2016 Tacoma Double Cab Audio Install Build

Yeah they didn't come out all that clear. I will see if I can get a better conversion.

 

I use the "snipping tool" in the latest windows programs to make pics. Works great; usually under the accessory folder

 

OK lets try these. I increased the font and added the plates.

 

Another idea is also to mount the amp ( if its not such a massive amp in physical size ) under either front seat and port it

 

I am getting a lot of PM's telling me the jpeg's of these are hard to make out. I have finally cleaned these up and deleted off the stuff specific to my particular setup. If anybody is interested in the prints send me a PM with an email and I would be happy to share them.

 

I'm also glad to hear your impressions on NOT using extra sound deadening. Since many reviews have positively commented on how much quieter the 3rd gen is, I was hoping that this could be an area to save time and money on.

Great components and nice install!! Also, huge thanks for the details on the subwoofer box/subs setup! Mr. Marv was great when he did my speaker rings and ported box for my 10" sub. I still recommend him to this day! I still have the box (in my garage) and I was hoping that it would work in the 3rd gens, but thanks to you, I can let it go and move on and plan for something new.

I was sad to see that the tweeter location was changed to the dash because I was able to mount my 3" mid in that area without issue (and then adding the tweeter to the sails). Since you're using a 2-way setup with components spaced fairly far apart, do you notice any significant/distinct separation of the woofers/tweets?

 

Can't comment on whether the 3rd gen is quieter than earlier models but it's far from quiet. I just finished updating the audio on my 2016 and sound deadened all the doors and the rear cab wall with raammat and ensolite. It made a huge difference in quieting the cab, well worth it IMO.

 

I would have to concur with the 3rd gen not really being any quieter than the earlier additions. It's still got quite a bit of road noise, but it is a truck and that is to be expected. I would however argue that the "huge difference" related to sound deadening is actually more perception rather than actual noise reduction, especially in the frequency range most commonly associated with road noise. I have spent more than my share of money playing the deadening game, primarily because that is what everybody else was doing. In my Veloster I ripped out the floors, door panels, headliner, basically everything and deadened the crap out of it. Spent well over a grand on this stuff, and I too was of the opinion that it made a huge difference. Fact of the matter is, the difference was subtle at best, and when I weighed it against all the loose and rattling panels that resulted from the installation of this stuff it actually made it worse. In retrospect I would have been way better off taking that $1000 and putting it into better drivers or more power. I hear guys all the time saying "they deadened the doors and now they have amazing mid-base", which quite frankly is nonsense. A $200 driver and $300 in deadening is going to sound no different than a $200 driver. Instead skip the deadening and put in a set of $1000 drivers and that's how you get amazing mid-base. Every dollar spent on sound deadening is a dollar not spent on the hardware itself, which to me is where the money should be going.

As far as the two way system I don't really see any distinct separation, but I think a lot of that has to do with the capability of the speakers used. Speakers with good frequency response, and a good sound processor to give you full control of the cross-over points and timing will address about 90% of any placement or frequency issues. That and spending the extra money to take advantage of the hardware by having the system properly tuned. I ran 3-way systems for a long time, but I always found that finding the right power balance could not be done without separating the amps. Running a five channel for say the Sub, Mids, and Tweeters and then a separate amp for the mid-base driver was for whatever reason something I could never get my head around. So I ended up running separate amps for each channel, but this adds a lot of cost and was just as challenging to tune. The 2-way system was a lot cheaper, could be run with a single five channel amp, (way simpler) and with the quality of the drivers out today finding a set of components that could meet the full spectrum of frequency response made the 3-way system no longer cost effective. The cost vs benefit analysis just made no sense.

Good luck and let me know how this turns out.

 

Deadener has its place and by no means should some one spend a 1000$ on deadener. For purely audio purposes a small amount of deadener goes a long way and does make just about any driver sound better. I have tried from high end to low grade and all of them came alive in a well prepped cabinet( door ). Would i say a 200$ driver with deadener will beat a 1000$ driver without...... thats a leap id not make as there are way to many other factors involved. There are smaller kits on the market from a variety of people that will cost under $150 to get to your doors done, can use to seal your doors for a true IB setup like its intended to be and your sound characteristic will undoubtably change for the better.

I do however understand what you saying and do agree on the mindset and that of the 2way vs 3way.

 

Spent ~$170 for the raammat package with ensolite, the reduction in outside noise is very noticeable by myself and others who have been in my truck before and after. Since I replaced the speakers at the same time I was installing the raammat I have no way of knowing how the speakers would have sounded without it but there is certainly less background/road noise to listen to.

 

I am certainly not arguing with folks that want to put in the deadening, as I was once one of those guys. In fact this is the first build I have done where I just flat out didn't use any, and after hearing it I felt a bit stupid for all those times that I did. It just made virtually no difference in both the sound output or its performance on the RTA. None, not any. If you ever go into a shop, pick any local car audio shop, what is one of the first things you will see? Try it. The first thing you will see is a stack of sound deadening material in a really cool box, and probably a little display with a drum symbol that has this mat on the bottom of it. And people take the little hammer and bang on it and go "OH WOW". It's an impressive demonstration, and something that is in the grasp of even the most novice installer. You just peel and stick, and Ah, sound Nirvana. Problem is they never really think about what they just heard. The sound went from a high picked "ting" to a "thud", and there in lies the problem. The stuff does nothing to suppress the "thud" which is the frequencies on the lower end of the spectrum, and the same frequency found in your road noise. So its ability to suppress the "ting" is useless because these are high frequencies that are very directional and not really part of your road noise. And for the "thud" the mat can't do anything with those. So net result is a waste of money.

So with all do respect to the folks that are believers in this stuff. I'm not saying yay or nay to putting this stuff in. All I am saying is that not adding sound deadening was part of this build, so for folks that ask, I would and I am saying don't bother spend it on speakers and power.

 

Plus, it's subject to the law of diminishing returns...

Old cars had no sound deadening and all sorts of noises permeated throughout the thin (and light) vehicles of the time. Now even base level cars are coming off the factory lines with some level of deadening. So adding X amounts of sound deadening results in noticeable gains by dropping the noise floor which means that I don't have to turn up the volume as much. But when adding that same level (X) of sound deadening to a newer car, I am finding that I don't really change the volume (before vs. after the deadener install) and I really have to pay attention to even notice the difference when music is playing. Plus, as garyinok just said, it can only cover certain frequencies which is why some road noise still gets through.

I don't doubt that there are some gains to be had if you really want to invest the time and money into deadening the new Tacoma, but from everything that I heave read, I'm not sure that the small(er) gains are going to be worth my time and money (for what I'm looking for)...just as garyinok probably thought when starting his install.

 

I'm with yeah...

First, I see a lot of folks on DIYmobileaudio over do it! They wrap everything and I think its total over kill! Wrapping areas other than panels is definitely a point of diminishing returns; especially for the smaller to mid sized watt systems..

CLD greatly shortens the "time" for vibration to dampen out.. When a panel vibrates, it flexes up and down. A CLD pad on a panel will be along for the ride (the panel flexes the CLD). This shears the CLD material which in returns "sucks" the energy away from the vibration source. Basically, this kills the vibration much faster than if allowed to freely dampen out.

CLD is not used for road noise. Mass loaded Vinyl (MLV) is.. I am going to use CLD in my doors (one of the few places that actually needs it) because the doors are basically two large panels. Using CLD appropriately will help kill any vibration that can propagate into the dash areas (especially when a truck gets older and more likely to generate rattles). Nothing more annoying than a rattle!

In the doors, I expect using ensolite and some CLD will help me since I want to have good midbass from ~85 Hz to ~200 in the doors. Everywhere else is not really needed unless you got some major "boom"!

With that said, if you are not seeing any negatives from not using it for the size of your system, seems you made the right call!

 

Do you have any pics of how you too the doors apart?

 

Great video showing how to install their full system replacement (except the HU) into a 3rd gen:

 

Sweet!! thank man!! I'm going to be installing a sound processor, 4 channel and a mono amp, mids and tweets in the front doors, 2 ways in the rear and 2 kicker subs (as soon as i get my box from Mr Marv) on Saturday. This will help for sure.

 

The video makes it look so easy, huh? lol

 

I figured it wouldn't be too hard but the cover behind the door handle looked different than the older ones.

 

The video did show a nice alternative to running power on the passenger side !

 

Ok so maybe someone in this thread might be able to kindly help guide me a bit here. I have hooked up and wired into the OEM Entune (nonJBL) headunit a LOC and from there I have that wired to my amp from the amp out to just a 10" sub. Now everything works, this is the issue there are two RCA plugs that go from the LOC to the AMP when both are plugged in it sounds bad. But when I unplug just one of the RCA's it sounds great. Something with my wiring I am sure is wrong. Any help here is much appreciated. Thanks.