Suggestions on improving the audio in my 2019?

I bought a 2019 Limited Crewmax Tundra back in January of this year. To say I've been in love with this truck, would be an understatement. I. Love This. Truck......!!

I knew, going into it, that the "Premium JBL Sound System" that came with the Limited package was absolute garbage. I expected garbage, and garbage was what I got. If I'm driving over 50mph, I have to have my volume up to 90+, always.

I just had a local car audio company install a new Kicker 400w amp and a RF Punch 10" sub in the truck to make up for the invisible bass from the non-existent stock "sub".

My question is:

How can I gain the best improvement in overall sound, from here on out?

My thoughts are:

To buy a new head-unit that is actually current with today's technology(Specifically the Kenwood DNR476S) and have a 4ch amp installed to give the stock "JBL Premium speakers" some actual power.

anyone see any flaw with this plan? Any other recommendations?

 

Some of the people on here are sort of stuck up and only respond to specific crowds. They look at your profile and activity before deciding whether they'll help a "tundra brother" or just communicate with another person who share the same interest. Isn't that the purpose of forums or is it just for people who don't have a real social life?

Sorry about that. I had to get that off my chest seeing all these threads from new members with no responses. Perhaps us new members forgot to pay our monthly membership fees to be considered or perhaps we didn't show up to the last meet and greet?

Alright back to helping out a fellow Tundra owner. If you want to keep the stock head unit, i would suggest looking at installing a line driver/eq and boost the stock output signal. Before upgrading my head unit recently, i had one of those head phone amps hooked up to the aux input with my phone and that made a world of difference in volume. A line driver/eq with 6 channels output and accepts high level/speaker input would be more of a permanent install boosting signal for all sources rather than just the aux input.

If you got the cash for a new head unit, harness, modules, front camera, and installation, i say go for it. I love my DDX9905S. Just installed a diode to activate anytime rear camera. I installed a front camera which can already can be activated anytime through the head unit but rear only comes on in reverse, hence the addition of the diode and a manual switch.

Currently I'm researching upgrading charging system or adding a secondary battery to maximize amp output. My voltage is dipping as low as 11.9 when the bass hits and the interior lights are flickering. I have 2018 LEDs headlights and they flicker very slightly but not as bad as the dome lights. I'm pushing 1000w rms to 2 alpine 10s and 50wx4 to the highs and mids. Perhaps just upgrading the alternator to the 130/150 amp would solve the flickering problem no and keeping voltage consistent.

Anyhow, have fun hooking her up.

 

I think one common theme you will find is the use of sound deadening and sound blocking material is a good start and will improve the stock system and any future upgrades. I plan on starting with the sound deadening cld tiles in the doors, followed by ccf and mlv between the door and trim panel. Check out the sounddeadenershowdown for the nuts and bolts of the process.

After that I plan on the actual audio equipment upgrades and based on all the threads I have read tech12volts.com offers some well put together kits and if snagged during a sale are reasonable and proven. Might just contact them and ask what their experience has been based on incremental dollar amounts. They can break down how much each piece will improve your system.

 

Go with a Kenwood headunit. You can't improve a crap headunit by just adding subs, speakers, amps, etc. The originating signal on the JBL is garbage. You can't make chicken soup from chicken shit. Ditch it and upgrade to a quality headunit.

 

I replaced the crap headunit with a Kenwood DDX9905S and added a Rockford Fosgate slim box and sub, pushed by a simple $99US Alpine mono amp.

The deck added clarity, as well as Carplay and Android Auto. The pre-boxed 10"sub added much needed bass.

Relatively low cost and it really woke up the system. Keep in mind, I'm well past my years of needing the thump-thump. But I can still roll down the rear window and blast it for some tailgate fun.

 

Thats a solid plan, but the OEM speakers have their limits.

There are some very affordable speakers that are of really good quality available these days. If your budget can squeeze in a little extra that would be the most ideal option.

If you're curious I can link you to a few that might suit your needs.

 

I have the JBL in my 2020 Sequoia and its fine to me. Turn up the treble all the way. Turn the mid up one notch and the bass up three. Fade it two to three notches forward. Turn off the auto leveling.

Some line level signals are stronger/hotter than others. Especially over bluetooth. I've found that older recordings are often much less....

Bottom line, don't be afraid to turn it up. If you can hear it at 90 plus, don't be afraid of it being that high.

I do agree with 3rdgen. Boast the input before trying something else. My 2020 doesn't have a line input. Only the USB for andriod auto. I use andriod auto most of the time.

Might not be apples to apples but I've had JBL in more than one Toyota and have always thought they were fine.

 

Hey coop03 - Welcome and I will tell what I did with mine, even though its slightly different. I have a 2016 CM SR5.

Since the factory HU does everything to suit my needs, there was no reason to change that.
The factory speakers are not the greatest, but they arent too bad either and only rated at 2 ohms
it wont take much to "drive" them.

I did the work myself with the help of a fellow member who I threw every "dumb" question at - Thanks @1lowlife.

I removed the factory amp and installed a new 5 channel amp and an AudioControl Line Out converter and a single sub behind the rear seat.
Now the system sound amazing but I will eventually have to replace the door speakers at some point but it sounds awesome now.

You might do yourself a favor and contact @james@tech12volts. He is the authority here when it comes to sound systems for our trucks
and he will have something specifically for your setup and budget.

 

So a question about the JBL system, Is it really crap components or a design flaw? A year ago when I got my 14 CM with the JBL premium system the first thing I noticed was the lack depth or bass. My description is they copied a home surround system where you get all your sound from the center channel and two front satellite speakers and the rest comes from the subs , rear left and rights. The Tundra, I got say 90% from the center, two on the dash and two on the door pillars, and just 10% from the remainder of speakers, it's great for talk radio but certainly not for music. It certainly sounds much better on the '19 so did they change components or update the HU?

 

^^This^^
I haven't upgraded my radio.....yet but there are a lot of post about @james@tech12volts
I would definitely reach out to him.

 

Damn. You caught us profiling.....

 

x2 on sound deadening

 

I replaced all the door speakers, added an amp and sub, and kept the stock head unit (non JBL) with and LC7i DSP and it sounded 1000% better but something was just still missing from the music. I installed the Kenwood DMX905s and it’s a night and day improvement with all the sound adjustments and EQ that the Kenwood has so if you have the budget then it’s a no brainer IMO.

 

Only the guilty ones respond so shame shame shame. Lol

 

For those of you who upgraded to an aftermarket Head unit, are there any features (lol, what features, right?) that I would be sacrificing by giving up the factory unit? Do all the steering wheel controls still work?

 

Im pretty sure you can retain all steering controls, or at least most of them. But its not the headunit, it requires an addition piece of hardware like the "maestro".

As for rear camera's and bluetooth that would be based on the headunit.

 

What about voiding any warranties from Toyota? Does replacing the head unit and adding a Maestro affect that at all?

 

I believe the only thing you loose with the maeatro, is turn display distance on the instrument cluster screen.

If you have jbl, your best bet is to get rid of the factory head unit.
If you want to keep it, get the RF Dsr1, it'll cost about half of a good head unit so make sure to keep that in mind.

 

I do have the JBL and I am very ready to replace that useless Entune head unit.

 

Definitely upgrade head units then. You will be nicely setup for when you want to add a 5ch amp and a sub or two.

 

Mine still works with Garmin Nav, but not Google Maps or Waze.

 

I think it's an oddity with the JBL system. Even with aftermarket HU, the volume "numbers" I use in the tundra tend to be much higher than in other vehicles, even my previous Tundra. Other than the higher number, everything else seems OK especially after a sub upgrade. The only way truly around this would be to replace all of the JBL stuff.

 

all the audio systems in the Tundras lack power point blank. all the speakers are one way therefore no decent mids or highs. what I have read is the jbl factory amp is 17 watts rms that's less than an aftermarket head unit and it only drives the door speakers. the dash speakers have a bass blocker and been they are one way, that makes them pretty useless. I know the JBL's and the non JBL nav have tweeters but not much better than the entry level audio systems.

I replaced the head unit first, made some difference.
months later added an amp 75 watts rms x 4 to the door speakers, same crappy sound but much louder.
I replaced all speakers with kicker brand:
3.5" two way in the dash with 400hz bass blocker, driven by the head unit ($39)( required about 1/8" wide by about 2" long trim underneath the grille.)
6x9 three way front door speakers(very tight fit)($69), 6.5" two way back door speakers($49). Door speakers are driven by a pbr300 rockfosgate amp behind the dash.

my sub was a bit more complicated..
8" soundqubed sub 600 watt rms($79) with a bright star audio custom build box($100) and 600 watt rms amp. I had to raise the back seat 1.5" to make this fit as this sub is 7" tall(no drilling required). Pioneer head-unit(already own before truck purchase)

Results: Symphony like sound quality
Enough bass to make the whole truck shake at half volume.

considering bigger battery or second battery as this system calls for that much power at higher volume. The crewmax offers more options as far as subs go.

advise:
replacing the dash speakers with two way speakers and 400hz bass blocker will add mids highs and a bit more volume keeping everything else the same. for those not familiar with bass blockers, it blocks frequencies from a starting range (20-20,000 hz).
why 400 hz you ask:
500 hz is about the mid point of the vocal range and most string instruments, I choose 400hz as is about the bottom of a male vocal range and blocks all bass frequencies from these very small speakers. I do not use any of the lp/hp functions on the head unit nor the amp as I want the full 20-20,000hz range from the overall system. If you want deep bass then go with the full height sub(non flush mount) and a ported or vented box.

 

I already have a Kicker amp and a RF 10" Punch sub that was installed for Christmas. That's what has me wanting to upgrade everything else.

 

Keep the stock HU. The JBL has digital outputs so at 100% volume (the complete range 0-100 = none) there is NO distortion. Get a really good amp with DSP, upgrade the speakers. You already have the subs, you should be good to go. I just did mine, sounds better than I ever expected.

 

My reasons for upgrading the head unit are only slightly guided by sound quality and volume. The stock head unit is useless outside of satellite radio and FM/AM.

 

If you are in the Dallas area you could listen to mine. I'm willing to bet the sound quality issue would go away.....the other issues, not so much.

 

Having android auto is a huge driving factor in my decision. Whether replacing the unit would give me any added volume or quality, would be a secondary perk.

 

Any HU systems with an integrated SiriusXM built in? I don't know what "Sirius ready" really means. I would like to replace my HU in my 2019 Platinum but a must have is SiriusXM. Any suggestions?

 

No, if it's SiriusXM ready you have to buy the separate sat radio module that goes with whatever headunit you get. I haven't seen any aftermarket units with built in XM