How do I set up my speakers?

Hey fellow Tacoma owners Ive noticed the stereo system flat out sucks in my Tacoma and want to get a different speaker setup. Ive been trying to do my research but have a couple questions if anyone wants to help input. How many channels would I need for a component setup? Do rear speakers need to be component? How important is it to get a dedicated sub amp? Do I need to get a different head unit or would a good quality amp be enough? Do I have to have the same brand front and back speakers? This is so far what I have in my crutchfield cart. Dont hesitate to tell me if this is all wrong.

Amps: JL Audio XD400/4v2, Alpine S-A60M
Front speakers/Tweeters: Infinity Kappa 90csx
Back: Kicker 47KSC6504
Sub: JL Audio 10TW3-D4

 

Back way up.

What year is your truck? Do you have factory JBL system or not? Are you keeping your factory head unit? What is your budget? Are you doing your own install, and have you ever installed car audio before?

 

2020, No JBL, I dont know, I would say around 2000-2500, never car audio but know about home audio and headphones.

 

My goals are best audio for my budget so if I need to get rid of the factory head unit to achieve that I will.

 

All of that being said, I recommend same brand amplifiers if you have more than one, and same brand speakers. It prevents having to figure out having completely out of balance sensitivities. You may not be able to send the same signal strength to mismatched amplifiers, and achieving channel balance is easier if they all compliment each other.

 

Goals would be best audio setup under 2000-2500. If in that price range the factory head unit would be a limiting factor i would get a different one.

 

Couple of thoughts.

A. Tears don’t have to be components. Some don’t even keep or hook up rear speakers. Personal preference. I have components in my front doors, coaxial in the rear for my daughter.

B. Plan some money and time for sound deadening. It makes an immediate and noticeable difference. I have about a sheet in each of my doors, again personal preference on how much is enough.

C. You CAN use separate channels for the tweeters and midrange speakers in a component t set (cutting out the often included passive crossovers, running “active”). That requires a four channel for just the fronts, or a six channel to run fronts and rears (tweeters on two, mids on two, rears on two) but then you need a processor to sort the signals out (more money and difficulty in install and tuning).

D. Not required to have a separate amp for the sub, but a single amp that’ll run four channels for your doors plus another channel for the sub (a five channel) typically adds cost and is a fairly large amp. Also, five channels don’t usually have as powerful of a sub channel as a dedicated amp can provide.

TLDR: I’d use some KISS method and drop a Kicker Key 200.4 in downstream of the factory head unit. It’ll cover you for a DSP (EQ and time alignment) and amp (50Wx4) in one box.

Go with components in the front doors if you want, I’d do coaxials in the rear. You’ll have to bypass and remove the factory tweeters and replace with your aftermarket set. If you run rear speakers, put the passive crossovers between your mids and tweeters and run your four channels to the four doors. If you skip the rear speakers, look at “bi amp mode” on the 200.4 to run your front speakers active.

Stick to the same brand on front and rear speakers. I don’t adhere to this with subs, but mid ranges do have a different tone across different brands.

After you’ve done the above, most people opt for either a small powered sub, or you could drop in a Kicker Key 500.1 and a larger sub behind the back seats.

 

Last I heard harnesses for the 2020’s weren’t our yet because Toyota changed their radio harness for the first time in like thirty years.

 

If you like the functionality of the factory radio there’s no reason to pull it out IMO. I’m working on an integration right now using the 2020 stereo in a 4Runner, which is probably identical and so far it seems pretty able to sound good once you have better speakers and tune ability.

 

Thanks for the input. What would be the benefits of running "active" vs using the passive crossovers? So i need to have a DSP somewhere in the system to tune it? I know im going sub behind back seats.

 

Amp with on board DSP is kinda the way to go regardless of whether or not you go active.

 

Running active you’re giving a cleaner and more powerful signal to the speakers because there isn’t a passive crossover between speaker and amp. The addition of a DSP adds cost and complexity though.

Dumping your rear speakers and running the Kicker 200.4 I recommended in biamp mode would send 50 watts to each front tweeter, and 50 to each front midrange, 100 per door.

Keeping the rears hooked up, using the passive crossovers in the front doors, and running the Kicker as a traditional four channel, you would be sending 50 watts to each front door, which would get split between tweeter and midrange.

The Kicker Key 200.4 tunes itself (and does a pretty dang good job in my experience, coming from having manually tuned systems before I was impressed). A full DSP requires a minimum of a spectrum analyzer and the knowledge, or an audio shop that knows what they’re doing.

 

Ok thanks for the responses. I think I get how it works now. Im looking up amps with built in DSPs and they get pricey. How much more of a level of improvement can I get going with a manually tunable DSP? Is it going to be worth it?

 

A traditional DSP gives full manual control vs and auto set up DSP. Can you do better? Maybe.

Can you screw up the tuning and make it sound like butt? You betcha. Kinda like a standalone engine management system. It could run like a sewing machine or blow your engine depending on the talent of the tuner.

But, I’ll say having heard how good a Kicker Key sounds I was shocked. Not that it’ll blow away a $800 Helix with a talented tuner, but it makes such a different for $200 it’s worth looking at.

My 2015 has the stock head unit, a Kicker Key 180.4, Infinity Reference components in the front, and Infinity Reference coaxials in the rear doors. With the exception of me wanting to add some bass, I have to say it made a night and day difference.

 

And the aforementioned sound deadening. I got a bulk pack of Dynamat and stuck a sheet in each door. Highly recommend.

 

I would go to a good place and have them tune it for me if I went the manual route. im just debating on holding off another month or 2 and just getting a better system that can be manually tuned and I can keep the back speakers. What would I do about a sub if I went the kicker route?

 

If you go with a Kicker Key 200.4 you’ll need to run a separate amp and sub. The Kicker Key 500.1 would be on my list (it is on my list) because it’s designed to accept a high level signal from your factory head unit (like the 200.4) and do its own processing for bass restoration (factory systems often limit low frequencies to protect speakers, and 500.1 undoes the factory nonsense).

It may seem like I lean hard on Kicker, but their new Key amps fill a void in the factory integration market I think has been empty for a long time. Otherwise, you’ll need either a sub amp that can accept a high level input or a line output converter to convert from high level to low level to feed the amp, preferably one that can account for bass restoration from the factory signal.

 

With the 200.4 and the 500.1 I dont need any tuning and can keep the back speakers right?

 

Yes. 200.4 can drive four channels (front doors, rear doors) and both amps have built in sound processing.

Please do your own research, if you go this route I’d want you to have a good expectation of your end product.

 

Will the shortcoming of that be lack of power? What If I were to go this route and get these 2?

https://www.walmart.com/ip/AudioCon...301618?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=5254
https://www.crutchfield.com/S-fabHpSAJkAy/p_161LC4800/AudioControl-LC-4-800.html