2018 Toyota Tacoma DCLB BBP Audio Build

Passenger side wiring is done. I thought about sealing up doors and putting back trim but I’m not that brave about everything working without testing. I’ll be patient. Waiting on metra head unit harness and I can wire and be testing soon. Building the back wall mounts/amp rack will take some time so I may get everything working, take measurements and put everything back together so I can use the truck for a while as I take my time fabbing a rack. Again, amateur, I can do it but every step takes time.

 

Keep trucking!

 

Built my metra harness today. 1 hour exactly. I’ll post some pics later but the sticky on the audio forum

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2016-bbp-audio-build.430252/page-49#post-18590476

Page 7 gives step by step. Anyone that can follow instructions can do it.

Pics and progess updates later. It’s all together and working!

 

One hour following forum step by step instructions. No issues.

 

Tweeters mounted using metra adapters. Used a hole saw to make the adapter the right size. A dab or putty to keep in place.

 

Everything is looking good. Love the build

 

I cut the cross member off on the far right and far left back of the cab. Used an oscillating tool. Noico’d everything. Left the middle section so I can mount my amp rack to it. The sub boxes slot right in and won’t even need any bracket.

 

I reused the factory sound mat and I actually cut off the inside 2 inches of the back corner plastics on each side. Then I cut down the back panels 10 about 12” and used them over top of everything. Hard to see in the pics but you get the idea. I wiring up for now. Will come back and make a amp/cross mount between. I didn’t plan it this way but my amp is literally the exact dimension of the distance between the 2 subs. Will make for a clean look.

 

Everything hooked up, seats back in. I’ll be tweaking tuning until I like it. Using 1x filter on fronts, HP filter on rears and running subs with the +24db filter. Fronts and subs about 30% gain. Rears slightly higher. I am getting a bit of a whine/noise. I need to look at my ground again. I currently have it in the belt buckle bracket which I know is a no no. It sounds excellent. Happy with the Morel front components. Loud without being harsh at all. I’m VERY happy with the rear Coax Morel Ultras. They sound better than the front components. That’s why I have rear gain up a bit. I want the back sound to balance with the front because it makes the sound that much better. At 24db filter the subs are very tight. Giving off just low end punch. Amazing on rock music, no booming, just tight hard hitting bass. On rap it still pounds pretty good, but not like it could if I took the filter off. I’ll probably get a bass knob since I’m running gain so low and sometimes I’ll want to show off. The 2 JL 10” shallow mounts are simply incredible for their size. If you haven’t experienced them you wouldn’t believe it.

Taking a break for a while and will work on finishing touches in a few weeks. Maybe 20 hours top to bottom putting everything in. I’m happy with it.

 

How are you setting your gain? Are you just turning the dials, or are you using an oscilloscope to check for clipping?

 

I was basically setting gain based on how well it sounded. I’m so far under full gain I’m not too concerned with clipping. I’ve never used an OS. I’ll have a friend that works in the biz help make it more legit at some point.

Do you think you were able to do a pro job yourself just by having the scope?

 

My brother in law is an oscilloscope nerd and helped me out. The object of the gain settings is to match the output sensitivity of the radio to the input sensitivity of the amp, preventing clipping of the amp or damage of the speakers.

For Instance, setting the gains on my system, leaving the gains at zero, I first found the max volume the head unit can go before clipping. We found that the head unit does not clip at Max volume, so we set the max volume at 52 for the test tones. The speakers are NOT wired to the amp at this point.

Then we set the test tones at 1,000 hz and played on repeat. Starting with the fronts, with the fader set to front, we set the gains with the oscilloscope. I might have moved the gain dial a fraction (maybe 2%) before clipping occured. So I slowly dialed back until the curve on the oscilloscope showed no clipping.

Repeat with rears.

For sub I used a 60hz tone, and repeated.

Then after gains were set I wired the speakers into the amp.

Every amp is different. On my last system in the tundra, the gain dials went to 25% before clipping occured.

We use a Seed Nano which is recommended on DIYMA.com

Seeed Studios TOL01241P Digital Storage Oscilloscope, Nano v3, 105 mm x 53 mm x 8 mm Size

https://www.amazon.com/Seeed-Studio...=1538834220&sr=8-3&keywords=nano+oscilloscope

Do I feel as though we did a pro job? No, but I feel safe that I'm not going to damage my speakers or amp. The sound is fantastic and clean/without distortion and that's what I was looking for.

 

Alternately you can use either ears or a digital multimeter to set gains.

The ear method listens for distortion and is probably better-suited for someone with more experience.

With a DMM, you calculate a target output voltage and match it using the gain control - pretty similar to what is described above but doesn't use an oscilloscope. IMHO, both scope and DMM methods are both ballpark targets. We listen to music - not test tones so all these will do is get you in the ballpark of where you should be set. As a rule, if I don't know where a source clips, I'll start at ~ 80% volume on the head unit/source. Actually this is where I'd use the oscilloscope if anywhere - to find jagged waveforms in the source output instead of guessing (the 80% figure). Then using a DMM bring in that target voltage.

With an active 2-way I only do this on the midwoofers. Then I bring the tweeter in by ear. Then the sub in by ear. With passives like you're doing, I'd dial the front doors in first. Then the rear fill by ear to suit your tastes. Then the sub - again where you like it. Generally our midwoofers (or components in your case) will be the limiting factor. Tweeters and subs can typically easily keep up with the midwoofers...at least that's what I'd expect in your case and usually happens unless one is going with one of the 'easy all in one' sub options.

 

So are you literally only at 2% gain?

What is your estimate for each set? How far turned for example?

 

I’ve used a similar method in the past. I may try again. I’m not worried about the clipping still. My gains are less than 50%. The JL/speakers can handle things based on the rated RMS. Just figured I’m more interest in sound than absolute max output.

Also, any suggestions other than ground for whine? Can’t hear it with volume up even a little but I’d love to get rid of it. Using a pretty solid 4 gauge wire. I doubt it’s transferring any noise but I do have right side speakers running along side of power wire.

 

For the fronts, I had barely turned the dial when clipping started. The rears, a touch more. I'm going to be resetting them in a week or two, I'll take video.

 

I could be wrong but at only 2% gain I don’t think you’d be getting the most out of your amp. Maybe that isn’t how it works though.

 

I was concerned about it as well so I called Mr. Marv on it. He explained the concept of matching output to input to me.

I think I'm fine, but when I reset gains I'm going to use a 1000hz tone at +2dB and 50hz tone at +2dB as well (which Marv recommended I do after running it for a while). I'm trying to do everything in increments....

 

Well, you can still clip with the gains halfway up. It all depends on your gain structure. You want to start with the (clean) signal as strong as it can get from your head unit. Then get your amp gains in the right place. Maybe forget about max output for now. This is about keeping distortion and noise as low as possible.

You already have whine? Did you have it before? Best practice for avoiding noise is to ground everything (ALL the audio components - even the head unit) at the battery. Next best is to ground all in the same spot. I know you say 'other than ground' but the ground is usually the culprit when it comes to noise - other than that it's usually a component generating the noise. Ground locations also need to be free of paint, rust, or anything else that could discourage current flow. Poor grounds are generally the culprit when it comes to noise. Err, what sort of noise is this? White noise or engine whine? Or something else?

 

First I investigated where I had my ground. The back seat buckle bolt. Looked under the truck. It’s not even on the frame. While under there I found a rubber grommet right between the back seats. I punched a hole in it and stuck my ground wire through it. Started looking around for somewhere to attach the the frame. Saw a bolt on the drivers side. Looking closer I noticed it had 2 wires running to the front center of the cab. It is the central ground for the truck. They run to this bolt! I pulled it off and hooked up my ground. All whine gone immediately. That worked out well.

This is probably located on some other forum but there is just too much info to sift through.