Audio system for 2017 double cab

Hey y'all, I am in a bit of a dilemma as to which path to take with my audio system. I have a 2017 Tacoma double cab and this is the first vehicle that I plan on keeping for a while. I want to spend some money on a good audio set up and have something that is really solid. I actually like the stock system and think that it isn't bad, and I like the stock head unit.

So far I have the Subaru tweeters for up front, and I plan on getting the JL stealth box as part of the group buy.

My question is should I go with a 5 channel amp and power the door speakers? OR can I get away with powering 2-way JL speakers in the drivers doors and a decent set of speakers in the rear with the stock headunit?

My reasons for not going powered all the way is that I want to install it myself and I don't have much experience with it, so I am not sure how to run new wires to the door speakers from the amp, I might end up getting it installed, but then its all going to get way to expensive really quick, and I don't really trust any of the local installers.

I also like the OEM+ setup, but it says that it is a pre order, and I don't know if it will be as good as the JL sub with a solid set of door speakers.

Thanks for any opinions and advice!

 

I am in no way an expert in car audio but I’ll give you my opinion....

I’ve been an after market audio enthusiast since I was 15 years old (back in 1995) wiring up house speakers in the trunk of my parents’ 1989 Ford Escort. I’ve had a few stereos since then. IMHO I’d get 2 separate amps to power the sub(s) and mids & highs. In my last Tacoma (‘12 Trd Sport) I had 2 JL 10s behind the seat powered by a single channel Class D amp and all Alpine door speakers powered by a 4 channel amp. That was the best sounding system I’ve ever had. It freakin rocked! As for installing yourself I’d suggest against it if you’re not that experienced. You said yourself you’re gonna keep this truck for a while why not go the long route, spend a little extra and get it installed professionally? Anyway just my 2 cents... Good luck with your install!

 

Also, I just don’t think the stock head unit has enough power to push after market door speakers. Maybe an audio expert can chime in.

 

I had no experience and wired everything myself. It just takes time and some research but I'm sure you can get it done. Now if I want to change anything I know exactly where I need to go or what it is going to involve.

I'm using a 5 channel simply for size consideration and ease of use. All adjustments and wiring in one location.

Did you already get in on the steathbox group buy or is there another one going one? I got in on it but thought it was the only one. The box is already here

 

Thanks guys, I already have the code for the group buy, but haven't purchased yet, I still have a few more days. I priced out the build today and for the install myself it should come to around 1800. I am a pretty handy guy, I think ill be able to figure out the install, my reservations are just a lack of experience on the fine tuning of things and what not.

How did you route the wires too the door speakers scooter?

 

First figured out where I wanted the amp.

Took the door panels off. Routed the wires from the doors, through the boots, under the door sills in the channels, under the carpet and to the amp location.

Here was the outcome of my work today.

This is under the driver seat. There is a nice place already cut in the carpet for the seat electrical harness

 

Awesome scooter! Did you have to pull up the whole carpet to feed the wires to the sub box in the rear and the doors or was it easy to slide the wires underneath?

 

slide it underneath the carpet. you can get your hand under there no problem.

to get the wires to the sub I did have to remove the both the rear storage panels but its really easy to do. 3 bolts and a swift pull back. gotta start on the driverside first.

 

Get a 5 channel amp and ill talk u through install. Just did mine

 

Following.

 

I am trying to figure out what all I will need for the install, as far as I know I will need

- Sub and box
- front door speakers
- rear door speakers
- 5 channel amp
- wiring
- line out converter

Going to start compiling parts and getting things ready to buy

 

Up to you but if your amp has “high level inputs” you dont need a line out converter if you dont want. You will need a wiring harness from the rear of stereo (speaker outputs from stock radio) ran to your amp or line output. You can build one yourself or you can order it on taco tunes website under wire harnesses for adding an amp.

-You will also need door speaker brackets. Crutchfield includes them other companies you need to purchase

-Inline fuse for between battery and amp

 

Where do you live? If you’re near Portland, I’ll help you out!

 

I'm in the same boat, But I have a pretty good idea which direction I'm going in. I'm following the Premium Audio less than $250 upgrade thread's method. And while this isn't an high end SQ build, it'll be all I need, honestly. I'll add an amp over the summer, as well as the sub that I have left over from my old Tundra (JL10TW1). I plan on using a speaker level amp, and a wire kit from @Mr Marv to make things easy. I plan on keeping it arouns 75RMS, and as plug and play as I can get it.

 

Can anyone explain to me how the ********* add an amp kit works? If I am reading correctly it sounds like it is essentially a wire bundle that comes out of the headunit, runs to an amp under the drivers seat, another wire bundle that then runs back from the amp to the headunit, where it connects to the speaker wires going out to all the doors (eliminating the need to run new speaker wires/keeping things clean). If this is the case, I will very likely go with this as I am not going to be pushing a ton of power to the doors.

I love how they offer a basic explanation and then say they won't support the product, but I respect that they are upfront that it is for experienced installers only.

 

I’m pretty sure it just jumps the high level outs from the stereo to an amp and then back to the factory side wiring behind the stereo. You can make one yourself with these two parts:

Scosche TA02B Wire Harness to Connect An Aftermarket Stereo Receiver for Select 1987-Up Toyota Vehicles

$10 Scosche TA02B Stereo Wiring Harness Compatible with Select 1986-20 Toyota, Lexus, Scion and Subaru Vehicles - Aftermarket Radio Wire Harness for Car Stereo . Check Vehicle List Below for Your Model

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00009UHKW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_k4guAbZZBH2C0

And

SCOSCHE TA02RB 1987-Up Toyota Replacement harness for Factory Radio

Scosche SU03RB Compatible with 1993-2012 Subaru Power/Speaker Connector/Wire Harness for Re-Installing The Factory Stereo with Color Coded Wires

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0007KK2LK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_g5guAbTF30GR7

 

yeah. some of us make our own from the metra/scosche parts. the speed wire takes the speaker signals from the headunit directly to the amp or line converter

 

Hello everyone,

I am thinking about going in the general direction as the OP and a few others that have commented previously in this post. I am hoping I can piggyback off of this thread to receive guidance and share with everyone what I have gathered so far.

I have the 6" LCD Entune and will be keeping this like most to retain steering wheel control and vehicle settings. I spoke with a Crutchfield rep that helped answer some of my questions regarding install on a factory head unit. I have also perused through 1sttruckguy78 build and also the thread on an inexpensive Kicker upgrade.

I currently have installed the following:
-

$87 Subaru Genuine Tweeter Kit Kicker WRX STi Forester Crosstrek Impreza H631SFJ101

Kicker Subaru Replacement Tweeters
-Kicker 43CSC6934 6"x9" 3-way car speakers
-Kicker 43CSC674 6-3/4" 2-way car speakers

The Kicker/Subaru replacement tweeters gave me the best bang for my buck changing the muffled and distorted sound of the stock tweeters. A week later I installed the Kicker replacement door speakers. This allowed for even less distortion with an increase in clarity. The first few days the bass suffered a little bit sounding less "full" than the previous stock speakers. After 20 hours or so of break in time, the speakers began to reproduce a bit more bass than the stock system. Even with all this improvement the system feels lacking and the sound can be a bit high at times.

I talked to a Crutchfield rep and discussed the possibility of adding an amplifier to properly supply the 4 door speakers with power. He said the stock head unit in both the 6" and 7" Entune system push out about 18 watts of RMS power. The front door speakers call for 150 watts RMS and 450 watts Peak. The rear door speakers call for 100 watts of RMS and 300 watts Peak. When talking to the Crutchfield rep, he recommended any power to the speakers of over 80 watts RMS requires running new wiring from the head unit to the speakers. For this reason I have decided to push 75 watts RMS to each speaker through an amplifier. In order to properly supply each speaker you would have to run a 4 channel amplifier. Since the speakers run off of 4ohms, the amplifier will have to push 75 watts RMS x 4 channels at 4ohms. If you are going with a subwoofer as well, you can use a 4 channel amplifier to power the speakers and a mono amplifier to power the subwoofer. You can also go with a 5 channel amplifier that will power the 4 door speakers and a subwoofer. When talking RMS power, think about a constant power. This is the type of power that can be safely supplied to the speaker at all times. Peak power is the power speakers can handle for a short time and still be ok without damage. Prolonged exposure to peak power will damage or blow the speakers. It is important to properly supply the correct amount of power to each speaker for proper performance and longevity.

The next topic I would like to discuss is the need for a line out converter. This is necessary to be able to convert speaker wires (high level output) from the stock head unit to the amplifier in the form of RCA cables (low level output). Aftermarket head units have RCA inputs built in which will remove the need for a line out converter. Instead of a line out converter, you can also use an amplifier that has speaker level inputs. When shopping for an amplifier, make sure it has speaker level inputs if you will bypass the line out converter. You can also run an Equalizer with speaker level inputs instead of a line out converter. This is beneficial as most stock head units only have the ability to change Treble, Mid and Bass. Using an equalizer will help custom tune your sound and only allow certain speakers to get part of the sound range; such as removing the bass from the door speakers and allowing the subwoofer to handle the bass.

If running an LOC (line out converter) this is the path of travel.
Head unit speaker wires to LOC, RCA cables from LOC to amplifier.

If running an Equalizer this is the path of travel.
Head unit speaker wires to Equalizer, RCA cables from equalizer to amplifier.

If running an amplifier with speaker level inputs, this is the path of travel.
Head unit speaker wires to amplifier.

In order to run the head unit speaker wires to your setup of choice, I found 1sttruckguy78 build very informative. On page 7 of his thread he shows how to create an adapter that will connect between your head unit and stock harness along with audio guru Mr. Marv. The wire ends of the adapter will connect to Stinger Speedwire which is 9 wires wrapped in insulation. This keeps things neat and organized. The adapters needed can be found here and

$13 Metra 71-1761 87 - 94 Toyota Vehicle Harness

here.

I have decided to go with the following options:

-Kicker Subaru Replacement Tweeters

-Kicker 43CSC6934 6"x9" 3-way car speakers

-Kicker 43CSC674 6-3/4" 2-way car speakers

-Clarion EQS755 7-band graphic equalizer

-Pioneer GM-D9605 5-channel car amplifier (75 watts RMS x 4 at 4ohms + 350 watts RMS at 4ohms) with Kicker PK4 4-gauge amplifier power wiring kit.

-Kicker 44CWCS124 CompC Series 12" 4-ohm subwoofer (300 watt RMS at 4ohms) with ********* Subwoofer Box

-Stinger Speedwire with head unit adapter #1 and

$13 Metra 71-1761 87 - 94 Toyota Vehicle Harness

#2

-4 Channel RCA cable for speakers

-2 Channel RCA cable for subwoofer


The RCA cables I will buy locally as I do not know the length I will need. More than likely I will mount the equalizer on top of the AMP requiring maybe 6 inch long RCA cables.

The Pioneer Amplifier puts out 75 watts RMS of power to the 4 door speakers which are 4ohms. It also provides 350 watts of RMS power at 4ohms to the subwoofer. The subwoofer I selected is a 12" that requires 300 RMS at 4ohms. Crutchfield recommends an amplifier that can push 225-450 RMS of power at 4ohms for this subwoofer.

Other items I looked at:

-AudioControl LC7i 6-channel line output converter with bass restoration
The factory head unit will decrease bass at higher levels to mitigate the risk of blowing the factory speakers. With bass restoration, this LOC will allow for the same bass level at low and high volume levels. I opted to go with the Equalizer instead to be able to tune the sound versus an LOC. The Pioneer amplifier comes with a bass controller which I can control the bass level at higher volume if the stock head unit decreases bass at higher volume levels.

-AudioControl LC6i 6-channel line output converter
Similar to the LC7i without bass restoration

-AudioControl LC2iB 2-channel line output converter
Has bass restoration. It is a 2 channel (Speakers, Subs). I am not sure if the rear speakers on the Tacoma are full range. If so you can use the 2 rear speakers to connect to the first channel which will power all doors and have the second channel for the subs.

Any other help or input would be greatly appreciated.

Wiring diagram to help.

 

I've direct wired the factory head unit to the sub. It does not reduce bass at higher volumes. This is also called roll-off. If your amp can take high level inputs then you can take the speed wire directly to the amp, meaning the LC7i is not needed. I had one installed and have since removed it. This is what my attached photos above are showing

 

Perfect! What are the RCAs in your picture connected to?