Mike (Winterboy04's) Tacoma Build

also where is this white connector at?

 

you are correct, none needed

Its been some time, but the white connector was a plug with four wires going into it that connected to the back of my tacoma OEM radio. I assume it was the OEM connection for the steering wheel remote controls. Hope this helps.

 

This week i took delivery of my new front stage speakers. I purchased (from Mr. Marv) a new set of the H.A.T. (Hybrid Audio Technologies) Unity Series 6.5" components. They are essentially the same mid-bass as the Imagine series, but with the Clarus Series Tweeter and external crossover.

I moved the current Imagine Series Coax-Convertibles mid-bass to the rear access cab doors using some of Marv's adapter rings and I put the imagine tweeters in the "extra speakers" parts box I've been adding to for years.

I'll save you the boring details of the install, but whoever told me about taping the end of a zip tie to the speaker wire to get it through the rubber tubing in the door-to-cab holes...thank you! That was the most painstaking part of the entire process...AGAIN. One important thing I did notice is that the rear access cab doors were designed by a deaf man. once you get the panel off, you see that there is rattling metal all over the inside of the door and a giant, gaping hole in the bottom (meant for the door panel pocket. i only had so much deadener left over, so i was able to do the speaker mount surrounds, a big piece behind the magnet on the outer door panel, and some strips on anything that the "knock-test" told me failed.
I also replaced the crappy Alpine iPod cord. It was giving me error messages for so long I finally geeked out and broke it. I purchased a replacement on Amazon for 7.99 shipped! This new one now charges the phone and seems to have a quicker reaction time to me using the stereo buttons. Very excited!

The sound (so far):
The Unities will need about a month of break in before they start to sound like they were designed (which is approximately what the Imagines needed as well). the tweeters are unbelievable compared to the old ones. They are crisper, allow for +3/0/-3 attenuation, blend better....just awesome. The mid-bass is definitely in the beginning stages of break-in because they just sound a little off right now. I’ll update in about a month. i think that i will have to revisit the rear doors again because when using the rear fill speakers, the sound is very echo-like and just not quality. I will have to get back in there and deaden the crap out of it. I plan to start a post on the rear doors to see what you guys are doing about that giant hole on each side.

What’s next you ask? Well, my Infinity Perfect 10.1 Sub has treated me well for the past 10 years, so i think it may be time to move up. I am waiting for the H.A.T. 10' sub to come out in a couple weeks and will snag one of those. I'm hoping “Wifey” has been getting my hints on the Alpine Imprint System (PXA-H100) for Christmas.

Any and all comments welcome.

 

[FONT=&quot]Well, as hoped for, Santa delivered the Alpine PXA-H100 Imprint Processor. I specifically asked him NOT to also bring the Microphone and calibration CD (KTX-100) so that I can play with it manually before giving up and letting the machines win.

Summary: WICKED COOL DEVICE (but there is going to be a serious learning curve here).
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
Details: I like to think of myself as a learning and aspiring car audio nut. I got into the game late, but have been picking up steam lately and am really getting into the details of what makes a system sound great. That being said, I finally picked up this unit, and it has WAY MORE than I thought it did. I have since gone from HAT comps in the front and rear to a single set in the front now running active and three-way. I have my 4 channel JL powering the HAT Unities in the front (front channels powering the mids and the rear channels powering the tweets).

So, re-wiring was a bit of a pain because I originally cut all the speaker wire so that t reached the passive crossovers behind the passenger seat...and I had to make them reach the amps behind my seat causing a gap of about 3 feet....hence some re-wiring.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
Things to note:[/FONT]

• [FONT=&quot]You will have to flip three switches (on my CDA-9886) on the underside of your receiver to the "Ext AP" position. This tells the head-unit it doesn't have to do anything anymore and to let the amps and processor run the show.[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]you need to choose 3-way (mids and tweets amp'd separately) or front/rear/sub on the Imprint processor unit (it's a switch)[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]You will be relocating RCA's to the processor and as such, won't be able to keep them behind the head-unit. I had to pull the interior apart to get a little more slack with my RCA's so I could run them to my glove box[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]The processor does need power, and for that it comes with a yellow battery cable that you splice into the same one your head unit uses. ALSO, it has its own ground. [/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]KEEP THE DAMN MANUAL IN FRONT OF YOU. I can't tell you how many times I forgot which channels were powering which speakers, which made for a lot of wasted time...[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]MARK YOUR WIRES...it makes sense in your head that "these wires go here and those go there"...but when removing your old passive crossovers, being sideways inside the truck cab, and looking at an amp upside-own...just do yourself the favor and spend the ten minutes marking them. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
Initial impressions:

Everything set at zero, and amp crossovers set at factory speaker specs, I was blown away. Everyone always says that running 3-way is way better, but I couldn't understand why....I still don't, but man is everything so much cleaner and clearer. My tweeters are a less bright, my mids are strong, and the amp still has tons of headroom left (JL Slash 400.4)

There are so many manual functions on this unit that I really need a full day or more to play with them. Just a quick listing of some of the cool ones I noticed:[/FONT]

• [FONT=&quot]7 band graphic equalization[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]parametric equalization[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]individual speaker EQ'ing (R-high, R-Mid, R-Low, L-High, L-Mid, L-Low)[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]multiple subwoofer options (180 degree phase adjust, stereo vs. mono, gain, crossover, type vs. type 2)[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]active crossover selection[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]media expander (sounds like crap to me so far...but who knows)[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]TIME ALIGNMENT[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Multiple "savable" user configurations. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Awesome, I am pumped to really get this thing running right. I am going to order the microphone kit, but not for a while. I want to see how nice I can get it sounding before I give in to the Audyssey Geeks. If anyone out there has comments or hints, let me know![/FONT]

 

Well, long story short..i don't (yet) have the experience or know-how to properly setup a system with this many variables. I got very frustrated the past couple of days because the old system (two way, passive, no processor) sounded better than what i am working with now. SO....i bought the KTX-H100 (microphone and software) for the Audyssey MultiEQ that goes with the Imprint Processor.

I bought a tri-pod, read every damn forum post i could find on DIYMA and here to see what i needed to know that the directions don't tell you. Turns out, my biggest issue was the software and getting it to run on my laptop (Vista). I ended up having to turn off my active anti-virus, because it was reading the Microsoft Framework 1.1 (included with Imprint software) as a Trojan Virus....which obviously it is not. Once i turned that off, it recognized the processor and i was on my way to measuring.

I measured simply by removing the headrests and placing the microphone on the tripod at my ear level in the 6 positions the software asked for. After those were done, you finally get to see what the accoustics of the cabin look like via the provided RTA screen. Mine was actually not THAT bad, considering its a tin can truck. Then, you select what kind of a curve you want to apply (reference, mid-range comp, linear). I chose the reference for the first one and sent that to the processor. then, i did the same with the mid range comp.

It sounds awesome. its clear, its profound, i have midbass, i have a STAGE. you can fine tune the basic treble, bass, subwoofer output and balance, too. I do plan to do some more pulls of the measurements using different areas in the truck, but for now, its WAY better than what i had and much better than when i was passive.

for anyone who is curious about the setup, i had my amps at about 50% gain for the mids and highs and then the sub was about 3/4, but the level on the headunit was at about 5 (subwoofer). I know there have been a lot of complaints about lack of bass...but i was able to turn mine back up a bit more.

 

I know this is an old thread and all, but while I was reading what you did mike. I noticed yours, and another members complaint about the dash kits, and how crappy they look, and how they do not mount up flush. I am also in the same boat at the moment. HOWEVER, I was able to find a dash kit that puts all the metra, and scosche dash kits to complete shame. I have not put mine in yet as I am still in the begning stages of putting my new audio stuff in. But I can tell you that from just handleing the kit it is 100% better that the metra, and scosche ones. The quality feels good, and steardy, and I could probably use the stock metal mouting brackets that were on the the OEM stereo with no problems. Here is the link, and hope this helps everyone out.

http://www.bestkits.com/latest_releases/kits.asp

Here is the part number: BKTOYK972

I dont know though if they make a silver one or not, but I would think they would. They are little high, but nothing that will break the bank.


Thank You.

 

Im trying to wire my Axxess but now Im confused.

"The Aqua wire is actually from the Taco and not from the SWI. So the only Aqua wire you should be connecting is FROM the SWI and that connects TO the Taco’s White/red stripe Wire."

WTF? Didnt you just say it comes from the Taco and NOT the SWI? then next sentence you switch it back. which is it?

 

I know this is an ancient thread, but I thought I would clarify one thing: The instructions from Axxess say you're splicing into the Radio harness, that's a bit misleading, you're splicing into the steering wheel control harness, and it will not be connected to anything when your aftermarket unit goes in, it just sits there with the three (or so, depending on year) splices you just made.