gm-d9705 high level input terrible sound

first time building a setup running off the stock headunit in my 2023 tacoma. non jbl system. went with infinity kappa components and a pioneer gm-d9705 5 channel amp taking advantage of its speaker level inputs. have everything installed and hooked up and it sounds terrible. everything is muffled and theres crackling noise playing through the tweeters. i spliced all speaker inputs directly from back of headunit and ran through the center console keeping as far away from power wires as possible. ran all new larger speaker wire to speakers to handle the extra power of amp.

there is no switchable settings between high and low level inputs on this amp. it does everything automatically even turning on and off which seems to work great

any idea of what issue could be? not sure if i should waste my time trying a loc and using the rca inputs or just replacing the entire headunit with aftermarket.

 

I haven’t measured the output of the older radios but I know the newer ones far exceed the rated input stage on your amplifier. You should check with a 0dB sine wave and meter (no amp or speakers connected). Your entire gain structure and equipment selection is built on this knowledge.



Having muffled sound tells me you probably didn’t wire the components correctly. You didn’t list what speaker model you have so I was unable to check their method of band limiting for each component, on a two way crossover or wired parallel with a filter capacitor for HF. Verify your amplifier can handle the final impedance.

I think the factory harness would have handled the power just fine and I would have just used a T-Harness.

 

kappa 90csx speakers up front which are 2.5ohm and the amp is rated for 2 on speaker channels. they are double checked wired correctly. fully sound deadend doors with nvx baffles. tweeters and in factory location. the guys at ********* said anything over 80watt rms you should look into replacing factory wiring. this amp is capable of over 100 watt rms and speakers are rated for 135 so i went ahead and did anyways. i run these same speakers in my car and they sound amazing when given alot of power.

 

also this is for a 2023 tacoma not my 95. my 95 has a full infinity perfect setup and pioneer headunit.

 

The new head unit will exceed 16V well before it starts to clip. Is it crackling at low volume or do you have to turn it up some?

For the newer factory radios I highly recommend using a JL FiX.

 

low volume is fine. input voltage is something i didn’t look into or even think about. il look into the jl. so you think its worth keeping the stock headunit sound quality wise? i did notice it is actually a pioneer headunit

 

It just depends on what you are willing to lose vs. what you gain. Replacing the radio will cost you something, like music displayed on the gauge screen, the Toyota voice assistant, the added cost of harnesses required to retain USB functionality, SWC, rear view camera… it’s an economic snowball, and what do you gain? Maybe wireless Carplay and an app or two?

I don’t know how exactly you use your radio so it’s hard to make that cost/benefit judgement for you, but I can say that I kept my factory radio and it sounds pretty incredible now having added stuff and replaced things.

 

these monstrosities?!?
https://nvx.com/collections/speaker...aker-baffles-with-self-adhesive-foam-base-pad

it's like putting a speaker in a bass tube, and those never sounded good!



muffled and crackling indicate to me that the input is being overdriven. a LOC like the lc7i from audiocontrol would give you the adjustment you need.



my vote is always to change the factory radio with an aftermarket model. the oem radio's all have specific sound tuning that can't be adjusted out without a factory-canceling dsp like in the kicker key amps, some jl products, and a few others.

yes, you lose the gauge display, and vehicle settings adjustment-- that now requires a techstream or similar. but all the other standard functions(usb, radio antenna, reverse camera, steering wheel controls) can be maintained with modules and adapters.

 

yea i wanted to see if i could notice any difference. i know the sealed chamber baffles were bad but didnt see much on these. i only have 6.5" fast rings right now. im not worried about losing features. i dont even know what your talking about gauge display. when i swapped dasaita radio in my corolla the only feature i lost was the fuel economy chart which i never looked at. looks like i can get a dasaita for the tacoma too for about the same price as the jl fix.

 

the center display in the gauges does link up to the radio, and can show things like radio station/cd track, and gps routes. it's a few options over from the first screen. i don't miss it.

the second part, buried in the radio settings, there's a spot for 'vehicle settings', that allow you to adjust the follow-me-home headlight feature, which doors unlock with the key fob, and a few other vehicle settings like that. removal of the factory radio means you can't adjust those past whatever each feature was last set at.


i would cut those baffles down as much as possible so only the top is re-directing rainwater off the speaker, but is otherwise open to the rest of the back of the speaker.

 

ive never seen any of those features anyways ahaha. before i take your word on the baffles i will hear for myself with and without them. the outer silicone lip does seal up perfectly with the door panel so cutting the back off could also work

 

just wanted to say that you were spot on. i swapped to a different radio and tried the high level inputs while i was at it and they worked perfectly.