2018 JBL Premium Sound Upgrade

It is, when I connect my Iphone via bluetooth or USB, you do not have control of the volume via the phone. Head unit only.

 

It does not get super loud but make sure your source is running at a high quality. It was really bad with Spotify until I turned the quility up to the best level. Not it’s just bad not really bad.

 

My JBL Enhancement kit was shipped today and should be here mid next week. Won't do me any good for a while because we are leaving for a Germany vacation tomorrow and it will be the New Year weekend at the earliest that I can install the kit. Took them a while to put it together, hopefully it is "good things take a while".

 

My '85 toyota van had the best sounding stereo. The quality has been downhill since then.I do miss the 30 mpg on the highway, but that's another story.

https://youtu.be/G61tPPKCwPY

 

Against my better judgement I did download the song. I have to admit that it isn't all that bad (kind of grew on me) and it definitely sounds good with my JBL Enhancement system.

 

71 340 im with ya the jbl system blows i pulled the plastic box out from behind the seat and the whole thing speaker included cant weigh 10 pounds total garbage. I kept my head unit and got the taco tunes SQ1 system when they had the black friday sale and was worth my 1800 dollars. the cons are customer service is bad but they do get with you just not right away. shipping took almost three weeks. But the products are good the amps are so small but they put out what they say. If you have no knowledge about car audio stay away because their are no instructions other than what you can fin on u tube mostly. But once u get the right info its worth it for the money.

JBL system you must keep the stock amp connected in system to keep volume and other audio systems working on the head unit. You cannot delete it all the way out at least not the 2018 tundra jbl system with entune I tried it must be kept in system with the added amps etc.

 

Any hiss? I went the after market route and am changing the head unit tomorrow because we could not get rid of all the hiss.

 

quite tick when volume all the way off no engine noise at all get small speaker bump when you start truck but that is new im told from ********* for the 18 the stock remote wire makes an even louder sound when starting truck now they recommend using ignition#4 fuse under drivers dash is the hiss lower level noise volume all the way down or all the time like engine noise

 

I don't have any hissing or thumping/knocking noise at all, no matter where the volume is set, not even when tuning on or off the key. I imagine the JBL Enhancement doesn't have as much power or is as loud as the Taco Tunes system but I wasn't looking to shake windows or rattle my teeth.
I wanted ease of installation and a nice sounding system, I got that now and it sounds as good or better than the premium Sony system I had in my F-150 Platinum, maybe a bit louder though.

 

The jbl enhancement only changed the sub right?

 

I see it changes the sub and new tweeters. No amplification .

The hiss comes from the factory amp or head unit. You can’t get rid of the factory amp if you keep the head unit so when you add more amplification it of course amplifys it. The jl fix or the taco tunes I guess can get rid of most of it but from what everyone says it does not get rid of all of it.

If you turn your truck to accessory and have the radio turned down and put your ear near the speaker you will hear the hiss in the stock factory system. It’s so low in the factory system if your not looking for it you would not notice it but once you add amplifiers it’s pretty bad.

 

You can get rid of it... but it can be a huge pita. I started a step by step process thread yesterday for how to do it with the Fix to make it easier for other people.

 

Yah i saw your post yesterday but you said it got rid of 95% and having to use the second nob made me say screw it and changing out the head unit. After the money i spent on speakers and amps I did not want to settle. Especially since i can return the processor and use the money towards the head unit. I could not do that a couple months from now when it pisses me off

 

Yeah I agree that second knob does add a bit of annoyance but it’s way less then that static. You can get rid of all of it but I haven’t found the sweet spot yet that won’t cause you to loose volume in order to get 100% no static... although I guess if your listening to the radio at that low of a level your not to worried about lots of volume at that moment.

I just wrote that real quick while on break to help people that may already have the dsp and looking for a solution. I may go through it this weekend and clean it up and add links to the Jl website/ howto videos as well.

 

It changes the sub and the front/rear tweeters. It also comes with two crossovers that plug into the factory amp under the driver seat; those crossovers reduce the bass that goes to the bigger door speakers and allow to get more midrange to the new tweeters (that is my understanding anyways). You'll be amazed how good the door speakers sound when they don't have to try to produce really low bass...no more muddy or washed out sound from any of the doors and the tweeters make a huge difference as well. The new sub comes with its own new amp (I think it is 180 watts).

And the ticking or knocking sound usually comes from aftermarket amps or head units, I had it before in other vehicles when I turned the stereo on or off. I don't have any of that in my truck now.

 

Can you tell me what features you think you lose by ditching the stock head unit? It seems to me that you don't lose anything as you can feed factory rear camera, steering wheel controls and so on to new deck. I guess you might lose the dash tweets and center speaker, but is that so bad?

 

Sure, here we go:

1. You'll loose the ECO features.
2. The maintenance reminder app.
3. Lot of vehicle programing features which can only be done through the head unit, look at the owner's manual for the breakdown.
4. You will loose the traffic, fuel price info, and weather info. Using the JBL head unit it runs of data from you linked phone, if you go aftermarket you will have to pay for Sirius Travel Link to get all that stuff.
5. Navigation and radio information in the dash display (on the 2018's anyway).

The above may not matter to everybody but those are features I want to keep.

 

I need to look into all that, don't think I have used most of what you listed in my first 7 months of ownership. But now II fee I am missing out! Thanks for posting.

 

Im sorry but allot of that information is incorrect

You'll loose the ECO features.
You lose the graph on the head unit. You still have the eco features in the center display.
The maintenance reminder app.
This is correct
Lot of vehicle programing features which can only be done through the head unit, look at the owner's manual for the breakdown.
Correct. This can be overcome by getting programmer from ebay for around $30 or you can have it updated during your next service call. How many times do you need to set how long the lights stay on after you turn off the car?
You will loose the traffic, fuel price info, and weather info. Using the JBL head unit it runs of data from you linked phone, if you go aftermarket you will have to pay for Sirius Travel Link to get all that stuff.
Incorrect. Each head unit uses its own service so i cant speak to all of them but my ken wood has all that
Navigation and radio information in the dash display (on the 2018's anyway).
Incorrect. with the maestro you keep all that.


To answer your question. You will lose the dash speakers if you do not hook up the dash speakers. You can add as many speakers to the truck as you want. I removed them but you do not have to.

What you gain will depend on the head unit you use but here is what i gained.

1. Ability to play flac files. Flac files can be anywhere between cd and record quality and they are awesome if you have amps and speakers that can take advantage of them.
2. Tire pressure and tire temperature display on the head unit.
   
3. Ability to read computer codes from the head unit. If your truck throws a check engine light you can find out what it is from the head unit
4. Digital display of gauges on head unit. MPH, RPM, Fuel level percentage of tank.
   
5. Lane assist. When in nav mode it will tell you what lane you need to be in for your exit and show your a picture of the exit.
   
6. a greater range of eq channels. I have 13 bands on my head unit. You will have at least more then 3
7. front camera
   
8. Spotify app
9. Android auto (which also would give you waze)
10. Apple Car Play
11. Parking assist lines that move when you steer. When you are backing up and turn the steering wheel the lines move to show you where you are going.
12. A clean signal to be amplified. I tried to use my head unit and had a hiss. You can get rid of most of it but most is not all.

 

hah... that's my default ring tone on my phone

 

Where are the photos and the write up on the install?

 

There are videos of the install on the OEM Audio+ YouTube channel. They are way more professionally made than I could ever make one.

@smoosh thanks for setting me straight, I stand corrected.

 

I was wrong on one of them

Lot of vehicle programing features which can only be done through the head unit, look at the owner's manual for the breakdown.
Correct. This can be overcome by getting programmer from ebay for around $30 or you can have it updated during your next service call. How many times do you need to set how long the lights stay on after you turn off the car?

This is actually incorrect I just did not realize it. I still have the ability to update that stuff from the head unit . I just did not realize it untill i was looking for something else today.

 

How did you get the head unit to look flush mount and not recessed in the dash ?

 

My model can tilt the face plate 5 different settings. I just found the one that made it flush.

 

Where is the factory amp and does it have a gain adjuster?

 

Under the passenger seat. No.

 

Well dag gummit. Thanks for the info.

 

I just picked up my 2018 Limited with JBL and I have to say I am surprised by the quality of the system. I had read on this forum for a while that the JBL is junk, anticipating what I was going to do about it. I am a musician and consider myself an audiophile, and I have always had an aftermarket stereo system. I just pulled a Pioneer 4000NEX head unit with JL 500/5 amp running Hybrid Audio Unity in active mode and a JL 10TW3 out of my Tacoma. I honestly expected the JBL to sound like crap, but it actually sounds decent. The volume is good enough for everyday driving at around 30, the bass is good with no rattling in the doors and the tweets are crisp and detailed enough. Probably the best factory system I have ever had. I am running an Ipod touch with mostly WAV and AIFF files, some apple lossless. Perhaps I am one of the lucky ones that got a decently-tuned factory system? No clue, although I tend to like a flatter EQ so I can hear the record the way it was produced.

I'm still on the fence about the OEM Audio+ enhancement system, or adding a Fix-86 and TWK for tuning (along with the JL amp/sub and hybrid speakers), or putting the NEX unit back in with iDatalink Maestro. I honestly don't think I need to do anything for a while tho. Go figure.

 

Wait till summer time when you are driving down the highway with all 5 windows down and have to have it cranked to max to hear the music.