3rd Gen JBL delete. Kenwood, Focal, JL Audio installed!

I bought my 2021 TRD Sport with the Premium package that comes with the JBL stereo upgrade. This project was to take the whole JBL system out and replace with an aftermarket system.

Build List:
Kenwood DMX958XR headunit w/ integrated DRV-N520 dash cam and SiriusXM, Maestro Rr
Focal Flax EVO PS 165 FXE components in the front
Focal FLax EVO PC 165 FE coaxials in the rear
JL Audio 10 TW3-D4 sub bridged to 2(ish) ohms
JL Audio VXi 600/6i 75w x 6 @ 4 ohms(main speakers)
JL Audio VXi 600/1i 600w x 1 @ 2 ohms (sub)
JL Audio VXi Hub (allows both DSP amps to be tuned and controlled through the main amp)
JL Audio DRC-205 (digital, dual rotary control)
KnuKonceptz Kolossus Flex tinned OFC 4g power and ground wire
KnuKonceptz Krystal twisted pair RCA cables
Trail Grid Pro JBL amp bypass wire harness
Mr. Marv's Place Sub Box and Amp Rack
ResoNix Stage 2 Door Kits (enough for the out door skin, plastic door panel & back wall!)
Taco Tunes speaker adapters
Auto Harness House factory speaker harness adapter

This is set up as an active system since both the amps have a built-in DSP. The system only sounds good because of the fine work at Freeman's Stereo who did the JL Max TuN! I was proud of my install and the technician gave me the overall thumbs up on that part, but the power of those amps was unleashed when they plugged in the lap top and the microphone array and the tech just went to work, making adjustments that are just outside of my knowledge base and skill set. Lots of respect for those pros who have the technical know-how that you need for today's vehicles and with the potential of these DSP amps! She doesn't rattle any windows or anything, but it's got great power with lots of head room and gets plenty loud and clear, perfect for that size cabin, windows up or down. Every minute I spent sound deadening that truck was absolutely worth it. No rattles, no lie. You can be rocking inside the truck and not really be drawing any attention (as long as the windows are closed, lol) Everything is hidden behind the rear seats, the power wire and RCAs are protected under the plastic door sill covers on either side, the wire harness allowed me to use the factory speaker out wiring so everything is tucked away, stealth install was the goal. I had to cut just a small piece out of the driver's side "C" pillar panel for the power and ground. The sub box and amp rack fit perfectly in the space between the rear "C" pillar panels.

I've always wanted an aftermarket system and I had one in a 2015 Taco for a few months before I stupidly traded in the truck and the stereo system I'd just spent my entire tax return on (dumb story). Anyway, I spent about a year and really dedicated some time to reading about car audio and equipment and designing what I wanted my system to be. I watched countless YouTube videos about car audio and other people's channels who have installed various aftermarket systems in their Tacomas. I spent another year and a half buying pieces for my build here and there; this equipment and such can get expensive! I saved a decent bit, rolling the dice and buying all the speakers, the sub and the sub amp from FaceBook Marketplace, which turned out to be a good move. I caught the headunit on a sale and the main amplifier from Crutchfield's "scratch-and-dent" section. I also caught a sale on the sound deadening kits I got from ResoNix. Being patient and waiting to buy isn't always the most fun but you can save a good bit of money that way. I paid full freight for the sub box and amp rack from Mr. Marv's place as well as all the wiring from KnuKonceptz and then the extra things like tools, carpeting, mounting and electrical hardware... it can really start to add up! I installed everything on my own with some help from my buddy who has a wire fish and helped me route the power wire. I turned to Crutchfield's live online advisors, r/CarAV, Tacoma World, YouTube for advice along the way. I recorded most of it on my cell phone and I'm going to upload it to YouTube, but the videos are pretty terrible, lol. Anyway, here are some pictures from my build, I sure had a fun time doing it and now I'm really enjoying it! Thanks for letting me share!

 

Amazing build! I'm starting to work on mines as well, just wondering, if i wanted to run an active crossover or run my tweeters "active", do I just run a speaker wire from the tweeter all the way to the amp? Or is there some kind of harness that I can tap into? I know the front speaker and the tweeter are currently linked together right now, I would just need to break them apart and run everything separately?

 

very very nice. This is what I've been missing

 

'active' means that the audio is crossed over and processed before it's amplified. so only the part of the audio signal that the tweeter would use would be amplfied, with no extras.

in a typical setup, the radio outputs a full audio signal, which goes through a crossover, which cuts out frequencies that the tweeter isn't capable of playing--this has an electrical and heat cost to the signal loudness, and then the filtered signal goes on to the tweeter for you to hear.

in an active setup, the head unit would typically output a low level signal, which goes to a DSP, which will filter and route all of the audio signals for each speakers suitable frequency range, and then send it to an amplifier to boost, which then goes out to the speaker.


the main advantage to active is more finite control over the frequencies going to each speaker, with less 'waste' going through the amplifier in terms of it trying to amplify frequencies that are not usable by the speakers its powering.

 

Totally understand, thank you. So how do I physically do this? I currently have a JL VXI amp that the headunit will send a high level input (amp allows this vs a low level signal), and allows me to amplify my tweeters at a specific frequency range... im a complete noobie and trying to wire a sound system with very little labor knowledge (i sort of understand the fundamentals, so excuse my language.

my question is do i just run a dedicated line to each of my 4 speakers (front door and tweeters)? A lot of videos I've seen for the tacoma are either using passive cross over or just amplifying speakers alone.
Some videos mention using a speed harness and a T harness for the output, however, my understanding is that the way the OEM tweeter and speaker is currently connected, the tweeter receives the signal first and then connects to the door speakers, this part confuses me on how I would separate the tweeter and speaker to their own channels.

Hopefully this make sense, like I said, I am SUPER novice and this is a complicated install. I am very handy and am not scared to tackle this, just need some guidance

 

ideally, my preference is to run new speaker wire to each speaker. i tend to prefer that method because it allows me to run higher 14-12 gauge wiring than the factory 18-ish gauge speaker wiring, and i don't need to fuss with any more adapters that can sometimes have questionable reliability.

but if you do want to still connect into the factory wiring, it's really not that bad, just a matter of understanding how you want to do it. but you will still need to run new wiring to at least one pair of speakers.

the confusing part is that the factory tweeter is a 4-pin connector, that is internally shorted across each pair of terminals.

in this re-use of a diagram i made earlier at least shows how the tweeter connector works


there's a few ways across this issue.

my current setup, other stuff got in the way of my main upgrade plan, so i'm running full active via my head unit currently. so i bypassed the tweeters so my door speakers are on the factory wiring, and then ran new wire to the tweeters back to the head unit to get 4 separate channels to the head unit.

but the way i bypassed the tweeter connector was that i simply de-soldered the plug off the factory tweeters, and then used it to complete the circuit. the connector pops off the factory tweeters, and the rest is basic soldering skills.




there's also plenty of Amazon adapters that do the same thing-- just cap off the output of the tweeter connector, and the door woofers are taken care of for completing the audio signal from the head unit location to the speakers.