2004 Stereo/Sound System Replacement recommendations

Got one?

 

What features are you after? What is your budget? Do you want a giant screen touchscreen interface or a smaller screen or just a CD player without a touchscreen at all? Help us help you.

 

I’ve got a bunch. They’re in the audio section of this post: https://www.tundras.com/threads/so-you-wanna-buy-just-bought-a-1st-gen-tundra-eh.115928/

 

Buy low, sell high!

 

Shifty - Thank you for the insights
ArtSr2002 - thanks for interest in helping. I realize there are many options to consider and I'll have to give this more thought

 

Big picture here, outside of what's in the stereo section of that thread, I think you need to be asking yourself...

Do I need to improve features or sound? (or both)

If you just need to add features, like hands-free audio and phone, there are kits out there, like the GTA kit, that will give you those. 30 minute install and voila, you have hands-free audio and phone.

If you need to add sound, seeing you have a DC and there's some quirks there, would really need to know if you have an OEM amp or not, plus if you have JBL or not, plus if you have audo controls on the steering wheel or not. Also helpful to know how comfortable you are installing on your own stuff. There are some quirks with double cabs specifically on stereo, and knowing if you're JBL and if you have JBL or non-JBL OEM amp are big factors in that.

If you want both, there's a larger conversation to be had, drilling down into what you're hoping for, your install comfort level, etc.

 

Thanks Shifty. I'm just focused on: 1. sound improvement, 2. adding bluetooth (and maybe apple car play), and 3. hands-free phone function. I have a double-cab DC with steering wheel audio controls. I'm pretty comfortable installing my own, but I also wouldn't hesitate to leave the job to a competent and knowledgeable installer. I live in So Cal (north Orange County). I'll have to investigate the amp question. Here is the unit coming out: Tuner/CD/Cassette player, JBL branded on upper right corner, labeled TOYOTA 16848 upper center.

 

Ok, so nutshell, you've got the JBL system; chances are you'll find JBL amp behind the back wall panel, driver's side. I don't think I've ever seen the premium JBL system w/o an amp.

There are some quirks with the JBL system in the DC specifically. But nothing horribly major. Do you intend to replace the factory amp? If you attempt to repurpose, you'll lose balance/fade options, IIRC.

 

I'll pull the back panel to confirm the factory amp situation. That being said, I'm completely comfortable NOT repurposing the factory amp and instead purchasing a new one.
Is one of the quirks you mentioned the connectivity/function to the steering wheel audio controls?

 

Confirmed - the factory amp is located behind the DC back panel on the driver's side

 

You've got a few things to accomplish here, and it's totally do-able, the biggest thread is snapping off plastic bits when removing panels, and dealing with proper power to the amp:

• Adapter for steering wheel controls, two solid options, explained, you will need to pick which is right for you.
• Replace the factory head unit, here's what several others have used ... you need to consider a couple of things:
  • Whether you want WIRED or WIRELESS CarPlay, be careful to check for this one detail while shopping
  • Whether you want knobs or buttons, if there's even anything with knobs or buttons on the market these days
  • Choose which radio trim kit you want for your truck, I actually DO NOT like any of METRA's offerings, and I'm actually a fan of their stuff normally
• Bypass the OEM amp (for JBL system specifically it's THIS HARNESS) so you can intercept the OEM speaker wiring AND adapt your OEM radio plug to give power to your new head unit (the colorful purple/green/gry/white harness is for your speakers at amp end, the red/yellow/black harness is for head unit end)
• Choose and install new speakers, which may be easier said than done, there's a few diff't factors here, and your front doors have 3spk each, IIRC
• Properly wire power for your new amp, ideally with a lead direct from the battery, and fused within 16" of the battery, buy RCA cables to send your radio signal to your amp, and run an amp turn-on lead along with the RCAs.

As far as install goes, quirk-wise, not a lot of "aha!" things, but there's some stuff to know going in, beyond what I linked above.

There is at least one splice in the front doors, not sure there's any other option. @Cummins3500 posted about that one in one of his threads, but hell if I can find it.

Speakers, at least for the front doors (possibly for all channels, don't have a DC myself so I don't recall), are 2ohm, it's quirky, but won't impact you for the install.

I personally prefer JBL's Club component speaker systems, it's great bang vs. buck for natural sound repro, and they typicaly use 3ohm drivers (vs. 4 ohm) to help eek a little more out of your amp.

Note there are a GAGGLE of SFF (small form factor) amps on the market that would theoretically fit in the place of the JBL amp. Alpine even makes one (KT-something-something-450 is the model number) that piggy-backs on the rear of their units, but only one or two of their head units actually supports wired CarPlay, sadly. If you can get me measurements for your OEM JBL amp, I can toss out a few solid options for which amp to buy.

If I were you and I had a DC, this is what I'd do....

• First off, I'd buy everything through Crutchfield, not only for the kickass live support for install and equipment failures, but also their pricing often beats other outlets; not only that, but you can get on the phone with a sales rep who can bundle all the little adapters to make this experience as cut-free as possible, and they give you full phone-based install troubleshooting/support
• I'd pick my head unit and speakers, and also grab the JBL-specific amp bypass harness
• I'd be hunting for an SFF amplifier, specifically one with 5 channels, which I would install in the place of the JBL amp; I'd use this to power my speakers (on 4 of the channels for front left/right and rear left/right), then reserve the 5th channel for a subwoofer later
• Pull the JBL amp; install the SFF 5-channel amp in its place, adapting as necessary to properly secure it; I'd cut all but 6-8" off the amp bypass harness, and plug all 8 of those lines into the OUTPUT side of the amp, and I may temporarily (keyword TEMPORARILY) borrow the OEM amp's power and ground to get the amp hot (but I would, as soon as possible, move to a proper power feed!)
• Run two (or ideally three) pairs of RCAs or get an RCA bundle, i.e. one RCA cable with 6 plugs on each end, along with an 18awg turn-on lead wire from the new amp to the dash area so your radio turns on the new amp, and so you can feed the front/rear lef/right with two pairs of RCA leads, and reserve a 3rd pair for future subwoofer)
• Install the new head unit; plug in the RCAs as required; tap into the radio's turn-on lead; install the steering wheel control adapter (which may require tapping into a ground, so check in advance)

I may be missing a few steps there, because I'm not thinking everything through, but that's what you're looking at in a nutshell. Once that's done, and confirmed working, I'd then make the speaker install a separate job... or tackle those once you confirm things are working as-is.

Tips for self-install

• Never use electrical tape, wire nuts, or scotch-lok style clamp-down connectors in your wiring, all of that is hackish bullshit only fuckbois do
• Buy an assortment of blue and red butt splices like this
• Buy a good set of crimpers/cutters like these and strippers like these, don't bother with the shitty multi-crimp tools like these b/c they're total garbage
• Always tug-test your connections BEFORE you move to the next one!

Tag to @Dakillacore in case any of this is interesting. Temps are warming up outside, and I'm out of work in 4.5 weeks, I hope you're gearing up for us to upgrade your life

 

You have given me much to digest, and I am grateful.

 

And just tossing out a few more thoughts.

Without measurements on the OEM JBL amp (WxDxH), I'm left to guess, but ballpark-wise, if going with a head new double-DIN head unit, and replacing the OEM JBL amp with a compact 5-channel amp, some 5 channel options on the amp could be in the ballpark of:

• Rockford Fosgate T1000X5ad
• Skar SK-M9005D
• MB Quart RA1-710.5
• Alpine S2-A55V
• Clarion XC2510

The Clarion is probably the smallest of all those, and the Fosgate is absurdly expensive. If you weren't planning on adding a sub, you could also opt for a powered sub enclosure like others on here have done, then you'd just need 4-channel amp, something like the Rockford Fosgate Punch PBR400X4D or the Alpine KTA-450 could be good options.

One other possible thought ... Alpine's receiver line (for non-CD/DVD "media" head units) is capable of having a compact amp mounted to the back of the head unit, so all is concealed in the dash. Still need to supply dedicated power, but you could get a receiver like the

$280 Alpine iLX-W650 7" Double DIN Touchscreen Digital Multimedia Receiver with Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto

Alpine iLX-W650 (wired carplay) or iLX-407 (wireless carplay) then piggyback the Alpine KTA-450 onto the back of it. You'd still need to use the amp bypass harness to feed back to the speaker lines at the OEM JBL amp. For low-end, you could either (A) run a powered sub somewhere in the cabin, or (B) run a compact monoblock amp in the position of the OEM amp like the Alpine KTA-200M, with a single 8" or 10" SVC sub, or either the AudioControl ACM-1.300 or JL Audio MX300/1 with a DVC 8" or 10".

Lots of options. Gotta factor in budget. And again, would need those OEM amp measurements to figure out what best fitment would be.

 

I got lucky(?) and I don’t have the JBL system.

in total I spent about $400 to completely revamp my stereo system. That’s touchscreen/bluetooth stereo (came with reverse camera), SKAR 6.5’s, underseat sub, wiring harness, misc shit to finish the install.

For what I paid. I am completely happy with the out come.

 

Yeah, but what'd you buy for a HU? Cheap Chinesium off scAmazon, something pretty low-end by Boss, ATOTO, or similar? Does it support wireless CarPlay? Your head unit is the source of all audio signals, and the last place anyone should skimp, unless it's not super important to you.

I think people really under-rate the quality of integrated amps inside mid-range modern head units, spending that extra $100-200 on a quality HU can pay off in dividends later. There's really no comparing aftermarket amps to integrated HU amps as far as sound output and quality. Especially if the amp has integrated DSP. But, like, my Alpine fills my needs for now, and was like $100 more than what most people on here are paying for Boss, ATOTO, similar

To that point, there's no reason someone couldn't stage this just the same as you have, where you'd be "phase 1", i.e.:

• Phase 1: Get a new head unit installed, with necessary harnesses, steering wheel control adapter, maybe a speaker upgrade or two
• Phase 2: Finish speaker upgrades and add an aftermarket amp and proper power wiring, either 5ch for 4 doors and 1 sub (or) 4ch for 4 doors while installing a powered sub
• Phase 3: Add a DSP to round out the sound, install reverse/forward camera, alternator upgrade, misc other stuff

I think the three biggest mistakes people make in car audio are buying shit quality head units, bullshitting the wiring to their amps and/or powered subs, and poor subwoofer enclosure design. As long as you don't do any of those (and even if you do in some cases), you're unlikely to be disappointed.

 

yes. And no car play as I didn’t buy the head unit with that option. Just wanted Bluetooth; reverse camera and touchscreen was a bonus.

the only “gripe” I would have is there is a slight flicker, occasionally, in reverse but I think that has more to do with how I had to extend the wire from the camera to the head unit.

otherwise, it’s been 3 months and I’m not dissatisfied at all. But only time will tell.

 

We've had others on here who are running Boss and aren't unhappy. I think what some of us older members struggle with is the memories of Boss, Kraco, Realistic, Pyramid, Audiovox, Craig, Jensen, and I'm probably missing one or two - but basically budget brands that were sub-par on features/looks/quality/longevity (at least 3 out the 4 applied). Jensen arguably may've been the better out of the pile. Oh, and Pyle, I guess I could add Pyle into the list, although they weren't horrible. Budget back in the day was horribly noticeable. Today, I feel like budget has been replaced by off-brand Chinesium like the ATOTO units.

But if it works for you, and it has the features you want, by all means, you should roll with it.

I think I may upgrade my

$280 ilx-w650 7" double DIN touchscreen digital multimedia receiver with bluetooth, apple carplay and android auto

ilx-w650 soon. Either going ilx-w670 or with the 407 or 507 (likely 507 for wireless CarPlay). If there was something out there that looked more OEM+, like with a volume knob, I'd probably do that, then sell my barely used ilx-w650 for $150 + ship over in the Marketplace. Picking the right HU is a beast.

 

Shifty, once again thank you for the info.
Further to the question of the size of the OEM amp behind the back seat, it measures 9" wide by 6" high (as mounted) by 1-5/8" deep, and is marked JBL #86280-0c040 Harman-Becker Fabric Seat.

 

The way I look at it. Tech has come so far (for reference, I was getting into cars around age 12 when “mag wheels” were still a thing) and “budget” now is basically on par with the “high end” we used to know. And “high end” now is light years ahead of what “high end” used to be.

 

Does anyone remember Nakamichi? Was that good stuff back in the day? Seem like I remember that being good stuff back in the day but don't recall if it was or not. Anyway, here is a Nakamichi DVD CarPlay/Android Auto unit now on Woot for el cheapo if anyone is interested.

https://electronics.woot.com/offers/nakamichi-6-8-apple-carplay-and-androidauto-touchscreen

 

Nakamichi made awesome stuff, especially if you needed cassette functionality. But I don't think it's the same brand it was.

EDIT: Yup, looks like they got bought out by a Chinese holding company right before Y2k and pretty much lost its history at that point.

 

Single DIN for those who prefer single DIN headunits.

https://slickdeals.net/f/17244340-n...tereo-receiver-nq822b-39-99?src=category_page

 

Dang, we have homicidal maniacs on here?!

 

I would highly recommend getting a unit that supports Apple play/android auto. The unit will likely come with a microphone to place near the driver upper left window molding next to the visor for hands-free phone calls, etc.

It also gives you at least three options for GPS. – Google maps, maps (apple) and waze. Better than having a GPS in the car or truck because it is continually up-to-date.

and if you use Bluetooth to play music, the sound quality is much better than Bluetooth.

not to mention hands-free for texting (it will ask you to reply and translate using voice to text and repeat back to verify before sending, and will read received text messages out loud).

and much more, unless none of the above appeals to you. We all have different needs.

 

any recs on connectors similar to a wiring harness for the front doors?

my front speakers quit working and the issue was in the wiring harness. Unfortunately, the installer bypassed the harness without any way to disconnect

 

Got pics?

Also, good place for mic is along the gauge cluster. I out a pic of how I did mine in the “who’s got what” radio thread.

 

Pioneer Double DIN DMH-2660NEX on sale fellers.

https://slickdeals.net/f/17296846-p...YCarousel:Position:10|JFYCarousel:Type:thread

 

Looks like it supports wireless CarPlay also. $100 cheaper than Crutchfield, but Crutchfield price matches…

I’d need to run the specs in a compare against Alpine’s new ilx-w670 to see how they compare out. I don’t like the face design of the pioneer as much as the Alpine. But I like pioneer’s face design way more than Alpine’s ilx-507 which is the only similar Alpine unit that supports wireless CarPlay, so ….

 

Has anyone tried one of the models with the floating screen?

I've got the Pioneer AVH-2400NEX. It has everything I need. It has wired car play. I guess wireless Apple / Android car play would be a plus but not worth replacing the head unit merely for that upgrade. However, my screen has gotten so washed out that no matter the brightness/contrast settings with a little bit of glare during the daytime it is almost impossible to see

I recently flew out west for a week and had to take a few Lyfts. All of those had the floating bigger 9 to 10 inch screens and wow that was nice

It would be nice just add an external screen to my existing Pioneer but apparently that's not possible at least from what I've read so far

just seems a shame I have to change head units simply because of a washed out screen from one that is only about 4-5 years old

The picture of the screen is on a cloudy day, so it's not as washed out as it is in the bright sun. You can still see that the letters in the middle right of the screen are illegible from the driver's seat. And it makes any of the GPS apps impossible to see in the middle of the day

 

My 4-5 year old Pioneer AVH-X3800BHS also has a mediocre screen visibility. But I only gave $179 for it. Like to upgrade, but it’s not my daily, so meh. You can add wireless CarPlay to any CarPlay unit with a dongle. But the screen is likely still a deal breaker. Proximity of the AC vents make the larger floating screens more difficult to use in a FGT. The depth of the radio may limit options too, but that problem could be remedied with some fab work to change the mourning brackets I would imagine.