New Head Unit = Better Sound Quality & Increased Volume??

So a few months back I upgraded the front & rear speakers in my 2015 Tacoma, I also had a 4-channel amp installed.

I went with the Kenwood eXcelon Speakers & Amp.


The new speakers with amp sounds much better then stock, but I was somewhat expecting the new setup to be a lot louder.

I am still deciding on what head unit I want to upgrade to, I'm leaning towards the Kenwood DMX908S.

My question is, will upgrading to a new head unit provide additional sound quality and increased volume?

 

1 word , definitely

 

First question would be.... have you check the gain(s) on that Amp?

https://www.wikihow.com/Set-the-Gai...he gain dial on,until the distortion is gone.
With rms wattage from a dedicated Amp and not using "deck" power.... you should be able to turn it up so loud that the sound will start to distort.

But then again..."loud", in the acoustics sense, is subjective.

 

I have not checked the gain(s) on the amp.

I assumed the the shop where I purchased the speakers & amp and did the install would have configured my new setup for optimum sound/performance.

 

I would want to believe that they did too, but I don't really trust people to go the extra mile these days.

Read thru the link that I posted above. An adjustment of the gain on the Amp may be all you need. Super easy to do and won't cost a cent.

 

Thank you for providing that link, looks pretty easy to do.

Which one of these dials would be the 'gain' adjustment?

 

I have a very similar setup with Kicker 6x9 components and 6.5 rear with the same Kenwood amp (50x4 but mine adds the sub channel). After the install I was shocked at the low volume.....ended up turning the gains way up on the amp and wow what a difference....sound is amazing and loud

edit: turn both sets of "input sensitivity" way up

 

Input sensitivity

 

Will do, thank you.

 

Thank you.

 

As noted in previous comments, the loudness (or lack of) is probably simply the gain on the amp being set too low.

Now regarding your last question about sound quality....
That Kenwood amp is perfectly capable of pushing those speakers. But audio quality is dictated by its source. Junk in = junk out. The factory head unit is programmed to compensate for the cheap factory speakers. All speakers regardless of price/brand handle various frequencies a little differently. Think of it as the speaker response "fingerprint". The factory speakers have a different fingerprint than those new Kenwoods. And the factory head unit was designed to take advantage of the factory speakers' strengths, and mitigate their weaknesses. The factory head unit has no idea that you installed a new amp and speakers. The head unit is still pushing the "stock enhanced" frequency curve to those aftermarket components. Again, junk in = junk out. To get the best response from that amp and speakers, you really need to eliminate (or "clean up") the head unit's "enhancements" with a digital signal processor. You can do this one of two ways:
1. Keep the factory head unit and put a dedicated DSP between the HU and the amp.
2. Replace the factory HU with an aftermarket one that has a built-in DSP.

If the factory HU meets all of your needs (featurewise), then a dedicated DSP is the less expensive option. But if the factory HU lacks something that you want/need (such as wireless CarPlay/Android Auto, HDMI or extra camera inputs, extremely high bitrates), then you might as well replace it with one that has those features.

 

Thank you you for this great information.

 

Replace the head unit and speakers
Look at trail grid pro , they have a plug and play Sony bundle . The Sony radio has great power
Unless you want to do a full system then you can open Chelsea s box

 

Ok, a couple of things here . You can raise your input sensitivity here ,but be careful not to do so and cause clipping on your amp . Turn the volume up more than half way , bring the gains up until the speakers start to distort then back off on the gains a little . Also crossovers and bass boost will come into play . If you have a sub you can remove some bass out of your other speakers which will let them not have to worry about deep bass . This is something to consider if you don’t have this .
I have a similar system
400 watts to sub
200 watts to speakers
But with new head unit and it’s clear and plenty loud

 

is chelsea worse than schrodinger?

 

Lol