03 JBL Synth --> DNX7100 pro/con

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looksstock

New member
Thanks to the great input by the members of this forum (Airbur and other's), I finally upgraded the stock h/u in my 03 LTD w/10spkr JBL and am "mostly" pleased with the results.

Here is what was installed and my review of each:

1. DNX7100
2. Rear License plate cam
3. Sirius module
4. SWI-Jack

DNX7100 -

The good: This unit has great features, great nav, good looking screen, hidden USB cable to plug my mp3 player into. Overall, I love it and still haven't used all the features.

The bad: It took the guys at Circuit City all day to get this mounted right - none of the trims/plates fit 100% and some trimming was required. (I actually had 3 diff plates/trims and none of them were an exact fit). Sound quality = SO/SO - this is important to me. At normal volumes, it sounds ok...but if you turn it up in the least, I get distortion and no bass. My guess is that the tyto-01 is "turning on" the amp - but there must be something lost in whatever signal/processor conversion it is doing. Before the DNX - the sound was clear and bumped pretty good (for a stock unit), after the DNX and tyto-01 - it sounds bad at significant volumes. Also, watching movies while "on the road" is problematic as the volume is not enough to hear dialogue. This might not be an issue if you have stock exhaust (I've got a Gibson exhaust).

Rear License Plate Cam - Picked this up at Best Buy for $120 - works great. Vid angle is just enough to see the ball on the hitch when backing up to connect a trailer/boat. No complaints - only regret is that I cannot "push a button" and turn the rear cam on while I drive...would be nice to "check the trailer" while on road trips to the lake.

Sirius module - it does what it's supposed to. I had a Sportster 4 and did not realize that I would be losing certain features. So, just FYI - with the Sirius module, you cannot pause, stop, playback live radio like you can with the Sirius. Bit of a bummer.

SWI-Jack - works as intended, but there is a slight lag when "pushing" and when the unit registers the signal and executes the command. Takes a little getting used to.

What does this all mean? It means I'm back on this forum looking for tips on upgrading/replacing the speakers, amp, and sub so the sound can be better than original. I may follow what TeckIS300 did in his post.

My hope is that I can replace the amp & sub in the stock locations and upgrade the components to get good/tight/clean sound at slightly annoying volumes. :-) I will keep you posted...
 
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Amen Brother! I have a Pioneer Avic-N3 in my 03 Runna w/6 disc jbl 10 speakers and I can honestly say that the sound when using the tyto-01 is not all that. It was actually better with the stock radio in place. I have a 12" sub running off of a pioneer amp and without it I would have no low end. So i am in the same boat as you, I am trying to replace all of my speakers and add a 4 ch amp to power them to improve sound. Once this is done, I am going to get rid of the TyTo-o1 because although it provides an option to play audio through the factory amp, you are losing a LOT of quality through the analog to digital interfacing. i will keep you posted on my journey as well.
 
Just did the same upgrade, installed a Z1 and another companies version of the TYTO-01, sound is ok out of the front speakers, found that left and right were wrong, have it set at 7dB. When fading from front to back noticed the rears just don't seem to work good, wonder if changing the dip switches would change much. Also what commands can you program with the steering wheel control box? I miss being able to change channels from the steering wheel and don't want to spend the money if it don't work that good. My trim piece sucks too, looking at the Metra one now, have an 03 sport.
 
The swi-jack steering wheel adapter can reproduce just about any function you want it to. Mine is set to change the source, volume, and "track". If you are on SAT source or RADIO source, it will go to the "next station". Only difference is that before the adapter, just tapping the steering wheel control was enough to activate it - now you have to "press and release" to get it to activate (half second diff?).

Got back from CarToys yesterday and had them quote me a "swap job" - holy cr@p they are pricey on the install work, although the parts seemed "decent" (only $10-$30 upcharge over what I found via a quick websearch).

Car toys suggested -

Sub - Pioneer 8" shallow (TSSW841D) - $159
Amp - JL 6ch (A6450B) - $299
Front - Focal 6.5 (165KF) - $399
Rear - Infinitti Kappa (627I) - $108
Dynamat kit - $99 x 2
Wiring/rca's/etc - $200
Labor - $500
Labor dynamat - $99 x 2

My 2 questions to them (which weren't easily answered) was:

1. Is there not a 4 channel amp that could fit in the stock location and power everything (I am hesitant to put that looong 6 channel under the front passenger seat as I'm not sure it would fit)?
2. Is there a "next step down" speaker for the front doors instead of the Focals?

Anyways, I stopped by Best Buy and left after 2 min...they carried none of the above gear, offered me a "...better 12" shallow sub for the stock location..." but at least their Dynamat labor was only $41 x 2. :-)

Next stop Circuit city
 
do you have the 4th gen 4runner. I just installed the DNX 7100 and it fits perfectly. There are two trim pieces you connect with screws on both sides of the unit and it looks factory. I've seen another one installed on here and believe mine even looks better than that. Kinda have to mess with the thing a bit but it hooked up real well. I think there must be something wrong with the speakers hooking up. I have it on the 10 speaker JBL system and it works just fine. So you go the system, did you put a sub in?
 
Yeah, it's a 4th gen. I'll take a pic when it's daylight and post - it looks good to me, but I was in the shop with the installer and we were both trimming/cutting one of the trims to allow enough room for the screen to tilt. The unit fit so tight, the screen couldn't tilt.

I did swing by Circuit City and they seemed knowledgeable and the install price was fair. Total install for parts below would be $240 (including dynamat).

Sonicelectronix Price

Infinity Perfect 6.1 $229.00
Infinity Reference 5350A (5 chan) $234.00
Kappa 52.7i $89.00
Pioneer Shallow 8" $85.00

Haven't ordered the stuff above, but based on the reviews on the 'perfects', I should be happy with those and manage to save a few bucks over the focals. I don't know anything about the amp, but it's one of the few 5 channel amps I could find.

One question - do I run 2 ohm or 4 ohm and to what? (2 ohm to the sub and 4 to the rest or 2 to all?)
 
Hey,
I have the Avic z2 on the TYTO-01 and i think they have the gain turned up too high. There is a little adjustment, i set mine midway

I can turn it up so loud that its...LOUD and i get zero distortion and good clean sound.

I had to cut the crap out of the 95-8210 for it to fit...and it looks OK, but if you look at the bottom corner, you can see where i didnt do a good job.

I was so fed up, i just wanted it to be over!
 
looksstock said:


Car toys suggested -

Sub - Pioneer 8" shallow (TSSW841D) - $159
Amp - JL 6ch (A6450B) - $299
Front - Focal 6.5 (165KF) - $399
Rear - Infinitti Kappa (627I) - $108
Dynamat kit - $99 x 2
Wiring/rca's/etc - $200
Labor - $500
Labor dynamat - $99 x 2

My 2 questions to them (which weren't easily answered) was:

1. Is there not a 4 channel amp that could fit in the stock location and power everything (I am hesitant to put that looong 6 channel under the front passenger seat as I'm not sure it would fit)?
2. Is there a "next step down" speaker for the front doors instead of the Focals?
Click to expand...
 
looksstock said:


Car toys suggested -

Sub - Pioneer 8" shallow (TSSW841D) - $159
Amp - JL 6ch (A6450B) - $299
Front - Focal 6.5 (165KF) - $399
Rear - Infinitti Kappa (627I) - $108
Dynamat kit - $99 x 2
Wiring/rca's/etc - $200
Labor - $500
Labor dynamat - $99 x 2

My 2 questions to them (which weren't easily answered) was:

1. Is there not a 4 channel amp that could fit in the stock location and power everything (I am hesitant to put that looong 6 channel under the front passenger seat as I'm not sure it would fit)?
2. Is there a "next step down" speaker for the front doors instead of the Focals?
Click to expand...

$500 is high... unless there is something I'm missing. My labor prices are 85 for the amp, 40 for the rear speakers, 80 for front components, 200 total for dynamat, 30 to swap the sub.

Also what kind of wiring are they using? All you essentially need is a 4 guage amp kit and 3 pair of RCAs... You can easily get out for $100 there using decent stuff. I install a lot on boats and I use 2 amp kits per boat and don't generally use $200 in wires.

Be careful, the A6450 you are getting is B stock. Not sure if you were aware of that or not.

1. Yes there is a 4 channel that can do ALMOST everything. You could essentially play the fronts and sub off a 4 channel and leave the rears running off the radio. Or you could combine both front and rear speakers onto the front 2 channels of the amp (assuming all speakers are 4 ohm) but you would lose fade front and rear.

2. There will always be a step down.
 
Rev - thanks for the heads up on the gain. I might try that and see if that makes it "liveable". I've spent so much time putting together the list of replacement parts - I kinda hope I can't adjust the gain so that I'll have an excuse to get better equip. :-)

Tar - I'm not sure what "B stock" is. I'm a bit of a noob in this area. After thinking about it, I think I may try a 5 channel - Infinity Reference 5350a. Just not sure how to tell the shop to 'bridge, ohm, crossover, etc".
 
B stock is either a return or simply an item coming off display. It's still offered with all warranties, but you accept that it may have some minor scratches and that it has been previously used. That amp new is around $400, and there isn't a B attached to the model number.

A 6 channel and 5 channel are basically the same amp except channel 5 is a dedicated sub channel. I would do a 6 channel and make channels 5+6 bridged as a sub channel.

You shouldn't have to tell a decent shop to bridge, crossover, etc... any reputable place knows exactly what to do from the start.
 
Wow - I had no idea about the B stock. That's good info, thanks!! I asked the shop why the JL was so cheap and they said "special sale" - why couldn't they just say "demo/floor model/etc".

Well, the only thing preventing me from pulling the trigger (besides hearing back from uncle sam) is whether or not the amp will fit under the front passenger seat (it does have power seat motor). Guess I need to try and measure to see if Dimensions: 13.8"L x 9.25"W x 2.50"H will fit.
 
I've never heard of that adapter. It might work better than the tyto, but I still think anytime you "convert" you lose something (quality, power, etc) in the process.

If you try it, let us know what you think.
 
looksstock said:
I've never heard of that adapter. It might work better than the tyto, but I still think anytime you "convert" you lose something (quality, power, etc) in the process.

If you try it, let us know what you think.
Click to expand...

Will do.

I was trying to convince the wife on a 2008 Sequoia, but she really wants to keep the '04 4Runner. So I'm out here researching Nav systems to "freshen" up the ride a little.

Just don't want this to get out of hand, and I don't want it to sound worse than the system does now.
 
Finally swapped speakers/sub/amp

Wanted to give you folks an update (and thanks for all the help). I finally swapped out my speakers, sub, amp and removed that crap tyto-01 adapter.

Holy guacamole - the sound is amazing - way better than stock JBL synthesis!

Here's what I (er circuit city) put in (after 2 days of work):

1. Dynamat 4 doors
2. Kappa 6.1 components front
3. MB Quartz DKF 113
4. Alpin PDX 5.1 AMP <--super nice
5. Pioneer 8" slim sub <--super cr@p

When the installers finally started to tune the system, we could could not get some of the extreme bass (ying yang twins - yes, I'm juvenile at times) to hit without bottoming out that pioneer. At their recomendation, I ordered the Kicker CVT slim sub...they gave it to me super cheap and swore it would perform better.

Kicker CVT 8" = Holy schnikies they were right!!

I ran the pioneer for 3 weeks while the other sub was on order. Once they put the kicker in...the difference was amazing. Zero distortion, super tight, great range...overall, way better than the Pioneer.

FYI - the Alpine PDX will NOT fit in the stock AMP location. It's just a wee bit too big, even if you cut/trim the location. However, the installer did a great job of hiding the amp in one of the mini cargo carriers.

Lastly - they used the stock sub box for the new Kicker...but they put in polypropelene (pillow stuffing) to make it "more dense" before sealing the box up. I'm guessing that helped.

Anyways, here's a few pics of the AMP location.
 

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So what are you using to power the Kicker 8" sub? Isn't that alpine amp 1000x1. Isn't that to much power for that sub?
 
It's the Alpine PDX 5.1 (4 x 75w + 1 x 300w). That single Alpine powers the whole setup and it screams - I can't crank the vol all the way for fear of shattering something (window, ear drums, etc)
 
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