Audio options for 3rd-gen non-JBL Tacoma

I am lazy. I left the Key amp in that jungle of wires you speak of. I was going to zip tie it to the support behind the head unit but when testing I found it was snug and didn’t rattle around. My only concern was ventilation if the amp got hot. I figure if that becomes an issue I will find a more professional way to mount it.

As far as messing with the settings I think once you do the initial dial in of settings you will leave it alone and never touch it again. I took mine out maybe 4-5 times to adjust stuff and then left it alone. Read the manual so you understand the settings and then maybe play with a few diffferent crossover settings to find what works best for you. To me it is either 60 or 80hz. I went 80 in the end.

 

I honestly just leave it down in the wires. A zip tie or two and it's not going anywhere. Wires would all have to be lengthened to reach the glove box. The reason I leave them down in the thicket is because once the everything is set, you won't need to mess with it again.

The auto-setup doesn't take "long" but I wouldn't try it during a lunch break. Give yourself an hour (probably won't need all the time, but just in case) and be in a very quiet spot (closed garage works best.) The mic is super sensitive. I even have to turn off my little box fan in the shop. Make sure the radio bass/mid/treble and fade/balance is all set flat.

 

Beat me to it!

 

When it comes to audio questions you CAN’T BEAT @destin_meeks.

 

I screwed up and did the setup forgetting to have the hu eq all flat.... guess I need to do it again lol. Its ALOT louder tho now anyways! Really impressed so far.

 

I have an access cab and I have no complaints about running out of sound and wanting more volume. At least for my amateur audio desires the Key is awesome. Coupled with the Hideaway powered sub and the $250 Kicker tweeter and speaker upgrade (CS series) my system has everything the stock system didn’t. I have much more bass and clearer sound all around with a lot more volume now.

This combination is not going to satisfy the super high end audiophiles but then again they should know this. For the rest of us common folk I think this is far superior than the stock JBL system that you can buy off the lot without destroying your wallet.

 

Yeah man, I wish I would've come across this forum before I ordered my speakers. I ended up ordering the Kicker DS 6x9s and some cheaper MB Quart 6.5s for rear already. I figured that was all I needed. Every other vehicle I've owned, I put an aftermarket hu in it too tho lol.

 

I had DS series in my Jeep. They got crazy loud with a 75w x 4 amp, and held up to several rain storms. Sounded good enough

 

Just got got done running the setup right this time...... man.... that's a bad lil amp. Sounds real good, after turning the hpf off. Also had to tune the head units eq settings a lil bit. My gain is barely moved from the minimum..... read somewhere that I should set my gain, while I had volume up to 75% also. Is that correct?

 

I’ve found the Key tends to hiss before the Limiter lights come on, so I like to turn the radio all the way down, then turn the gains up till you hear that hiss, then back down a hair till it goes away

 

I tried as the manual says to set the gains at 75% volume and got some hiss at low end. So I then did as @destin_meeks said and turned gains down until I lost the hiss. It will still be loud but IMO approx 20-25% of the knob turned up is enough gain. I believe I am at 20% and maybe at 15%. If I adjust the gains only by the led lights at 75% volume the rears were at 50% knob turn with the front amp at 25-30%. You will notice this setting is unbalanced and I then was adjusting the fade on the head unit to bring the rears down anyway. I went back and adjusted my crossovers to 80hz and then brought my rear amp gain down a lot. This gave better front /rear balance and then I further adjusted down to minimize hiss.

This is where I found the best overall balance and sound with my Kicker CS speakers and access cab. I also have a Hideaway powered sub so I adjusted my bass down one click on the head unit and let the Sub do the heavy lifting. I have tried it both with and without the Hideaway and I think the Sub sounds better than without and I have the remote on the sub set at maybe 25%. I have played with this a lot lately trying to see if I need more or less. I know just like when I first got the sub once I find a happy medium it will never get adjusted again.

 

I tried to reset the gain and noticed that I heard the hissing when the radio and gain were all the way turned down. For now I have the gain set barely off minimum and can't turn the volume up past 45 or so till th amp limiter light comes on.

 

Sounds good tho....makes me definitely want the hideaway lol

 

Mine is the same. I wouldn’t worry about it. I think I have mine at 15-20% of a full turn.

 

What if you you already have the subaru tweeters, what would the sound quality be like you use the 6 3/4 both front and rear and a kicker key and the loaded 10'' ? can you still use the base knob with the kicker key?

 

The subwoofer will need its own amp. The key is only for regular speakers. You can get a bass knob for most subwoofer amps though

 

thank you

 

Rather than start my own thread I feel that this one will suffice. I am curious about powered subs and if there are any options that fit under the Tacoma front seats.

Im eventually gonna do the popular tweeter and speaker swap upgrades, as well as the Kicker Key, but I was wondering what underseat sub options were viable for an Access Cab owner who doesnt want to greatly reduce functionality of my rear seat area since tools and gear will likely be in and out of there frequently.

 

While I cant directly answer your question, I can tell you that the passenger seat has a metal bar that hangs down that the driver seat does not have. This blocks anything from being placed under the passenger side.... I tried putting my amps under that seat and the bar blocked it all.

 

I believe I've read something like this and noticed it was a little tighter when I looked under. It would actually be better for me if it was under the driver's side anyways, since that seat is not likely to move.

I guess I'm going to make my own thread on this subject after all to drum up discussion from those who have access to subs in the hopes it can help us RC/AC owners who need what little space we got and DC owners who dont want to lose their behind the seat storage.