Just leave it.

So I just spent 2 hours tearing down the door, sound deading it. Then mounting a jbl GTO 629 front speaker to see if there would be any improvement from the so so jbl premium system. Sadly, it was disappointing. I know everyone says that there won’t be an improvement because of the amp and I can now confirm that. The stock system is way better, but not overwhelming. The only true good speakers in the system are the fronts. They hit A LOT lower than expected. The aftermarket jbl’s did add more highs because of the center tweeters, but when it hit the lows there was a thump, not a good thump. I did change out the tweeters and again I was disappointed, but they were just a tad better than the factory ones. Enough to justify swapping them out. I did have to make my own harness to convert the four pin to a two pin. It was super easy and I made it with stuff I had at the house. So after all, my advice is, just leave it alone. Even though the jbl system is not amazing, it is decent. As many other threads have said, to get the sound you want you have to rip it all out and I’m not going to do that. Hopefully someone comes out with a plug and play to help the system out so we can add our own amp and sub because the factory sub is garbage. If anyone wants to know how I made the tweeter connector, just ask. It was really easy. I do have pictures but I don’t know how to post them.

***UPDATE***
Finally after a year of waiting, someone finally came out with a little micro amp that is plug and play. I just installed it in less than 20 minutes, and it has dramatically helped. The highs are more clear, the vocals a more noticeable and the bass is way better. When I would use my Bluetooth I could turn the volume all the way up and it wasn’t enough. I normally run my volume at 25. Now it is LOUD at 25. When the weather gets nicer I am going to replace the poor excuse for a subwoofer with a more respectable kicker cv sub as I feel that I will definitely blow my speakers and sub at some point.

 

You have to change the head unit if you really want aftermarket speakers to do their best. Part of the issue that you're experiencing is that the stock head unit splits up the frequencies and doesn't send the full range signal that you're expecting to the speakers, once you get this sorted you won't have the same opinion of aftermarket speakers.

IMO the best option is to go the full route and get a good amp with a DSP and a maestro datalink system so that you can use all the factory wiring, still a ton of work but no splicing wires at the amp or stereo. Try to use a polarity tester after install to make sure that you hooked the speakers up correctly.

There are plug and play options to help the system out such as those from ********* but you have to be willing to spend the money on them and they're a bit more expensive than what you'd get if you piece a system together.

Edit *** I did not realize that I could not tell you where to get the plug and play system you're inquiring about. Google might help.

 

The biggest reason for underwhelming performance- impedance. The stock JBL system is 2ohm per speaker. You hooked up 4ohm speakers, twice the impedance load.

 

May be the case but some of the aftermarket JBL speakers are 2.5ohm which isn't really that different. Not sure if the one's mentioned are though.

 

@metalmule AFAIK, the GTO line is 4ohm. 2.5ohm JBL gear starts in the CLUB line.

 

Check RyanDCLB JBL up grade thread.

 

The OEM JBL 6x9 (front doors) is a subwoofer that only receives low frequencies from the JBL amp, so a 2-way speaker will not receive the mid or the high frequencies. In addition, a 2-way is not designed to thump like a woofer, so you will also lose the bass the woofer provides. I went with the 2ohm series in my post over here. YMMV.

 

I just did the tweeter upgrade and added an underseat 8" powered sub. Love it!

 

I’m sure I’m the minority, but I love the stock non JBL sound system in my sport. It sounds great using xm radio, that’s all I listen to. Good base and clear sound.

 

My JBL premium system sounds great my only issue is I wish it was a tad bit louder since I’m pretty deaf. Is there a way I could get this with not spending crazy money and using existing system?

 

Metalmule, I like the stock headunit and don’t plan on changing it out any time soon or at all. I just want something simple to plug and play with the crap amp. Oem makes something but I’m not spending $2700 since I just spent all of my money on the down payment for the truck. So for the time being I’m just going to leave it as is. I seriously miss my sub though.

Why are they blocking you from saying what plug and play it is?

 

It might make it easier if you quote the forum member (bottom right quote link), or put the @ symbol in front: @Jridge5

 

I am really happy with this: https://oemaudioplus.com/product/toyota-tacoma-dbl-cab-16-base/ Reference 500 (i purchased very early on before they had the options they do now, also understand true audiophiles would think this a compromise)

 

Im not sure what you had previous to this, but the stock non jbl is absolutely terrible. One of the worst ive had and worse than my 2nd gen. Part of the reason is the very loud road noise on the 3rd gen, drowning out everything. I just added new tweeters and speakers and its only barely acceptable, and I dont have any hearing issues... I could probably live with it now, getting a bit more treble and bass to push through most of the road noise....

 

Although that’s much cheaper than the other oem I looked it, it’s still out of my budget at the moment. But thanks fir the info.

 

vibration kills

 

For the record, I've got JBL GTOs in my 2nd Gen RC and they kick ass...

 

The company has had some customer service issues in the past. I bought the harnesses I needed from them without any issues, but their have been a number of folks that did have problems. The site in question is "Taco Tunes" you can google them.

 

Oh ok. I’ve bought from them once. Didn’t have an issue. I did check them to see if they had anything I could use but, everything says “will not work on jbl systems”

 

I've got my system adjusted to where I'm happy. Same system as you. I think it can definitely be improved...but it's not a bad system for a 6 speaker setup. The rears are by far the weak link.

I think I'm happy enough where I don't feel like putting in the effort or $$$ to upgrade. Plus I've really been enjoying having no interior rattles. Pulling apart the interior seems to always lead to a rattle or two whenever I do it. Maybe I suck at pulling plastic panels