Sound System Upgrade

Truckytruck let me know if you put its up bro

 

My box? OK I will.

 

Keeping the head unit seems to be the popular choice. While I can't speak to how much "better" my system would sound had I changed it out, I can say without a doubt that it sounds great with the Audio Control line converter I used. It essentially takes all the de-tuning of the factory head unit and reconditions it into a full spectrum hi-level output. With some adjustments at the line converter, as well as tuning at the amplifiers I am sure you won't be disappointed by keeping the head unit. I know I'm not

Here's a link to my thread on the install I did in my TRD-Pro Tundra:

https://www.tundras.com/threads/upgrading-the-audio-2015-trd-pro.1199/#post-17824

I hope this helps!

 

That does help indeed, and thank you...... I can run JL XD700 5 channel amp with JL 6.5 c2 series in front and back doors $200 each and JL 10" TW1's times 2 behind back seat and of course the line converter........with installation and parts it will cost $2,200.....the question is, if I upgrade from this minimal install to say, Focal 800 dollar a pair 6.5's in doors and a HD900 JL amp, will it be worth the 4000 dollar cost as far as improvement in sound? My thinking is that this stereo will only sound as good as the weakest link (Factory head unit). Do you think that's true?

 

I agree that in this case the head unit is the weakest link, but I also think that the LC will help overcome that weakness, if not eliminate it entirely. There's quite a bit to be said about the quality of amplified sound and the accurate reproduction of those signals at the speakers. With that, I'd say you will hear a noticeable difference between the two configurations but whether or not that difference will be worth the additional $1800 expense is still up for debate. In my honest opinion, I'm thinking it would be, if for no other reason than the possibility of a desire to upgrade the head unit when manufacturers are able to integrate them with factory wiring in a plug-and-play manner. I'd say go with the $4k set up. Regardless of whatever downfalls there are at the head unit, you're still very likely to experience better quality out of those components.

 

You're saying the sound is very good with what you've done in spite of the factory head unit...if that's the case I'm inclined to see it the same way, better speakers etc, better sound. I was all set with the Focal speakers etc and when I went to the install shop they fed me a line about the HU being the weak link and that for the money their lower end ($200) component JL's would be enough. I'm inclined to believe they just want to sell me speakers that are in stock at their store. It's a lot of money for even the basic upgrade let alone paying 6-800 for door speakers, I only want it to sound like it cost! I see you have two amps, one for doors and one for woofer(s) I assume? Did you feel there's an advantage to running two amps verses a 5 channel? Also I am looking for a totally clean install, one where no one sees anything different in the truck then there is now.

 

This is just my personal experience so take it for what it's worth.

I replaced my entire system in the end, including all of the speaker wire with 16 gauge wire. At first I left my head unit and used an lc6i line converter. I ended up with low end white noise that could not be filtered out. No matter what volume, the white noise stayed the same volume, which was low, but even with the radio turned up, I could still hear. With it turned down at a normal volume, it was too annoying for the effort I put into upgrading. I swapped amps, adjusted the amps, the and lc6i, not to mention trying several ground spots. In the end I came to find out the head unit puts out a dirty signal. From what others have told me, the majority of them put out a dirty signal. I took out the audiocontrol and installed an aftermarket head unit. Problem solved.

If I had a factory touch screen or gps, I would probably have tried an audison if I got the white noise from an audiocontrol. But since mine wasn't I decided I wasn't married to the head unit. All my steering wheel controls work and the kenwood I installed has a factory look.

The only time I personally would use an audiocontrol is if I was adding subs and that's it.

Like I said, just my 2 cents and not advising you to do anything except research it.

 

I can't believe you would have all those wires and equipment shoved under the seats like that. I plan on upgrading my system but if you buy quality equipment you can replace the stock speakers with amazing sound and not ruin such a great truck. Could have attached the amps to the boxes and hid the wiring there is plenty of room under the trim. I don't want to be a jerk but if you can see all the wires it takes away from the truck. If your equipment keeps giving out buy quality. I've never bought speakers that ended being faulty over and over. Pay to have it done right and you wouldn't have those issues.

 

Wow - pretty aggressive response there...

 

I apologize if I offended anyone. I just feel if we spend this much on a vehicle we should respect it. He has an investment and I guess in my personal opinion to potentially damage the interior when other options are there would hurt the value of the truck.
Again I'm not saying I'm right. I didn't mean to come off harsh hats just my personality call it as I see it. I am man enough to apologize for how I expressed myself and your correct I was a little aggressive.

 

Good post scott... I don't feel my truck is ruined at all. My system sounds flawless and I didn't have to pay anyone. I took pride in my work and all the wires are clean and tucked away. The seats are fully functional as well. It was a learning process and since my truck is one of my largest hobbies, I enjoy a challenge. My truck hasn't been damaged in any way and frankly, I don't mind letting my balls hang and taking a risk. Maybe you aren't being a jerk, but definetly a turd.

 

I am glad your system is a fine one and your pleased with it. With respect I hope you enjoy your truck as much as I do.
And I apologize to you my words being so curt and blunt.
Enjoy your music and your ride.

 

A couple things I'd like to say to others about diy installs:

Your truck isn't an investment, it's a liability. At the end of the day, you can have a liability you didn't pay someone to work on or a liability you sunk additional and most of the time unnecessary funds into. If you aren't good with electronics or do it yourself stuff, pay to have it done. But if you think you want to try, DO IT! If you totally screw up, Toyota sells replacement parts. Hopefully it won't come to that, but my point is, your liability/truck can be repaired. Personally, I paid 32k for my truck and have saved a crap ton of cash by installing everything from the lift and exhaust to the sound system. I'll never get back the money I've put into it and would be fooling myself if I thought I would, so I don't like paying for what I could do myself. I do what I do to enrich my life. I love my truck and the satisfaction I get from doing the work myself is priceless to me. So don't be afraid to try!

As for 2007-2013 model crewmax trucks, we all know the seats don't fold up. If you are like me and don't want to lose leg room, mounting the equipment under the seat makes sense, since no one will ever see it and there isn't room for anything else under there anyway, assuming you want to keep the functionality of folding your seats down.

Most of my pics on previous pages are during the install and there to show positioning so your seats will still function if you go this route. Afterwards, I used zip ties to clean everything up.

 

No apologies necessary. Your opinion is just as valid as anyone else's.

 

I thought so too........where they get the idea that I will have wires all over the place is beyond me

 

Agreed!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4BeH6A6IYA

For those wanting to keep factory entune head unit. Taco tunes has us covered!

 

I've seen this Taco Tunes, but can't find a link that says how much and where to buy, any help, I'm thinking it might be a little pricy

 

Their website is *********.com. $279

I had a Taco Tunes box in my Tacoma. Very, very good quality and workmanship. I would definitely purchase from them again.

 

That was fast, thank you, with your install, do your door speakers install under the door skin? Did you use 5.5 inch in rear doors or 6.5? I want to do my install so it doesn't look like it's actually installed, in other words no speaker covers on doors or anywhere for that matter.....thanks for the help

 

In my Tacoma, I just installed a sub enclosure (10" Sub), 400w amp, and new head unit. I kept all the other factory speakers. To be honest, I might have had $500 in the whole set up (box, Craigslist sub and amp, Best Buy Alpine head unit) and it had plenty more volume than I needed. I was very pleased with it, but I'm not an audiophile either. I'm sure some would have thought it sounded poor.

 

I used 6x9s in the front and 5.5 in the rear with a 400 watt Polk amp powering them. You have to use a spacer between the door and speaker to fit an aftermarket speaker, but the trick is getting a speaker that isn't to deep or tall if you use a 6x9. Really the alpine type r 6x9 is the perfect size. You could always use components with the woofer in the door and tweeter in the dash or sails.

 

I have the recurve EZQ in my 2013 coax. I am still working on getting it set up but so far it is very nice. I got to keep my stock head unit with nav and add an amp. I ran all new speaker wire and replaced all the speakers. I do have some white noise I am working on but I should be able to clean it up. At least I hope so. I don't want to have to buy a new head unit and ditch the EZQ.

http://*********.com/car-audio-vide...to-your-stock-toyota-tundra-stereo-head-unit/

 

I tried like hell, but neve could get the white noise to go away. Hope you get it fixed

 

Great thread! i just bought my bro-in-laws 2007 crewmax tundra. Its completely stock still with only 57k miles and I am gonna start the sounds system install this week. Upgraded from an 2008 tacoma dbl cab where I re-did the sound system in that as well. I had a pioneer navi hu in the tacoma but let it go with the truck as i was never using the navi feauture anyways. Thanks smartphones.

Bought a smartphone mount that plugs into the cig lighter and sits above my right knee. Will use that for music and navi. Now I have already recd most of my parts needed. Going with the "mechless" no cd player pioneer mvhx560bt head unit that has aux, usb, and bluetooth. Pulled my 4 channel and mono pioneer premier amps outta the tacoma before selling it. Ordered new speakers for the Tundra and decided to go with pioneer d-series 6.75in components up front as i have never had these before and pioneer 6.5in 2-ways in the rear as i had these and 6x9s in my tacoma and enjoyed them. Sub is a jbl w103v3 which i upgraded from two 10in pioneer shallow mounts that i previously ran in the tacoma also. Gotta say the jbl beats the two 10 pioneer shallows by far. But im not a huge bass guy anyways just want it to sound good. Hope you are happy with thr 12in shallow mount.

So... i have been deliberating where to mount the amps. I had one under each front seat when I had the tacoma and that worked out well. Was probably gonna do the same thing in the tundra as it looks like plenty of clearance and they will be tucked under there pretty good. I wanna maintaing some rear seat storage space.. The sub will be behind the rear seat and the sub box from my tacoma fits back there just fine so thatworks out and still has plenty of room. Lost maybe 2 clicks as previously noted.

On another note i had the ********* speaker mounts in my tacoma but i could not justify spending that much money again as it was over 150 bucks for what i would need not including their hardware costs. So i was able to find speaker mounts on Amazon for 30 bucks for all four and will make some tweeter mounts out of backstrap. The mounts had good reviews on amazon and hopefully will workout just fine.

One other thing ive been pondering is the wiring from the stock tweeters to the speakers, are they connected to eachother or separately to the stock stereo? I jave never wired component speakers before so i just wanna make sure i get it right.

AMERICA!

 

Curious how your install went. Also, can you re-link the Amazon page for the speaker mounts you purchased. The page you linked just shows the general Automotive section. Thanks!

 

Install went great! Components sound absolutely amazing compared to before! I am hearing things in songs I have listened to 100 times before that I never heard before. I had some minor troubleshooting stuff to deal with here and there but nothing to major. I answered my own question about the stock front door speakers and tweeters. They are wired in parallel and if you disconnect the wiring harness from the tweeter in the dash the door speakers will not work. So I had to splice into these wires to get the component tweeters and door woofers wired up. I have the bench seat in the front and was able to run wire up to the center storage area from the amps and place the crossovers there. Nice and hidden away. I ended up doing 1 amp under each front seat as before and there is plenty of room, secured them with zip ties through the carpet instead of screws. Grounded each amp to the same hole for one of the seat bolts, just scrape some paint away. Getting the amp power wire through the firewall was a bit of a pain as its a tight for getting an arm in there but its doable without cutting I just forced mine though the side of the grommet. Its not flush but it works.

The link to the speaker mounts are as follows:

$16 Scosche SAT69 6X9" to 6.5-6.75” Speaker Adapters Compatible with Select 2003-22 Lexus and Toyota Vehicles - 6 1/2" to 6 3/4" Adapter for Car Door Speakers - Sold in Pairs - See Image for Vehicle List

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NWG3S8?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00 -Fronts

Custom Install Parts 6.5" Plastic Black Speaker Adapter Compatible with Toyota - Select Models -

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007ZQGZWO?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s01 - Rears

mounts worked and fit perfectly too just gotta line up the holes on each side correctly. About 1 minute to figure that out.

I used plumbers tape / backstrap to mount the tweeters in the dash stock positions. Cost $5 at home depot and got plenty left. Saved about $150 vs going through *********. And I do not want to knock ********* either they make a great product and I had them in my Tacoma. However I emailed them 10 days prior to my install inquiring about their mounts for my tundra and did not hear back until I had already ordered the Amazon mounts. They said they switched to a new ticketing system and wanted me to re write my inquiry at that point. No thanks. All in all I am in for my new system for 400 bucks since I kept my amps and amp wiring kits from the tacoma and I couldnt be happier with the sound. I had to buy the new HU, Dash Kit, wire harness, speaker wire harnesses, 2-component speakers up front, and two 2-way speakers in the rear, the speaker mounts needed, a new wiring tool, a roll of speaker wire, and had to buy new RCAs for one input as one of my other ones was broken.

I want to figure out a way to run the Aux cable to the stock Aux outlet for passenger use only but its a little funky and would require some modification to that port. For now USB/Ipod cable and Aux are in glove box and I pretty much run everything through BT anyways and it sounds great. Loving the cell phone mount right by my knee too as it makes my phone easily accessible for Songs / Nav. Siri runs great on iphone through the Headunit and I have sent many text messages through voice while driving on the Fwy with no issues. The setup is perfect for my needs and a much better upgrade over my previous Tacoma with the Pioneer / Nav Z110BT HU I paid 1K for. I couldnt even make calls in that truck because my exhaust and tires were too loud and the voice recognition never understood me LOL

 

So when you turn the volume to 1 you don't hear white noise? That's great man, I would have loved nothing more than to keep my basic stock radio, but had to do what I had to do. I'm really glad you could. I was just reading 2 more cases on tundratalk that had the white noise. Sucks!

Good grief man, you are luckyou that deer didn't dendritic your whole front end or worse come in the windshield! I know people that have had thier cars whole front end bashed in from them.