2011 OEM audio system quality...is it really this mediocre? (1 Viewer)

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Alright, after a few quotes from Best Buy, & 2 independent Car Audio stores. I have decided for the time being to just stick with the stock amp, build from there and hope for the best.

The Best Buy tech told me that unless I switched out the OEM infotainment, he was interested in doing the job. His reason was, was that he didn't want all aftermarket work wired into a factory infotainment that he knew nothing about. He also expressed, if something was to happen down the road and I needed to bring my vehicle back to be looked at, he wouldn't feel comfortable working on anything OEM.

The two indy audio places went straight for the jugular and quoted me $3‐$4k for the job. Told me they would also have to install all new sound deadner in order for all the audio to work properly. They also tried that "$3k-$4k is pretty much a guesstimate b/c we won't know what we are getting into until we are fully in there." Hard passed on both places.

I ended up pulling the plug on the OEM sub and accesory holder for $150 off eBay. Which I think is pretty fair considering a new one is $500 from Toyota. I was also able to source some JBL 3.5 midrange subs off Amazon. I had an Amazon gift card left over from Father's Day, so I only ended up paying $31 for the pair. Tweeter wise, does anyone have a suggestion for tweeters, or know if the JBL tweeters in the pic I provided are the style of tweeters I need for the front and rear? Or are tweeters pretty much a moot point b/c of the current JBL speakers I am running?

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The tweeters on the JBL speakers you bought won’t do anything because the stock system doesn’t send high frequency signals to those speakers.

Have you tried sourcing used OE speakers from a yard?
 
I have an ML system in a Lexus so results may vary, but I found my front pillar tweeters lacking so experimented with several brands. I tried some MB Quart tweeters, Infinity Kappa 10.9t tweeters and a set of tweeters from my old Boston Pro component sets. The MB Quart and Infinity sounded OK but about the same as the stock, but the Boston were a huge difference. I could actually hear them. (I prefer a slightly brighter sound)

So it basically comes down to trying them to see if you like them. If you purchase from somewhere like Crutchfield, you can try different ones with their return policy. (Might be able to with some on Amazon)
 
The tweeters on the JBL speakers you bought won’t do anything because the stock system doesn’t send high frequency signals to those speakers.

Have you tried sourcing used OE speakers from a yard?
Are you talking about my door speakers, or the JBL 3.5's I just bought?

The eBay seller I just bought the stock sub from, has other 200 series speakers forsale, but he doesn't have pairs, so I can't match them.

Other than thru eBay I haven't tried any other sourcing. Do you have any yard recommendations?
 
I have an ML system in a Lexus so results may vary, but I found my front pillar tweeters lacking so experimented with several brands. I tried some MB Quart tweeters, Infinity Kappa 10.9t tweeters and a set of tweeters from my old Boston Pro component sets. The MB Quart and Infinity sounded OK but about the same as the stock, but the Boston were a huge difference. I could actually hear them. (I prefer a slightly brighter sound)

So it basically comes down to trying them to see if you like them. If you purchase from somewhere like Crutchfield, you can try different ones with their return policy. (Might be able to with some on Amazon)
Thanks for the heads-up on the tweeters. I'll definitely get on Crutchfield and do some looking.
 
Previously it seems like you said you still had all the OEM dash speakers? If that’s the case, I wouldn’t mess with those, if that’s what those other speakers you are looking at are for.

I would start with getting the sub installed. That’s going to make the biggest difference in anything you are trying to do.
 
Previously it seems like you said you still had all the OEM dash speakers? If that’s the case, I wouldn’t mess with those, if that’s what those other speakers you are looking at are for.

I would start with getting the sub installed. That’s going to make the biggest difference in anything you are trying to do.
Correct, the dash still has the OEM speakers. Those 3.5 JBL's in the picture I purchased are for the rear upper hatch door. I'm sorry, I just realized I didn't clarify that in my original post earlier today.
 
Correct, the dash still has the OEM speakers. Those 3.5 JBL's in the picture I purchased are for the rear upper hatch door. I'm sorry, I just realized I didn't clarify that in my original post earlier today.

Those are probably fine. Probably 90% of the important stuff you hear from the driver's seat will come from the dash and front door speakers and the sub in the back. The other 4 speaker locations are mostly just "fill".

I was looking at your previous pictures and I noticed you had to splice in your speakers to the factory wiring. I'm not sure if you are keeping track of polarity or not., but it will mostly like matter, especially in the "bass" speakers. A quick test that usually works pretty well to verify if you have the polarities flipped is to fade/balance the speaker to one channel. If you bass increases with only one speaker playing rather than both, then you most likely have the polarity flipped.

The reason I bring this up is because if you have the polarity flipped you get a real hollow sound with very little bass because the speakers will be working against each other in the cabin. Sound waves will cancel each other out, since they are out of phase. This is something that could definitely lead someone to believe the stereo sucked.
 
Those are probably fine. Probably 90% of the important stuff you hear from the driver's seat will come from the dash and front door speakers and the sub in the back. The other 4 speaker locations are mostly just "fill".

I was looking at your previous pictures and I noticed you had to splice in your speakers to the factory wiring. I'm not sure if you are keeping track of polarity or not., but it will mostly like matter, especially in the "bass" speakers. A quick test that usually works pretty well to verify if you have the polarities flipped is to fade/balance the speaker to one channel. If you bass increases with only one speaker playing rather than both, then you most likely have the polarity flipped.

The reason I bring this up is because if you have the polarity flipped you get a real hollow sound with very little bass because the speakers will be working against each other in the cabin. Sound waves will cancel each other out, since they are out of phase. This is something that could definitely lead someone to believe the stereo sucked.
Thanks for bringing this to my attention, b/c the way you describe how they will sound when out of phase, is how they sound. However, when I originally installed the 6x9's I tried them one way with the wires, then I tried them another way. They sound the same no matter which wire was being used as positive, or negative.

I think what I'm going to do, is let the mechanic who works on Land Cruisers at my dealership finish the job. He has already been in there, got my dash speakers running and knows whats going on with everything. He quoted me a very reasonable flat rate to finish up the job he already started, once I get all my speakers in. He has already told me worst-case, he will need to keep her overnight to finish the job.
 
Thanks for bringing this to my attention, b/c the way you describe how they will sound when out of phase, is how they sound. However, when I originally installed the 6x9's I tried them one way with the wires, then I tried them another way. They sound the same no matter which wire was being used as positive, or negative.

I think what I'm going to do, is let the mechanic who works on Land Cruisers at my dealership finish the job. He has already been in there, got my dash speakers running and knows whats going on with everything. He quoted me a very reasonable flat rate to finish up the job he already started, once I get all my speakers in. He has already told me worst-case, he will need to keep her overnight to finish the job.
Sounds good.

One more note on polarity. With only one speaker running...(and probably even if both speakers are running but the doors were open facing out of the cabin) you won't hear a difference in reversed polarity. The speaker will make the exact same amount of sound energy, it will just be in opposite phase when polarity is reversed. So the importance isn't really in getting your (+) and (-) on the right plug as much as making sure all the speakers are on the same + and - (hopefully that makes sense).

(edit: i'll add, since the JBL/ML systems are distributed across many speakers, it's probably better to try to maintain the factory polarity. What I said previously would be true if you only had 2 speaker outputs from your amp to connect to the speakers, but once you start including the DSP crossovers and multi amp setups it gets pretty convoluted)

When playing one speaker there is no issue with + or - polarity, it will always sound the same.

With 2 or more speakers playing :
Out of phase (opposite polarity between speakers) then the signals from each speaker will cancel each other out
In phase (both speakers wired to same polarity) and the energy from each speaker will be additive.

This is why using the fader/balance on the stereo can diagnose a speaker wired out of phase. You will get better sound from only one speaker playing, rather than having two (or more speakers) working against each other.
 
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Plus, depending on how messed up the wiring is, if two speakers are wired incorrectly putting one out of phase, and in an attempt to diagnose you switch polarity on both at the same time, the problem won't get better. But if you only switched one of them, it would.

Enter the EWD and toyota wire color coding to confirm what wire is supposed to do what. I think you are on the right track having the toyota tech suss this one out. Even if he doesn't understand the nuances of sound system setup, if he can simply restore what was done from the factory you'll be better off than what you have now.
 
Plus, depending on how messed up the wiring is, if two speakers are wired incorrectly putting one out of phase, and in an attempt to diagnose you switch polarity on both at the same time, the problem won't get better. But if you only switched one of them, it would.

Enter the EWD and toyota wire color coding to confirm what wire is supposed to do what. I think you are on the right track having the toyota tech suss this one out. Even if he doesn't understand the nuances of sound system setup, if he can simply restore what was done from the factory you'll be better off than what you have now.
Thanks bloc & LX200inAR! I really appreciate you guys helping me along, with getting things squared away on my 200. Not only in this thread, but all of the threads I've posted in the 200 forums. I'm sure some of the stuff I ask is redundant, but it really means alot that people take the and offer to help someone along.

If you dont mind me asking, do the 1" front pillar tweeters, rear tweeters, and the 3.5" speakers mount directly into the doors, and pillars, or do I need to purchase mouting brackets? If I need mounting brackets, you guys, or anyone else wouldn't happen to know the part# for those would you? I looked on Toyotapartsdeal.com, but didn't see anything, maybe I'm just wording it wrong.
 
Thanks bloc & LX200inAR! I really appreciate you guys helping me along, with getting things squared away on my 200. Not only in this thread, but all of the threads I've posted in the 200 forums. I'm sure some of the stuff I ask is redundant, but it really means alot that people take the and offer to help someone along.

If you dont mind me asking, do the 1" front pillar tweeters, rear tweeters, and the 3.5" speakers mount directly into the doors, and pillars, or do I need to purchase mouting brackets? If I need mounting brackets, you guys, or anyone else wouldn't happen to know the part# for those would you? I looked on Toyotapartsdeal.com, but didn't see anything, maybe I'm just wording it wrong.
Most manufacturers build mounting systems into their speakers, but I’ll give the parts diagrams a look later today.
 
@jbyrd78 I may have missed it but what year is your rig?

I did some digging in generic LC200 years and everything seems to have the brackets built into the speakers. But, much of this is based on dodgy pictures from russian sites..
 
@jbyrd78 I may have missed it but what year is your rig?

I did some digging in generic LC200 years and everything seems to have the brackets built into the speakers. But, much of this is based on dodgy pictures from russian sites..
My Rig is a 2011. Bracket wise, that's what I'm seeing as well when I look for the brackets online. I'm going to try to figure out how to remove the panel from the rear hatch, and see if the speaker brackets are in there. If not, I'm going to snap a pic, and take the speaker with me to Best Buy and see if they have any 3.5 mounting brackets that will drop in.
 
Came home from work last night, to this bad boy sitting on the porch. Way nicer condition than I was expecting! For $150, I'm not going to complain.

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Disregard my last post, I figured out how to pop the rear hatch panel. To my surprise, when I popped the panel, I found the stock speaker's were still intact. They were disconnected and the connectors were tucked and taped to the harness. I was able to get them reconnected, and to my surprise they work! I'm happy to say my cabin now sounds more full, and there is also a tad bit more bass coming out of the front 6x9's now as well.

I also pulled the panel where the sub goes, and saw a hot mess rats nest in there. So I will be leaving that, the tweeters, and the rear passenger side speaker to be taken care of at the dealership. Happy Holidays everyone and stay safe!

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