Why does the audio suck in the 3rd gen? (Solved)

Meh, good enough for me, but I have never cared about sound a in a vehicle.

 

I was going to say...I got the JBL in my 20 and it seems to sound really good.

 

See this thread. I installed the Alpine Power Pack instead of the Key. It's pretty much the same thing but I got a great deal on it on Amazon so I couldn't pass. Makes a huge difference and it runs off the stock radio wiring. So no need to go through firewall and can create a harness completely outside of the truck. No cutting anything factory.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/kickercs-upgrade-with-kicker-key-amp-install-assistance.568985/

 

IMO my 2017 with JBL sounds awesome considering it's factory

 

Kicker Key 180.4 or you can get the newer version which is 200.4. 45x4 rms vs 50x4 rms. Only a $50 difference right now.

 

Do you need to go into engine bay for wiring here, or does it plug and play into stock head unit on ‘17?

 

Thanks - I’d much rather do this then. How different was the install to the Kicker Key? Is this amp plug & play?

 

sub'd

 

It’s not plug and play out of the box. You can make your own “T” harness so that you won’t have to splice into stock wiring. Only then would it be “plug and play”.
Edit: Although it’s not recommended to run power from behind the head unit, I’ve done it and it has been running flawlessly. (Knock on wood)

 

Is this all you need? Maybe two Metra harnesses?

I'd like to copy what this guy did in this review I'm pasting in

 

Agreed, my 86 used to eat tapes - that was a PITA.
AutoReverse tho;

 

Same...music goes from my phone to the speakers. Seems okay to me...

 

It's pretty much exactly the same. I wanted to get the Key for the auto adjust but found an open box Alpine for under 100 on Amazon. So I couldn't pass that up. It's not plug and play because you have to create a harness. The harness is combing the amp wiring and two different metra harnesses. I forget the part numbers but that thread lists them. Once you have the harness made though it plugs right into the stock harness with no modifications to the stock wiring.

This is a simplification but either amp installs basically inline between the headunit and speakers. Take the speaker outs from the headunit, connect them to the in on the amp and then connect the out from the amp to the in on the speakers if that makes sense. Tap into the stock radios power, ground and remote on (may not be needed but I did to be safe) and you're done.

Yeah, you need two metra harnesses. This is what my finished harness looked like. The four plugs on the left are all that needs to be wired up and I made that on my workbench.

I trimmed the wires on the harness so all four plugs were in the same general area. Makes for easier wire routing and less of mess behind the stereo when installed. I put the amp right above the glovebox.

I used Infiniti reference door speakers and kicker tweeters. I also added a kicker 8 inch hideaway sub (those are the blue plugs in the middle of the harness). I'm really happy with the sound. To me it sounds like a really good stock stereo should sound. Won't blast out the windows but is nice and clean with decent base.

I'd rate this a 4-6 beer job.

 

I actually have a pair of 20MXs. I was planning on placing the speakers in the same place you did. I just need to figure out where to place all 4 cross overs.

 

The very first thing I did was copy every tape I bought. I had a nissan pick up that ate tapes.

 

When I used the crossovers for mine, I soldered the 20mx crossovers to the factory tweeter plugs like this. Take one of those JBL crossover wires with the plugs on both ends, cut it in the middle. Solder one end to the factory tweeters plug (it pops off the back of the factory speaker) and plug the other end into the crossover. I soldered the wire before the cap on the tweeter plug that so that I got a full range signal from it, soldering it after the cap will result in the factory crossover being used also.



From there I was able to use the factory wiring for the mids, I put the tweeters in the sail panels in the doors and put the other crossover in the door. This allowed me to retain the factory wiring and not have to run extra through the door.

One thing I found was that when you flip the "3-way" switch on the crossover, the 6x9 pretty much doesnt make any sounds. I left it on 2-way and just added the 20mx.

 

so you bought a $30k-$40k based solely on its Audio system

 

Go on literally any car forum, and people will complain about the stock speakers. IDK what you guys expect.

 

Same here as far as "older" and dont give two turds about sound quality. I wonder what the avg age group is with some of the threads I see on here....

 

I sometimes drive 300 miles with radio OFF. I like it that way. I didn't buy a DJ booth.