Premium Audio Upgrade for less than $250

Coming to the experts for advice here. I like many did the upgrade OP laid out in the thread. Tweeters, fronts, and rears on the stock Entune (SR5) headunit. Car audio is not my forte.

I want more power and more features so I am upgrading to a new headunit. This headunit is pretty standard 4 x 14 RMS, 4 x 50 peak. I am expecting I would see slight improvement on this alone coming from the anemic Entune headunit but I would also like to put a JL 10 behind driver passenger seat next year probably so I am thinking I want at least 4 x 50. This headunit is a single din with a freefloating screen so I am thinking there will be room in there even with the maestro for a small amp in dash.

I am looking for advice should I try to cram a small factor amp behind the head unit and then run a separate mono amp when I install sub? Or should I wait to install head unit until I can run a 5 channel like a under seat or behind back seat? Want to save myself some pain here either way.

 

i believe you've been misinformed.

the 22-28ga cat 5/cat 6 twisted pair wiring is absolutely adequate for low level balanced or unbalanced interconnect replacement. there could be some debate on the longevity of utilizing the solid-core iteration within a high-flex, vibration-prone environment such as a vehicle interior, but it will likely outlast either of us.

there is also a lively debate on the usage of the wire, in that it's twist characteristics only reject noise when used within a balanced system-- the balancing on the beginning and end is what makes for the noise rejection, though it's somewhat theoretical. vehicle rca systems are typically unbalanced rca connections, so balun's(BALanced-to-UNbalanced) are required to convert the unbalanced system to a balanced system for transmission, then convert it back to an unbalanced system for usage at the other end.

without the balanced input conversion, the twists offer better noise injection than rejection, which can easily cause issues with the installation later on down the road.

but that wiring is much too small to carry the high-level speaker signal amperage either to the amp for amplification, or out of the amp, after amplification.

at a minimum, you require something closer to 18-14 gauge. iirc, the factory wiring is close to 20-18gauge

this ds18 wire would work for the purpose. you'd require 2 lengths to get to the amp location, 1 for input, 1 for output. sometimes also called 'speed wire'.

DS18 SW-9.18GA-25FT 9 Conductor 18 Gauge 4-Channel Ultra Flex 9 Wire Speaker Wire Speed Cables - 25 Feet Speedwire Multi Channel Cable

https://www.amazon.com/DS18-SW-9-18GA-25FT-Conductor-4-Channel-Speedwire/dp/B09HSVB1LY?crid=28HGHUZ9MUX4J&keywords=speaker+zip+wire+8+conductor&qid=1694960430&sprefix=speaker+zip+wire+8+conductor%2Caps%2C105&sr=8-8

 

Thanks for the points that you raise. I probably have been mis-informed to some extent; however, you're much more of an audiophile than myself, so you're more concerned with the issues you raise than myself. But, it's important for others to consider them.

Question, how many vehicle manufacturers use something thicker than the 18-20AWG you are talking about as speaker wires that are shielded from EMI? I'm curious what's pre-existing in the truck.

Turns out, in my case, I'm not running a lot of power and I've determined my amp is going to fit just fine behind the HU, so there really is no need to run wiring to under the seats and back.

 

most non-fancy audio sytems usually just use non-shielded 18 gauge. but then is routed in a manner that minimizes crosstalk, as well as module rf interference. the vehicle is also completely tested to ensure that things don't argue with each other.

adding gear to the vehicle is where things get a little 'off', as locations of new gear doesn't always maintain appropriate separation between modules, can interrupt oem signals by creating new one's, or can pick up signals because of limited routing methods that don't allow a great separation between wires. but the biggest contributor is generally grounding new equipment

 

FWIW- I added a SONY XM-S400D Class "D" amp under my head unit (It is that small). I got mine from Crutchfield as open box, and everything was perfect, even the original box.
The rears can be made pretty loud now (perhaps too much). I'm waiting to get into the doors to replace the rear speakers, but also have kicker tweeters that will replace the stock tweeters.
I used a harness from Red Wolf I purchased off Amazon that I cut in half, half going to the 8" non-JBL head unit, and half connecting up to the stock speaker harness. Then I wired the amp between the two.
So far, so good.

 

(Don't mean to hijack the thread...)

Thanks for the suggestion on the Dayton Signature Series 6.5" woofer. First off, the aluminum cones look amazing in person and almost too good for car audio. They sound super smooth and refined and I feel like they took the sound up a notch...however...they are a little quieter than the OEM speakers and have less bass. Somewhat understandable as they are not as big as the OEM 6x9. The OEM speakers also have a yellow foam baffle that directs the sound toward the speaker grills. So I'm going to add a 1/2" spacer to bring the Daytons closer to the grill. I am also using the OEM head unit but have a Sony XAV-9000ES on the way. I think this will help a little bit. I noticed- on the Parts Express website that the Daytons may need a box to sound their best. I'm running them as infinite baffle...should they be in a box?

(I also think I need to upgrade the Subaru tweeter...not sure what frequency it's crossed over at but I get the feeling that I may need to work on that.)

 

there's no way to add a box within the doors-- the window gets in the way!
you can experiment with some sound damping in the doors to reduce panel resonance, though the doors are not entirely infinite baffle-- more of a lossy enclosure.

though i would wait to get too far into it until after the new head unit is installed. the stock tweeters are definitely a weak point that will likely need to be addressed, the ds18 tweeters have been getting some really good reviews here, though i can't speak on their qualities. definitely a different option to the subaru tweeters.

 

Do you have a pic of the wire up you did by any chance

 

Surprisingly I do not. However, sometime this week I'm probably replacing my rear speakers. I'll take a picture then. Honestly there is a serious amount of room behind the HU. However, this is so small it fit under the HU and is held in place by some zip ties wired to the mounts on either side of the HU. Yep, a pic is in order.

Is there something you wish to see in particular? Some of the wiring is covered in cloth automobile tape, but I can take it off. I'm thinking I could probably remove the extra LOC (line out converter) I put in series with the front output of the HU and input to the amp, so I can fiddle with the power imbalance between the fronts and rears. I have a sneaky suspicion the built in LOC inside the amp is doing some normalization of levels, but not sure (yet).

Another thing about this amp - it's class D, not A/B. It should run cooler than other amps.

The key to this I feel is the use of the Red Wolf harness... I didn't want to cut into the wire harnesses of the truck, and didn't have to!

 

I have an aftermarket head unit and just wanted to see where the 9 wire goes exactly … whenever you have time and you remember snap one for me

 

FYI Here is the manual to the SONY amp.
https://www.sony.com/electronics/su...e7372c88a84d690c912f63e43d503ab/45813731M.pdf

The signal input connector can be RCA plugs, or wires you can splice into. There are only 8 contacts made there.

If you are talking power and remote wires, plus outputs, that is also shown in the manual.

There's an image of it here:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/144634424966

 

non jbl stock entune 2023, looking to hookup just the kicker key 200.4 and some new component 6x9 and tweeters. anyone with just this setup? how much should this setup cost installed? is it worth it? also any way to do it without cutting factory wires?

 

Sure. I just did the same to my '22 Sport 8" HU wo/JBL
In this post, I uploaded two documents, one with NAV, the other wo NAV.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/20-23-anytime-front-backup-camera.781376/page-2#post-27948369

A few posts back in this thread, I posted the Red Wolf harness that I cut in half, so I didn't have to do any cutting of factory wiring. I'll repeat it here:

$14 RED WOLF Car Radio Add Amplifier Subwoofer T-Harness Adapter Connector Compatible with Toyota 2018-2023 Camry, 2019-2023 Tacoma RAV4 Corolla Non JBL System Plug and Play

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09DTY8PMD?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

So you don't have the JBL unit. Is your's the 8" model. If so open the document wo/NAV.
The connector doing all the work is: R51.
In the document, you are looking at the back of the radio.
Notice on R51, a 10pin connector, that there is nothing on pins 5 and 10 (scroll down in the document).
Now then, I cut my Red-Wolf harness in half. The female end of that harness plugs into R51.

The striped wires are even numbered, and (-).
The solid wires are odd numbered, and (+).
I think you'll find that these colors are a standard of some kind and should match-up to what you have in your manual.
As I recall, but you can verify if you get the Red Wolf connector, and the document, that
Pins 1+6 are Right Front Speaker, colored Grey, and Grey w/Stripe
Pins 2+7 are Left Front, White, and White w/Stripe
Pins 3+8 are Left Rear, Green, and Green w/Stripe
Pins 4+9 are Right Rear, Purple, and Purple w/Stripe

Those will be high-level outputs, so route them to the high-level inputs of your amp.
Your manual says cut the ends off the RCA connectors of the input harness that comes with your amp.
What I did was wire RCA connectors to the half of the Red Wolf harness with the female connector.

The outputs of your amp need to be wired to the the half of the Red Wolf harness with the male connector (because the factory harness which was plugged into the back of the head-unit runs out to the speakers).

On the amp I used, there was a "Remote wire", which I wired to an "Add A Fuse" with a small fuse (I think 2A), and plugged into the fuse block under the driver-side dash that is "switched" meaning, it becomes hot when the ignition is turned on. My amp would not turn on otherwise. YMMV.

I ran a separate wire to the battery that was fused and rated for the current the amp draws. You have to use a 20A fuse I think, and get wire of a gauge compatible with a 20A draw.

I ran the ground wire of the amp to a grounded metal point under the dash.

It's easy enough to do if you take your time.

 

Hey there. Similar issue as the last few comments: I have a 2023 TRD O/R with the 8" non-JBL (sounds like Premium Entune, from what I have read on T-World?). I'd like to keep the factory head unit, for multiple reasons. So my plan was:
1. Upgrade Front Door: probably Kicker CS, though I am curious about the JL C1 series (94 dB sensitivity, though who knows)
2. Upgrade tweeters: either Subaru Kickers or the DS-18s (opinions appear to vary around here)
2a. Maybe upgrade rears as well, same product lines.
If that doesn't do it, which probably won't, then get into the wiring weeds..
3. Add amplifier: the aforementioned Kicker Key400.4 sounds very enticing, because I want the interior to be/look as unmodified as possible.

All that being said (and any feedback on anything I said is welcome), a couple questions:
1. Will the Key200.4 work straight from the head unit? The more I read, not all "high level inputs" are created equal, and some necessitate Line Output Converters, etc. What is the voltage output of the factory head unit speaker outputs?
2. In the above comments and wiring diagrams referenced, there are four total wires for the front speakers: LF+, LF-, RF+ & RF-. Makes sense. However, there are four speakers (the doors and the dash). So how's that work? Are they in series or parallel, or do they actually have their own circuits? I'm sure someone talked about this at some point, but I hit my max after 50 of 250 pages of comments....
3. Key200.4 sure looks nice, but has no line out (if I wanted to add a sub later, etc). Any other suggestions for compact amplifiers?
4. Any experience with those JLs? Higher price, but not by a ton.

 

If an amp takes high-level inputs, chances are, it has built-in "LOCs". Ask Crutchfield. I ended up putting a LOC in the front channel chain, just because when I get all the speakers replaced, I wanted to have a more normalized fade-level between front and back. I think though that the amps are smart enough to handle the condition presented by our non-JBL amp, and this extra LOC was not necessary.

The fronts (dash and door) are wired in parallel. The wiring goes from the back of the radio, up to the tweeters, and in the tweeter connector, and bridged to go to the wires that go back down to the doors.

OK, so one thing you might wish to consider is looking for a component speaker set, i.e. a set that was designed to work together, tweeter (for the dash) and mid-range (for the door)... They will likely have some form of cross-over (typically just a capacitor, but might be capacitor and inductor) inline with the wires to the new tweeters.

Good tweeters come with a bunch of mounting options so you are not locked into the Subaru/Kickers or DS... Crutchfield will even offer you a mounting plate that you can cut to accommodate the tweeters. I am using the following I purchased on Amazon for mounting the tweeters that came in the "component speaker set" I purchased:

$8 X AUTOHAUX 2 Pcs Black Plastic Car Tweeter Speaker Mounting Adapter Bracket Rings for Toyota for Subaru for Lexus

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09NDNRZ2B?ie=UTF8

I found that I could mount the Sony amp right under the HU. Literally, it's positioned there with zip ties. There is however a whole lot of available space in the dash to put something behind or below the radio.

@soundman98 appears to be really knowledgeable. He can help steer you. Besides Crutchfield having good articles, videos and support staff, they have a nice return policy (you pay for return shipping) that if you don't like the speakers (or amp) purchased through them, you can send them back and go with a different product. Pretty much hassle free.

One last thing, I purchased the amplifier "open box", and less than full price. Sometimes they will have scratch and dent that is even less than open box pricing. My amp was brand-new, all items present. So you could save some $$.
HTH.

 

The Kicker Key 200.4 will take / accommodate speaker level or line level inputs. There is a thread on this site which provides instructions to build a T-harness which will allow to you use all the factory wiring. You will need to cut off the female RCA jacks that come with the Kicker Key.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/tpp4s-no-nonsense-guide-to-kicker-key-t-harness-16-19.642415/

I do realize your truck is newer, so the ingredients may be different.

You can probably add a LOC when you make / fab your T-harness. Might be advantageous to do so early, so you don't need to disassemble / modify later.

 

despite the fact that the kicker key models support line level inputs, i would still highly recommend using an external LOC for the purpose. it has everything to do with 'all-in-one's'. there's never been a tv/dvd/vcr combo that did the job as well as a separately-purchased tv, and dvd player. separating the LOC's from the amps also gives the final install more adjustment options to better tweak the system to individual preferences.

 

Thanks for all the great feedback.

Makes sense. Would a passive LOC be sufficient? They're cheap, small, and simple. I'm sure, as with all things, you get what you pay for, but I'm not trying to get crazy with this, nor do I have the most discerning ear.

That's a good suggestion. The JL speaker line I mentioned have a component set that would suffice (C1-690 comes with 6x9s & 1" tweeters). I guess people like the Kicker/DS tweeters because of the ease of installation, but if there's an available bracket I could stick a component tweeter in that's easy (and thanks for the link). Also doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me to have a set of tweeters and then 2 or 3-way 6x9s within a foot or two. Might as well focus on getting the maximum mids/lows out of the 6x9s. I'm also totally open to other products. Like everything, there's a ton of brands and models.
One last thing: does Crutchfield provide an info sheet or what have you for the factory head unit wires? The link to the thread Uluru provided looks straight, but I am unsure if it's the same for a 2023. I don't want to wind up wiring my backup camera to my 6x9s though that might be an interesting experiment.

 

Just about any LOC will work. The audio control units get suggested due to multiple outputs with individual adjustment, as well as bass processing to make it sound better.


The difficult part with component setups in this truck is a lack of acceptable length tweeter harnesses.

Technically, all the wiring needed is at the dash tweeter location, but there's not enough access to install a crossover with less than the 1ft of wire typically supplied.

 

I'll add, when you buy some component speakers from Crutchfield, at least in my case anyway, they provided the following free of charge (note how the connectors jumper the wires to then go back into the connector to support the wiring from that location to the speakers in the door:
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_120728110/Metra-72-8110-Speaker-Wiring-Harness.html?tp=3097&l=A

And for the door speakers, I was provided the following, again, free of charge:
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_120728104/Metra-72-8104-Speaker-Wiring-Harnesses.html?tp=3097&l=C

If you bought components from another site, these harnesses are available on Amazon.

One of the great things about Crutchfield, is they give you all the hardware stuff you need to get the job done.