replacing JBL sound system in 07 SE with higher end speakers

[toyota_dood2]

Hi, I am not an audio expert, so i need help. I am still trying to learn. A while ago I think I blew my door speakers so I decided to replace them. I thought I might as well get a better speaker while I was at it. I ordered a pair of JBL P963's to install on the front doors. After I installed them I thought it would be an even better sound. But they sounded the same as the JBL premium 6x9's I took out. If I want to utilize my new speakers I think I have to upgrade my Amp under the passenger seat. I already had subs and an amp in the back I bought from my friend.

I want to know which amp I have to order to improve the sound. I will be ordering another set of 6x9's for the rear deck soon. The P963 is rated at 110 RMS, 300Watt max power, 2 ohms. The reason I chose these is becuase they drop right in without any modifcation or brackets.

Is it simply a matter of switching out the new amp, and plugging in the connections?

[dramire558]

what i have in my camry are 4-4way 6x9 pioneer premier, 1 pair of kenwood tweeters, EQ, 2 kenwood amps & 2-12 pioneer premier subs with the stock stereo. i get compliments on the sound quality & clarity all the time. if you're keeping your stock stereo like i did & are not looking for bass then i would do the 4-6x9, the EQ, tweeters & 1 amp. can't go wrong with that. Let me know if you want more detail information.

[profuse007]

im used to be a sound buff but I see cars these days already good sound quality as is.

all you need is a custom molded bass box.

[toyota_dood2]

Originally Posted by dramire558

what i have in my camry are 4-4way 6x9 pioneer premier, 1 pair of kenwood tweeters, EQ, 2 kenwood amps & 2-12 pioneer premier subs with the stock stereo. i get compliments on the sound quality & clarity all the time. if you're keeping your stock stereo like i did & are not looking for bass then i would do the 4-6x9, the EQ, tweeters & 1 amp. can't go wrong with that. Let me know if you want more detail information.

I would like to keep the stock HU. I am looking for a lttle more bass, but currently I have a little problem with clarity of the sound. I have to turn the bass down so I can hear/understand the music. SHould i replace my mid range speakers?

Originally Posted by profuse007

im used to be a sound buff but I see cars these days already good sound quality as is.

all you need is a custom molded bass box.

Hey profuse, I am currently reading your thread on hIDplanet for making a tsx retro. I am almost done with one side. Thanks for thread.

I think your right, I definitley need to make a custom box. The one i have now shifts and tips over when i drive. A couple of time the wire got snagged out of there connections. I'll have to read up on building one. I still want to use my truunk for space.

[toyota_dood2]

Maybe I will dyanmat my car first. That is probably the simplest solution, and then I will go from there. For anyone that has dynmated their vehicle, how much square feet did you use?
Is 50^2 feet enough or do i need to get 100.

[GORILLAKEV]

if you got the jbl premium i think those speakers you got are 4 ohm.....cant really do anything with that jbl system maybe add a loc and sub....theres not alot of companies making 2 ohm speakers but there are companies that do make 2 ohm 6x9's but its kind of double the price you would pay for a good 4 ohm set.....change your head unit and add 2 amps 1 for bass and 1 for mids and highs imo

[touringcamry]

Get some Focal K2 speakers. They sound sweet and I'm fairly certain they are 2 ohm.

[wolfatwp]

i just purchased a used camry se with the JBL premium 8 speaker system. 6 speakers, 8 different drivers. replacing the speakers is not as simple as it sounds. you must remove the back seat to get the rear panel out, along with the the side pillar covers. this is just the beginning of the problems. the rear jbl speakers are component, with the crossover points done in the under seat amp. i do not know the xover frequencies. the 6 disc changer jbl head unit uses serial bus digital signals to feed the amp. so adding an aftermarket amp is a chore. you will need a line ouput converter, audio control ls6i or similar. this converts the post amp speaker signal to an rca preout signal to feed a sub amp and main amps. i stole the signal from the rear speaker wires while i had the seat out. the jbl amp feeds the rear speakers a high frequency to the tweeters and a low frequency to the woofers. took a while to figure out what was what with that issue. no prints or anything on line without paying $. i fed the left and right high signals to input 1 and the lows to input 2 of the lc6i. used the signal summing to get a full range signal to feed my amps. to just replace the speakers is a gamble , betting on the sound will be good with jbl amp xover setting to match your new speakers, which would have to be component, not coaxial. to just add a subwoofer, as i was only intending on doing, is a major task for an amature. luckily i am an audiophile geek with tins of electrical experience. use critical mass ss69 6x9 speakers, and the xover frequencies of the jbl amp will match very well with these speakers, if you don't want to add good amps and such. these speakers are coaxial but are biwire or biamp capable, i got a set on ebay for 160$. long story short, go all out or just stay stock, or replace everything stock and loose all the goodies like aux input, steering wheel controls, bluetooth, and all that. it is all ran by the jbl system. GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!

jbl factory head unit 6 disc changer, nice piece!
audio control lc6i line output converter (magic little box made it all happen)
jl 500/1 amp on a jl 10w6v2 sub
precision power ppi 4240 4x30amp
critical mass ss69 rear speakers
focal 165 k2 6 1/2 component front speakers
and a million dollars worth of wiring and goodies

AWSOME SOUNDING SYSTEM

[molson.david]

Maybe I will dyanmat my car first. That is probably the simplest solution, and then I will go from there. For anyone that has dynmated their vehicle, how much square feet did you use?
Is 50^2 feet enough or do i need to get 100.

I used dyanmat xtreme before, this time went with B-quiet Ultimate-like it better: cheaper, lighter, same result.( comparison test shows that B-quiet better, but I really like that it lighter and cheaper).

If you want to do all doors, floor, fire wall etc, you'll need 100 ft.

[lysaer]

I just recently finished replacing my stock stereo in an 07 SE w/ JBL. Let me warn you of a lot of problems I ran into.

First - PM me your email and I will forward on the tech docs that Luna sent over to me, that show you all the plug pinouts for the head unit and amp.

Second - I too wanted to retain the head unit, and just wanted to completely bypass the amp, but I ended up replacing the head unit. The head unit's volume control controls the amp's volume, not the output on the speaker channels. The wires at the amp are confusing as hell, and my pinouts did not match the document Luna sent. Dunno why.

Third - The JBL amp outputs at a very strange ohm-age, something like 6 ohms instead of 2, 4, or 8 which are standard. If you replace the speakers without using a line converter pre-JBL amp and adding a different amp for those, you're going to get really, REALLY weird response from the new speakers.

Everybody's talking about the Critical Mass 6x9's as replacements. I don't dispute that they're good sounding speakers, but they're expensive as all get out. I don't know about you, but I can't afford those.

I went with SoundStorm Labs for all my new speakers, and replaced the 6x9's in the doors and rear deck with GS369's (like, $25/pr on Amazon). I replaced the 2" tweeters in the dash with SSL 3.5" (GS335 I think, $15 on amazon) - those required some dash cutting and creative mounting, but they sound great.

To replace the rear speakers, you have to remove the back seat. Get a friend to help! You have to pull up on the front of the back seat, and pull *hard*. There are U shaped metal pins going into very tight clips in the frame. Once that's out, you'll remove 4 bolts from the bottom of the back seat (black headed bolts, not the silver ones holding the seatbelts) and then lift straight up to pull metal pins out of metal slots on the frame, up at the top of the seat. Slide it out from behind the seatbelts. Then you pull the two pillar trim pieces from either side, and you can then remove the back deck. The speakers there are held in with 10mm bolts like everywhere else on the car. When you replace them, you will need adapters. If you cut them out of wood like I did mine, they will not be airtight. Get some speaker baffles to go over the back of the speakers or they will sound strange.

To replace the door speakers, you have to take the door panel off. Watch the different wiring harnesses and cables for the door handle. You CAN reuse the speaker mounts here. Use an exacto or utility knife to separate the speaker from the plastic mount - it's held in by screws and black mounting tape. Once the speaker is free, take a knife, sandpaper, dremel, or whatever you've got to trim the ends of the front-facing plastic oval - where the speaker drops in - and you can fit any 6x9 you want in there.

Alternatively you can get 6x9 to 6.5" mounting adapters and put 6.5" midbass drivers in.

The speakers in the dash are 2"-ish tweeters. Just pop the two trim pieces off the top of them and you can get to them. I would NOT recommend going with the 3.5" speakers (although I do like the sound), as you do have to cut a LOT of the dash off to get them in.

I offer all this to you with the recent experience of doing it myself. And I mean, over the last 2 weeks! Started the project 2 Saturdays ago, finished it yesterday. Ended up replacing the head unit, all the speakers, adding a sub and two amps, complete new wiring for power, hu-to-amp RCA's, and amp-to-speaker. Well worth it, though, as my stereo sounds awesome, and I spent under $500. This is without dynamat pricing, as that's to come later. But right now, the only rattle I've got is the license plate on the back because one of the screws is stripped out and doesn't hold it tight. But that's getting swapped out today.

[Musicmansell]

Lysaer is right on point! wiring is a pain in these Camry's

I did this as well, and I am an audio expert as I have worked as an audio engineer for over 13 years. Believe me, I needed a high profile sound in my car or I was gonna hurt something

My speaker set up in the end is all four speakers swapped with Critical Mass RS-69s, (yes they are expensive, but I found mine barely used for $400 for all four and they are perfect, just do a little shopping around, there is a store in LA clearing them out at 250 a pair) I also liked the Focals, and the Infinity's I listened to.

Whatever speakers you choose, if you want to run an amp to them with plenty of power that sounds really clean, I would check out the JL Audio amp series. They were all very affordable when I shopped around and sounded great powering the speakers. I ended up with a JL-450/4. I love it. I also liked the Boston Acoustics, McIntosh, some MB Quart amps, and if you can find them, old Blaupunkt amps are sick. JL Audio, and old school Rockford Fosgate Amps or Phoenix Gold amps for the subs were my favorites. I have a Fosgate Punch Classic 12" sub in a Bandpass box powered by a Phoenix Gold xd2400. Love It.

Forget Dynamat, there is a company on eBay selling Fatmat Rattle Trap Extreme for half the cost and the stuff is way better. Several audio dealers around here saw my car set up and immediately ordered the mat when I told them the price. It is 80mil thick where as Dynamat is only 70mil. and it sticks better, and it is half the cost. The smell goes away in about a week and doesn't seem to come back. And I drive in LA heat. This will definitely inprove your sound and tighten everything up, plus make it quieter inside the car. Check my thread for some pics of what I did.

Just my 2 cents, I hope it helps a little bit...good luck with your system

[lysaer]

haha, talk about opinions from both ends of the spectrum. It really just depends on how much you want to or can afford to spend on the components.

I replaced everything in mine with Pioneer, SSL, and MB Quart, and I'm happy with the sound.

[Musicmansell]

HA HA! He's right, at the end of the day, go with what you can afford and makes you happy. You are the one listening to it constantly. Good luck, whatever you get, I am sure it will sound better than what you had originally.

Hey Lysaers, I never tried the SSL's, I will have to now that I know about them. Only SSL I knew about was the large audio consoles in studios...ha ha!

[lysaer]

SoundStorm Labs is owned by the same company that owns Boss Audio, and it's really good quality stuff (at least as far as I can tell now). They do not sound like cheap speakers, and the EV1500.M sub amp I've got makes the sub *pound*. Most of the reviews I've read have been extremely positive!