name stuff. If you buy a more wide-range component system like JBL, Harmon and related brands typically offer, the wider range of sound will suffice until you add subs and amps later, and you can get the components more specific-sounding using updated caps or crossovers.

Normally, we would walk customers through that last point once or twice before they hand over their payment because nothing sucks worse than having a customer unfamiliar with car audio walk into the shop, and spend $1500-2000 on high-end speaker replacements, then be disappointed the sound is weak, too high and tinny, lacking bass etc because they opted not to spend the extra $$$ on any amp(s) to push those speakers to sound as the manufacturer intended. The shop I worked for pushed JBL pretty heavily for their amps and speakers. They consistently provide a wide-range, concert quality sound. It's not a coincidence JBL is used so heavily in the concert world.

YMMV. Take it with a grain of salt. Think before you buy. Buy from somewhere you can actually get professional support. Don't be stupid and buy from Amazon, where you may get grey-market or counterfeit equipment for 5% cheaper, and be totally on your own for support.

 

I have the same HU. Has a lot of great tuning options including time alignment and crossovers.

 

if the factory jbl system has separate tweeters already (in the sail panels), i would go with a component setup. If they dont, just get some coax.

Shouldn't' have a problem getting in under your budget (with components). Crutchfield is a good place to do research but not necessarily the best prices. Do your research there and shoot an email to james at tech12volt (tech12volt@gmail.com) and see what his prices or maybe he can put a package tougher for in your price range.

 

I have an Alpine head unit with the Alpine 4x45 watt mini amp in my 06 Dbl Cab. The Alpine mini amp is simple to install by plugging it into the wiring harness between the head unit and the wiring harness, and only needing to run the power wire to the fuse box and attaching the ground wire. The amp will fit inside the dash behind the head unit.
I have Kenwood components in the front doors and Rockford Fosgate coaxial speakers in the rear doors. I also have a Kenwood KSC-SW11 powered subwoofer underneath the passenger side rear seat.

 

I'll just add that the wiring for the JBL system is an absolute pain! I did a ton of research first and still had issues I had to figure out on the fly. Here's what I cobbled together from many different sources. Also, the crutchfield speaker brackets almost fit, but you have to file the holes a little bit.

For sound deadening Noico makes a good product that's much cheaper than dynamat.

 

I'm super happy with my component setup and Sony amp with a built-in 45w RMS x4 amp. I added an 8" sub w/ a 220w amp and it really rounded out the sound.
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_158DSXGS90/Sony-DSX-GS900.html?tp=72406

 

Looks like i will go component then. I do have the tweeters in the door by mirror so that will work out. Thanks for all the input fellas. Hope it helps others out on here as well. Ill probably try and get a shallow double din for a small amp to fit in behind it. Or maybe put one in of the factory amp. Would love a sub but at this point I'll probably stay away for now. Is factory wiring sufficient or will it be necessary to run all new wiring. (Dont want to).

 

Sir, we don't have sail mounted tweets in our beloved 1st gens. I must advise that you may have inadvertently posted your response in the wrong gen section, as many of your brethren have done before you. I must ask that you part ways with us and think fondly of the short time we shared together.

 

You may have performed a premature shooing. I think my '05 does have tweeters there actually. I'll double check when I get home from work.

 

If so, it's not factory, factory would be in the door card only. (edit - I'm wrong, see below)

And if it helps OP, every truck I've seen with tweeters in the door card have an external amplifier mounted somewhere else in the truck, which requires a bypass harness. I've seen some say "only JBL systems are amplified", it's not the case. You'll know you have JBL system if "JBL" is silkscreened on the face of your OEM radio.

Crutchfield supplied this extra harness for free. Again, this is why you pay the tiny extra amount with them, lots of free extras to make your life a breeze.

This is true. and get a good 1"-2" rubber roller if you go this route, you'll need it. Ignore the Amazon reviews about how it's from Russia and packed with carcinogens that will kill you.

If you haven't already checked out this thread, you should.

With regard to factory wiring, it'll be fine to stick with factory wiring if you're just looking for a mild upgrade, not competition. I don't recommend upgrading wiring unless you're the same type of OCD human who gets irritated if you don't squeeze every last bit of toothpaste before chucking it. There's "better" and there's "sufficient" and "practical". Aim for the latter unless you plan to compete, or install heavy-duty amps.

If going without a sub for now, I cannot recommend enough JBL's "Club Series" automotive component sets. You'll get good full-range sound, realistic bass guitar, crisp highs. I've tossed more than my share of pre-packaged components into vehicles, and it takes the cake on bang vs. buck.

For head units with shallow amps, check out the

$290 Alpine iLX-W650 7" Double DIN Touchscreen Digital Multimedia Receiver with Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto

Alpine iLX-W650, it has a small amp you can bolt to the back of the head unit, and it's still small enough to fit easily our truck's dash. Just be prepared, if you want to run an amp, you will need to run a fused power lead from your battery to the amp itself, through the firewall, ideally.

@bmf4069 I'll say, @Danimal86 is good people. I've interacted with him in the past, and this just reminded me, I totally dropped the ball in replying to him on some audio related stuff Oh and 12volt does have the best prices on stuff, but seems like it takes a few weeks to get your stuff if they don't have it readily in stock.

 

that Alpine iLX with a power pack looks like a great alternative to my Sony DSX-GS900. Wish I'd have looked into that when I was doing my research.

 

Factory wiring will be fine for what you're looking to do. Just a thought about the small amp behind the stereo, the JBL amp is in the back of the cab and that's where the speaker wires come from so if you amp behind the stereo you'll run speaker wire from there back to where the old JBL amp was. It would be much easier to install the amp in the back and then just hook into the wiring that's right there. That's what I wish I had done, it would have been much easier. Also, I tired to keep my wiring unmolested and use the adapters, but I still had to cut wires for the steering wheel control. I'd skip the adapters, cut the wires and connect straight in, it will save you time and you can skip the big connecter (

$35 Metra 70-8117 Factory Amplifier Bypass Harness fits Select 2003-2006 Toyota Vehicles

Metra 70-8117) that runs from the JBL amp to the head unit (it's a reduced price on crutchfield, but not free and you end up only using half of it anyway)

 

Ya, you need to crawl back into the belly of your pirate ship.

My 2006 TRD Off Road DC w/ JBL had tweeters in the sail panels.

 

I can't find that anywhere in the parts catalog searching under your year/make/model. Assuming it's not a dealer port, any chance you can flip it over and give the Toyota part number embossed on the back?

 

Disregard my last post. It's a DC- and Sequoia specific option. Part numbers are as follows:

67491-0C010 (Right)
67492-0C010 (Left)

Part only comes in black. Looks like Cool Springs has them @ $35/ea. DC has different front door cards than RC/AC trucks, so I'm assuming this won't work for any of us RC/AC folks.

 

I have the tweeters. No amp anywhere, at least not in the cab or under the hood that I can tell. No JBL logo on any of my speakers either. I have an aftermarket head unit, but I don't remember any JBL labelling on the OEM one that was removed but it is possible it was.

My truck is a '05 doublecab SR5 TRD OffRoad.

 

So for the guys who have installed component speakers.... where are you mounting the cross overs? I noticed that there seems to be a tweeter in the door next to the 6.5... are you putting the tweeter there or up in the sail panel? Or are you buying a set of tweeters separate from the component system? Also should i just use the stock jbl amplifier or is it worth getting a new amp?

 

Tweeter def in the sail. As for the cx, you’re likely gonna have to find that void between the door panel and steel.

I took my little sabbatical from this place and in my absence I’m glad to see @shifty` doing work. You can totally take over as the former audio dude. I henceforth retire and bequeath upon you this crown of frayed low level cables and CA glue.