plug and play amp

Hey all I'm looking for a very budget friendly plug and play amp I assume there's something to work in tandem with my factory non jbl amp and factory head unit for my 2020 sr5 crewmax TSS. I just want to add a small amount of thump to my radio and place behind the rear seat since its pretty much dead unusable space anyway. Anyone have any ideas/suggestions?

 

No such thing as a "plug and play" amp. You will need to run power from the battery. Its not terribly difficult, but you'll need at least some 4ga wire and a fuse.
I'd reach out to James Randy Taylor at tech12volt/taylor's audio (just search around here a bit, he's the go-to).

I would go with a 5ch amp and place it under the passenger seat and a single 10 in a ported box behind the rear seats. You'll quickly find that the door speakers are pretty bad, you'll end up wanting to replace them.

James can kinda be tough to get ahold of, but i always tell people to have a realistic budget ready and email him what you want to do and how much you want to spend. He'll get you setup.

 

For starters, here's a look at how everything is wired up in your 2020 non-JBL system:



Basically in the front, you have a speaker in each dash corner that is wired to the front center speaker wired straight to the stereo. There's a speaker in each front door wired to the small amp under your passenger seat. In the rear, there's a tweeter in each door, also wired straight to the head unit. There's a speaker in each rear door wired tot eh small amp under the passenger seat.

To add some bump, the absolute easiest thing to do would be to get a small powered sub. Beyond that, get either an Audiocontrol line output converter with Accubass (don't necessarily need a line output converter if an aftermarket amp accepts high level inputs, however with the stock head unit you'll want some sort of bass correction) or an amp with built in bass restoration/tuning like a Kicker Key amp, along with a single or double shallow mount sub(s) for behind the rear seats.

Like @Danimal86 there's really no plug and play as you almost always have to run power wire for a new amp, but beyond that, factory integration wiring harnesses can be bought so you don't have to cut anything and everything is plug and play.

Budget is always the main constraint. A small self powered sub and wiring kit might be ~$200-300. A small amp, wiring, sub(s), and box, might be more in the $300-$500 range.

If you can share what kind of budget you have in mind, I'd be happy to share some common solutions/suggestions.

 

I'm definitely not looking to spend more than $500 that's for certain. I haven't had anything beyond factory in my vehicles since 2004. I'm a bit older now and just want to re-live a little nostalgia of having a slight amount of bump definitely nothing earth shattering like I had in my youth. Plus I live in the Memphis area and don't want to attract a lot of attention and get my stuff stolen like I had happen multiple times in my youth.

 

It might be a little bit right but you might be able to put together a small setup for $500. 200w mono amp, single 10 in a box and some wiring.

Like I mentioned before, Id recommend you sending James Randy Taylor a message with your budget.
https://taylorsaudio.com/

 

Up to $500 is a good budget for adding a sub.

In a non-JBL truck, since there is no subwoofer and by proxy signal to tap into, to avoid cutting any factory wiring you need to install a wiring harness to grab your signal from. This one is $20 and is more of a DIY harness Add a Subwoofer to 2018+ Toyota - Speaker Signals (autoharnesshouse.com). It connects behind the head unit. You'd cut one of the positive and one of the negative wires, add a long pigtail wire and route it across the dash, down the side, and to wherever your new amp is going to go, for input into the new amp. Taco Tunes is hated by many, but they sell a more expensive but totally plug and play harness that plugs in under the passenger seat, $65 and you're paying to not have to remove the radio and to not have to make any of your own connections: 2014-2021 Tundra Add amplifiers to factory stereo Plug & Play Harness Sound Processor Factory Integration - Taco Tunes - Toyota Audio Solutions.

Once you've got a wiring harness and signal for your new amp, the next thing would be a power wiring kit. For a small amp you'd probably only need an 8 gauge kit. These can be had for under $50, just be sure to get Oxygen Free Copper (OFC) not Copper Clad Aluminum (CCA). Knu Conceptz is a true to spec/well like brand by many car audio enthusiasts nowadays and is about the cheapest you can get for actually good wiring. $38.99 for their 8 gauge kit: 8 Gauge OFC Amplifier Installation Wiring Kit (knukonceptz.com)

Now, the million dollar question. What kind of sub/amp setup. Since the factory signal that you'd be tapping into for input into your new amp is probably not the "best" in terms of bass, some people like to add a line output converter like an AudioControl LC2i that has automatic bass restoration software built in. You feed the input into it, it cleans up/adds back the bass the factory system cuts out, and then you plug it into your new amp for a better signal. An audiocontrol LC2i is $75 on Amazon:

$83 AudioControl LC2i 2 Channel Line Out Converter with AccuBASS and Subwoofer Control

Amazon.com: AudioControl LC2i 2 Channel Line Out Converter with AccuBASS and Subwoofer Control : Everything Else.

You could then have the LC2i send signal into either a powered subwoofer, or a standalone amp. You could also skip the LC2i for starters, and see how things sound without it. If you're happy, hey $75 saved. If not, you can get one and it should theoretically help clean up/improve the bass signal.

For a small powered subwoofer, something like this for $279 Rockford Fosgate P300-8P Punch compact powered subwoofer with 8" sub and 300-watt amp at Crutchfield would be a really solid choice. There are cheaper options that would have less output like this one for $189 Sound Ordnance™ B-8PTD Compact powered subwoofer with 8" sub and 125-watt amp at Crutchfield

Doing a standalone amp there are kind of 3 ways to go.

Option 1) Skip the LC2i to start, get a mono amp/sub/box, see how it sounds.
Option 2) Get an LC2i, get a mono amp/sub/box.
Option 3) Skip the LC2i, but get an amp that has auto-DSP like the Kicker Key mono amp.

A small mono amp can be had for roughly $150-$250.
A small single shallow sub "loaded" box (sub comes already installed in box) can be had for $150-$250. A standalone single shallow sub can be had for $100-$250.
Figure another $50 for a standalone box.

As far as total cost goes, it kind of depends on which route you go.

On the cheapest end, lets say you get the AutoHarnessHouse $20 harness, $40 wiring kit, and a small powered sub. That puts you all in for ballpark of $250-$350. Say it doesn't sound quite right so you add an LC2i for an additional $75.

Lets say for a middle route, you get the more expensive Taco Tunes wiring harness for $65. $40 for wiring kit. Powered sub for $200-$300. LC2i for $75. All in total of roughly $400-$500.

A higher cost route, Taco Tunes harness $65. Wiring kit $40. Loaded sub box $150. Small mono amp $200. LC2i $75. Total cost ~$500.

The main thing is that you can kind of cut cost by DIY-ing the harness and skipping the LC2i to start. That would save ~$100. Also depending on which sub/amp/box route you go, you can save some cost there too. Small powered subs are going to usually be cheaper than piecing together a loaded sub + amp, or a sub + box + amp.

For the most budget conscious setup, I would probably go with a small powered sub. See how it sounds to start. If you think it doesn't sound good enough, get an LC2i to increase the bass signal. A small powered sub will almost certainly add some thump and fit the bill for what you're describing as far as thumpin vs not wanting to attract attention. A small powered sub will definitely be noticeable in your vehicle, but people won't hear you coming down the street.

If you get a standalone amp and a loaded sub box, or a separate sub and box, your bass output will almost certainly be greater than a small powered sub. The trade off comes in the cost. You pay more for more output, but you should be able to keep the total at/around $500 or less.

I mentioned the Kicker Key amp earlier but I would probably not go that route as the amp alone would be ~$280 which eats into that $500 and would almost certainly max out or put you over budget.

 

One thing I forgot to mention, a line output converter IS required if your selected powered sub, or amp doesn't allow high level inputs. Most amps and powered subs nowadays will accept both high level (direct speaker wire, higher voltage) and low level (RCA, lower voltage) input signals. I say most, but not all. It used to be that a lot of amps didn't accept high level inputs so you a line output converter was a necessity. A basic line output converter can be had for $20-$50, but it's often advantageous to spring for the slightly higher cost and get an AudioControl one with Accubass. Audiocontrol is kind of the gold standard for line output converters in the U.S. nowadays since they have their proprietary Accubass technology. The Kicker Key does a similar thing and will automatically DSP or Digital Signal Process the input signal to make it "better" since a lot of factory systems have weird tuning curves and stuff to protect the often cheap factory speakers.

 

I picked up one of these (linked below) for my tundra it seems to boost the sound signal, so it comes through a little louder and with a bit more bass.
I think this would be the simplest plug and play solution, you can find https://www.beatsonicusa.com/produc...18-toyota-models?_pos=1&_psq=2t3&_ss=e&_v=1.0

 

I am assuming you have the JBL from factory? What did you have to do to install this amp? Did you notice a big difference in sound clarity and how much did it improved the bass? Still running the oem sub?