Speedytech7's 95.5 - Going nowhere fast build

sub'd

 

How do you like that head unit? You have the new version of mine.

 

It is one of the first purchases I made for the truck and could not be happier. It works really well and the Bluetooth pairs seamlessly. I used the built in amp for a while, then gave in and put in a whole amplified system to go with it. Fits really snug too. I looked at yours and wondered if it was related when I saw it. How does yours sound?

 

I'm not all that thrilled with mine. I don't know if it isn't set up right or what. In order to hear it on the highway, I usually have it turned up to 25 or higher. All the stock Toyota radios we have in our other cars get the same volume on a much lower number value. The speakers aren't that great either. The bass level sucks, high volume sucks. Mid range volume sound is alright, but nothing to write home about. It plays music, and I love the features like BT audio, phone, iPod integration, remote control, and HD radio. UI was a massive learning curve to get around also. Heck, I still don't understand what half the modes mean.

 

Sounds like you might have to do a bit of tinkering. The built in amp will definitely make you turn it up quite a bit to hear it, and if you have aftermarket speakers in the doors you will really need an amp to bring them to life (both in terms of sound quality and loudness). To get bass out of it you'll have to properly set up the crossover level for your subwoofer so you can keep the heavy bass away from the mids. Otherwise the mids and highs will get muddy.

 

I don't have a sub. The stock stereo system in our 2006 4Runner (non-JBL) is way better than my $800 (when new) audio setup

 

I have a feeling you may have your EQ and gains improperly set. If those are done properly then it should sound worlds better. I used to do a lot of PA sound setups for plays and shows at school and a local theatre, most of this stuff is second nature to me so if you ever decide to take on the challenge of getting it to sound good let me know and I'll lend you a hand however I can.

 

I would like to make it sound as good as possible without buying new stuff. Just come to Dallas and fix it for me. I'll buy you a pizza

 

That offer is so tempting, unfortunately I can hardly afford truck parts let alone a flight. But it is certainly doable to make your system sound good without more money, don't give up hope!

 

Yeah, I feel ya. I think it may be pretty hard to have you walk me through it over text or the phone...Since I don't have a clue how to do anything. I just have Bass boost set to 0 and sub woofer set to 0 and high pass flow whatever set to 0 and bal/fade neutral, EQ set to the least shitty sounding one. Everything else I don't know what it does

 

By your description the only thing that could really be messing with you is your amp's gain. I'd go to a local audio shop and ask em to set your gains and EQ. They may ask for like $25, but it is well worth it.

 

See I don't even know what you mean by gains

 

To make it super simple, think of gain as the multiplier that is used on the headunits output. The higher the multiplier, the higher the volume for each notch of volume on the headunit. However, if you go too high the amp may start to distort this signal and then you have muddy sound. The same goes for the headunit itself, every headunit is different and will distort at a certain volume level just like the gain on the amp. When one sets their gain they most often play a sine wave (60hz or 40hz) and find the distortion point of the headunit (using an oscilloscope). After they find the headunit's distortion point the play that same 60hz sine wave at the level right below distortion and measure the output (again with the oscilloscope) on the amp and adjust its gain to the level right below distortion. Thus ensuring clean and clear signal up until the headunits distortion point.

And that's how aural babies are made.

Here is a video of a guy setting gains the super basic (non oscilloscope way), it is a bit less accurate than using the o-scope but will get you in the ballpark.
https://youtu.be/bRzn1KCX2sQ

 

That went so far over my head

 

Yah... sorry, it's not exactly a beginner subject, you still sorta need Electrical Engineering 101 and Electrical Theory 120 as pre-requirements. That is why a lot of people who tune their own system end up with it sounding sorta weird, they have a vague idea of which knobs to turn, but none of the electrical background needed to understand when to stop or continue adjusting. I find it helps to get a background knowledge of the theory before tinkering, I wish I knew of a simpler video that still does it correctly (there are plenty that do it wrong).

I'll see what I can find, I'm gonna re-tune my system soon since my sub is fully broken in now so maybe I'll make a video of how I do it.

 

Thanks for the help! I appreciate it. I'll try to learn about it at a later date. It's bed time for me now.

 

x2 sub'd! Love those SCS rims

 

Thx guys

 

I already am, but yeah, I might pull a leaf while I'm working on it.