OEM Audio + 5th Gen 4Runner audio system

Whippersnapper02 said:
Daniel told me there would be a 2nd sub upgrade path for current owners. That's one of the reasons I purchased their kit in the first place. This was at Toyotafest in Long Beach. They also said it again on social media. I hope they weren't lying.
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I asked the same thing recently. I was told that they are working on an "upgrade pathway" for existing owners. Something about them taking into account each version out there. Made sense to me, but this was probably a week ago.
 
carlodonz said:
I got the speaker package only... don't think it's worth it.
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Someone said it was 25% or so better than stock. It is what I ordered, so I'll see what I think. I do presume it is much better with a amp upgrade, which I may eventually spring for. I don't need thundering bass though.
 
Speakers

I thought long and hard but opted to upgrade my head unit to the new 9 Inch Sony (XAV-AX8000) and replace all my interior speakers.... we will see how I feel after the install though
 
I received my system 3 weeks ago and installed it the next weekend. It took me about 8 hours to complete. Running the system cables up into the dash and across to the radio was a real *****- I had to get my wife to feed the cable up and I was finally able to get my arm far enough in to grab it and pull through. Lots of cuts on my hand and arm from sharp edges in the dash. I printed out the PDF Installation instructions and they were pretty easy to follow for the most part but I did have to go to the video a couple of times for clarification.

After living with the system for a couple of weeks now I feel it was worth it. The bass, clarity, and volume is much improved. My son has a 2019 4runner with the base audio in it so I was able to do a direct comparison in my driveway Christmas Day and it was not a subtle difference. I enjoy listening to the stereo now as opposed to just having it on. The system is not cheap and it may be possible to get comparable results piecing a system together if you are knowledgeable about car audio and shop around. I had not installed a stereo in a vehicle in over 30 years so I appreciated the relative simplicity of the OEM system. I may change out the stock head unit at some point but it is not a priority right now.

I did have to reach out to Daniel at OEM due to an issue when hooking up the remote sub volume cable and volume knob and he walked me through it pretty quickly. The instructions were not clear and the sub amp has a remote input which you would think would be where you plug the cable. It is not the case as it actually goes into the main amp into an unmarked port. He did tell me that he had told his tech guys to change the instructions and to block off the incorrect port. So watch out for that if you are installing.

One other tip I found on YouTube for reinstalling the door panels. Pull the weatherstripping from the top door panels off, they each have 3 metal clips holding them on, before reinstalling and snap them on the door frame itself. Once you do that the door panels will pop back on with no alignment issue. I spent an hour screwing around with that before going online. It literally took less than 30 seconds to reinstall the door panels this way.
 
interesting.. I just installed this last week and ran the sub volume knob to the separate sub amp remote input. It seems to work as expected, turn it up, the sub goes up. What issues were you having that prompted you to question the instructions?

When I ordered I told them I was going to be running the T9 headunit. Since that hasn’t arrived yet I went ahead and installed the system with the stock headunit. Right now it is VERY mid-bass heavy to the point where I have to turn down the “low” eq setting on the stock headunit all the way down for music to sound at all natural. I’m hoping this has something to do with “tuning” for an aftermarket headunit but we’ll see in a few days. I think the components have potential, but if this problem persists it will need lots of eq adjustment to be livable for me. I’ll share a full review after the T9 is in.
 
bjs0131 said:
interesting.. I just installed this last week and ran the sub volume knob to the separate sub amp remote input. It seems to work as expected, turn it up, the sub goes up. What issues were you having that prompted you to question the instructions?

When I ordered I told them I was going to be running the T9 headunit. Since that hasn’t arrived yet I went ahead and installed the system with the stock headunit. Right now it is VERY mid-bass heavy to the point where I have to turn down the “low” eq setting on the stock headunit all the way down for music to sound at all natural. I’m hoping this has something to do with “tuning” for an aftermarket headunit but we’ll see in a few days. I think the components have potential, but if this problem persists it will need lots of eq adjustment to be livable for me. I’ll share a full review after the T9 is in.
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The separate volume control did not adjust the bass level and the blue power light on the volume control would only stay on if the knob was in one position only. Bass was overpowering. Seems similar to what you are experiencing. If the power light is not staying on at all times then try unplugging remote cable from the sub amp and plug it into the main amp. There is only one port it will fit in and it is not marked. If I remember correctly it should be on the side closest to the passenger door. Did your two amps come premounted on a bracket together?
 
Took me about 8hrs farting around too... heres a tip, don't even take the door panels off the rail by the window. you can actually just pull them away and swap the spakers that way. especially with the back one. saves a ton of time and frustration. also, the main harness can be routed UNDER the glove box, not above it, also saves time. oh ya, there is a difference in sound and its worth it. i just have the one sub w/o dedicated sub amp, no dual sub. Honestly, don't think i need either. Single sub w/o sub amp, speakers and amp is all you need! can't imagine how good the dual sub and/or dedicated sub amp set up must sound.
 
Steve S said:
The separate volume control did not adjust the bass level and the blue power light on the volume control would only stay on if the knob was in one position only. Bass was overpowering. Seems similar to what you are experiencing. If the power light is not staying on at all times then try unplugging remote cable from the sub amp and plug it into the main amp. There is only one port it will fit in and it is not marked. If I remember correctly it should be on the side closest to the passenger door. Did your two amps come premounted on a bracket together?
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Interesting. Mine does adjust bass level and the blue light stays on all the time. I’ll try switching the cable to the other port just to see what happens.

Yes, mine came with the two amps premounted.

Thanks
 
To follow up with this, I took a look at my install. My remote is plugged into the dedicated sub amp, if I plug it into the main amp (which is labeled remote on my unit) the remote light does not come on and the remote does not function. So for whatever reason, our units appear to behave differently.
 
Hello. Has anyone had experience with their JBL enhancement upgrade? It appears to be a sub with amp upgrade along with some crossovers for the stock speakers, no replacements. I haven’t found any user reviews on it. I just got my 16 Limited and am pretty unhappy with the JBL sound.


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bjs0131 said:
To follow up with this, I took a look at my install. My remote is plugged into the dedicated sub amp, if I plug it into the main amp (which is labeled remote on my unit) the remote light does not come on and the remote does not function. So for whatever reason, our units appear to behave differently.
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I did my install yesterday. My remote wire got plugged into the unlabeled port on the dedicated sub amp which was facing the passenger door. The blue light on the gain control knob stays on all the time and works to turn bass up and down, however I too, have an overall distorted sound. It is an upgrade to the original sound system, but do not feel it is worth $2k. They do have impeccable customer service and the ease of install/plug & play may be the reason these kits cost so much. I'm going to reach out to them today to see if there is anything that can be tuned or modified to improve the sound quality, then update the post.
 
Good to know, that matches up with how mine is wired up and behaves. Let us know what you find out regarding tuning.

I’m still on the stock head unit until I get the T9 installed, and I have to turn the bass (on the headunit) almost all the way down to avoid excessive mid-bass. I’d say my sub control is set about 35-40%. I’m somewhat of an audiophile and have been installing and tuning high-end audio systems for over 20 years. I prefer balanced sound true to the recording, not booming mid-bass that impresses a teenager. I’m wondering if they tune these this way because the majority of people associate a strong mid-bass with “good”?

I think the sub itself actually sounds really good. The speakers and amp are probably good enough for my needs too. The oem-like install is really nice. My only real beef is the tuning. I think once I have a multi-band EQ hooked up to it I’ll be able to tune it to my liking, but a bit frustrated I have to do that considering I thought that’s part of what I was paying for and it feels wrong to be “fighting” their own tuning. Perhaps what would be really awesome would be if they gave you the ability to control the tuning yourself via an app or something.
 
It was a bit pricey, but I am satisfied overall. I've had this system for over a year now and still enjoy the much improved sound quality every day!
 
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