stock radio low volume?

Has anyone else experienced thier stock radios volume maxed out being not very loud at all? Especially wen using an aux cord? Cds play the loudest but still not very loud..I like my music loud does volume increase simply with an aftermarket hu? Jus seein if I'm the only one.

 

Yes, yes, yes and you are not the only one. Look in the audio & video section for lots of great info on this.

Sounds like you have the SR5 non JBL head unit. They suck. Almost any aftermarket head unit will be a huge improvement.

 

x2

 

Yep im wanting to upgrade badly but wheels and tires are first

 

Ok awsome thanks guys

 

Will a stock JBL unit work in a sr5 4cyl? Like plug and play?

 

From what I understand, no. Not same wiring.

Anyway OP, I have read a lot of complaints about these radios and volume, but have never had a problem with mine. I use my ipod, and turn the volume all the way up on that, and it gets nice and loud.

 

Mine peaks out at a pretty low volume regardless of the volume on my iPod. When I play through the Bluetooth I get even lower volume. On top of that, the mix completely flattens out at the higher volume levels. Pretty piss poor.

 

That sucks, maybe I got lucky with mine.

 

I agree its not the best,I noticed it on day one,you did go to settings and turned off the auto mode,I set my to loud setting all the time,helps some in certain conditions.

 

Maybe I'll try that until I get my new HU.

 

Here's a theory:
CD comes in loud, radio and aux are quiet. Perhaps the CD player has a higher preamp (signal) to the main speaker amp in the stock HU. If you boosted the preamp of the iPod/mp3 player, you may be able to achieve the sound level of the CD input. Clearly, it's not an output power limitation, as the speakers sound fine at full CD volume.

Potential problems with this:
May have too much gain, max out the aux input and reduce sound quality, or it could overpower and damage the input. I doubt this, as it all likely goes to the same amp, but I'm not responsible if you try it.

I ordered a line driver hoping to fix this problem, but it was DOA , so I had to send it back, and I haven't ordered a new one yet.

Line driver example:
http://www.amazon.com/Peripheral-PAC...ds=line+driver

Thoughts? It could work...

 

Do the 2011s have the USB port? If so, try loading a jump drive with a couple of MP3s and see what you think of the volume. That's what I use, and it's actually louder than the XM channels at the same volume setting. Sounds really good in my 2012 DC.

 

I had set everything up in the setting when I bought the truck. Adjusted to bass and treble, way up on both (easy gain in volume) and when I checked yesterday, everything was flat again. Have no idea how.

Anyway, it does sound better but not great by any means. I have to mess with it more today.

 

had the same problem. I set the bass and treb all the way up as well. It sounds louder but still not loud enough, next upgrade will be a touchscreen and some speakers.

 

You should also have volume settings,dont remember exactly but I think your choices are low,medium,loud and auto,I set mine for loud mode always along with base and treble. Also turmed those suckass roof speakers off.

Still far from great but better.

 

I'm quoting myself because I want to take back my last comment. It still sucks. I might have gained 2% in total volume. I realized that I was listening to a remastered recording that I haven't listened to in months. Put on one of my standards for a true test and my stereo still sucks.

Need a new HU.

 

Anyone add some 2 way speakers to the factory head unit and notice an improvement in volume?

 

This has been brought up several times. I'm not a stereo expert AT ALL! Not even close. Speakers alone won't do anything and in some cases your system could sound worse because they would be severely under powered. I've learned that the best starting point is a new HU.

 

Wasn't 2009 when all the voodoo oem stereo issues started up? I have had several 2005-2007 non-JBL oem units switching from black to silver and single disc to 6 disc. The volume level using the GROM audio usb/aux/ipod box thru CD1 on back of any of those stereos has always had same volume levels as FM or CD whether I'm playing music thru USB, AUX or IPOD connections. Now, they aren't loud like any amp driven sub system but don't seem any more useless than any other oem setup is in any number of other vehicles without upgraded systems. Haven't had an oem JBL so cannot speak to those. Just my experience, not saying newer different shit doesn't suck horribly enough to be weird & intolerable.