Upgrading JBL System

[Tigerfan95]

Hey everybody! I wanted to get some opinions about what kind of sub (or subs) I should get for my 07 T4R. I currently have the JBL Synthesis system, and everything is stock. I've been reading about people just taking the stock sub out replacing it with a better one. I also plan on buy an amp to go with it. I love the system now, but I'm afraid when I turn up the bass to where it vibrates the car (which is what I want) I will bust the sub. I'm wanting something that will vibrate and I won't have to worry about breaking anything. Also, I really don't know the 'mechanics' of music, if you will. I just like to listen to it.


My question is, should I just replace the current sub with a new one or get a box and go that route?


P.S. Hopefully, I will be getting a new receiver for Christmas; so, I don't plan on getting anything other than an amp, a sub, and a radio.

 

[t-man]

Hey everybody! I wanted to get some opinions about what kind of sub (or subs) I should get for my 07 T4R. I currently have the JBL Synthesis system, and everything is stock. I've been reading about people just taking the stock sub out replacing it with a better one. I also plan on buy an amp to go with it. I love the system now, but I'm afraid when I turn up the bass to where it vibrates the car (which is what I want) I will bust the sub. I'm wanting something that will vibrate and I won't have to worry about breaking anything. Also, I really don't know the 'mechanics' of music, if you will. I just like to listen to it.


My question is, should I just replace the current sub with a new one or get a box and go that route?


P.S. Hopefully, I will be getting a new receiver for Christmas; so, I don't plan on getting anything other than an amp, a sub, and a radio.

Not sure what all is involved there, tons of writeups and most of it confuses me :shrug: but I crank the bass all the way up in mine and blast the radio on many occasions, nothing has shaken loose, no blown speakers, seems to be a pretty good system overall. Guys have put a new sub in, but it isn't easy. The stock box is very shallow which makes it hard to get anything else in there. A couple of the threads talk about a low profile sub they managed to fit in, just will have to look around and see.
As far as I know you are screwed on a new amp without some major work. System wasn't made for aftermarket anything so it is a serious PITA.

 

[dropspace]

I use a kicker comp RT shallow mount 8" sub in the stock enclosure.

It's pushing 500W RMS through a JL Audio mono amp and the enclosure is fine. There is no rattling at all and it sounds great.

Just put some poly fill in there, make sure the sub is securely mounted air tight and dynamat the surrounding area as well as the fender trim piece.

I would say that stock enclosure can handle pretty much anything an 8" sub could throw at it and be completely fine.

AMP: JL Audio JX500/1D Mono subwoofer amplifier — 500 watts RMS x 1 at 2 ohms at Crutchfield.com

SUB: Kicker 40CWRT81 CompRT shallow-mount 8" subwoofer with dual 1-ohm voice coils at Crutchfield.com

The amp fits where the stock amp used to be. The sub bolts in fine but will not work with the grille and trim piece that is over the stock subwoofer space. I just removed that entire piece and made a replacement with the sub area cut out. Kicker also makes a grille that bolts on to their subs, so this just protrudes a bit from where the old trim piece was.

Being as this requires you to remove the stock amp, this route is going to be part of a complete system swap most likely.

I have another JL Audio amp under the passenger seat driving a set of Rainbow components (highly recommended).

 

[BOFFROAD]

Some subwoofers are to deep to fit in the stock enclosure. I have the JBL synthesis and I went with the kicker TcompS sub and the Kicker 12cx3001 amp. It sounds clean and has plenty of volume.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00CNVZDBK/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1418776116&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX200_QL40

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00BEV2HX2/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?qid=1418776342&sr=8-5&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70

 

[Tigerfan95]

Not sure what all is involved there, tons of writeups and most of it confuses me but I crank the bass all the way up in mine and blast the radio on many occasions, nothing has shaken loose, no blown speakers, seems to be a pretty good system overall. Guys have put a new sub in, but it isn't easy. The stock box is very shallow which makes it hard to get anything else in there. A couple of the threads talk about a low profile sub they managed to fit in, just will have to look around and see.
As far as I know you are screwed on a new amp without some major work. System wasn't made for aftermarket anything so it is a serious PITA.

I know what you mean by confusing, reading some of them gave me the impression that I could just replace the current amp and sub with aftermarket ones. Like I said I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to speakers and radios.

Being as this requires you to remove the stock amp, this route is going to be part of a complete system swap most likely.

This is what I was afraid of. Simply replacing the amp and sub was what I was leaning towards. Do you know if there would be any problem with doing that even with a different head unit?

Some subwoofers are to deep to fit in the stock enclosure. I have the JBL synthesis and I went with the kicker TcompS sub and the Kicker 12cx3001 amp. It sounds clean and has plenty of volume.

Did you add anything else to the synthesis system or was the aftermarket amp and sub the only thing?

 

[Radial GT]

I recently upgraded my JBL HU with a newer Pioneer double din with back up camera. I kept all of the JBL stuff working by using the amp activator box, and it turned out pretty good. The sound is actually very good, and it will be way louder than me at 34 years of age normally run it. But every speaker hits pretty hard for being a factory setup, wi

I made the mistake of not turning up the gain on the activator box and it sounded like utter horse shit at first. But after I pulled it all back apart and turned up the gain on the box it is pretty solid. My only complaint is that sometime the activator box doesn't turn on the JBL amp and the only way to reset it is to restart the 4runner's engine... pita.

I think at some point I will pull all the JBL stuff, but for right now it sounds pretty damn good. Plus I was able to wire in my factory backup camera to the Pioneer, with help of this forum of course.

 

[robtmc]

My reply is useless, but for those in my predicament:

My hearing is shot, never listen to the damn JBL thing, so do not care if it even works.

My wife may have another opinion, but she does not have much desire to drive the truck vs. her Forester.

 

[dropspace]

Having gone down the road of just swapping the HU and using the Metra converter box, I would suggest you just swap everything when you have the funds to do so.

You will most likely eventually want to do this so doing it in one step is cleaner and more straightforward.

I too had the mysterious shut off problem where the amp wouldn't turn on about 1 out of every 10 starts. Its just a band aid fix.

A good set of front components driven by a quality amp with a sub/amp out back is going to be much more reliable and sound way better.

If you want slightly more coverage you can drive the rear door speakers off the HU amp but it is not a necessity.

 

[scw1991]

I'm going to be upgrading my JBL Syntheses here next year and I plan to use the existing JBL HU so I can retain fade/balance, steering wheel controls, etc.

I'll install new speakers in the doors, use existing JL Audio 10W3 sub in custom enclosure, use existing Fosgate 3-way electronic crossover, and use a pair of existing Fosgate Punch 150HD amps.

The leads from the JBL HU to the Sytheses amp are digital and not analog. That presents a problem. I spoke with AudioControl and they suggest the best way to resolve the issue is to use the LC6i processor. The speaker output leads from the Syntheses amp get wired into the LC6i. Then RCA output leads from the LC6i get wired into my Fosgate electronic crossover. From there the electronic crossover RCA output leads get wired into the Fosgate amps. Finally, the Fosgate speaker output leads get wired into the new speakers.

Hardest part is going to be finding a home for all the components to keep a concealed factory look. Thinking of creating a false floor to mount the electricals with an integrated sub enclosure.