2018 tundra sr5 CrewMax new stereo suggestions

ok so I have a 2018 tundra CrewMax with 29000 miles and thought about trading it but I think im going to keep it but need a new sound system because the stock one is horrible!! what do you guys suggest without breaking the bank ? need head unit ,sub,and speakers

 

Really depends on the budget and how much of the work you can do yourself.
Breaking the bank is different for each person.

If you don't mind answering what is your budget?

I will point you in the direction I would go with.

At a $1,000 budget I would recommend one system.

At a $2,000 budget I would go something else.

Same thing at 3k

Here is my setup
Head unit jvc z1000w
Amp 1. Sony xm gs4
Amp 2 sony xm gs4
Amp 3. Sony xm gs100
Tweeters stereo integrity mk25
Mid range stereo integrity m3 carbon 3.5 inch
Woofer stereo integrity tm65
Subs Rockford fosgate two 8 inch subs
Zapco dspz8
Only thing I am going to change in my setup are the subs. The 8s are OK ,, just wanting a little more than most 8 inch subs will do.

Just depends on how far down the rabbit hole you want to go.

 

I don't need something great at this point since its a older truck and not sure how long im going to keep it and I don't drive it far (thats why I only have 29000 miles on it) but in all my past vehicles I've had nice systems installed and this system that comes stock with this truck is just horrible and I need something ! id say maybe $2-$3 K

 

This might be worth checking out:

https://www.tundras.com/threads/pho...friday-11-29-24-11am-est.151278/#post-3771170

 

For about $1000 I totally transformed my stock sound system. 2020 Limited Edition non JBL with center speaker and amp under the passenger seat.

Started with purchase from James at Tech12volt of his double JL Audio tweeter center channel replacement speaker. He wired pigtails on so I could drop right and left wires down the center dash into the counsel and out the right side under the passenger seat. I bought the amplifier under passenger seat board from Sounds Good Stereo. The Kicker Key500.1 mono subwoofer amplifier, and JL Audio's CP106LG-W3v3 MicroSub from Crutchfield.

I bought the CP106LG-W3v3 MicroSub because I knew from cutting pieces of 2x4's to length for checking space behind rear seat, that it would fit between the steel seat support structures and work. I wanted the 8" version but it appeared fit would be very tight at best, so decided to get the guaranteed fit. I placed it on the driver side.
After install I discovered that the port on the subwoofer needed to be facing the left side of the truck. I had originally installed with the port facing the right side of the truck, but discovered the bass was lacking in the drivers seat. The switch greatly improved the driver seat bass response.

I'm happy with the results of this install, it is a huge improvement. Is there room for improvement? Well of course there is, and I have a phase two in mind. But at this time I feel satisfied and will probably just save the phase two money.

 

Any brands you're a fan of? $2k-$3k is plenty of budget to get a head unit, amp(s), speakers, and sub(s). Depending on your experience/how much time you want to invest installing, and what kind of music/what are your system goals, i.e. loud, sound quality, or a mix of both, would also help determine recommendations

For example, if you want the easiest to install, coaxial speakers would be the way to go. Next step up would be component speakers with in-line passive crossovers. Next step up would be component speakers with separate passive crossovers, and then at the highest install level you start getting into active systems and dsp's/dsp amps.

Ballpark numbers for $2k I would say a good budget would be $500 on amp, $500 on head unit, $500 on speakers, $250 on a sub, and $250 on install gear (sound deadening, wiring, speaker brackets). Probably be looking at a 5-channel amp, component speakers in front, coaxial in rear, a mid-level head unit, a fairly good sub and box, some nice speaker brackets/sound deadening and an amp rack.

For $3k I'd say you've got more room to decide on splurging on a couple of the items, i.e. a top of the line head unit, or a really nice amp etc.

Happy to help with recs at any price point!

 

I will put together a List for you of what I would go with for $2000 $2500 and $3,000. Will try to get it today on here.

 

I would assume we are working with the non JBJ Factory system

Option 1
Less than $1000

You would be surprised how much just changing out the head unit will do even keeping the factory speakers.
Head unit JVC -KW-M785Bw. it has wireless apple CarPlay , android auto.
(jvc and kenwood are the same company. I have had three JVC head units lately and have been happy with all 3
$379.00 on Crutchfield. Side note on the head unit install. I never use the factory ground or power wire or constant power wire. I feel most factory wire is too small of a Guage wire. Alot of ground loop, speaker noise issues can be corrected with the wire upgrade. I run from the fuse box new power wire and constant power wire 14 gauge-16 gauge is fine direct to the head unit.
Then run a heavier gauge ground wire 14 gauge.

Metra dash kit and crux swrty-61n
$99.97 on Crutchfield with JNC head unit purchase

sky high 16-gauge speaker wire 100 foot
$44.95 eBay I would run all new speaker wire to the front doors and dash speaker locations, if you have the center channel speaker unplug it.
the reason I want all new speaker wire from the head unit to each speaker is for correct time alignment to each speaker.


Keep the factory speakers at the moment.

See how this all sounds, you might be happy with just this for the upgrade. You are in for less than $550

If you feel you want to add a sub

subwoofer box build yourself$50

Subwoofer Dayton Audio HO8 8 inch sub. The Dayton will get pretty low for 8 inch sub.
$139

subwoofer amp Sony xm gs-100
Can find them all the time on Ebay for less than $150. I would say one of the best values on a mono sub amp. At 2 ohm load I can get right over 800 watts with no clipping. more than enough power 8-inch subs.

rca Calbe stinger 8000 series 12
$38

amp 4-gauge power wire sky high 4-gauge ofc on Ebay $2.49 foot
get 25 feet
$50

anl fuse block under the hood.
$12


Zip ties at harbor freight
ring terminals
heat shrink

just under $1000 for this upgrade


This is a good starting point.
If you wanted to replace the door speakers, add an additional 4 channel amp, add a 2nd 8-inch sub, DSP in the future,, the 1st stage of equipment can be used if you want to keep adding from there.

If I thought, I wanted to spend a little more and was going to get to the $2000 -$3000 range.
I would change the head unit recommendation of the JVC to the Sony XAV head unit.
Sony XAV9000es or the Sony XAV-9500es is the best head unit on the market for stereo sound quality. They have some speaker crossover and eq control that most head units will not do. If I were not going to run a DSP setup and use a good quality speaker 2 way the Sony XAV is the only I would use.
Jvc ,Kenwood, pioneer, alpine in my opinion cannot compete. The controls and crossovers of the sony XAV are superior in every way. It is as close to a DSP as you can get without having to go to a DSP.


To go from bad sound to really good sound is not an equipment issue. In the tundra it is a speaker control issue.

Time alignment
Independent level control of each speaker.
Being able to adjust the EQ of each speaker independent from each other.
This is what is needed to get good sound in the Tundra

 

@jimg makes a ton of good points. I personally am running a Sony XAV-9000ES and all new wiring throughout. You certainly don't have to go to that level though to get a really nice sounding system.

If I were to build a system right now with a budget of $2k-$3k, I'd build something from these options.

Head unit:

JVC KW-M780BT $300
Kenwood DMX7709S $300
Alpine iLX-407 $450

For any of these three, add $280 to get an iDatalink Maestro and the appropriate harnesses and dash kit. The Maestro is 100% worth the added cost imo. Getting an iDatalink Maestro in addition to a new head unit will not only future proof your new head unit, but also multi-vehicle proof it in that the iDatalink Maestro works with virtually all vehicles. Total cost here $580 for JVC or Kenwood, $730 for Alpine. ​

Amp:

Kicker 46CXA660.5T $337 (65 watts RMS x 4 + 150 watts RMS x 1 at 4 ohms and 90 watts RMS x 4 + 300 watts RMS x 1 at 2 ohms) for $337
AudioControl A1100.5 $500 (90 watts RMS x 4 + 400 watts RMS x 1 at 4 ohms and 125 watts RMS x 4 + 600 watts RMS x 1 at 2 ohms)
Audison SR 5.600 $600 (75 watts RMS x 4 + 330 watts RMS x 1 at 4 ohms and 115 watts RMS x 4 + 550 watts RMS x 1 at 2 ohms)
Audison SR 6.600 $600 (85 watts RMS x 4 + 110 watts RMS x 2 at 4 ohms and 140 watts RMS x 4 + 185 watts RMS x 2 at 2 ohms)

​

Front Speakers
I would do component speakers in front. These 4 options all have inline crossovers to make install easier, no need to run new wiring.

JL Audio C1-650 $150 (50w RMS)
Focal ASE 165 $160 (60w RMS)
Morel Maximo 6 MK II $169 (90w RMS)
Focal ISU 165 $263 (70w RMS)
​

If you wanted to splurge on your front stage and do a 3 way set, I'd spring for these sets. If doing a 3 way front stage, you'd need to run new speaker wiring from the crossovers to the mid range and tweeter location. Depending on the set, you might also need to modify the dash corner location and make an adapter bracket out of plastic:

Morel Maximo Ultra 603 MKII $479 (100w RMS)
Focal Performance 165AS3 $580 (80w RMS)
Sony XS-163ES $600 (90w RMS)
​

Rear Speakers
You can do component speakers in the rear too, but a lot of folks would recommend/just go with coaxials for two main reasons, 1) rear speakers just provide rear fill and 2) the tweeter location in the rear doors is up fairly high and ends up being closer to your head than the sail panels or dash corners. I'd recommend just going with with co-axial version of any of the sets above, i.e.:

JL Audio C1-650x $119 (50w RMS)
Focal ACX 165 $120 (60w RMS)
Morel Maximo Coax 6 MKII $109 (80w RMS)
Focal ICU 165 $160 (70w RMS)
Morel Maximo Ultra Coax 602 MKII $189 (90w RMS)
​

Subwoofer(s)
Subwoofer choice will be determined mainly by which amp(s) you choose. The Kicker amp above is best suited for 1 sub. The Audiocontrol and Audison are well suited for 1 or 2 subs. For subs, you'd just need to look at the RMS wattage at the given impedance in ohms. For example, the Kicker amp does 300w @ 2 ohms. That means you can have one 2-ohm 300w sub connected to it, or a pair of 4-ohm 150w subs wired in parallel (150 +150 = 300w, and 4 ohm + 4 ohm in parallel = 2 ohm load presented to amp). For ease of install I'd recommend getting either a shallow sub in a preloaded box, or, finding a matching sub for your chosen amp and then buying a separate box that meets the subs volume requirements. For pre-loaded sub boxes I'd look at brands like Kicker, Rockford Fosgate, Pioneer, and Alpine. For a standalone sub and box I'd look at JL Audio or Sundown Audio, and then a matching pre-fab box.

Other Install Gear:

Sound deadening: many brands on the market. I used Resonix. 10 square feet is $125 and would be enough to deaden around your speaker openings.
Wiring kit: Crutchfield/Sonic Electronix discount their kits if buying amps from them. Best brand imo to buy a standalone kit is Knu Conceptz at the moment. Figure $100 for a wiring kit, any additional RCA cables etc.
Speaker adapters: everybody's favorite company to hate lol Taco Tunes makes nice ABS speaker rings. For front and rear about $100. They're a little cheaper than Sounds Good Stereo, which leads me to my next point.
Amp Rack: Sounds Good Stereo is about $65 for an ABS amp rack to go under your seat(s).
Miscellaneous: heat shrink, speaker wiring, Tesa tape, wire connectors, foam speaker rings etc. figure $100.

​

If I were building this system no holds barred up to $3k, I'd go Alpine iLX-407 ($730), Audison SR 5.600 or SR 6.600 ($600), Morel Maximo Ultra 603 MKII in front ($479), Morel Maximo Ultra Coax 602 MKII in rear ($189), JL10tw3 ($500), box, wiring etc. ($500) for a grand total of $2998 (I swear that was dumb luck haha).

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Thanks for the great info !!

 

$2500 system

Sony XAV-9000es $ 798.00 IF you do not need a 10 inch screen the 9000es will give the control you need to tune out the system without a DSP

$31 metra 99-8252 multi installation kit for toyota tundra 2014 and up,silver

metra 99-8252
Crux swrty-61n I have used the Crux and the Idatalink the Crux will do what I need, no need to spend the cost of the Idatalink
$ 94.98
Stereo Integrity MK25 tweeter $ 99.99 On sale at stereo integrity now, this is a fantastic tweeter, probably the best one out there at this price.
Stereo Integrity TM65 $ 299.99 The TM65 is a good 6.5 inch speaker also on sale on stereo integrity website
stereo Integrity crossover $ 75.00 Probably do not need this considering the SONY has all the crossovers needed
Dayton HO8 $ 139.00 Dayton subs have fantastic sound quality. IF trying to cut some cost I would only use one of them not two.
Dayton HO8 $ 139.00
sky high 16 gauge speake wire $ 23.95
Stinger 8000 series 12 foot $ 37.99 The stinger 8000 RCA cables are worth the extra cost. I will never use anything else.
Stinger 8000 series 12 foot $ 37.99
Stinger 8000 series 12 foot $ 37.99
Amazon Basics $ 62.70
sky higa 4 gauge wire $ 50.00
anl fuse block $ 10.00
anl distribution block $ 16.00
sony xm gs4 $ 200.00 The SONY-xmgs4 is a great amp for a budget sound quality amp.
sony xm gs100 $ 200.00 The SONY-xmgs100 I have been really happy with. It will do 800 watts at 2 ohm with no clipping
sub box build yourself $ 75.00
other materials $ 200.00

$ 2,597.58



If I needed to stay below $2000
I would keep the above list but make these changes.

SB acoustics SV17NBAC-35 6 inch woofer $169 for the pair, You can get them on madisound speaker store.
Change out the crossover for bass blockers $9.99. This is just to keep from burning up the tweeter if you set a wrong crossover in the head unit when tuning the system. Use 1 sub vs 2
Use a 5 channel amp Pioneer GM-D9705 can be had for $251 online at Walmart online.
CCA amp wiring kit. Also would not need the MINI anl distribution block if using only 1 amplifier this would cut a little cost and use the RCA cable that comes in the kit to the Pioneer amp on the sub channel. I would keep the stinger 8000 rca on the other channels.




Install notes.

I am huge fan of running new speaker wire to each door speaker. It is not hard to get speaker wire through the door boot on the front doors in a tundra.

I am not a big fan of rear door speakers. Music is recorded in stereo with everything front. I do not see adding cost for rear door speakers just to mess up the sound stage. Almost every car stereo sound quality setup will not be using any rear fill speakers.

The Sony amplifiers.
I feel the Sony XM-gs4 Amps are the best thing going for $200. I have used over the years, Linear Power, phoenix gold , alpine, Us Acoustics, Ct Sounds, pioneer.
I would put the Sony up with the Linear Power I had back in the day for sound quality. The Sony xmgs-4 is really that good.


I'm not a fan of 5 channel amplifiers. I only see the need for them if I am limited on space. To get a 5 channel that puts out any real power on channels 1-4 and have 600+ watts on the sub channel it will cost more than what I can do using a 4 channel and a separate sub amp. Also, if the amp goes bad, I am having to replace with another high cost 5 channel amplifier



I am not sure if I would ever go above $2500 Again for a full install.
The $2500 list above has a list of quality equipment at a budget price.
You get to diminishing returns really quick in car audio.
A $200 set of speakers will sound better that a $100 set. A $300 set will sound better than a $200 set but not as much as you would think.
With the sale Stereo Integrity has going, $99 for the MK tweeter and $299 for the TM 65 woofer this is a fantastic speaker setup for $398. You would have to spend a lot more to get very little more.

 

what do you think labor would run ?

 

$1000, 2000, $3000 who knows. Depends on how many hours it takes, Depends on how well you want the job done.



Problem with Labor cost ,, is people do not want to pay what quality labor would cost in the stereo world.

Example of Bad installs. I have seen amplifiers Velcro to the carpet. Wood Screws to hold in a door speakers. Using low quality door speaker adapters. Not set the gains correct on the amplifiers.
Most will use no sound deadener or will not take the time to do it correct.
A shop can hide a crap install job because you cannot see what is being covered up.

I will use my local shop to build an enclosure but that is it. And they are a very qualified shop, Know the owner, he is good and has been doing it for years.

I want things done a certain way,,, MY WAY.

Some Examples of MY way
1. Hydraulic wire crimper for all of the power wires at the ring terminals. If I do not press the ring terminal with the hydraulic tool, I will crimp and solder the terminal.

2 Solid copper ring terminals on 4 gauge or larger wire gauge.

Most shops doing a bad install will use cheap ring terminals and just use a set of Pliers to crimp.

3 Every connection at my amplifiers, power wire, ground wire, remote turn on wire, all speaker wire leads I use a ring terminal that is crimped, then solder, and heat shrink at the connection.

A bad install would just twist the wire and screw at the connection point on the amp. At best a spade connection that is just crimped with no solder.

4 At my distribution blocks I use wire ferrules. I will use wire ferrules or a crimp solder ring terminal,
never just cram the wire in a connection and lock it down with a set screw.

5 Same thing for the speaker connections, use proper connections and solder the terminal to the speaker wire.


6 Cheap wire taps, wire but connectors , black electric tape are a Big NO for me.

None of the above is hard at all. It just takes time that most people are not willing to pay a stereo shop to do.


I Use an oscilloscope to see the output voltage from the head, the dsp, the amp, I want to check for clipping and see the power the amplifiers are sending to the speakers
Most shops will just set it close and call it good.

Once again, this process it not hard to do, Just takes Time.


Bad installs cause speakers to blow, amps to blow, Head units to short out, spend a lot of money on gear and then can't understand why it sounds worse that the factory speakers.


I have installed several stereo systems over the years. The tundra is easy to work with.
The dash comes apart quick and has plenty room to work with getting the head unit in. The Metra dash kit makes the install easy.

Take the Front seats out, easy to do, There is plenty of room inside the tundra.

There are a lot of good videos on youtube.

1 5 Star Car stereo on has some fantastic videos on car audio installs. they have a full series on a Tundra
2 T A C O Tunes has some good videos on running door speaker wire and power wire in the tundra
3 DIY audio guy
4 Sonic Electronics has a good video on how to do a basic amp gain using a mulitmeter
5 several videos out there on how to install the radio in the dash 5 star has some good videos on this
6 HifiVega
7 EXOcontralto EXO
8 CarAudioFabrication he has some good videos

 

Pm me if you need a walk through on how to get started on what ever direction you want to go.

If I was starting from scratch

1. Start with what ever headunit you want
Sony. Jvc. Kenwood. Alpine

I would go with the sony axv9000. If you felt you wanted to have a big screen that would be up to you ,,then go with the axv9500

After having a 10 inch screen,,, I could do without the larger screen.

A head unit install is not hard to do.

2. I would run new speaker wire to the dash speakers. Do not use the center channel speaker
And run new door speaker wire through just the front doors.

Power the factory front door speakers and front dash speakers from the head unit.

I could do this in a few hours

After some basic tuning , time alignment, basic eq adjustments you may be 100% happy and not need to do anything else.

If you did want to upgrade from here at least you have a good foundation to work with.