Entune Premium JBL

Just picked up a TRD off road with premium package. I REALLY wanted the JBL system and at $10/month it was a no brainer. Once I left the dealer in the truck, I naturally cranked it and was not so pleasantly surprised with the output. Still, well worth the $10 for the other major upgrades you get with premium but the beefy 420 watt system with sub loses power and gets super thin sounding after you hit the 3/4 volume mark. Not so beefy.

My previous ride had a Harman Kardon system in it from the factory and it was crystal clear at near max volume and sounded better the higher you cranked it. It blew me out of the car! I know this is not HK but if I’m not mistaken, HK is a division of JBL so I didn’t give it much thought. Plus I thought it would be a huge improvement over my stock 2012 SR5 system which by the way was the worst system I’ve ever had in any car. It’s an improvement but not what I was expecting.

Anyway, at first I thought I was missing a setting somewhere but I realize there’s no magic button to open it up. It is what it is I guess.

 

Find another on the lot and compare it, yours doesn't sound right. Mine will go to Max without missing a beat.

I will say the rear speakers are a dissapointment, but in the front it sounds great. Mine is a 2016 for reference

 

So you didn't test the system before deciding you 'really' wanted it, as part of your extended test drive?

$10 a month * x months + forever owning might change your perspective on that value decision.

I hope there is something wrong that can be corrected for you.

 

I test drove one this weekend and it seemed ok. Not fantastic enough to go bragging about having a "premium" JBL system, but not bad. It's probably because you are coming from a HK system so your bar is a little higher.

 

What source are you using and how is it connected? This will effect SQ. I have to have my bass turned down.

 

Jbl is garbage... you wasted your money. Hate to be so blunt... I have the factory EnTune modifies with the subie mod tweets, fosgate door drivers and the taco tunes kicker 10 with 1000w amp. I am probably 1000 less than than addon and very happy.

 

I feel mine sounds great. But I went from a F150 with Pioneer head unit, upgraded speakers and amp/subwoofer to the Premium JBL system.

 

I really like mine. I do think the sub is not as punchy as I would like but overall it’s clear and does not distort. Much better than my wife’s 2017 highlander non jbl.

 

36 month lease and the dealer was blowing tacomas out because they have 130 on the lot. I went in expecting to drive off with a non-off road and Got the premium package with a ton of extras for another $360.00 over the length of the lease. No extended test drive. I'm good with it.

Yes, I agree...

So far it's through bluetooth which I know you lose some in the overall volume. I'll experiment with it more.

$360.00 over 36 months to me isn't a waste of money for leather, sunroof and all the other stuff that comes with premium. I could have had the base system like I had before with lack of sound quality AND volume. At least this one sounds better.

 

I think I read somewhere where this generation JBL is just paper speakers powered by an amp. I always thought the JBL sounded great in my 2nd gen. We got the JBL on my wife's rav4 and I couldn't have been more disappointed. I didn't get it on my 3rd gen because i was too tall for the sunroof. I'm swapping all the speakers out this weekend to the kickers I got of crutchfield for $140. Hopefully it's a big improvement.

 

Here's a picture of the JBL speakers in the 3rd gen. If you're wondering why they're not sounding too great.

 

I’ve thought about speak replacement but the stock speakers jbl or non jbl are 2 ohm. Most upgrades are 4 ohm.

Has anyone just replaced the speakers in the jbl system? If so what was your experience? Did you notice a loss in volume due to the ohm difference?

 

I'm willing to spend a little to make it better and from what I've found through researching this is that a speaker swap alone can make a big difference for pretty cheap. I would also be curious to hear from anyone who has swapped out speakers on the 2018 system.

 

Do what you want. Don’t let them take you down!

 

I really like the head unit and don’t want to change mine. I would like a bit more punch. I have heard just some sound deadening mats in the doors would help.

 

Glad it came in my premium package. Sounds just fine. One less thing to shop for and dick around with.

 

Speakers need time to set?

I'm not an audio expert, but seems like over time brand new speakers do sound deeper, less distorted, cleaner.

I'll be happy with the JBL audio. Mayor reason I held out for the 2019 TRD Pro. I want to buy the car how I want it, not a fan of taking it apart soon as i get it. my .02

 

You do see they're just the same paper speakers with small magnets like the non JBL right? It appears the only difference is the sub and amp. I remember the days of adding premium sound and getting an actual upgrade. My mom had a 94 Acura totalled back 20+ years ago, I took out the Bose speakers in that thing, they were super nice. And that was 25 years ago. The JBL speakers are garbage to put it nicely.

 

I am replacing all my stock speakers in the doors and tweeter from JBL system with kickers from Crutchfield tomorrow. the stock paper JBL's are just a huge disappointment.

 

The amount of stuff I thought was important in my 57 years on this planet was big enough to fill a dump truck. Being OCD about high fidelity was on of them. Fortunately for me, I learned to ditch the unimportant things really quickly and move on.

My post on this thread wasn't aimed at you or anyone else. JMHO. And now moving on.