2015 double cab audio upgrade recommendations?

Aftermarket head unit and put a 2 12” sub enclosure in the back seat. I went with kenwood for head unit. PM for pictures

 

Or contact Vendor Mr Marv @Mr Marv and tell him what you’re wanting to do/upgrade, your budget and he’ll give you options and gather all the components and ship to you.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/members/mr-marv.1009/

I used him, kept OEM Navigation Head Unit, added amp and replaced speakers, very pleased with outcome and cost.

 

Even better.

 

Have you checked out OEM Audio Plus? It would fit your bill and be plug and play. I haven't heard the system in person but I haven't seen one bad review at all. Plus it would keep your factory head unit, all your factory controls without having to splice a single wire and does't take up much room. I am assuming it won't wake the neighbor hood but I'm sure it provides a very nice overall sound.

https://oemaudioplus.com/toyota/tcd0515/

Another option is to get a DSP (Digital Sound Processor) or a DSP with an amplifier built in (preferred so you only have one unit that takes up less space). This way no matter if you choose to stick with the factory head unit or aftermarket you can tweak your system very well. Most of the DSP/Amps are setup for 5 channel so you can run all of your speakers and your sub off of one unit, very tidy and space saving.

https://www.crutchfield.com/g_120/A...15#&nvpair=AG_General_Features|FFBuilt@in_DSP

 

Thats a good budget to get what you want. I remember just my door speakers and amp were $1200, but i could have saved money by not purchasing rear speakers. I ended up selling my rear speakers to my roommate who used them to replace his OEM front door speakers.

So a couple guide lines...

1. Bass is cheap! you do not have to drop big money to get big bass! Kicker is one of my favorite cheaper brands! They have been around forever, i have ran multiple versions of their subs and they do great! I purchased a kicker 1200w RMS mono block amp to run my 2 subs, was about $250. Their 10" woofers can be found for around $150.
   1. https://amzn.to/2Xf2g9L amp
      
   2. https://amzn.to/2qeQct1 sub
2. Door speakers are were you want to spend your money. This is where you will go from a good sound to a great sound. You want quality speakers and a quality amp to run them.
   1. component speakers are your friend! They will produce better sound and will help prevent them from blowing.
   2. a quality amp will produce a clean steady signal. I have this amp... https://amzn.to/2Xb2lvk
   3. I have hybrid audio and they are amazing speakers! they have different models depending on how much you want to spend. https://hybrid-audio.com/
3. Amps....
   1. running a 6 channel amp will help keep the wiring clean and may help save some space, i personally like to run a dedicated sub amp and stage amp.
   2. Just make sure the amp(s) you purchase can power the speakers you buy. Pay attention to the RMS rating at each OHM load. Some amps have to be ran at 1/2 ohm to get the max RMS power rating.
4. Your box....
   1. if you can find a ported prebuilt enclosure then that would be the best/cheapest way to get the most bass. Ported enclosures tend to hit the lower notes better and produce more bass than a sealed box, but a sealed box is going to have much better sound quality.
   2. Air space is very important! if the sub you buy requires more than .75sqft of airspace then you may have a hard time finding a box with that amount of space that will fit behind the seats. generally the larger the sub the more airspace it requires.
   3. if you can fiberglass a box into the rear wall it will give you much more air space, and may allow enough room for a port. im not that experienced with fiberglass but i have seen a few links where people have built them and they turned out pretty sweet.

 

I will just share what I did as I wanted to keep the stock head unit and stay on a reasonable budget
New speakers in all the doors, used higher efficiency 2-way speakers in the front and three way in the rear to gain more volume. Sound ordnance powered sub woofer-
End result is definitely a better sounding system- however is still does not get loud enough- I have some songs on phone that are recorded at lower levels and I cant get to a optimum rocking out decibel with them still.

I would consider changing the head unit if you want more volume.

 

this is also a very good alternative also. Some of these sound really good as the components are built specifically to work with each other. I will say that the Idata meistro doesnt always work as advertised, its expensive, you will need to buy a harness to work with your truck/HU

 

Same thing for me. Spent a bunch of money, got a WAY better sound! But when i put the new HU in i can now say that my radio never gets over 75% volume level. Its LOUD AF now!

 

The reason I like the idea of the OEM Audio Plus is that each system is built/tuned around the exact vehicle and its sound characteristics. Very simple to install, no need to tweak a DSP or deal with splicing a bunch of wires to install a headunit and amplifer into the vehicle harness.

I agree, getting a DSP or DSP/Amp can be a bit to work with. Plus you still have to splice wires, which doesn't scare me but may put some people off. Some now have a microphone that makes tuning very simple as it "autotunes". Just place the mic in the area you desire the sound and it does it's thing, some better than others. But some DSPs offer a high level of tuning (which it seems like you understand, just trying to give info for on lookers) which is good and bad. The good is an almost infinite level of tuning in some cases. But that can be as overwhelming as going to get beer, having too many choices and now you don't know if you walked out with the right one and you're questioning your decisions. haha

 

I also used Mr Marv for my sub enclosure and speaker sales. Great guy!

 

Yeah i did a ton of research before i attempted to mess with my DSP. But now that i know how to do it i can tweak it as i think its needed.

Like now that i have recently installed a new HU i need to hook my laptop up to my DSP and retune everything.

I am interested in that mic you are talking about... which one is that? I may need to pick one up! Im sure the real time spectrum analyzer will also be much more accurate than the one on my phone.

i would also love to get my hands on some of Steve Meades tuning tools! Would love to use them to dial in my settings!

This video shows how to properly set your settings!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1rWMhpehzQ

 

This one I know has the mic, as well as the JL audio ones (can't remember which specific model though). It will send an auto generated sound and receive it through said mic, tune the sound to that location for "optimized" sound however the manufacture dictates the processing. I believe LC has a model or two that the mic control as well.

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_206KEY1804/Kicker-KEY180-4.html?tp=115

I think those Steve Meade tools are cool....just way above my head as a novice plus not being able to profit off the tools to justify the cost.

FYI, right now I'm completely stock. Come this spring I will be building a box for my subs (elemental designs 10" shallow x2) and wiring in my amp (5ch) using the stock HU. I am going to experiment as I have never ran high level inputs and I am curious to see how my amp handles it. Also using the stock speakers just see what they sound like amplified. From there I am planning building components from parts-express, more than likely running mostly Dayton Audio speakers and tweeters. Much cheaper than a component set, often times better than most component sets under $300 and I like to tinker with speaker building. I wouldn't call myself an audiophile nor would I say I am very experianced, but I do like good audio and I research way too much.....that any mod I do though.

 

I might do it in phases TBH.

I was thinking to start:

Door speakers alpine type R component
rear speakers alpine type R coaxial
amp Pioneer GM-D9705 Class D 5 channel amp

Then i could run a small 10" sub behind drivers side back seat (haven't gotten into box or am research yet)

add the head unit later once i decide what i want if needed?

thoughts on this?

 

You can drop a nut on speakers, amps, etc... However, its only going to sound as good as the source.
I replaced my stock head unit with a single din Kenwood. Omfg, the life it breathed into these crappy stock speakers!
Inexpensive speakers can sound much better than you expect with a good clean signal feeding them.
Stay away from high level (speaker) inputs for amps. Low level only with 4+volt outputs. Using speaker outputs to feed an amp is amplifying an amplified signal; noise, distortion and all. A muddy footprint covered floor is still cleaner than the output of the stock head unit.
IMO, you won't be happy with doing speakers and amps unless you replace the head unit.
Been there, broke that...

 

my only issue is that I have the entune already not just the old factory one seems like a bit of a waste to change it out right away on a truck i bought a month ago and i need to make sure i get one that keeps all the features like backup camera and steering wheel controls... I plan on changing it in the future to this

$280 Alpine iLX-W650 7" Double DIN Touchscreen Digital Multimedia Receiver with Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto

https://www.amazon.com/Alpine-iLX-W...=1573841558&sprefix=alpine+ilx,aps,204&sr=8-4 I assume i need a kit from crutchfield to get all the features and all that to work but was thinking of doing speakers first does everyone still think its best to change the head unit first?

 

Start with the head unit. Also, get any RCA cables you need and the remote turn on wire under the console for later. Tape the ends so that they don't short out under the console.

I believe the maestro unit will give you all the steering wheel controls and OBD2 goodies as well. I saw one post somewhere in here, the guy had his tire pressures on his display. I had never really considered a double din head unit until I saw that picture...
From there it only gets better...

The factory hu might not drive these speakers the way you think it should due to the preset EQ in the stock unit. Not only is it tuned to the cab, it's also tuned to the crappy speakers. Get rid of it and you'll be shocked at what they're capable of. I was.

In any event, now you can plan and install everything and still have much better sound before you start ripping the doors apart

Personally, I'd use the factory wiring to the speakers until the amp (s) are installed. Run the RCA cables, new speaker wires, mount and wire the amp(s) then cut everything over.

 

Thats a darn good deal on that headunit!! Also you can get an amp that mounts to the backside of that HU!!

$220 Alpine KTA-450 4-Channel Power Pack Amplifier with Dynamic Peak Power 45W RMS x 4, at 2 Or 4 Ohms

https://www.amazon.com/Alpine-KTA-4...sr_1_2?keywords=KTA-450&qid=1573852988&sr=8-2

Also There is this deal through SonicElctronix where it includes that HU and amp in a package. https://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_173419_Alpine-ILX-W650-Alpine-KTA-450-Combo.html

I know its "only" 50W RMS but thats still a decent amount of power and it doesn't take up any extra room! Also at that point you wouldn't have to run a 9 wire back to the 4ch amp to your speaker wires up front. You can just connect directly to the speaker wires behind the deck. I believe they are 18awg which for that amount of power is completely adequate. Unless you're pumping 200w RMS you really don't need anymore than 18awg.

EDIT: You could start here with your stock speakers and while using the amp as well. Then slowly progress into speakers or get the sub in and then speakers. Something else to look into is Noico sound deadening, good price and good quality.

 

There are a ton of options when you run a shallow HU like that. Here is another "mini amp" that can be used as well, though you will have to figure out a mounting solution which wouldn't be hard. 75w RMS on this little guy.

https://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_158911_NVX-VADM4.html

 

ok so i went with:

alpine type r front
alpine type r coaxial in rear
alpine ilx-207 head unit
alpine 45 watt power pack

installing next weekend.

now as far as sub what do people think about powered subs like

$265 alpine pwe-s8 120W compact powered 8" car subwoofer for under or behind the seat

alpine pwe-s8? and has anyone installed one under the drivers seat? will it fit? or should i go with a regular low pro sub/amp combo?

 

a few years ago i got a JL Audio Stealthbox with a 10TW3 powered by a JL XD 600 v2. im actually getting my deck upgraded this week to a Alpine ILX-259. adding the sub made a huge difference, with the deck cutting in and out and wanting car play it was time to upgrade.