Want better sound

[Auntie Soshul]

I love music, and spend enough time in the vehicle that having good sound in it is important to me. One thing that was immediately noticeable about the SR5 when I bought it 2 years ago was the crappy sound produced by the stock audio system. It has the basic, non-JBL, non-nav, non-entune, 8-speaker system. The first mod I made to the vehicle was to change all the speakers and add vibration dampening (Dynamat) to the inside of all 5 doors. The aftermarket speakers helped the sound tremendously, especially if Party Mode is enabled all the time, and the audio controls are tweaked appropriately. I’m now generally satisfied with the system, except for the display on the head unit, which is impossible to read, but I would like even better sound.

I like all the features of the stock head unit (USB, Bluetooth, steering wheel controls, aux port, XM). Switching to an aftermarket head unit would mean I’d need to add a sat radio adapter, reconfigure the Bluetooth, may lose some of the steering wheel control functions, etc, but I would consider it if it meant significantly better sound.

I have a decent amount of experience swapping head units, but none with amps. I’ve considered adding an amp, but would that necessarily give me better sound? I don’t really need louder, just better quality. Would a LOC or an AudioControl unit be required when amping the stock head unit? For those of you who have modified your sound systems, what do you feel produced the best bang for the buck?

 

[3wbdriver]

You might look into the Bonjiovi audio setup at this link. There was some discussion of its improvement to the factory sound systems last summer.

http://www.brandmotion.com/other-accessories/bongiovi-dps.html

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/76848-bongiovi-acoustics.html

 

[Auntie Soshul]

Thanks. It looks like the Bongiovi product would be useful, but it only applies when streaming music with a smart phone. I don't own a smart phone, so it wouldn't do me any good.

 

[Hawaiian4runner]

Just adding amp/amps won't do much except play louder. If you really want to significantly improve the sound, get a DSP and amps. Lot of car audio guys love the Mini DSP (pretty cheap) and also the offerings from Alpine, Audison (expensive), Rockford Fosgate, Helix, etc. I have the Helix. Generally gets excellent reviews and it is super easy to learn and tinker with. Rich guys go with Audison and then complain about noise, popping and other stuff (but when working, excellent sound quality).