Audio options for 3rd-gen non-JBL Tacoma

A few months ago, I picked up a 2017 TRD Sport quad-cab Tacoma with the 7" screen, but no JBL system. When I bought it, I figured the stock audio system would be sufficient, but now I'm looking to upgrade.

I've got a fair bit of experience with mid- to high-end home audio equipment, but haven't done any car audio mods for over ten years.

In lurking around the forums here, I've seen a ton of options - including ********* systems, OEM Audio systems, and custom systems from Crutchfield etc. I'm ideally looking for something that would allow me to keep my head unit (for steering wheel controls, back up camera, and the stock appearance), so the ********* SQ2 system was quite appealing on the surface. However, I've seen plenty of negative comments about the company or the experiences members have had in dealing with them.

I live in a pretty small town in the mountains in BC, Canada, so I don't have easy access to a shop with a great deal of car audio experience, so most of the work would be DIY (in other words, the simpler the better).

My budget would be around $2,000, but I'm a bit flexible. Lower is generally better, but sound quality is paramount.

Any recommendations or shared experiences would be most welcome!

 

I had the OEM+ system in my wrx and it was fantastic. Going off of that experience, I would not hesitate at all to go that route. Very high quality sound and relatively easy install. Customer support from OEM+ was also excellent when I had questions.

That said, I didn’t want to spend the money on a new system when I got my tacoma. I found out (from the OEM+ guys, actually) that the tweeters used in the tacoma are identical those in the Subaru.....and figured out that the subaru kicker “upgrade” speakers that you can get from Subaru are a direct fit into the Tacoma. I installed them and the difference is striking. For me.... I find the system with just the tweeters replaced is very acceptable. There’s a thread somewhere around here that I started several months ago about the tweeters if that interests you. “Easy tweeter upgrade” or something along those lines was the title.

Good luck and congrats on the new tacoma!

 

the Subaru upgrade audio mod is rather common https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/premium-audio-upgrade-for-less-than-250.510424/
for around $250 you can swap out the doors and tweeters as i believe they are all plug and play.
Just about every thread/post about the audio system will tell you to go towards the same Subaru "

$105 H631SFJ101 Subaru Genuine Tweeter Kit Kicker WRX STi Forester Crosstrek Impreza H631SFJ101

H631SFJ101" Tweeter Kit - which are used in the WRX, STI, Forester, and a few other models under the "upgraded audio package". Amazon seems to have it the cheapest.

edit: added some stuff

 

If you're looking at spending OEM or ********* prices, I'd avoid the linked "less than $250 thread"

While it is a great upgrade for those keeping to a cheap budget, and I have contributed a bunch to that thread and many like it, you are going to want better if you're willing to drop some pretty coin on your system.

I personally kept my factory head unit like you, and did my whole system with kicker K-series (red label.)

Are you planning on doing the work yourself? Or having a shop do it? This will impact your budget significantly

 

If I were to put together a good system to fit in that budget, this would be my personal best bang for your buck

AudioControl LC-6.1200 $700
Kicker 44KSS6704 6.75" Components $230 (on sale for $172)
Kicker 44KSC6704 6.75" Coaxials $100 (on sale for $75)
Kicker 43TCWRT124 12" Loaded enclosure $250 (on sale for $188)
(to fit the 12" you must cut off two of the car seat latches on the back wall. If you need these latches for a car seat, the 10" version works well also)

Then I would highly recommend the bass knob
ACR-1 $50

You will also need good 4 or 0 awg power/ground wire for the amp. I always use Kicker (PK4 is a good option) but the KnuKonceptz stuff seems to be good as well. Be sure to get 100% copper (OFC) and not any cheap cca (aluminum) garbage. Also be sure it has a good fuse holder (I hate the plastic tubes because you have to take them apart to swap a fuse, then your hot lead from the battery is exposed. Kicker's fuse holder is my favorite.) I would allot $70 to this.

Then all the wiring, brackets, harnesses, etc which I've listed Metra part numbers below

Main Harness

$5 70-1761 Radio Wiring Harness For Toyota 87-Up Power 4 Speaker

70-1761
Reverse Harness

$11 71-1761 87 - 94 Toyota Vehicle Harness

71-1761
Front Speaker adapters to fit 6.75"

$20 82-8147 6"-6 3/4" Speaker Adapter for Select Toyota and Lexus Vehicles,Black

82-8147
Rear Speaker adapters 82-6600
Speaker harnesses x2

$15 72-8104 Speaker Wire Adapters for Select Toyota Vehicles - 4 Total Adapters

72-8104
Speedwire x2

$26 MC918-20 20-Feet Nine-Conductor 18 AWG Twisted Multi-Use

MC918-20
all together should run under $150

Then a good bag of 22/18 butt connectors or a roll of solder and some heat shrink. $5-15

That brings you to $1,565 before tax, assuming full price on everything (drop that to $1,423 with current sales as of 7/20/18)

Spend the rest on some Noico 80mil sound deadening material to put all over your door panels and back wall

That should bring you in just shy of that $2000 mark after taxes

I feel like that will be about the best system you can get for that money.

As a disclaimer, this is my exact setup aside from the amp. I have the Kicker KX800.5 and an AudioControl LC7-i because the 6.1200 didn't exist at the time. I would absolutely get that amp instead.

 

@destin_meeks do the 44KSC6704 fit in the rear door without modifications? Clutchfield says they don't fit.

Also, thoughts on these powered by the

$220 Kicker Key180.4 Kicker 45KEY1804 4-Channel 45 x 4 Key Smart Sound Processor Amp 180W Amplifier

Kicker Key180.4 amp (along with the 6x9 coaxials in the front - I already have the Subaru Kicker tweeters or else would go component)? Wondering if the Key is under powered for the KS (or even CS) series??

Thanks for all your contributions to this forum, BTW!

 

Yes, they do fit in the rear doors. Metra part #

$17 82-8148 6" to 6-3/4" Speaker Adapter for Select Toyota/Lexus/Scion 1998-Up Vehicles, Black

82-8148 works like a champ.

As for power, the Key works great with them! I have done that setup in a lot of cars so far and everybody loves it.

I’m running KS series on 50w per channel and I can turn it up to the point of being painful. The 45w per channel on the Key is plenty!

 

Awesome - that's what I was hoping to hear. Is there a plug-n-play harness available for the Key? I've done a lot of searching, but can't seem to find a write-up on the Key install... Looking for all the help I can get

 

I just did a Key install last week. I did not do a install write up but I did one when I installed my Kicker Hideaway powered sub. When I added the Key later on I used the same Metra harnesses from the Hideaway install. Basically you buy the two harness ends and solder or crimp them together with your Key harness and that’s pretty much it. Then run the power and ground wires and you are done.

So my build started with the $250 tweeter and Kicker CS speaker upgrade. I then added the Hideaway powered sub. Last I added the Key for more volume. If I did it again I would do all the speakers and the Key first. I would likely do the Hideaway powered sub as well but if I was in a budget I would leave it till last.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...-premium-upgrade-kicker-key-180-4-amp.541375/

 

I actually emailed Kicker a while back looking to buy the wiring that comes with the Key so I could build some plug-and-play harnesses, but they don't stock extra, so that was a bust for now.

Not too many write-up's, as I've just been getting the Key into people's builds recently. Only been available a few months now. But here is a mock-up of the two metra harnesses being used (

$11 71-1761 87 - 94 Toyota Vehicle Harness

71-1761 and

$5 70-1761 Radio Wiring Harness For Toyota 87-Up Power 4 Speaker

70-1761) with the Key interconnected.
Photo belongs to @siKjiTz

 

I just went through this whole process, and I’m also a big home theater guy that’s dabbled in car audio.

My advice would be to ditch the line level converter and use a dsp. I ran the lc7i for about a week before switching to the audison bit ten d. The difference was dramatic to say the least, even before I got into proper tuning.

You can get a nice set of components for up front, a decent set for rear fill, dsp, a 5 channel amp and a 10” sub for around 2k if you shop around.

For reference, I’m running an alpine pdx5, two sets of jl c3 650, Rockford p3 10” shallow mount sub, audison bit ten.

 

@Exracer2 & @destin_meeks Thanks for the input! I'll likely be undertaking this in the next couple weeks. Wish me luck!

 

Good luck! Let me know if you have questions

 

@destin_meeks so what should my switches be looking like on the amp? I FINALLY got everything hooked up and have a green light on my amp. I went ahead and went back and put some sound deadening on the front doors

 

Do you have a subwoofer?

 

I'm in the middle of my own build. Third car I've put a system in. I'm also into home audio, have built a solid 7 sets of DIY speakers.

I put in a JBL MS-8, a JL XD-700/5, and a set of morel virtus 602s. If I didn't already own the processor and amp, I'd go with the VXI series by JL audio. They fit easily under the front seats, and give serious control over the system.

The JL stealthboxes seem great too, albeit a little overpriced.

These vehicles are far easier to work on than the German cars I've had in the past. I was easily able to pull the carpet and run wires in a very OEM appearing manner. I threw in a bunch of dynamat, and the doors now close with a nice solid thud, instead of a metallic clank.

I looked into the ********* and OEM+ systems, I didn't feel they are as valuable as building my own from scratch. Your opinion may certainly differ.

 

No subwoofer, just upgraded all 4 door speakers and plug and play tweeters for now. But....just realized, before coming inside, that my radio didn't wanna turn off when I cut my truck off lol. I just said f it for tonite tho. Btw I haven't even done the setup process yet. Didn't have time yet.

 

All dip switches should be up

I’m guessing you had the auto turn-on set to DC offset, which makes the blue wire a 12v output. If this is tied into the red Metra wires, this will keep the radio on

 

Probably so, I'll fix it tomorrow and update ya. Thanks

 

Hey @destin_meeks that fixed the power issue. I have all switches up, except crossover switches. Have those both down.
Where exactly is this amp supposed to be mounted at? Wanted it in my glove box, but dont think the wires are long enough. Also it doesn't really fit where I can fool with the settings and all. I just have it pushed down into the jungle of wires behind and below the head unit righ now.
I still haven't had the time to run the auto setup . Gonna try to do it on my half hour lunch break, if it don't take too long.