2017 Tundra SR5 Sound system upgrade (proposed)

Got my sub installed this afternoon. Took about an hour, I pre-soldered the wiring harness for the speaker level inputs, all that needed to be done was remove the factory amp, place the new powered sub and run the power from the battery. Running the power wire was the hardest part. Overall impression so far, bass is much improved, not going to rattle windows, but for an 8" with 100 watts RMS, it sounds good. Still need to finish dialing things in, but switching the Alpine to 120 hz for the speakers and setting the powered sub to the same really seems to have helped.

 

So, after almost 2 weeks, I'm really happy with my setup. The sound is much cleaner, the highs sound good, the mids are good, and now the bass is good. It's a night and day difference over factory, with minimal time invested. I'm sitting at right around $300 invested including amp, sub, harnesses and speakers. I'm happy I stumbled upon this thread, it's been a wealth of knowledge. Best part is, if I decide to go bigger, it wouldn't be terribly hard to do so.

 

I have a new Pioneer w4500nex head unit and all new Pioneer speakers. Also upgraded to Focal dash speakers. Still not happy with sound and wonder if I need the amp.
The new headunit is an increase in power and didnt think i would need a better amp. Also worried about losing back up camera function as I hear that can be an issue when upgrading the amp ??? Thanks in advance.

 

You should be fine, as long as you use the adapters and harnesses that were mentioned, you should have no issue with the back up camera. What harnesses did you use for the headunit install? If you're still going through the factory amp, you're still putting out factory power, but you should be able to just bypass the factory amp since you've done the headunit. Unless you want a dedicated amp.

 

I must tell you guys Thanks a Million.
I installed this amp in my 2015 Tundra Pro, non-JBL system.
I followed the instructions on this thread. Wired everything on the bench.
Went outside, unplugged the stock amp, plugged new one in. And everything works great.
Much clearer sound and way more volume. Next is better speakers.
Again thanks.

 

awesome!!!

good job

I just sound deaden my doors and back wall my self

in addition to amp dash speakers and upgrade of all speakers

 

I plan on doing the sound deaden and speakers in the spring.
Getting too cold in Michigan for this kinda work outside.
Next project is the 2019 Pro LED headlight assembly.

 

Been seriously thinking about adding an lc7i before the apline amp I'm running and then using the rca output from that to run my little sub. Has anyone with the Alpine KTP 445 done that? I'm trying to clean up the sound a bit.

 

Doesnt sound like any one has. Go for it and give us details please so we can follow your lead!

 

Got an “open box” deal on this tonight. Free 2 year warranty also. Does everything appear to be here or is there something missing ?
(I have the 4438 harness coming separately).
I have an upgraded head unit and new speakers installed already but the speakers distort at around half volume so hope this little amp helps my issue. Thanks

 

Looks complete

 

Thanks. My new Pioneer head unit has a built in amp with 50Wx4 power but not sure how that works while still running the factory non JBL amp.... wondering if the KTP 445U will even make a difference on my setup??
I really don’t understand car audio much at all, hope I didnt waste my money on it lol

 

I believe, you could have bought the harness to remove and bypass the factory amp, and since you're headunit puts out a little more power, you'd have been ahead of the game and not need the amp. I could be wrong, but I think if you did just the factory amp bypass, if you haven't already, you might get better sound. I'm still new to the audio game thing and am learning as I go.

 

That's the plan for now, I'll have to buy a new input harness for the Alpine to regain my rca inputs to plug into the lc7i, but that's fairly cheap. Everything else looks like I can splice right from the 4438 harness kit to the lc7i and still be golden. I'm really hoping that I can clear some of the sounds up, get rid of some of the distortion at higher volumes and clean the bass up. This will probably be a spring project, and I'm going to be moving in a week or so. So, things will be on hold for a short time while I get situated at the new place. I mean, as it is now, it sounds good, but I feel there's still some room to clean things up a bit. It is still a night and day difference over a 100% factory setup. Best part is, it's still all plug and play and can revert back to factory in 10 minutes or less.

 

Hmmm so you think the new head unit amp is more powerful and better quality than the 445U everyone is using ? If that turns out to be true could I use the 445U to power a sub or should I just return it for a refund ?

 

I couldn't give you a positive answer on that. I doubt it'd give you enough power for a sub. Like I said, I'm still learning myself. Luckily, I set myself up for future upgrades/expansion. Hopefully, someone will chime in with a better answer.

 

So the way the crewmax audio is designed/setup is the HU powers your dash speakers & the rear door tweeters only (IIRC) and the stock amp under your seat powers the actual door speakers......talking Non-JBL here.

 

If you are wanting to add a sub, I would recommend getting a good 5 channel amp and do away with the stock amp with the harness, get a LOC to convert the factory speaker wires to RCA inputs into your Amp for the door speakers and then you will truly be set up to run a "decent" sub

 

I think like head unit says 50 but its really a lot less. They always post RMS. Alpine 445 outputs 45x4 and is a lot closer to that amount of output.

He speaks the truth.

Also your headunit will never have the output power compared to amp like alpine 445u
headunit RMS is 50 but actual output is probably much less.

WhileAlpine 45x4 is the actual output.

 

Thanks for the advice and reply. I refunded the KTP 445U and bought a JL Audio RD400/4.

 

45x4 still isn’t enough to power my new speakers. I refunded 445U and upgraded to a
JL Audio RD400/4

 

Your HU is 22 watts RMS.
You should have bought a 5 channel amp.
You're going to want to end up buying some kind of subwoofer before it's all over with and you know it.

I'd return the 4 channel and get a 5 channel, even if it has speaker level inputs.
Otherwise you'll need to run 3 pairs of RCA wires from the HU to the new amp.

Even if you don't use the 5th sub channel right now, you'll have it when you want/need it.
I promise you, you are going to eventually want/need it.

You should have ditched the OEM amp when you installed the aftermarket HU.
The OEM amp is designed for the Entune HU and the cheap OEM 2 ohm door speakers.
The low ohm speakers run louder with less power, but don't sound so good as far as quality sound.

As others stated, the Entune powers the dash speakers, the OEM amp runs the doors but with only mid and low signals.
The non-JBL Entune counts on the dash speaker to provide the highs..

Nothing wrong with running your dash off the HU and running the doors thru an amp.

For a little more than what you might have paid for the JL Audio RD400/4, you can get a decent 5 channel with 500w RMS for the sub channel.

https://www.crutchfield.com/g_347150/5-channel-Amps.html?tp=35808#&clearAll

That would plenty of watts to run a small JL Audio Microsub that would probably fit under your driver's seat or behind the rear seat..

https://www.crutchfield.com/g_510/Subwoofer-Boxes.html?tp=112#&nvpair=FFBrand|JL Audio

Also this will help you bypass the OEM amp and replace it with an aftermarket amp.
You'll just need to run a line to power the amp from the battery.

Toyota Factory Amp Upgrade harness
https://www.autoharnesshouse.com/41112.html


Just something to think about...
Good luck...

 

Lol thanks but I DONT WANT A SUB... and I know it
Im very happy with the the amount of bass I currently have and its not even powered properly. Infact all my bass settings on the head unit are at the lowest settings. I looked at 5 channel amps all night and in the end went 4 channel. Money wasn’t a deciding factor.... quality and reviews were. I could always add a mono amp for a sub someday BUT I NEVER WILL lol.

 

Yea I gone 445u Alpine due to fact that I am old and it has plenty of punch for my easy listening.

 

Exactly... only reason I went bigger was to properly power my speakers. This will more than finalize my setup, now on to bigger things with my build. Thanks to all for their help with this chapter.

 

Still enjoying my alpine amp but thinking about upgrading stock speakers now. Anyway, a couple pages back you said you were going to get the full door skin sound deadening material. Not what I envisioned looking at your pics. Did you change your mind? What is the black foam looking stuff you put over the dynamat? Appreciate all your past help!

 

I did kill mat and noico sound material. I actually added more of that foam stuff across the door and rear panel. Works very well for outside noise coming in. In fact now I'm annoyed by how much noise I hear inside the cabin. Like any kind of rattle is more pronounced. I did inside the door and outside. Not an easy job.

 

Haha, I bet! Looks like it.

 

Well you were right lol ..... returned the JL RD400/4 and upgraded to the JL RD900/5. Also got a sub..... 5 channel was the way to go for me. Buy once, cry once. Sounds amazing now !!