OEM Audio Vs Complete Focal system

I did a full Focal Access (DFS) setup w/ JL 10" Stealthbox in my tC (daily driver) about 5 years ago and it is still one of the best SQ setups I've heard IRL (using a 4ch Fosgate amp for the doors and a mono JL amp for sub). Puts all my previous setups to shame as well as any other setup I've heard short of car show vehicles with 920374^10 speakers. I will be doing the same setup in the Taco in the next few months but with a 5ch JL amp. The flax speakers are very nice but overkill for most IMO - and if you were going to drop that amount of coin on your audio system I'd think you'd already know what you want to run. You don't need to spend that much for quality audio, just get something better than Kicker, lol.

Definitely do some sound deadening while you have the panels off though. What Venezian said is mostly correct if you're just going for a little enhanced sound quality and reduction of rattles, but IMO doing full panels makes for a vehicle that has an overall nicer feel and also blocks more external noise from entering the cabin. This comes from 15+ years of experience doing it and experimenting with doing a partial panel, driving around for a while and then doing the rest - and it's noticeably quieter inside the cabin with doing the full panels. Deadening made a very drastic difference on my 2014 tC and almost as much on my 2021 Tacoma. Both feel so much higher end after 80mil butyl dampening w/ thermal insulation on top. FWIW on the truck I did full door panels/floor/back wall and both sides of the front wheel wells in stages and noticed improvement with each new area. The back wall, front wheel wells and under rear seat cargo storage bin were the biggest bang for the buck areas though. The doors mostly just reduced exterior road noise from other vehicles while on the highway, but they have a much better feel and sound when closing now. I'll be continuing to do it on every vehicle I own because the results are night and day to me and absolutely worth the cost/small weight penalty.

 

Agreed. If you’re going for “fill the door holes” with anything, minimal, spot coverage will do. If you’re dropping $1k or more, I want to hear what I bought over road noise, cover, Cover, COVER!!! I’ve got my roof, doors, floor, and back wall covered. People say my doors close like a limo, but I can barely hear any road noise. Also, I don’t have to turn it up as loud to enjoy what I’ve purchased.

But, to each their own.

 

how do you address the front wheel wells?

 

What I did was remove front seats/rear bottom. Pull carpet. Cover. Reverse. It takes, for me, a day, but the silence is worth it.

 

ah, ok. so like... the lower footwell/firewall? i didn't know if you meant the plastic cowlings between the wheels and engine bay. it does seem like a lot of people don't carry their sound proofing material all the way forward in the cabin and it seems to me that that's where a lot of road and engine noise comes from.

 

There is a factory “sound mat” that is attached where I “ think” you mean. And there is the roll on/spray in deadened, think bed liner. But that’s a tough area to work in, and I’ll admit, not one I did myself, you’re right.

 

Added Second Skin Heatwave Pro thermal insulation to the inside of both the front and rear the splash shields (hidden) which made a pretty big difference by itself, then covered both sides of the wheel wells (exterior in the wheel well and under carpet on interior floor) with Second Skin Damplifier Pro.

2 birds with the Damplifier in the wheel wells - blocks noise and hides the bright white paint. I did this on my dd as well about 6 years ago and it's still holding up. Makes a pretty noticeable difference in road noise.

 

Been helpful reading this thread, I was unsure about OEM Audio Plus, as I’d never heard of them before. But I’m also just turning 40 and playing with my new truck takes me back to high school when JL audio was basically king of the aftermarket speaker world.

Crazy side note…a kid I knew in high school had a 1998 Tacoma extended cab and his family owned a audio shop in town. They ripped out the whole back and did 12 JL audio 10’s in the back. 3 rows of 4, top row angles down at a 45, middle row straight out and bottom angled up at a 45…they cut a hole through to the bed and built a battery and amp box in the bed, lit it with neon and covered it with plexiglass and then did spray on Berliner over the whole bed, so all you’d see is the window with the batteries/amps….it was nuts.

I’ve been looking to upgrade my speakers in my taco and instinctively looked up what JL runs these days. Price wise perspective changes a lot when you get older, I wouldn’t hesitate to drop a couple three hundred on a set now…but then? That was a lot

I will say for a long time I had a lifted square body pathfinder 4x4 and always meant to add subs, but I had two 3 way 6x9’s in the front and two in the back and if you power 6x9’s properly they make for a pretty killer front stage especially in the Tacomas.

These days I’m doubting if I really even want a sub, mostly because I like having the storage space, besides if I’m not going to have 12 10’s what’s the point

 

12 10”s?!? A man after my own heart. Yore right in that 6x9s, properly done, can give a great experience. In the end, it’s up to you. I went with Morel Tempo Ultra 692s, and the mid bass is amazing! The tweeters don’t fatigue you at all, so smooth. I also have a 12” sub on the driver’s side, behind the rear seat, for my low end. Kept the storage on the pass. side, but love my setup. I’m 46, and I don’t think I could ever go without a sub again, guess it depends on what you’re used to.

 

oh man you’re selling me on a sub…don’t get it twisted a solid chunk of me wants it back there, and I did just throw a Diamondback cover on I think I’m good on storage. And yeah 12 10’s…I was super jealous as a kid. I was raised by a single mother so we were broke, so a lot of this is building the truck I’ve always wanted

 

I think you just answered yourself. Last sentence……karma.

 

100% though my wife might want to divorce me at the end of it

 

Meh….it was a good run.

 

Fair point

 

There’s still hope. Epicenter makes bitches wet. I say swing for the fence.

 

Ease of installation and great sound, OEM+ is the way to go. You won't get a ton of bass, but it is there. It was my only gripe about the system. I even purchased the separate subwoofer amplifier portion down the road. It did help, but it was never where I wanted it. Very close, but not quite. I don't know how much of a different the additional subwoofer makes. Sound quality-wise it was always on point for me. I can remember listening to some less-than-audiophile sources and being surprised at the quality. The plug and play nature of the system was what sold me. I can't really compare it to anything very high line. I've always felt that Focal stuff was grossly overpriced. When you start price-matching components, the OEM+ isn't a bad deal.

I did have a top of the line Kenwood headunit for some of the time when I had the OEM+ system and that's where I recall most of my happiness with sound quality. My memory is garbage, so it could've happened with the other headunits I had in the truck.

 

Instead of “liking” a post, can we ROFL it?