LC Trim base level stereo

[PurelyAbrasive]

I saw on the FB group that someone installed the Beat Sonic amp on a 1958 and it looks like the went in through the center speaker hole and didn’t have to remove the actual infotainment center. Has anyone else tried that? In his photos the amp is sitting on top of the radio. It would really nice if that is the case. Multiple people asked if he removed the radio and I don’t think he ever responded.

 

[AlexGates]

Hertz CX100 will fit., grills go back on fine. I still have the polarity reversed, or the Metra cables reversed, however you look at it. Tweeter rotates 270deg (I think) and I have them pointed more towards the center of the vehicle (console). They sound pretty good upon initial listen, did need to jack the eq way up on the treble and mid to get a full sound. While the Alpine's are warmer, the Hertz CX100 give better vocals at lower volume. I would have been fine with the Alpine, but I wanted a big more sensitivity and wanted a center that would match the sensitivity (I'll go with the 3.5" DCX Hertz for that.) The Hertz will need to break in and I'll need to spend more time with them, but they do fit.

*The pesky pax side holes don't line up, just like with the Alpine.
**Still haven't damaged my dash or grill(s), which is amazing at this point.

 

[jtc]

I also just went with these Hertz CX100 on the dash with the 3.5 Hertz DCX in the center. I had the matching Hertz DCX 4 inch in the corners but just felt something was off with sound. They sounded good but just gave me ear fatigue over time. Swapped the dash corners with the CX100 and been enjoying them so far. I also did the full Hertz Cento around the vehicle so C165 woofer on the front doors and CX165 on the rear doors with the tweeter facing up. I feel like these helped the most equalize the sound from the front to back. I just ordered the Hertz SV200L 8 inch sub and should arrive this week sometime. Will see how that goes before I jump on the Beatsonic bandwagon. Was looking at the 3T3 model for the subwoofer out if this 8 inch hatch does not work out.

 

[AlexGates]

I also just went with these Hertz CX100 on the dash with the 3.5 Hertz DCX in the center. I had the matching Hertz DCX 4 inch in the corners but just felt something was off with sound. They sounded good but just gave me ear fatigue over time. Swapped the dash corners with the CX100 and been enjoying them so far. I also did the full Hertz Cento around the vehicle so C165 woofer on the front doors and CX165 on the rear doors with the tweeter facing up. I feel like these helped the most equalize the sound from the front to back. I just ordered the Hertz SV200L 8 inch sub and should arrive this week sometime. Will see how that goes before I jump on the Beatsonic bandwagon. Was looking at the 3T3 model for the subwoofer out if this 8 inch hatch does not work out. View attachment 33462View attachment 33463View attachment 33464

That's my plan too, get theHertz before tariff increase hits, it does look like the DCX 3.5 went up $10-20 or so, I can't remember. I'll be interested in the sub, how does one attach the Metra cable to the speaker posts? Just cut and strip the wire? All the subs I am considering use posts. the one Chancellor used (which is what I was going to go with) has really increased in price (even before the tariffs) and is backordered months out.

I'm going to need to play with the EQ some and I may move the tweeters a little. I drove around listening to Dre's back or Still Dre, whatever it's called, and if the treble on that doesn't give you a headache, the speaker is probably not bright/harsh.

The 6.5" doesn't just fit into the factory location? I see you have an adapter.

Driving around some, I think I may need to put some of that foam tape around the bottom of the dash speakers.

 

[jtc]

Yes, I have one Metra cable from the other pair left over on the center channel. Once the woofer arrives I will figure out the best way to attach as I have several speaker fitting adapters. I can keep you posted on that install.

Both front and rear doors require an adapter plate to fit aftermarket speakers. The front doors I went with Taco Tunes and the rear was Metra adapter from Amazon. The doors are not the same and require specialized adapters. I also went with NVX XBAF65 2 Piece 6.5" or 6.75" Weatherproof Silicone Rubber Speaker Baffle Kit found on Amazon as well. These are nice and provide a good fit and finish to the install. I used the Metra cable on all the doors and used cloth tape to wrap them up so they don’t rattle. I also used some sound deadening in the doors but I did not go crazy on it like you see on line. Just hit the door skin and cut up little pieces and placed them on the door trim to cut down on rattles. So far so good on that aspect. If you tap the outside of the door you can tell it’s solid with no tin can sound.

Overall, I am very pleased with the sound quality even before the full break in period. Each day I listen the more I am enjoying the sound. I know everyone has different taste in sound and our quality. But have been overall very impressed with the Hertz Cento series speakers. Never really heard of them till you guys mentioned them and pleasantly surprised by the sound. Just wish Toyota would have provided a little more depth/width in the dash speaker cavities to allow more availability on other brands. Due to the constraints we are limited on speaker choices.

 

[AlexGates]

Yes, I have one Metra cable from the other pair left over on the center channel. Once the woofer arrives I will figure out the best way to attach as I have several speaker fitting adapters. I can keep you posted on that install.

Both front and rear doors require an adapter plate to fit aftermarket speakers. The front doors I went with Taco Tunes and the rear was Metra adapter from Amazon. The doors are not the same and require specialized adapters. I also went with NVX XBAF65 2 Piece 6.5" or 6.75" Weatherproof Silicone Rubber Speaker Baffle Kit found on Amazon as well. These are nice and provide a good fit and finish to the install. I used the Metra cable on all the doors and used cloth tape to wrap them up so they don’t rattle. I also used some sound deadening in the doors but I did not go crazy on it like you see on line. Just hit the door skin and cut up little pieces and placed them on the door trim to cut down on rattles. So far so good on that aspect. If you tap the outside of the door you can tell it’s solid with no tin can sound.

Overall, I am very pleased with the sound quality even before the full break in period. Each day I listen the more I am enjoying the sound. I know everyone has different taste in sound and our quality. But have been overall very impressed with the Hertz Cento series speakers. Never really heard of them till you guys mentioned them and pleasantly surprised by the sound. Just wish Toyota would have provided a little more depth/width in the dash speaker cavities to allow more availability on other brands. Due to the constraints we are limited on speaker choices.

Please do, on the sub. Do you have the dash L&R cables reversed? I can’t figure out why people say to not reverse them if you are replacing all the speakers, but do so of just the dash. Now I don’t know if I should reverse the center too, when the DCX shows up. (@chancellor)

I appreciate the explanation on the adapters, I thought people where just using them to get a 6x9.

I had never heard of Hertz either, but they seem really well regarded from just reading posts.

Eta: That Hertz part you listed isn’t a sub, it’s a woofer only. The freq response is listed at bottoming out at 45hz or 100hz, depending on source. It does have the spade connectors though.

 

[bkral]

Just get a multi-meter and check speaker leads while it's playing. With you reading DC and the red lead on the negative post, it should read negative. If it reads positive at all, it's backwards.

I replaced all speakers and one dash corner needed to be swapped. It takes 60 seconds to cut the leads off a metra harness and crimp the replacements on.

 

[AlexGates]

Just get a multi-meter and check speaker leads while it's playing. With you reading DC and the red lead on the negative post, it should read negative. If it reads positive at all, it's backwards.

I replaced all speakers and one dash corner needed to be swapped. It takes 60 seconds to cut the leads off a metra harness and crimp the replacements on.

You don’t need to cut the leads, the wires can be pulled out of the plug to OEM portion and swapped.

Thanks.

Eta: Got a multi-meter, the Metra adapter is definitely the reverse of the factory. No wonder the first few speakers I tried sounded like junk.

I’m not so sure about the Hertz 3.5” in the center, I clipped the wires to the tweeter. The center is definitely always active, surround sound mode switched to on or disabled. I tested my l&r. I think everything sounding “different” is just psychological, plus I was drinking a lot of caffeine.

 

[Futha]

I personally find the 1958's EQ set to -2 on treble and mids and +2 on the bass sounds pretty decent. The treble is ear-piercing to me on anything over -2.

 

[jptruck]

I saw on the FB group that someone installed the Beat Sonic amp on a 1958 and it looks like the went in through the center speaker hole and didn’t have to remove the actual infotainment center. Has anyone else tried that? In his photos the amp is sitting on top of the radio. It would really nice if that is the case. Multiple people asked if he removed the radio and I don’t think he ever responded.

I seriously doubt that's possible. You can maybe get to the rear of the head unit from the center hole, but you'll need a mirror to see what you are pulling. I'm not sure how you would attach the ground to the side of the unit without removing it.

Getting the dash off was not that daunting a process. I removed it, added the beat sonic and replaced it in a little more than an hour.

 

[Q8_250]

So with all the speakers and subwoofer changed, can the OEM head unit handle all of that?
I was planning to go with all Kicker speakers, I like to have matched stuff if possible (KSC6930 6x9" Triaxial Speakers, KSC650 6.5" Coaxial Speakers, KSC350 3.5" Coaxial Speakers), any do you think about this setup Chancellor?

 

[AlexGates]

Just keep it 4 ohm and find something with good sensitivity and you are fine. 6x9 are fine, but going after triaxial in the doors is pretty useless since it should be crossed over and you won't get any highs out of the door.

I went with a 6.5' Hertz in the front door, since I didn't need a tweeter(s) and saved a little money.

 

[jtc]

Agree with Alex, the doors are not full range and more like a woofer (not sub woofer). I found a reference image of the system on line which states this as well. I also placed a 6.5 Hertz Cento woofer in the front doors. As for the rear liftgate woofer I just got it installed (took forever to arrive). I had to make an adapter to hold Hertz 8 inch and this also took some time to fabricate. I ordered some potential adapters from Amazon but nothing fit. So I used a 1/4 thick cutting board and used it as my adaptor. I placed the original over top of a piece of plastic and made a template. Once all cut I placed some sound deadening material over top and used the left over Metra adapter I had from the center channel (they come in pairs). From that it was plug and play onto the new woofer. I only have been able to play it for about an hour so it’s still breaking in. After all the work, it was not that much improvement but I plan on giving it some break in time before I give my final verdict. I broke down and ordered the Beatsonic 3T3 with the sub out and awaiting the arrival to see if this well assist on low end. I forgot to take a pick of the final install as it was late at night and I just wanted to get this in and go to bed.

 

[AlexGates]

Agree with Alex, the doors are not full range and more like a woofer (not sub woofer). I found a reference image of the system on line which states this as well. I also placed a 6.5 Hertz Cento woofer in the front doors. As for the rear liftgate woofer I just got it installed (took forever to arrive). I had to make an adapter to hold Hertz 8 inch and this also took some time to fabricate. I ordered some potential adapters from Amazon but nothing fit. So I used a 1/4 thick cutting board and used it as my adaptor. I placed the original over top of a piece of plastic and made a template. Once all cut I placed some sound deadening material over top and used the left over Metra adapter I had from the center channel (they come in pairs). From that it was plug and play onto the new woofer. I only have been able to play it for about an hour so it’s still breaking in. After all the work, it was not that much improvement but I plan on giving it some break in time before I give my final verdict. I broke down and ordered the Beatsonic 3T3 with the sub out and awaiting the arrival to see if this well assist on low end. I forgot to take a pick of the final install as it was late at night and I just wanted to get this in and go to bed.



View attachment 34730View attachment 34731View attachment 34732View attachment 34733View attachment 34734View attachment 34735View attachment 34736

I edited a post a while back "That Hertz part you listed isn’t a sub, it’s a woofer only. The freq response is listed at bottoming out at 45hz or 100hz, depending on source. It does have the spade connectors though." You're not seeing much of an improvement because its range bottoms out at 45hz. The 8" is a woofer, not a sub-woofer. Chancellor said the rear sub/hatch driver is doing 20-100hz.

 

[jtc]

It’s not a deep frequency issue but rather a volume issue. It seems to hit deeper than the stock woofer but it just does not seem to go up past a certain volume. I am thinking this is more of a Toyota processor setting which matched that of the factory woofer. Additionally, some music I listen to will move some air (rap, hard rock,pop) but other light type music (80’s 70’s) it’s not that noticeable. I’m going to give it some time and if I really want more sub/deeper notes I will add a dedicated sub. Been eyeing the JL Audio 10T3 shallow sub anyway. Will probably make a box over the summer when I have some time.

 

[Q8_250]

Just keep it 4 ohm and find something with good sensitivity and you are fine. 6x9 are fine, but going after triaxial in the doors is pretty useless since it should be crossed over and you won't get any highs out of the door.

I went with a 6.5' Hertz in the front door, since I didn't need a tweeter(s) and saved a little money.

Thanks for the info, then i might either go with (KSC690 6x9" Coaxial Speakers) or (KSC650 6.5" Coaxial Speakers) for front, does the 6.5" speakers need and adaptor?

 

[chancellor]

I decided to try the beatsonic ENA-2T3 to see if it would improve things. The installation wasn't as hard as I feared, took ~1 hour to drop the dash, install it, and put it back together. It would be very difficult to install through the center dash speaker hole, but you can access the beatsonic to tweak the gain setting through there.

The most obvious change was that things are louder. It's always hard to describe sound changes, but I think the beatsonic makes things more responsive, like guitar riffs are more distinct instead of blurring together.

I did find setting the gain on the beatsonic to anything above half way/12 o'clock caused severe distortion in any streaming sources like spotify/pandora. I think its just amplifying the problems from the source, using high quality sources (plexamp playing local FLAC files) sounded great with the gain bumped up to 3 o'clock.

My frequency sweeps showed over 15% total harmonic distortion when the gain was bumped up, causing very noticeable crackling in streaming sources.

The frequency sweep w/ the beatsonic is a little bit flatter, all in all I think it is a good upgrade, but only gives marginal improvement.

 

[chancellor]

for front, does the 6.5" speakers need and adaptor?

These supposedly work, I used the metra 6x9 adapters

2024+ Toyota Land Cruiser FRONT DOOR Speaker Mounts

5.25-6.75 inch Toyota Speaker Installation Adapters (Pair Left / Right) Toyota Speaker Installation Adapter – works with 5.5″ 6.5″ & 7.75″ aftermarket speakers. Be sure to check out our plug and play wiring installation adapters. No cutting or splicing your factory wring!

tacotunes.com

 

[stec06]

I decided to try the beatsonic ENA-2T3 to see if it would improve things. The installation wasn't as hard as I feared, took ~1 hour to drop the dash, install it, and put it back together. It would be very difficult to install through the center dash speaker hole, but you can access the beatsonic to tweak the gain setting through there.

The most obvious change was that things are louder. It's always hard to describe sound changes, but I think the beatsonic makes things more responsive, like guitar riffs are more distinct instead of blurring together.

I did find setting the gain on the beatsonic to anything above half way/12 o'clock caused severe distortion in any streaming sources like spotify/pandora. I think its just amplifying the problems from the source, using high quality sources (plexamp playing local FLAC files) sounded great with the gain bumped up to 3 o'clock.

My frequency sweeps showed over 15% total harmonic distortion when the gain was bumped up, causing very noticeable crackling in streaming sources.

The frequency sweep w/ the beatsonic is a little bit flatter, all in all I think it is a good upgrade, but only gives marginal improvement.

View attachment 34774

Thanks for this. Been contemplating the amp, but not sure about going down this path now. I did a plug-and-play amp in my old Tacoma and it just amplified all the bad parts of the factory head unit signal... i.e. bass rolloff and all that. Didn't actually correct any frequency holes and what not. I tried an AudioControl unit to fix it in the Taco, but it kinda sucked too. It really took a new head unit (Pioneer and later Alpine) to clean it all up.