JBL Sound

Does anyone know if they wire all models for JBL amp and speakers or just the ones equiped?

 

Just ones equipped.

 

I am not an audiophile, but not only do I believe upgrading is not plug n play,,, but many aren't happy with the JBL and it's ability to upgrade. So you may research that too.

 

To echo what chew said most people are happier not having the Jbl system because wiring up aftermarket is waaaay easier. You could do tweeters and the other speakers plug’n’play though many run new wires anyway. With the Jbl it’s a whole can of worms to upgrade any of that stuff or your options are severely limited on what you can use with the stock headunit/amp

 

^^^




Be happy if you don't have a JBL. Its easier to harness up and run your own wires than try to bypass that pre-amped hot mess. Especially if you upgrade the front to components as nature intended.

 

this isn't completely right.

the main thing is that the non-jbl can be piecemealed together. ie. all the speakers, wiring, and head unit follow industry standards that work with all aftermarket gear, so any singular component can be replaced at any given time in any order.

the jbl system uses a proprietary interlink signal between the radio and amp. the amp also individually amplifies every single speaker. it cannot be piecemeal. the speakers can be replaced, but the main cost-- the head unit and amp, must be replaced with new speakers, as well as re-wiring to all the replacement speakers.

technically neither audio system has any barrier to gutting the entire audio system and replacing it with a custom sound system. the problem comes when people want to maintain any part of the oem system.


this is exactly why i always gut the oem sound systems and start entirely fresh. any time a part of the oem system remains, it cripples the rest of the improvements.

 

This is a really helpful way of concisely explaining what I’ve been able to vaguely ascertain from many different posts.
Would you recommend upgrading via the oem audio plus route or a fresh start at around same $3k price point?

 

the best answer here is that "it depends".

for many, the oem+ gear is perfectly fine. it's easy to install, and it's tuned specifically for the truck. but a significant part of the purchase price is that designed ease of installation and tuning work that they've performed to create the ready-to-go kit. also, because it's a kit, it's essentially a different flavor of a customized version of the 'jbl system'--there's very minimal customization that can be done within the kit. if there's a lack of, or a suspicion of lack of anything in the kit-- whether it be the sub not being powerful enough, or the tone/color of the speakers not being up to individual preference, then the cost of the entire kit is worthless in contrast to buying piecemeal custom-researched and installed aftermarket gear.

a custom build can easily beat out the oem+ initial cost to create something similar as their kit, as it wouldn't have the custom system tuning hours, or R&D research behind the wire size/length/connectors. it just means more work on the individuals part to run/install/connect everything, though most people factor personal time as 'free'-- if anyone starts adding up what they get paid to do an install like that, the oem+ would easily start getting more cost-competitive.

personally, i like researching, building, and customizing to my individual preference, so the oem+ one-size-fits-all approach just simply doesn't work for me, even if the audio quality meets all my actual needs.

my suggestion is to read all the reviews of the oem+system to get as broad an overview as possible of it's sound and limitations . from there, take a moment and review what you really need/want out of a sound system change and see if the two align. if they do, it's worth it. if they don't, it's not.