JBL Premium Upgrade. Replacing speakers and subwoofer.

Advice please. I have a 2020 Limited w/JBL head and stock sub, upgraded 2ohm dash and door speakers, however, although the sound is better it still needs more power. I am struggling with finding a compatible amp in lieu of spending $2800 for the OEM Audio amp/DSP solution.

Other option I would consider if it will make a difference is upgrading the sub.

Thank you for the help.

 

I am planning on getting this amp.

JBL DSP4086 8-channel car amplifier with digital signal processing — 40 watts RMS x 8 at Crutchfield

 

that looks interesting. let us know how it works out if you do install it.

 

Will do. Hopefully before winter since my truck doesnt fit in the garage

 

lol, same here.

 

Op did you give up on your speakers?

 

Hi, I want to do the same, what speakers did you go to? The problem I have is that when I go past 47 in the volume meter I loose all the high end of the frequecies and get pure mids and bass, the volume is ok, but the clarity is lost, I was thinking of going with the component speaker set.
Thanks

 

Hi, can I ask why didn't you go with a component speaker set to take advantage of the built-in crossover in the factory set up, I am not genius, but I think the 3-way 6x9's you put on are not going to be the best application since the system will only send low end frequencies to those speakers.
I want to do the same, keep stock amp and subwoofer but change all door and dash speakers for a component set and just regular 2-way 6.5 for the rear doors.

Thanks for all the info!

 

Ordered the JBL DSP amp. Comes today. Install soon. Weather depending.

 

it's only getting colder out there....

 

Hopefully this weekend.

 

Just seeing if there’s any updates to the amp install. @TacoManOne

 

Getting closer. Had a MAJOR project to cleanup and organize the garage. The Taco might fit in now.

 

Thanks for these pictures! I had previously cut off the connectors and wired directly to the new sub. But going back to check this I got one of them backwards

Connection 1: red = positive, yellow = negative
Connection 2: black = positive, green = negative

 

Happy Holidays! Any updates or did I miss something?

 

Ok so the JBL DSP amp is installed!!!!!! When my fingers thaw, I will do a writeup. LOL. Somewhat unconventional amp location but it works great. Took lots of photos.
Froze my butt off in sub-freezing weather but definitely worth it. WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYY better system. LOUD, much better bass, no loss or power cut down when playing loud for more than 5-10 minutes. Or at least that what seemed with the stock amp. Much better system and I have not even tuned it yet!
The instructions that came with it for the DSP software SUCK. on a really good day. I will reorder this from install to tuning once I am done.

DSP Settings
=================================================
Used a Leica Disto laser measuring device to get the distances for delay.

Location / Speaker Model / Distance including depth of speaker (read/watch the video to see why)/distance from grill to cone/spider interface.
---------------------------------------------------------------
LFT / JBL GX 302 / 30.50 in / 1.5 in
RFT / JBL GX 302 / 49.50 in / 1.5 in
LFW / JBL GX 963 / 43.00 in / 2.0 in
RFW / JBL GX 963 / 55.00 in / 2.0 in
LRD / JBL Club 6522 / 36.00 in / 2.0 in
RRD /JBL Club 6522 / 56.00 in / 2.0 in
SUB / Polk MM842 DVC / 56.00 in / 3.0 in
---------------------------------------------------------------

For reference
LFT - left front tweeter, but my speaker is 2 way, more on this later
RFW - right front woofer, but speaker is 3 way, same
LRD - left rear door, 2 way speaker
Etc.
Woofer - dual voice coil speaker

So here are some links to help on the software side. I spend a few hours messing around with it and will spell out what to do in what order to save you some time.
Do this in the order below since it lays the foundation for the video. I run the sound board at our church and have done mixing for years with analog and now digital boards so I started with a slight advantage.
1. What Should I Set My High Pass Filter To? (soundcertified.com)
2. What Should I Set My Low Pass Filter To? (soundcertified.com)
3. Then watch this (but only the first 1/2, once they start answering questions its pointless)
DSP Talk JBL DSP 4086 Five Star Car Stereo Live Stream - Bing video

Good site for audio info home and auto Sound Certified

Next steps are
1. 1k Hz test tones to equalize volume at each speaker
2. Dial in the crossover points. Soundcertified recommended 18dB slope and I started with that but ended up with 24dB slope which seemed smoother and more natural with my specific speakers. YMMV.
3. Use white noise to set equalization.
4. Crank it up and go deaf.
4. ALWAYS remember that I live too far north in Spokane WA area to do long OUTSIDE Tacoma updates in the middle of winter.

LOL


More to come!

 

i'm about to hit you with a bunch of newb questions, like: with an 8 channel dsp, why did you choose 3-ways and 2-ways?

at whatever point you get to it, i still can't really picture the complete signal path between the various parts, HU, stock amp, dsp, etc.

 

I will create a diagram and post it.

 

Kenwood used to have a plug n play amp to swap out the stock JBL amp. I had it bookemarked a few years ago and cannot for the life of me find it anymore. It was still $1k+ but cheaper than the OEM solution. And if you're willing to spend $2800 pre install on that, you might as well go all aftermarket and rewire everything. Way cheaper, and not near as hard as you think

That's what I plan on doing. Have upgraded all the speakers, and in another year or so I'll get a JBL 900/5 HD, same amp I'm using on my car's rewire. Just use 16 gauge interconnect wire to run from amp to doors

 

At the time I was looking for something better and was not considering an amp. The JBL DSP amp allows summing so I can send full range to any speaker so 3 way is not an issue at all.