Greetings all. I've been doing some recent upgrades to the audio in my 2007 FJ. My goal was to get all the modern features I needed, and improve the overall listening experience in the cabin. I had no desire for a competition audio setup, just something that sounds really good when I'm driving. I bought the truck with the factory Jammer system, complete with OEM subwoofer.
I started by adding a Kenwood double DIN reciever so I could have Bluetooth and SiriusXM; I used the ASWC adapter to keep the steering wheel controls working. Overall, it was a fairly drama-free installation. The sound improved noticeably just with the new head unit, mostly of the additional power, and because I could EQ back the mids and get rid of the "shouty-ness" from the 3 1/2 dash and pillar speakers. The bass through the factory sub was loud enough for ordinary listening, but was boomy and flabby. The OEM sub enclosure and internal amp leave a lot to be desired, but it is nice from a space standpoint... I wanted to see if a simple speaker upgrade could improve the situation. If not, I would go the whole way with a new enclosure and sub amp.
I tracked down this Dayton 8" sub from Parts Express... $29 plus shipping. I've had good experiences with their speakers in the past, and the specs looked like they could work with the factory enclosure. I wanted something with dual voice coils so I could use both halves of the wimpy factory sub amp inside the enclosure.
Dayton Audio SD215A-88 8" DVC Subwoofer
Installing it into the factory enclosure was easy. The push-on connectors for the negative wires were too small for the new sub tabs, so I clipped them off and crimped on some bigger connectors. Also, the mounting holes didn't line up, so I had to drill four new ones. Here's how it looks:
So how does it sound? Much better than the stock speaker! Most of the flab is gone, and the bass is much more punchy and defined. I'm still experimenting with EQ and whether or not to plug the ports and use it as a sealed enclosure, but right from the start it was a noticeable improvement over the factory speaker.
Now that the subwoofer flab is controlled, I'm noticing that the 6x9's in the door are also very flabby in the bass. I might try high-passing them, but it will probably be better overall to just trade out the speakers for something a little better.
I started by adding a Kenwood double DIN reciever so I could have Bluetooth and SiriusXM; I used the ASWC adapter to keep the steering wheel controls working. Overall, it was a fairly drama-free installation. The sound improved noticeably just with the new head unit, mostly of the additional power, and because I could EQ back the mids and get rid of the "shouty-ness" from the 3 1/2 dash and pillar speakers. The bass through the factory sub was loud enough for ordinary listening, but was boomy and flabby. The OEM sub enclosure and internal amp leave a lot to be desired, but it is nice from a space standpoint... I wanted to see if a simple speaker upgrade could improve the situation. If not, I would go the whole way with a new enclosure and sub amp.
I tracked down this Dayton 8" sub from Parts Express... $29 plus shipping. I've had good experiences with their speakers in the past, and the specs looked like they could work with the factory enclosure. I wanted something with dual voice coils so I could use both halves of the wimpy factory sub amp inside the enclosure.
Dayton Audio SD215A-88 8" DVC Subwoofer
Installing it into the factory enclosure was easy. The push-on connectors for the negative wires were too small for the new sub tabs, so I clipped them off and crimped on some bigger connectors. Also, the mounting holes didn't line up, so I had to drill four new ones. Here's how it looks:
So how does it sound? Much better than the stock speaker! Most of the flab is gone, and the bass is much more punchy and defined. I'm still experimenting with EQ and whether or not to plug the ports and use it as a sealed enclosure, but right from the start it was a noticeable improvement over the factory speaker.
Now that the subwoofer flab is controlled, I'm noticing that the 6x9's in the door are also very flabby in the bass. I might try high-passing them, but it will probably be better overall to just trade out the speakers for something a little better.