Do I need a sound prosessor like the Audio Control LC2i ?

I have a 2013 Tacoma with the Entunes touch screen radio and factory front door component speakers. I'm upgrading the speakers to JL 6x9" 60 Watt RMS 4 ohm components, adding a Rockford Fosgate P400x4 Punch amp and a JL 8" 4 ohm 200 Watt Sub, in a custom enclosure in the back. The amp has both speaker level and line level inputs, 50W RMS output per speaker with 200 RMS bridged for the rear (sub). I'll be doing the install and have experience with audio. What I don't know, is if the Entunes radio needs the LC2i to take the speaker level signal from the radio and convert it to line level for the amp because of the radio's design, so before I install the system, I'm checking to see if anyone knows for sure? I've read where some install the LC2i only to remove it later because it wasn't necessary. Thank you!

 

I personally would, for a few small reasons

1) you can also get the bass knob for the LC2i, where that amp doesn't support one.
2) you can use the accubass to compensate for the entune's slight bass roll-off
3) You can keep your gains on the amp much lower because the LOC in the LC2i is much better than what is in that amp.

 

(1)Yes, I saw the Base knob option and it is on my list. (2) is what I wasn't sure of. (3) yes, that makes sense too. Thank you

 

Suree

 

Just my $.02 here, but I went the AudioControl route and had poor results. In the end, you're just working with the bad signal and whacky EQ from the factory radio. I used an LC7i with AccuBass and it sounded awful. So much so that I ended up getting a relatively simple Pioneer head unit... made a world of difference. Sending clean signal through 5v preouts and halfway decent RCAs is the way to go.

 

I had read where some had used these and had poor results. I've installed amps and speakers without using these and had good results, but I'm guessing there isn't any roll off of the base on those radios.

 

It's the combination of rolloff, overemphasized bass at low volumes, and super low wattage.

 

My recommendation is to start here:

http://www.jlaudio.com/car-audio-processors-oem-integration

Full Disclosure: I'm sucking JL's tit right now because I picked up a TwK-88 and it made me chub when I put it in. I'm guessing their OEM integration stuff is comparably decent but I don't have first hand experience.

 

With speaker level inputs you don't need the converter. However it has been recently demonstrated here that at least some of the factory head units produce anything but a flat signal and that the frequency response curve is modified by the head unit - dependent on volume level. IIRC the signal sent to the front speakers is altered less than the signal sent to the rear. Someone keep me honest on that if I got it wrong. I'd do a DSP with speaker level in i/o a line converter which will let you iron out some of those dynamics. Or maybe just wire it in first straight to the amp and see if that makes you happy. If the frequency response is just too far off, maybe look into a less expensive processor like this one that will give you FAR more control than any line converter.

Edit: with the processor mentioned above, you can play audio files directly through the optional AptX bluetooth module and bypass the factory voodoo. I don't believe it supports USB streaming though although many other processors do.

 

That's good information and I think I'll begin with just using the speaker level inputs and amp adjustments to see how the sound turns out. If I don't like it, then I'll need to decide if I want to add one of these convertors or DSP or just replace the radio itself. Thank you