TCMBST Reference 500Q Product Review

https://tacomabeast.com/products/toyota-tacoma-2005-2015-double-cab-sound-system?variant=23087224961

TCMBST Reference 500Q Product Review
MSRP $1,499.00
1. This system is specifically designed for the Tacoma Double Cab. The advantages are plug and play and an exacting fit.
2. The vehicle is measured acoustically with 6 separate microphones.
a. One inherent problem with that is you don’t know where those microphones were placed.
b. You don’t have 6 ears placed throughout the vehicle which means the sound isn’t optimized as best as it could be. It is a pure marketing ploy and concurrent with the industries current direction.
3. Tuned for the acoustics of the Tacoma.
a. Refer to #2a and #2b.
4. Optimized for all vehicle factory radios and most aftermarket options.
a. This claim is a marketing ploy and misleading as it is self-adjusting to what their engineers want you to hear.
5. Plug and Play installation.
a. This one advantage could save a lot of people a lot of money in installation costs.
6. Vehicles factory warranty remains completely intact.
a. I would need to see the letter from Toyota to verify this but it definitely sounds like more from the marketing department.
7. Matched components present a huge advantage verses relying on a salesperson that may or may not have a clue on what they’re selling. Typically salespeople are trained to sell what makes the most profit and/or sales commission.
8. “This level of scrutiny and control results in a powerful experience without fear of blowing a speaker, taxing your vehicle battery, inducing distortion or any other type of variable that may interrupt your enjoyment.”
a. Without the company knowing at what listening level you’re going to listen to the system at and without them knowing what you’ll be listening to the above claim is quite an impressive claim. To my knowledge there is only one way to achieve that result and that is by limiting the system’s output for listener’s that can’t determine what distortion sounds like which means if you know what distortion sounds like your system will be limited by other people’s lack of knowledge that is built into the system to protect itself.
b. The inability to tax your vehicles battery can only be achieved in one way – low power output. It’s a mathematic equation and can not change.
9. 1” Soft dome tweeter.
a. An excellent choice.
b. Plug and Play.
c. 6db crossover is definitely not ideal and further enforces that it is a low powered and low dollar system.
10. 6” X 9” Speaker.
a. Plug and Play.
b. Carbon Fiber cone should produce great sound with minimal distortion compared to stock.
11. 6 ½” Coaxial Speaker.
a. Plug and Play
b. A two way speaker is an excellent choice for rear fill.
c. 1” Soft Dome Tweeter is an excellent choice.
d. Carbon Fiber cone is an excellent cone.
12. Drop in Subwoofer speaker system.
a. Plug and Play
b. This has no mounting hardware and requires no mounting hardware – better bass can always be achieved by actually mounting the speaker box with bolts/screws (always). This also further establishes a low powered system.
13. 8” Subwoofer Speaker
a. For a single Subwoofer system an 8” subwoofer is an odd choice.
b. Quad voice coils is what happens when the marketing department talks to the engineering department. It’s a useless fact and pure marketing.
c. Sensitivity is rated at 88.9 db however one important factor of that test is omitted from the information (frequency measured) which can definitely mislead the results of the test.
d. Frequency Response is 20-1,000 Hz (Marketing department once again)
14. This is the first speaker box I have ever seen that has its size listed in Liters.
15. Tailored minimalist design (see 8a, 8b, 9c, 12b, and 13a).
16. Car Seat Anchor (Nice touch but the subwoofer box isn't bolted down! Are you insane?)
17. Multi-Channel 32 Bit DSP Power Amplifier
a. Marketing Department is present here as well.
b. It doesn’t list any actual specifics other than the title and its RMS power rating.
c. Real time system diagnosis for trouble free operation (this system has to have been built for people that don’t know what distortion sounds like thereby greatly reducing the chances that this company will have to warranty equipment).
18. 360 Watts RMS (Continuous at 2 ohms).
a. Without other pertinent information this figure is useless.
b. Meets OEM standards (which would imply Toyota standards, I would definitely need to see Toyota’s letter stating this aftermarket company meets their factory standards) including AEC-Q100. AEC-Q100 standards test extreme temperature changes and equipment failure as a result of those temperature changes. From what I read there are no impact tests which I would think would be pertinent information for truck owners that go off road, for example some Tacoma owners.
19. The mounting of the amplifier/processor under the driver’s seat is definitely a nice touch as it is generally wasted space.
20. “D/A Converters and DSP will maintain signal integrity and precision adjustment not possible with an analog signal.”
a. Although the above statement is accurate it is disconcerting no parameters of that “precision adjustment” are mentioned. For example if my listening preference doesn’t match theirs does it automatically adjust my adjustments out thereby requiring me to listen to my music how the engineers of this audio system want it to be listened to. I believe it does thereby reducing their chance of warranty repairs/problems.
21. “Clean, clear and crisp sound achieved without requiring a massive power amplifier (via DSP).”
a. Further proof this is a low powered system that is self adjusting and might not be adjusted to how you personally want your music played.
22. The Frequency Charts.
a. The charts are barely readable.
b. The charts do not follow very basic octave principles.
c. The “before” chart is ludicrous in the db achieved and obviously skewed. No reference is given as to what was being played when the frequency chart was captured. Completely misleading and uninformative.
d. The “after” chart doesn’t show much of a db gain further proving it’s a low powered system. No reference is given as to what was being played when the frequency chart was captured. The company missed an opportunity to further mislead the purchaser which I find highly interesting. The peak below 40 Hz and the dip at 40 Hz is equally interesting, it’s probably due to their choosing a single 8” subwoofer that is attempting to be compensated by a DSP which would follow the current trend in the industry. With a 6 db crossover on the tweeter I would have to guess the subwoofer/6” X 9” crossover is equally poor at 6 db and the frequency chart does reflect that type of frequency response. The peak in the frequency chart at 200Hz and the dip right after 200 Hz is exactly what I wouldn’t want to see in a frequency chart especially in an automotive environment where road noise peaks at around 180 Hz. I would expect such a result with a single 8” subwoofer combined with 6” X 9” speakers that also incorporate the use of a DSP. The high frequencies fall off far too rapidly and any listener with aged hearing will not be happy in the high frequency range if they considered themselves an audiophile at a younger age – assuming this system does what it claims to do which is self-adjust itself.
23. Plug and Play is this system’s biggest selling point combined with the selling point of it being trouble free with the noticeable exception of the wording that it adjusts itself to how they want you to hear your music being played.
24. It shows a specification list that is the exact same information it stated earlier and still misses all pertinent information that I previously wrote was missing.
25. The installation video.
a. Is there some sort of time limit on videos that I am not aware of or did they blaze through it so quickly to make it appear it’s a lot less work than it actually is? I’ll go with the latter. If you’ve never done this type of work before that video is going to be a nightmare to follow (pause, reverse, play, reverse, play, pause, reverse again, play, etc…). I’ve watched many instructional videos and I can not understand why this video was edited like it was. Their biggest selling point is plug and play and then they provide this high speed video claiming it’s for the average person to install it while omitting many key parts of disassembly without breaking the truck? The video omits that you need a torx bit to remove the seatbelt bolt. The video blazes past the steering column and pedal areas which is an area many people fail their installation quality at. The power wires are supposed to attach to the 10mm nut on the positive battery post – they’re asking for trouble here because the 12mm nut right next to it is a far better attachment point. At the end of the video it states “this concludes the installation of the Reference 400Q system.”
26. More marketing department.
a. “100% money back guarantee.”
b. “Contact us with any questions or concerns.”
c. “Easy Returns – quick and hassle free.”
I. Let me get this straight, you’re going to spend hours taking your truck apart to install all of this equipment, then you’re going to listen to it and for the sake of conversation/debate let’s suppose you don’t like how it sounds so now you’re going to spend hours more removing all of the equipment, reinstalling your original equipment, box it all back up in its original packaging as originally packaged because I’m sure that’s what they are going to require, wait for them to receive their now used equipment back, and once all approval stamps are received you’re then going to get a full refund and your time completely unvalued and lost will be the final result. Quick and hassle free indeed.


Summary:
At the top of the link it lists the price at $1,299.00.
Down near the bottom of the ad it lists the price on the System 500Q at $1,099.00.
Also at the bottom it lists the price of the Reference 500Q at $1,499.00.
The installation video is for the Reference 400Q.
You might want to reread the above.

There is no disadvantage to a properly designed low powered system other than the volume (db) level that can be achieved. Throughout the ad it lists specifications with no pertinent details to those specifications listed. The frequency chart given is not only difficult to read it is unimpressive at best. The frequency chart falls on its face in the upper frequencies. For having a DSP the frequency chart has far too many dips and peaks and those dips and peaks are drastic. They really missed a few easy opportunities to improve the system's sound quality and I am perplexed why they chose to do that: four small pieces of sound deadener - one for each door speaker, 12 db crossover's at all crossover points, simple brackets for the subwoofer box, a subwoofer upgrade would be nice and easy, and lastly a subwoofer level control (which goes against everything this system is designed to do which is self adjust). However, I’m positive this system would be a huge improvement over the stock Toyota speaker system overall but within the same sentence this system’s design can be easily be beaten in performance by almost any average installer and with the industry the way it is and the market of harnesses that are available I’m positive this system could be beaten for less or similar cash outlay and still be a plug and play system without requiring any factory Toyota wires be cut in the process. I would really like to see Toyota’s corporate approval of this audio system as well – as claimed.

I have been waiting for at least 2 decades for an audio company to attempt something like this and this appears to me to be a very disappointing outcome but it's difficult to tell due to the lack of information published.

Come on people proof read your company literature…