New Install for Car PC - Amp/speaker ??

[4Runna]

i am doing a car pc, as the title says

it will be a replacement head unit

i have an 04 sr5 with jbl single disc no changer no navigation

i would love to look at the factory stuff but since its toyota i have to rip the insides out

i want this to be a one time deal, so i'm looking for solutions

questions:
1. how many speakers are in my system
2. if i want to override the factory amp, can i rip it out or just leave it
3. if i override, do i have to rewire the system, are there harnesses and how easy are they
4. how do i wire the amp up if there are more than 4 speakers?
5. what do you guys think of this....AMP
6. car pc allows for 5.1, could i do that w/the amount of speakers that are in the car?

i figure yanking the stock is easiest and best quality, i just dont want to have to work another weekend to pay for it


any help would be great!

 

[Cleric]

Don't have a lot of time right now...I often check posts here while I am doing work on my computer...but I would be glad to give you some help on your system. The best advice I can give is to replace your stock speakers and amp and re-wire. This is really not as much work as you might think. It can be done in an afternoon, depnding on skill/experience.

That amp will do the trick, but you don't need to spend that much. You can get that same amp or a comparable one for less through other sourced. If you do replace the amp, you will pretty much have to do the speakers, too. It should be possible to wire into your factory amp, but sound quality between these options will be night and day.

It all depends on what you are willing to spend, your skill level (if you are able to do CarPC, you can do audio install), and what outcomes you are looking for. How important is sound quality to you?

BTW - I am getting ready to do CarPC as well.

 

[4Runna]

anything you can do to help would be great

i need a plan of attack because otherwise it will be a big mess w/me...

i'd prefer to keep stock speakers at least for now, and i believe roleary and rando used harnesses w/a new amp...

i definitely dont have that mu;ch to spend

i figure 600 bucks is a ton for an amp/sub solution, but its definitely doable

so what kind of power do i need with the speakers, how many outputs, etc etc?

 

[Cleric]

You could try and wire it into your stock amp for starters and see if the sound meets your needs. That would be pretty simple and you could always go farther if needed. That would be your least expensive option.

I have not done it with this car, but this stock amp is probably on par with others I have done.

 

[rando]

I'm not sure if anyone has figured out how to use the JBL amp outside of a Toyota HU solution. I believe it uses a two wire serial bus (Toyota calls it Multiplex Communications System) for some of its functions. It could be just on/off control but might actually implement fader and tone control instead of the HU. I didn't have the JBL system so I don't follow those threads close. Search around, maybe someone figured it out and I missed it.

Assuming you can't use it without the HU, but you still want to use it, you'd need to wire in your audio through the HU using and AUX adapter (Blitzsafe or PIE). That would require you to either relocate the HU (lots of work) or not put your LCD in the dash.

I had the basic 6 speaker stereo with integrated amp so it wasn't an issue for me. I just grabbed a cheap 4ch amp and use the factory speakers. It sounds suprisingly good but still nothing to write home about. A new set of speakers and a higher quality amp would do wonders. You should be able to do something similar with your system. Of course you'll need more than a 4ch amp if you want to do 5.1. Also take it easy on volume. The factory speakers have odd impedances which can overdrive amps designed for 4 or 8 ohm loads.

Good luck and don't forget to take pictures as you go.

 

[Cleric]

That's why I thought it would be best to replace the speakers if replacing the amp. The stock speakers are what - 2 or 3 ohm? That seems pretty common in factory systems these days. I did not know about the input. I assumed that it just used a standard low-level input.

The other thing to look into is whether or not the x-overs are built into the amp. This is sometimes found on factory "premium" systems. I did not get the JBL, so I'm not sure. A search of this forum will answer that. If that is the case, be aware that building x-overs can be a real chore.

 

[Cleric]

Oh, wait here is a current and topical link. These people have been having similar ?'s and problems:

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7859

 

[4Runna]

i looked at the wiring schematics, see attached...

i dont know car audio, but if all those wires go back to the amp, cant i just cut them and run them to my new amp? volume, fade could all be controlled by my pc...