Premium Audio Upgrade for less than $250

yes, round speakers are overall better. oval speakers tend to introduce additional distortion due to the oval shape when pushed harder.

 

If one were going to put in an amp for the 8" non-jbl head unit, will the level mismatch between front and rear speaker levels applied to an amp that can take speaker level inputs, result in acceptable sound? Seems like there should be a switch or something inside the radio to pick off the line-level outputs of the front and rears and send that to the audio connector on the rear of the head unit...

 

Well, I've learned a lot by talking to the experts at Crutchfield, and I understand the benefits of an "active" line out converter...
I must either invest in a seperate active LOC, or get an amplifier that has active leveling inputs (i.e. can take a speaker signal and actively convert it to a line level before amplifying it.

Things would have been so much simpler for us if Densen / Panasonic provided a switch for selecting non-amplified outputs from the head unit.

Now my question is - where are people sticking their amplifiers? I'd really like something small enough to go behind the head unit if possible.

 

They kicker key 200.4 has separate gain control for the front and rear channels, so you can tune it for your ears.

https://images.app.goo.gl/eBGp9kLbQMmZvduK6

 

probably need to skip that part then. it's something i do with my aftermarket head unit to better ensure the speakers last long, but there's only so much that can be done with the stock head unit.

there is

sorry, only a very few OEM head units have ever included rca outputs-- the only one's i know of were head units under the scion marque.

what you're looking for in an amp generally falls under the 'mini amp' category--sonic electronics has a specific category for this. the kicker key is a really popular option here because it has a built-in sound processor to help make the speakers sound a little better, as the sound processor is a big part of getting around the factory-programmed eq that attempts to make the original speakers sound better than they are.

 

Well, that amp is a bit more than I wish to spend at the moment to be perfectly honest... I might end up there, but not yet. There's more learning for me to do.

A question or two for anyone living in the Northeast that is also getting their trucks treated with Fluid Film or Wool Wax or similar products.
#1. If they spray that material in the doors, what are people using to protect their speakers in the doors from over-spray.

#2. Again, if they spray that material in the doors, can one achieve significant noise deading if one applies the sound mat material on the inside of the door (i.e. over the plastic, and around the speaker mounts that become visible when you take the panel trim off, and possibly, apply the material to the backside of the plastic door interior trim?

Any thoughts or experience, please let me know. Thx.

 

I’m sure this has been mentioned, but must be buried in the 244 pages.

I installed the four Kicker door speakers the OP mentioned. Noticed when I fade all sound to the rear, there is almost zero sound/power from the rear two speakers.

How can I get the original HU to give those speakers a little more oomph ?

 

Well, I'm going to try running the 4 channels into an amp with speaker-level input capability (i.e. an internal "LOC" or line out converter which converts speaker level outputs from your HU into line-level prior to amplification).
Then if I have to deal with a large mis-match between front and rear, I will use another passive LOC (with adjustment) to de-emphasize the fronts.
Finally, I'm getting a pair of Infinity speakers for the rear-doors. The coil has a 3ohm rating, but with the speaker wire, estimated to be 4ohm. Sensitivity is 93dB.

I'll report back if this works out reasonably well.

 

You, like me, probably have the low powered non-premium HU.
I believe the OEM door speakers in most Tacomas are full range (no crossover)…and are easy to drive. The front doors are assisted by the dash tweeters. When most people replace the OEM door speakers with aftermarket 2-way/3-way speakers, they’re adding a lot of drivers into the equation and those require a little more juice. They’re also probably needing to adjust the equalizer (high/minds/bass) to rebalance things with all those tweeters.

If you want to retain your original HU, get the most efficient speakers you can. There are 100db efficient speakers out there. And you may want to use only the bass units on a pair of efficient separates for the front doors. Acoustically treating the doors and rear cab can help too.

 

Excellent points!

I can't get over the thought that, the head-unit may be, certainly should be capable of output power balanced between front and rear - that it is simply mis-configured, either in software (read firmware download, or configuration tool), or at the circuit board level by design (which I have a hard time believing).

I wish I could get a manual for the thing. Or better, a schematic from the manufacturer. It's either made by Densen or Panasonic. Wouldn't it be a hoot, if Toyota didn't apply it properly, or configure it completely? This is not rocket science.

In my post above, I meant to write the LOC takes the speaker-level output of the head-unit, and... I've since corrected my post.

Anyway, there are also inexpensive line-in pre-emphasis products to level the power / input signals to an aftermarket amp, and more expensive amps, have gain adjustments for this purpose... In the end, I don't want to replace my HU. However, I started on the journey because I posted it really wasn't necessary to hear much from the rears in the truck. It's a truck after all. That is, until I got back into our Subaru Outback, and thought, this is much more pleasant, it's how audio in a vehicle is supposed to sound (and no, I'm not talking power, I'm talking ability to adjust the sound field around the listener).
So, I'm treating this as an educational experience, and that's how I'll sell it to my wife as the UPS drivers keep showing at our door.

If I ever do replace the HU, I'm opening the OEM thing up and experimenting. Maybe there's a little potentiometer or two on the circuit board that need a little rotation.

 

This seems to be a 3 gen thread- I have a 2015 access cab - will putting in the the Kicker CS series door speakers sound better with the basic head unit?
Thanks for helping the slow kid in the class

 

I was wondering the same. Was considering the JBL speakers myself

 

nah, toyota knew exactly what they were doing. there's no simple process to this. but there's also more to it than just head unit adjustment. the rear doors don't have anywhere near the same acoustics as the front doors. this means that even if they get to the same SPL, they're still never going to sound close to the front doors.

 

Well I wasted some time (thanks TW) post 32 of this thread ---
nd4spdbh posted the following
Yup stuck with the Stock HU in my 2013 and did all door speakers (6x9 3 ways in the front, and 6.5 3 ways in the rear) along with tweeters and it sounds SOOOO much better. all for under 150 bucks. Well worth it. The stock speakers have SUUUUCH a small driver its almost comedic.

 

Certainly true. Tonight I was looking at HU replacements. When you add in the cost of additional HW, upgrading the HU isn't exactly cheap.
I'll see what an amp adds to the 8" non-JBL and go from there.

 

It's been stated in here several times... This thread is for owners with a Premium non-JBL head unit.

There are four types of head units.
1. Entune
2. Premium Entune (I have this one in my Taco)
3. JBL

If you have #1, the only *cheap* upgrade worth doing is the in-dash tweeters.
If you have #2, the only upgrade worth doing is the in-dash tweeters and the front doors.
If you have #3, the upgrade path is different.

The Premium Entune unit's amp, while internal to the head unit, does NOT deliver the same power to the front and rear channels. Maybe 20W to the front, and 5W to the rear. The Premium Entune unit cannot drive the rear speakers, so you won't notice an improvement if you upgrade.

If you are going to keep the original head unit, a Kicker Key 200.4 is easy, since it takes speaker-level inputs, and also has different gains for the front and rear, so you can tailor the sound in the back. I just finished building my T-harness, and plan to install the amp / upgrade the rear speakers before the cold sets in.

 

Sound advice (ha ha) and a good summary. There may be another approach:

I have the 8" non-JBL, and I'm going to go at the problem a little differently. I will report my results. In essence, I'm going to
1). Replace the front tweeters with Subaru/Kicker tweeters
2). Add a small, inexpensive "open box" Sony XM-S400D amp w/45RMS x 4 into 4ohms
3). Patch in the amp using a small inexpensive harness from Red Wolf. Also another wire harness I got on eBay identical to the speaker
out harness that came with the amp
No splicing into the OEM harnesses for me!
I'm not splicing into wire harnesses that come with the amp
4). Replace speakers with much higher sensitivity in the rear doors to help out in the F/R power mismatch department

Note: the XM-S400D is so small that it can easily go behind the HU. However, I plan to wire it for it's home somewhere else, maybe under the front seat. For wires, I'm using twisted pairs that exist in Ethernet RJ45 cable. I'm cheap, but audio over ethernet cable has been proven before.

I don't want or need a lot of amplification as for me, the stock system isn't "bad".

If I cannot adjust the resultant drive to the front and rear to be a bit more balanced after amplification and HU fade adjustment, then I'm going to try to pull a little trickery to de-emphasize the front speaker input to the amp with a Kicker 46ISLOC.

Essentially, the amp I purchased didn't come with gain adjustments for front and rear because I'm experimenting and trying to learn - which is why I'm trying things this way. Unorthodox? Sure.

Nothing has locked me out of getting a better amp should I choose since I purchased the amp and speakers from Crutchfield.
Everything reversible, and returnable in same condition I purchased them in should that be necessary.

 

Although this thread is titled for Premium non-JBL owners, it has provided me with a lot of great information for my non-premium HU. So much great info if you’re willing to read through it all. I plan to get a an aftermarket plug and play HU without an amp so all this stuff is quite relevant to me.

 

I second that. I've learned so much by reading this thread and others here. I found Crutchfield provides a great means to perform research and comparisons of features and cost. Their experts are there to support the customer before and after the sale. Don't be afraid to purchase something open box to save even more. When my amp arrived, everything was present and in perfect condition. I can't write enough good things about my experience shopping with that company.