JL VX 1000/5i 5 Channel Amp initial impressions

No shit lol

 

@CoastieRon
Email me your current TuN cal file. I'm curious.
billdacat8@hotmail.com

 

Stand by

 

Sent. Going to throw you a follow on the gram as well lol

 

You have email

 

I'm going to load it up in the AM. I'm also going to run some REW tomorrow afternoon. Thanks for the help!

 

How’d your tuning go this weekend? I tinkered with mine as well. Tuned to (as close as I could) the JBL house curve and set a preset. I like the sound. Lacks a bit of bottom end. Which is to be expected since it’s so similar to Andy’s Audiofrog curve. Don’t laugh, this screen shot was grabbed from REW while it was actively listening to pink noise. Everything was dancing around.

 

I'll be honest, that looks pretty good.

I didn't get the chance to do anything meaningful this weekend in regards to my audio. I've been doing some tweaking to my (green) profile to get it right, and am having some success. Other than that though, music is sounding better, and my ears are less fatigued. I need to do a more accurate measurement for time alignment, the measurements I put in were "quick and dirty".....

 

This is a great thread, appreciate the conversation and info as I’m likely headed down a similar path. Can I ask how your truck handles this amp? Any dimming, etc? I was thinking of limiting the system to say 700 watts or so just to keep things low impact, but this amp is tempting. Appreciate it!

Lyle

 

Zero issues.

 

Yeah, total non issue. These things are so efficient. No worries about that sort of thing.

 

Fantastic news, thanks for the feedback from both of you. It’s been a long time since I’ve been involved in car audio (managed a custom shop in early 2000’s and was an installer at Car Toys for a year or so, around maybe 2011). My head says JL, but my heart loves those old school Zapcos lol.

The Unity 8.0’s weren’t on my radar until reading this thread either, so appreciate that. Was looking at Audiofrog or Steve’s, now I’ve got more reading to do.

Aloha!

 

Check out this page: I'm waiting on them to release their 6×9. The Unity needs some tuning, and I kind of squirreled on completing my tuning, but they sound great with the tune I am on.....

 

Waiting for approval on that Facebook page. At this point I think I'm sold on the Unity 8.0's as well as CDT 6x9's, plus their 6.5" coax for rear (often have rear passengers, might run the remote and have a profile with/without rears on and tuned appropriately. Handy stuff). Hey, do you know if I need a Fix unit to hook a vx600/6i or vx800/8i up to the factory non jbl headunit, or can I do without? I thought I'd seen something about just going directly in with some rca/speaker adapters but now can't find it to confirm. Have been reading up for 8 hours and am brain dead for the day. I think I'll run those for now and see how I feel about adding a sub later.

Thanks!

 

You don't need the fix. This amp will do what the fix does. It has all the dsp software in it. In fact, all the gains are done via software as well.

 

That’s so cool. Really makes these amps a no brainer for me, versus a more basic passive system. Thanks!

 

https://jlaudio.zendesk.com/hc/en-u...VXi-System-Tuning-Amplifiers?mobile_site=true

JL has a bunch of training videos for the software as well on youtube.

 

I dunno man. If that factory head unit is doing any dsp or signal suppression/cutoff, he may need a fix or similar widget. That would need more research. If it can be established that said HU is in fact outputting a clean full signal with zero timing correction, then, no, plug straight into the VXi.

That being said, if you’re planning to buy a 1k amp and another 500+ on speakers and then do all the supporting stuff (dynamat, wiring, etc) why wouldn’t you go with an aftermarket HU as well? Get a clean L-R signal, wireless CarPlay, etc. Add the Maestro and things get even cooler.

 

True. If I were to be starting this project from scratch NOW - I would put in the following:

Pioneer

$1,100 DMH-WC6600NEX 9" Capacitive Touchscreen, Modular Chassis – Wireless & Wired Apple CarPlay & Android Auto, Amazon Alexa, Bluetooth, HD Radio, FLAC, Backup Camera, Hi-Volt RCA

DMH-WC6600NEX - fill that dash hole
JL VXi1000/5
Unity 8 in dash
Any 6x9 driver in the door (I'm really looking forward to that Karma 6x9 driver coming out this summer)

Close off rear door holes - no rear fill (like I have now - I wasted so much money on rear fill, and should have never bothered)
COMPLETE deadening including the floor and the ceiling.

 

Got into the Karma group, those look great. That’s my style, supporting the little guy working on a passion project and making quality stuff. I’ll give the 6x9 a look when they launch.

My reasoning for keeping the factory head unit is two fold. First and foremost, security. Here on Maui shady folks love breaking into cars, and the Tacoma is hugely popular. I often park in areas known for break-ins (along the road to Hana for example) and will already worry enough about my new truck haha. I want it to look as stock as possible. Second reason is for the warranty. The dealership here doesn’t have a good reputation, and I want to give them as few reasons as possible to give me grief over warranty work. I realize the amp and it’s wiring is probably more likely to raise a red flag with them, but yeah. Mostly the factory appearance thing.

I’ll give the amp a go without the fix and if it’s not right then I’ll strongly consider that Pioneer unit, I’d been looking at it. Hard to throw even more money into working around the factory head unit. Wonder if my old shop would give me a deal