Help!!! How to keep factory stereo

Hey guys I'm new to TW... I need some help .. I want to put new speakers in my 2012 double cab but keep the factory stereo. I read about Kicker converter Nd the LC8 but no clue how to wire it to the stereo.. Please help me out
Aloha Kama

 

from my understanding the speaker wires from the head unit plug into the converter or DIgital Signal Processor (JL Clean sweep is one) and then more wire run from the DSP to the new speakers.


I am researching the same plan. Crutchfield online has a lot of helpful info.

 

I have used many of these, and the JL Audio CleanSweep is probably the best. It does more than just give you line outs, it actually processes the signal to give it a flat response (like a good aftermarket radio) and then gives a solid RCA output to drive amplifiers. Plus it gives you an easy to use RBC (remote bass control) / subwoofer knob if you decide to add a subwoofer to the system in the future.

The only downside to this system is that you now use the supplied master volume knob to control the volume, not the radio volume knob.

If you want to use the radio volume knob, then get the audiocontrol LC8. Won't have the sound quality of the cleansweep because it does no processing, just converts it to a RCA output amplifiers can accept, however it's the top of the line in this market. Great sound, but no processing. Uses factory radio volume knob.

Either way you need an amplifier if this is what you are looking into. From there, amps and speakers are hugely personal preference. Take my professional advice here, and don't listen to ANYBODY that says this is the best, or that sounds great. Because everybody's ears are different, and every single person has different preferences in tonal quality. What sounds great to me may be terrible to you, and vice versa. The best thing you can do is go to as many places as you can and listen in person, and pick what sounds the best TO YOU. Ignore pricing, brand, and everything else. Just turn your back to the display so you don't know what speakers are playing, or close your eyes and let the salesman switch between speakers. And pick which ones you like the best. It may be a $100 set. It may be a $1000 set. Everybody is different, However don't "settle" for a cheaper set if your "ideal" set is more expensive than you had budgeted for. If this ends up being the case (and sometimes it is, but certainly not always) it is better to save up for a bit and get the ones you liked the best. I promise you that if you settle, you WILL end up back there 6 months down the road buying the ones you really liked the best to begin with. But now they're the same price, but you have to add the additional speakers price you bought that you "settled" for that while they may not be bad, still don't sound as good as the resonant image of the "ideal" speakers you have residing in your brain.

I've been there once or twice, can you tell?

 

Listen to prostate guy. If you are trying to save money, it's probably cheaper to put together a complete sound system. If keeping the stock HU is the primary driver and money is not an issue, go ahead and polish that turd.