OEM Audio + 5th Gen 4Runner audio system

[jcage89]

How was the install for the amp and sub? I would be interested in going this route since I already upgraded all the speakers and tweeters with Kicker. Any install tips, pics, or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

Amp goes under passenger seat in rack and is kind of PITA to get situated/attached. Sub is run with umbilical along passenger side trim and then under trim behind rear seat from passenger to driver side and then along driver side rear cargo area in to point in back hatch where sub enclosure goes. You will also then need to run harness from amp to dash through glove area to back of center stack and attach to head unit then power out lower passenger firewall to engine compartment and route to battery. ABSOLUTE BEST tips and visuals are obtained through OE+ website install links to the most detailed and awesome YouTube step by step install videos I have ever seen geared to the novice installer. Read the early posts in this thread and Go there and you will be set....

Before buying, I would ask Daniel at O+ about using their DSP setup with other manuf speakers just to be sure what you buy is calibrated correctly and speaker are correct impedance for signal from amp etc.

Good luck and Enjoy!~

Cheers

JC

 

[jmeds]

Ok Gang I’ve got a huge favor to see if anyone can help. I’ve got the reference 500Q system and all has been absolutely wonderful since day one.....2 days ago I had leather seats installed, they had to remove the seats so obviously disconnected wiring from the amp.....all seems to be reconnected properly but I’m hardly getting sound to my speakers, it’s as if there’s no power driving things as before....I can turn volume up to 30 without being too loud while before it would have blown you out of vehicle.....I’m totally crushed, something is just not right....there’s no “umph” to the system as before. Any thoughts or help would be greatly appreciated, I’ve contacted Daniel at OEM and they’re working on it. Other than checking fuse at battery and umbilical connection to amp I don’t know where else to check. Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions

 

[EdibleSmurf]

Ok Gang I’ve got a huge favor to see if anyone can help. I’ve got the reference 500Q system and all has been absolutely wonderful since day one.....2 days ago I had leather seats installed, they had to remove the seats so obviously disconnected wiring from the amp.....

Hey jmeds, Was this handled?

I received my System about a week ago or so and I am sooooo jazzed to get it installed as soon as I have a good opening in the schedule. How much time should I budget for for installation?

 

[jmeds]

Hey jmeds, Was this handled?



I received my System about a week ago or so and I am sooooo jazzed to get it installed as soon as I have a good opening in the schedule. How much time should I budget for for installation?

Yes, all seams to be working great again. I contacted OEM+ and they were very eager to help figure out problem, turns out all I did was completely disconnect amplifier ground included, turned on head unit and of course nothing, but I knew that, reconnected amp powered up head unit and boom back to normal, don’t know if amp was in safety mode or what but something seem to reset and life is good again.

As far as time, I’ve never taken panels, dash trim, or head unit out of a car in my life.....that being said I watched the videos they offer numerous times before starting...my son and I actually took one whole day to just do speaker install, didn’t take all day but it took a lot of it, again we took our time pulling panels as to not break anything, the 2 hardest speakers are front door per the wire moving. We then took a second day just for the wiring...again we took plenty of time, the 3rd row sub wiring actually gave us the biggest problem cuz I was using a simple wire coat hanger, use something else it’s too flimsy, the entire job can probably be done in 6-8 hours if you’ve done it before, just plan a weekend and take your time, and look forward to the end result, the system in my book sounds great, we love it and OEM+ is second to none in customer service

 

[jcage89]

How much time should I budget for for installation?

[MENTION=268039]jmeds[/MENTION] already gave a good answer. As someone who has done this type of stuff before I concur with the idea that if doing all at once with experience should be a one day project or two if no experience. That said, I like the idea of just doing the speakers first and then driving it that way for a day or two or at least listening to it carefully with just the speaker replacement before proceeding to put in the wiring and amps. The reason for this is to (1) ensure everything works with the replacement speakers which will assist by eliminating them in troubleshooting if there are problems after the amp install and (2) allowing you to get an incremental perception of how each steps changes/improves the sound of the audio system in the 4runner.

Last ly I'll keep putting in my plug for the portable FLAC player through AUX input to really set things off (see previous discussion). ENJOY! :guitar2:

 

[Steve S]

Getting close to placing an order on this system and trying to decide if I really need the separate subwoofer amp. I doubt I would add a second sub. Anybody just running the single amp and satisfied with the sound or has anyone gone from the single amp to the dedicated sub amp and really feel it was worth it?

 

[Whippersnapper02]

Getting close to placing an order on this system and trying to decide if I really need the separate subwoofer amp. I doubt I would add a second sub. Anybody just running the single amp and satisfied with the sound or has anyone gone from the single amp to the dedicated sub amp and really feel it was worth it?

Personally, I'd get it just to have the extra headroom even if you aren't a basshead. It will also leave more power available for your door speakers.

 

[jcage89]

Getting close to placing an order on this system and trying to decide if I really need the separate subwoofer amp. I doubt I would add a second sub. Anybody just running the single amp and satisfied with the sound or has anyone gone from the single amp to the dedicated sub amp and really feel it was worth it?

Read earlier in the thread. Makes a substantial difference. I ran it both ways as part of troubleshooting. Unless you really don't have budget for it, I would just buy the dual amp option. While you can add it later, it is less than convenient to pull the amp assembly from under the seat and you are already paying a substantial amount so why not optimize it (again, assuming the budget is there, it is worth it).

Cheers and hope you enjoy whatever you choose.

JC

 

[HunterAV8]

Running the $1700 8 speaker, single sub and amp setup in my ‘15. So far I’m loving it. But, it’s not knock your socks off incredible imo. Install was fairly simple, took about 3 hours or so. I’m not getting the deafening audio I was expecting but it’s a great package system overall. It’s loud but not LOUD... Had it in for about 2 weeks now and all is well. Only issues along the way were running the ground wire through the grommet on the firewall(a handful of trial and error attempts) and randomly a few days after install I had no sound. *In the install video they do not properly show that you need to sand down the grounding spot under the pax seat to bare metal(I should’ve done it in the first place). I went back and did so and it has been working great since.*

 

[DEP14]

update on cracking and popping with cell phone.

It's a good sounding system that looks stock outside of the sub. I've had it in 2 4 runners now.

Running the harness is the biggest pain in the butt, but it's doable.

I've had a couple issues. One, which I hope will be fixed soon. When using the phone on bluetooth at any reasonable volume I get horrid cracking and popping when the other person is talking. OEM has sent me a new amp to try (this will be the 2nd time). They have been good about it, but it's a good 30 minute procedure to swap the amp.

I get a slight bit of reverb from one side of the soundstage also, hoping that is cleaned up with the new amp.

As far as sound with music - it's not super loud, or a competition system, but does sound as good as many good OEM systems I've heard in the past, and better than many. It's priced about right.

Thought I would follow-up on this. Just today I was finally able to swap the amp out. So far, it seems to have solved the cracking and popping with phone calls on bluetooth.

As for an install tip - get a small 10mm socket that can extend on a very small ratchet (smaller is easier to handle) and it will help with mounting the amp under the passenger seat.

As for getting the harness across behind the dash (which is a huge pain) I used fish tape to help with some duct tape around the harness and was a gentle as I could be... wasn't the easiest either time and tore my hands up a bit. But it works.

 

[jcage89]

Thought I would follow-up on this. Just today I was finally able to swap the amp out. So far, it seems to have solved the cracking and popping with phone calls on bluetooth.

As for an install tip - get a small 10mm socket that can extend on a very small ratchet (smaller is easier to handle) and it will help with mounting the amp under the passenger seat.

As for getting the harness across behind the dash (which is a huge pain) I used fish tape to help with some duct tape around the harness and was a gentle as I could be... wasn't the easiest either time and tore my hands up a bit. But it works.

Totally agree on the fish tape in the dash, install video makes it look way easier than it actually is and the sharp sheet metal edges behind will slice up your hands easily. As for the under the passenger seat, I actually attached a flex shaft to a screw driver handle and used a 10mm universal joint to reach that tricky bolt for the amp bracket. Because the 10mmm socket on the end is magnetic, it held the bolt nicely while I fed it into the constricted space to seat it and tighten it down. I found a small tool box to rest the amp bracket on while getting the bolt in place so I didn't lose a hand in the process. (photo of my contraption below)...

Cheers - JC

 

[lperez]

How do you compare OEM against JBL on the limited?

Thanks,

LP

Hey everyone. I haven’t posted in a bit but wanted to give this as good a review as possible.

I was lucky enough to already get the OEM Audio Plus Reference 4Runner speaker system installed in my 2017 TRD Pro. Long story short, a good friend of mine knows the owner (Sandy - super cool guy and answers any questions really quickly) and they needed a 5th gen 4Runner to do his new install videos on. I live about an hour away from their Anaheim office, so it all worked out. On to the good stuff…

Quick background - I have now had the system in my rig for about 3 weeks. I wanted to test it in all conditions and music genres - and get some miles under my belt before jumping to any conclusions. I am NOT an audiophile by any means. I have done stereos in older cars growing up and usually upgraded head units and subs, etc. Nothing too major. I normally wouldn’t care too much about a new stereo but the 4Runner stock system really did suck. I ride with my windows open a lot and it simply wasn’t loud enough. Also had zero lows… and just overall was underwhelming across the board.

I read a ton about OEM Audio Plus on other models and they seemed like a great company/solution. I really wanted something where I didn’t mess with anything factory, and also didn’t require me to learn all about building my own system etc. I simply don’t care enough to spend the time building a custom system from the ground up. I wanted something that worked well and always would work well.

INSTALL:
I can’t comment on this - I was lucky enough to have them install it at their offices. I can tell you that I checked all wiring (that are visible) and Sandy walked me through how he wired things when I picked the truck up. It looks completely pro and, well, OEM. There is no question they do a quality install job.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS:
When I sat in my car and turned on some music, it was a night and day difference. The sound was rich and SUPER clean. I could turn it up to around 40 and it was almost too loud - keep in mind, the stereo tops out at 60 and I regularly had it around 50-60 while driving with windows open with the stock system. I played a few different types of music (EDM, classic rock, hip hop, classical) and all of it sounded super nice. The 8 inch sub filled in the lows well and remained (most importantly) totally clean with zero rattle.

IMPRESSIONS AFTER 3 WEEKS:
I have gone on multiple trips with this sucker installed and I feel as though it sounds better now than it did on first install. Sandy did say the speakers “break in” and he was right. Either that or I refined my EQ settings a bit. Let me just say, this is exactly how the stereo SHOULD HAVE SOUNDED from the factory. From podcasts to loud metal, to hip hop and classic rock, this thing really holds up. I’ve listened to songs in traffic and heard instruments I’ve never heard before. I’ve been flying down the PCH with all 5 windows open and 5 people and surf gear, coolers, etc packed to the max and had this thing bumping music….sounding fantastic. I even thought I was being pulled over by the cops only to be pleasantly surprised that the siren was a part of a song I was listening to! I also have listened to movies while sitting in Memorial day traffic and audio it all works amazingly. The sub in the back has gotten banged around by luggage, etc… and no issues. The things is built out of fiberglass and feels more solid than the rest of the truck

CONCLUSION:
I know this isn’t a professional review by any means. I am a guy who wanted a better stereo in a car a paid damn near $45k for. I love music and I listen to music every day in my car. Toyota dropped the ball on their stock audio and OEM Audio Plus delivers an audio experience that blows away any factory stereo. Yes, it’s not some thumping, high wattage, crazy award winning audio system. Yes, I’m sure if you are resourceful and know what you are doing with electronics, wiring, etc, you could build something similar in this this price range. But for the ease of use, the pro install job, and the sound quality, I wouldn’t want anything more than this. This is perfect for my lifestyle and I can’t imagine many of you needing more than what this delivers. If you want something that truly feels OEM, doesn’t affect storage space, power consumption, or electronics reliability, then this is a no-brainer.

I am in no way paid or endorsed by OEM Audio Plus. I literally am just a happy customer and I got way more than I hoped for in the stereo set up. If anyone has any questions, reach out. Also, if any of you are in the LA area, I’m happy to show you it and give you a listen. I understand that spending that type of money before hearing it in action is hard, but I am 100% happy I made the decision to get it.

Here is a link to the page with the kit I got - along with the install video preview.

4runner - OEM Audio Plus

 

[jcage89]

How do you compare OEM against JBL on the limited?

Thanks,

LP

Not a limited, but I had opportunity to listen to a JBL system in a 2019 TRD Pro and wasn't half bad. The bass is actually alright, but the mid-high imaging you get from the O+ setup is still clearly better. This has to do with the fact that with O+ you paid $2k for a premium audio system designed specifically for the 4runner vs. bought one that Toyota labeled "premium" JBL system and put what is perhaps less true premium parts in making it and more into cost savings for mass production.

I would surmise that the DSP amp and dedicated sub amp of the O+ setup do a better job of filling the cab with great sound than the JBL and that the speakers used in the o+ setup are perhaps better than the JBL speakers. Again, there is nothing empirical here only my opinion in listening to both. Also, I lived with a JBL premium system in my '06 sport for many years before getting '18 pro and installing the O+ setup.

Cheers - JC

 

[RDTRD]

Is there any interest in trying to do a group buy with OEM? Would they entertain it?

 

[tonyt68]

Steve S,
I bought the 500Q Plus with a dedicated sub woofer amp. It was worth it, I really love the extra bass. The dedicated amp also comes with a volume/gain control to control the bass level. I installed the bass control near my head unit. I really love the clear and wide sound range. I played my new O+ system full volume for ~hour and the amp was just a little warm.
TonyT

 

[tonyt68]

O+ 500q + Woofer Amp TR4

I installed this system in my 2017 TR4, took about 17 hours. I also installed some fotmat, rattle proof material. The only change I had to make is to route the remote turn on to the key accessary wire at the O+ processor. Thanks O+(Daniel) for your help! Sounds great, very clear; it's loud but not street shaking loud. Very clear even as I place the volume to it's max. Now that I've installed this great system, it's time to enjoy it for years to come.

+ Amp Option (in Addition To 500q)::
Dedicated Sub Amplifier w/ Gain Control Knob (SP) ($299.00)
Great news! Your O+ Sound Solution (Order #XXXX) was shipped via UPS, UPS® Ground on 4/26/2019. You can track your package at any time using the link below.
Please note: We ship with Signature Required on all of our Systems.
Shipped To:
Anthony........

TonyT
:tea:

 

[Whippersnapper02]

Finally heard it on Saturday at Toyotafest. The system they had there had dual 8" subs. The second sub will be out in a couple of months. They were really pushing the system hard at high volume. You can hear the subs straining a little to play bass heavy hip hop but overall I was impressed with the system. Had them play Welcome To Machine by Pink Floyd. They didn't expect the heavy bass intro.

I ended up purchasing and will get the 2nd sub when it comes out. The rear boxes look clean installed unlike having a regular box sitting in the cargo area or the TT box that blocks the rear seat from reclining completely and blocks the cargo cover provision. If you're trying to turn the bolts of the car next to you into liquid, this system is not for you.

Pic of the 2nd sub due out in a couple of months.

 

[flyfishin]

I couldn’t agree more. I had this system in my Tacoma and it rocked! In my 4Runner not so much. Not sure why your tailgate speakers don’t have tweeters, mine do. Also my front door speakers have a much smaller magnet then the 6.5s, my Tacoma fronts had the same size as the rest. The lack of tweeters in your tailgate makes me wonder how “optimized” there systems really are. This system is kinda low on power/watts total. Maybe it works for the smaller volume of the Tacoma better then the 4Runner? Overall I’m happy with the system but makes me wonder how much better it could have been with $$$ spent on something else. The pic is stock front door magnet vs theirs. I don’t have a pic of the rest but they’re about 5x larger

Wow. That magnet looks way smaller than the unboxing of the same system on youtube. I was about to place an order but this made me push the pause button. I attached a link to the YouTube unboxing from May of 2018. Magnet is 3 x’s larger on his 6 x 9.

YouTube

Go to the 6:42 mark. What’s up with that?

Also, some of their pictures show the speaker in the rear doors as not having a tweeter but my understanding is they all should have a tweeter now. If you reach out to OEM A+ I would like to know what they say. Did something change when you purchased your package?

 

[jcage89]

Wow. That magnet looks way smaller than the unboxing of the same system on youtube. I was about to place an order but this made me push the pause button. I attached a link to the YouTube unboxing from May of 2018. Magnet is 3 x’s larger on his 6 x 9.

YouTube

Go to the 6:42 mark. What’s up with that?

Also, some of their pictures show the speaker in the rear doors as not having a tweeter but my understanding is they all should have a tweeter now. If you reach out to OEM A+ I would like to know what they say. Did something change when you purchased your package?

Smaller magnet is more efficient rare earth magnet... whole page about this earlier in the thread.

Cheers - JC

 

[Whippersnapper02]

Smaller magnet is more efficient rare earth magnet... whole page about this earlier in the thread.

Cheers - JC

Was going to bring this up but didn't want to in case I was wrong.