3rd gen audio build - Joying tacoma headunit

Sounds to me like you're maybe missing an amp turn-on wire?

 

I guess the best question to ask is , if anyone with the JBL version has installed this and has the joying 9’ android head unit working 100%

 

Try going to the audio settings and toggling the AMP turn on.

 

I did that , everyone that has done upgrades that are just plug and play are the “NON JBL” version of the radio , this has been an absolute nightmare, I now have the crux module interface that’s supposed to work with the factory amp , it all has to be wired , which is not plug and play , so at this point I’m just giving up , can’t seem to get the help I need to understand this

 

Please refer to this post if you have the “JBL “ radio , everything is plug and play , just have to cut these two wires to get audio to come through the head unit , after many trial and error and research ! It works !! No maestro kit , no pac kit , nothing , just the harness recommended with the canbus

 

Any issues with the trucks electrical system?

I'm about to have a 6 channel amp with my 1200 watt subwoofer amp installed in the truck and I'm worried if my 3rd gen tacoma's electrical system can handle the load.

 

It'll handle it, but depending on if you have the tow package or not you may have the smaller alternator on your truck. Also, the factory battery is crap so if you haven't replaced that yet I'd do so with a proper AGM.

 

I read you need a tune for the AGM type, so you can adjust output voltage. Is this correct?

 

I switched to an AGM with no tune a year ago and so far no issues. Also went a 3-4 days of no driving and it started up just fine.

 

Ah, yea that's partly true. With a tune you can have the ECU set your alternator charging voltage to 14.4-14.6 volts, which is what AGM's need to fully charge. The stock charging settings do not let it reach 14 volts, so the battery never fully charges. If you have any sort of battery charger or maintainer, you can run that once a month or so to top off the battery.

 

That's what I was thinking, thanks for clarifying it! I was debating on the switch when my OEM dies, but leery of switching due to that fact.

 

Is anyone using the optical output into a DSP? I am wondering how the signal quality is...

 

No here

 

I tried to once, but in the end didnt because it didnt allow for fading forward to back.

 

I'm being slightly rhetorical here, but has something changed with music in some amount of years where all of a sudden its SUPER DUPER IMPORTANT to have rear fill/speakers? I mean aside from live events where maybe some reverb or echo coming at you from behind is cool to have, aren't pretty much all studio recordings done from a single mic source?

 

nope. but i'm debating running some tweeters for rear fill with an incredibly-exaggerated delay for nothing else but kicks and giggles because i've never tried it before. i just remember my mom's old suburban, with the rear speakers by the tailgate situated somewhere in the last county sounded pretty good with the natural effect..

i attempted to, well, around about 2008-ish, with a carpc(so i could 'break into' the optical signal and select the number of channels, output format, and what went out on those channels), and investigated optical-in amps. biggest issue was signal routing within the optical cable, and how the amps deciphered the signal. at the time, i was trying it on a lenovo laptop with optical out, and a marantz surround reciever, but early indications from other carpc optical 'wanters' ended with the same drama... tldr; it's super easy to get 2-channel audio in and out of an optical cable. but adding channels above that(and consequently control/manipulation of a speaker/sub+ setup) became a fools errand that never quite worked.

optical might be easier if using all the same brand of head unit/amps. the issue i kept running up against was mixing brands, and everything seeming to have their own signaling standard.

 

I feel like most music now lacks all stereo separation. Listening to a older song (80-90s) and you can hear they mixed the instruments. Music now I cant tell the difference when I switch from stereo to mono.

 

'lacks' might be a bit much. early 80's, stereo was still relatively new tech, so many artists were still experimenting and playing with the format. it started with things like the artificial double tracking-- of course that was invented for the beetles in the 60's, but a lot of 'newer' bands of the 70's-80's still played with the technique of having 2 recorded tracks in different ways. most of the new stuff has definitely gotten away from playing with the effect to extreme levels of earlier, but they'll still use it for cymbals and guitars slightly now.

now that stereo is more normal, there's less of a focus on using it. sort of the same as how tech like smart phones haven't made us smarter!

i mix sound for church. a lot of people that later listen to the recording have noted how the band sounds entirely different and more lively when i mix it over the other sound guys. all of it has to do with my preference to mix things into a stereo soundstage where each instrument and singer is equally balanced in volume, but has a specific spot within the sound stage by dropping the volume for the non-dominant channel different amounts.

but most people just don't notice, so i can definitely see less of an interest in 'painting the sound stage' for engineers just trying to get through some rough recording sessions!

 

Yeah, back in the day the drums making it rounds with Santana

 

This song always trips my kids out because everything they listen to has so little sound stage to it. Like this song doesnt have a ton, but the intro makes their heads spin, then when the vocals come in you can hear one person on the right, then on the left, then both together. And this is just from 10 years ago.