JBL Premium Upgrade. Replacing speakers and subwoofer.

Ok got it done. Here are my thoughts on the install

Dash Speakers: pain because of low vertical clearance. Much better sound quality. To me it sounds cleaner and may have more range (yes I know they’re limited by the built in crossover).

Front Doors: the sound dampening material was a pain to install on the outer door skin (my knuckles may never be the same), easier to install on the “visible door surface”. Speakers sound better and have a little more punch/pop to them.

Rear Doors: See above for the sound deadening material install comments. These definitely sound better. Clearer and more sound (not surprising considering what was from the factory).

Sub: easy enough. I put batting in the box like you would on a sub box. No idea if it’s better but I think so. Could be placebo.

Advice

1. Bug spray
2. Check the polarity on all the connections. I have to go recheck the sub.
3. Double check you’ve reinstalled all the door bits before snapping the covers back on. I missed the metal bracket on 3 out of 4 doors.

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I knew just changing out the speakers would not blow the doors off but to my ears things sound better.

 

They sounded pretty similar, but the P3 fit much better in the factory JBL box

 

What rear door speakers did you end up with? The

$88 JBL GX628 GX Series 6.5" 180W Peak Power 2-Way Coaxial Car Loudspeakers (Pair)

JBL GX628 are not winning me over.

 

I kind of want to say that's just how it is. I think the rears were actually just kind of quiet because the factory system was set up that way.

 

I was thinking of trying component speakers in the rear, but I would need to commit to cutting holes somewhere for the tweeters.

 

I'm going to try the P3. Is it plug and play or what do I need to get?

 

If you want it to be plug n play, then you need to get a speaker adapter from crutchfield. I preferred to cut off the factory adapter, strip the wires, and plug those directly into the sub. I think it you order the sub from them they give you tat adapter free.

 

I got my sub and have it in but it doesn't sound loud at all. Which factory color goes to pos and neg?

 

I don’t remember, but the rear right was was wired backwards from the factory. Use a multimeter.

 

I want to say the sub was the same. Opposite of what I thought it should've been

 

I put the green and yellow to the negative.......

 

I'd echo the multimeter test. Grab a cheap one from home depot and test the lines to find the negative.

 

I am venturing into changing out the speakers and the sub in my '22 Limited with the JBL system. I get that low volume after 5-10 minutes and it's a huge bummer. I am using 4ohm speakers as when my warranty expires in 2 years, I'll maybe switch out the rest of the system, or I may get the components to change out the amp. I'm not sure where I want to go yet, but if the speakers sound good and the volume doesn't cut out after 5-10 minutes, then I'll be less motivated to change out the amp. Anyways, speakers are:

Sub:

$170 Rockford Fosgate P3SD2-8 8" Dual 2-Ohm Punch Series Shallow Mount Car Subwoofer

Rockford Fosgate P3SD2-8 8" Dual 2-Ohm Punch Series Shallow Mount Car Subwoofer
Rear Doors:

$100 Rockford Fosgate P1692 Punch 6"x9" 2-Way Coaxial Full Range Speakers - Black (Pair)

Rockford Fosgate P1692 Punch 6"x9" 2-Way Coaxial Full Range Speakers
Front door: Rockford Fosgate P1692 Punch 6"x9" 2-Way Coaxial Full Range Speakers
Tweeters:

$60 PIONEER TS-A709 , 2-Way Coaxial Car Audio Speakers, Full Range, Clear Sound Quality, Easy Installation and Enhanced Bass Response, Black and Gold Colored 2.75” Round Speakers

PIONEER TS-A709 A Series 2-3/4” 2-Way, 450 W Max Power, 16mm Tweeter

Also putting Soundskins Pro Series 4.5mm Sound Deadening Mat | Triple Layer Sound Dampening Technology | High-Density Adhesive Backing in the doors behind the speakers.

I really wish I had a good db meter so see if the sound drop after 5-10 minutes is real or in my head. All i could get was not so good apps for my Android phone and I had no confidence in the readings.

If I do switch out the amp, I'll see about putting a 10" sub in. I figure if I move the amps to under the seats, I can get rid of the stock enclosure behind the passenger rear seat and build a box for a 10". Or I could just rip out the rear seats and throw my 2 old 15" Fosgate subs with the Punch45 that is gathering dust. ;p

 

All my parts are in and I will be installing over the weekend as long as the thermometer says it's less than 110 degrees F outside.

So this got me doing a ton of research on the new sound systems. Looks like if I do not like the sound and want to add an after market amp, I'll have to get a DSP with Maestro AR and an iDatalink. It's kind of interesting how the HU and JBL amp work together. And I don't want to lose any functionality. If I do that, I'll see what box I can throw behind the passenger seat and go with the biggest sub that I can go with. That will be more research. Yay! I do hate that this new tech just adds cost (i.e., the DSP).

 

What advantage is there in keeping the factory head unit? I keep thinking about this.

if I get rid my my head unit, it seems like an iPad is the way to go.

 

For me, the reasons I want to keep the factory HU is to maintain all of the funcitonality of the factory HU. Also, my truck is about a year old, so I don't want to put an aftermarket HU in and give the dealership a reason to say that I voided a warranty. AND, kind of thinking about it, the cost of the DSP and iDatalink is right under $400. If I get an HU that has full integration and allows me to put an aftermarket amp on the system, I am probably spending about the same amount on the HU. Note that I have not researched a new HU, so I'm just guessing at the cost. So that's my logic.

Also, I am putting 4ohm speakers on the system (the sub is 2ohm). My logic on this, and I could be wrong, is the amp seems to get a little hot with the 2ohm speakers. So if I put 4ohm, I am working the amp less and may get a constant, albiet lower, volume. My main issues are sound and consistent volume. If going from 2ohm speakers to 4ohm speakers loses me 3db on average, I am fine with that as long as volume is constant and sound is better.

Side note: Either the amp is getting too hot or some attorney somewhere decided that JBL/Toyota could get sued for someone losing their hearing if the volume didn't drop after 5-10 minutes. I'm not sure which it is. ;p

 

When I first started looking into this topic I read a post where a guy installed a 12v cooling fan (typically for a computer) directly onto the front fins of the amp, and it turns on when the amp turns on. It was able to keep the amp cool enough that the volume never cut out.

I never tried this, but I also haven’t noticed the volume cut out like what you are talking about. Maybe just cooler temps here in Oregon, I don’t know. Like that post had mentioned though, I purchased a DVC sub with two 4ohm coils wired in parallel for a single 2ohm input. It sounds way better than the original sub, but I can’t compare it to getting a sub with two 2ohm coils wired normally because I haven’t tried that yet. I’m pretty satisfied with the output.

Please post back how the rest of the 4ohm speakers turn out. I’m not sure if the JBL system will be able to drive the speakers to a decent volume.

I replaced all the speakers with 2-2.7 ohm, except for the sub (4ohm DVC wired to 2ohm). It sounds great and the volume does not cut out. Longest I’ve ran it at high volume is about 45 min with no damping of the volume.

 

Defintiely look into the Joying Head Units. They are tablet/android based, but also a fully integrated direct plug n play install head unit. I love mine! There's a long thread about them on this site somewhere.

 

I'll see how I feel after installing everything. As far as the JBL amp not being able to drive the speakers to a decent volume, if the volume loss is only 3db, it will be noticeable, but not disappointing, especially if I get a boost in clarity. I will let you guys know if I am happy after the install...or I'll just post more equipment that I am buying.

So I looked at the Joying HU for the Tacoma, price is over $420 to $539. So I am coming out ahead if the DSP and iDatalink are sub $400. I didn't shop it for lowest price.

Again, my fear is if I change out the HU, dealership will try to get out of a repair that should be a warranty claim.

 

do you know if it supports the 360 degree birdseye view cameras?