Anyone upgrading their 2016 Tacoma's speakers?

Kenwood eXcelon Reference Series Fit 5ch 900W Digital Power Amplifier (XR9005) I am adding this and an 8 inch sub. What should else should I be looking at adding. Bear in mind I will change out the speakers at a later date. My wallet is only so deep lol.
I should also mention the guy at visions suggested I get a volume control for the sub itself. So I can raise or lower the sub volume. Is this necessary?
Alpine PDX/MRX Remote Bass Control (RUXKNOB)

 

Not necessary, but very nice to have. If you don't already have the amp, there are lots of others that come with a remote volume knob.

 

Thanks for the info. I have seen the amps with remotes. That's a nice touch. Unfortunately my amp doesn't come with one.

 

Don't know that this is as useful as it is me being a braggart. I also just got my truck so still working on it therefore no photos (boo). I should have all of the supplies needed though and hope to get into it this week.

Audison AP8.9bit
Audison AP1 D
Audison DRC MP
Focal PC 165F
Focal PS 165 FX
JL Stealthbox
********* Speaker Mounts
Various cable, distribution blocks, 1F capacitor, MDF, carpet
Hoping it all fits...(pretty sure JL's site is out of date)

I have loose plans in terms of where the Audison equipment and distribution blocks will go. Some stuff on the sub enclosure depression and the remainder within other rear seat storage nooks. Goals are to retain as much rear storage as I can, minimize permanent modification and make it a clean install. We'll see.

By the way, the jack setup is a pretty big impediment. Anyone seen any alternatives or threads? Wondering if there's another place to mount the jack. I'd even consider stuffing it into a weatherproof box. There are a lot of voids under the truck.

 

Let us know how that Stealthbox works out. Many have alluded to the fact that there are significant modifications required, but nobody has documented them to date. I exchanged emails with JL Audio and they definitely don't have anything set up for the '16 yet.

 

Hmm, that is disappointing to hear. The general shape appears the same however, I haven't test fit it. Would go out there now, but it's nearly midnight here. Anyway, one concern of course is that the back wall of the cab has changed too much for the cabin vents or whatever else. If I have to booger up the plastic liner, so be it. If its more than that, I'm probably out.

I could possibly cut into and patch the rear of the sub enclosure. That would be a messy nuisance...

I'll dig into the box tomorrow...thanks for the info.

 

It looks really close and I found a great deal on ebay. I began to do some research but chickened out. This thread had the most info/ pics, but there are other mentions of Stealthbox installs on 2016's as well.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...oisture-under-the-drivers-carpet-help.430051/

 

Good info. So for sure one needs to trim out the back plastic liner, which isn't too big of a deal bc if nothing else, it's replaceable.

Bigger problem is that rectangular check valve type vent assembly. I suppose it either has to come out and the hole be plugged (sound mat is not a good solution for that imo) OR the JL enclosure needs to be notched out for additional clearance, glassed back over and then re-cover the access with carpet.

Depending on how much clearance it needs, I like attacking the enclosure better. Sure it sucks to tear into that expensive kit, but I think it's the better way to go. Even if it's totally botched, the speaker is still available for putting into a wedge enclosure. Sure was hoping for easy...

 

Here's one solution for the Stealthbox.

 

If these units are anything like the 2nd gens which it sounds like they are. The headunits send out an audio signal to the amplifier through 2 harness plugs. The stock amplifier does its job (pretty piss poor at that) and send the "cleaned up" signal back out through a dedicated harness to each speaker. The problem with replacing JUST the amplifier is that you can do so, but by doing such that will leave you entirely unable to handle the volume via the headunit or the steering wheel controls. The only way to fix this issue is to replace the headunit entirely with your choice of aftermarket manufacturer stereos. You can use all your current factory wiring, but all the hard components must go (the sub can stay, but it sort of sucks). You will need a PAC TATO and a Metra AWSC-1 to retain digital amp turn on from the headunit, and steering wheel control functionality. Do yourself a favor and DO NOT use T-Taps!

From there you can select any stereo you want, with at minimum a 4 channel amplifier to drive the speakers. Depending how you want to wire it you can run all the speakers off two channels and the sub off the rears (DVC sub setup w/ 4 channel amp). Or you can do it how I did and run two tweeters and two coaxials in the front on the front channels while bridging a rear SVC subwoofer on the rear channels essentially turning the 4 channel amp to a 3 channel amp. Factory comes with a DVC subwoofer, so it uses a left and right channel to drive it.

Running rear door speakers ruins the sound imaging in the truck, so you are better off running the best you got in the front and driving the rear with just a subwoofer.

You can choose to bypass the factory amp and leave it inline with the rest of the system for better sound, but I equate that to double amplification and attempting to put a bandaid over a gaping wound.

There seems to be a lack of hard information over the JBL system equipped trucks, so doing this first hand fairly recently I can help with any questions you guys may have.

 

Here is an idea of finished product on most of the install of my JBL to aftermarket swap out after it was all said and done. All wiring is tied in parallel. The amplifier is a compact size, not any larger than the OE one was, but much better built. The OE Dual Voice Coil (DVC) subwoofer has been pulled out and a standard sized Single Voice Coil (SVC) 4 ohm Rockford Fosgate P1 Punch 8" sub has been retrofitted in it's place. The system totally shreds, and clarity wise, DESTROYS the JBL system by miles. I hope this helps some of you in your decisions on which way to go when it comes to working with your OE JBL system.

 

Looking at speakers now, which to buy to do a decent upgrade.

And DIY videos on door panel removal and replacing speakers on Gen 3.

 

You will be safe with any 4 ohm/ 2 ohm impedence capable speakers. Kicker, Rockford Fosgate, Alpine, Sony, Polk Audio, Infinity etc. etc. Try to match all your stuff up so they all match in impedence, RMS wattage and sensitivity ratings. Anything is a large step up over stock.

The thing is though, you should look more towards the speakers construction as well as the built in tweeters construction if you look at a 2 way coaxial speaker. If you get a component setup the construction is just as important, but since the two speakers are remotely separated you have skme flexibility.

What kind of music do you listen to? I listen to rock and that sort of music so I like to turn it up real loud. For me that means I like and want aluminum or titanium dome tweeters when I am looking to replace my speakers. If you listen music that isn't so taxing on your speakers because of all the different sound frequencies being produced you could go with a speaker with silk dome tweeters.

I would look at the Infinity Kappa's. I used to own a set and they played music real nice in my old GTO. They have a nice construction on both the woofer and the fixed tweeter. I run kicker cs coaxial speakers and rockford tweeters and subwoofer now though.

 

Anyone use any other speaker/wire adapters other than *********? I find theirs a little pricey for my liking.

 

A fellow audiophile speaks! Pro-tip: Turn to 35-40 volume with bass and treble bumped up two notches on the equalizer and remember you're listening to music in a truck on the highway and just deal with it. When I want clear, pristine quality sound I turn on my hi-fi and play vinyl...AT HOME.

 

I literally can't even pass 25-30 on my headhunt (for my own sake, it'll go past that) since the OEM Audio Plus upgrade. That amp really puts out the power and those speakers will get way louder than you'll ever need and still not distort. I'm quite happy with it and it's not the best listening experience on the planet with a truck that loves to shift into 4th gear combined with a loud MagnaFlow exhaust system. But it's where I listen to music the most by far on my daily commute or whenever I'm in it for that matter, so it's the best thing to upgrade for me.

At home I have a much better setup at my desk or with headphones. Not audiophile grade, but better than most. I've got a pair of M-Audio AV40's combined with a 10" Polk sub or some M-Audio ATH M50x's or Sennheiser HD598's depending on the music and soundstage or people presence due to open back cans vs closed. My iTunes library is still primarily 256k AAC or 320k MP3 but every CD I've bought is encoded in ALAC/FLAC and the difference is certainly noticeable on some albums. All of this is played though my iPod classic plugged into USB on the truck's head unit or on my HTC 10 though it's dedicated DAC to my headphones.

I'm in the "I care about my audio" camp, but not the spend crazy amounts on it camp. I've got other things for that like cameras, lenses, phones, a new Mac every once in a while, etc. But I was willing to drop the cash for the 450Q. Huge improvement from the stock speakers. Might have left it if I had JBL though.

 

I'm pretty sure that competition will follow. I remember helping a friend install a set of speakers on his Silverado. We ordered from Crutchfield Electronics. We bought some Rockford Fosgates for like $60-$70 and they shipped wire adapters and mounting brackets for free with them.

I'll be shopping through them for sure next time. Their speakers are like $10-$20 more expensive than Amazon but you're essentially buying the mounting/wire adapters with it so its a wash. IMO probably one of the best shopping experience after being into audio for 10+ years. They know what they are doing and that's why they are staying afloat with competitors like Amazon and Ebay.

 

I replaced the factory front door speakers with Pioneer 6x9"coaxial speakers. Sorry don't have the model number handy right now. It was around $200 installed. I don't really have the budget to do any more right now, and I disagree with those who say upgrading the speakers without an amp is a waste of money. It definitely provided much better sound than the factory 6x9 speakers. The factory speakers had magnets about the size of your thumb tip! Too bad many factory systems go with cheap speakers

 

I have purchased these in the past for my 2015 & they worked flawlessly and I intend to use them for the 2016 if they fit

$10 Metra 72-8104 Speaker Connector for Select Toyota Vehicles, MULTI COLOR

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002BBP7Y/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Not sure what you plan on doing but these are the metra connectors that most use...

$7 Metra 70-1761 Radio Wiring Harness For Toyota 87-Up Power 4 Speaker

https://www.amazon.com/70-1761-Wiri...8&qid=1469143964&sr=1-1&keywords=toyota+metra

$12 Metra 71-1761 87 - 94 Toyota Vehicle Harness

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00029X1KA/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1