The Toyota ICE Struggle.

I've always loved good audio, and my dad was the one calling me a maniac for continuously fiddling with the gear. But I forgot where I got it from.
Few years ago, I grilled Navin on his Camry thread when I didn't really know much about audio:
Quote:
Originally Posted by viXit Can you elaborate on this a little more. I thought the surround of the subwoofer is supposed to make sure it moves linearly in the magnetic field.
I don't understand how adding another one helps.
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I remembered the thread while drafting this and decided to take a look at it. Reading it again, it seems not much has changed with the way Toyota deals with ICE:
Quote:
Originally Posted by navin . Not even simple sun blinds for the rear passengers or a memory for the electrically adjustable seats!!!!!
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...and then there is the ICE. It deserves to be shot. The people responsible for implementing this should be shot. No shooting them would be too easy. They should be stuffed in the Camry and force fed Kenny G over the ICE. I have heard elevator speakers that sound better.
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Fat Cats like myself might be satisfised but a car enthusiast would hardly be. |
And I guess I'm following suit. Except for the ICE and Lack of memory seats not much else bothers me about this car. Not after I started getting my thrills elsewhere.
Taking the Fortuner's delivery was quite uneventful, thanks to the thorough PDI I did along with 2 more BHPians (my brother and pratyushforza). I spent an hour plus driving the car in and out of the yard and checking all functions. Checked all door seals, fluid levels, inspected the paint and all panels. All was in order except a paint issue which has since been sorted.
Something I noticed during one of two visits to Toyota before purchase was that the audio was quite bad. We knew it was one of the first things to change. Like many hobbies and interests, Car audio is unforgivingly expensive if you don't know where to stop. Add to it the bad installers, and lack of auditioning before you can buy components, and it's a steaming hot mess to land in.
I realized I could break my head trying to figure out what to get, or go with a tried and tested speaker and not think too much. I was convinced I wouldn't regret my speaker decision as long as I didn't hear the better one in person. Stupid but it works. I knew JL Audio was quite good and set my mind on it. Decided to go for the DSP and Speakers from JL. I was not keen on spending too much money (LOL) and decided to reuse the amp and sub from safari which was now in City. I was quite happy with the installation at Twisters after trying many places, so I contacted him ahead of time and went there on a weekend. The price quickly climbed as we added misc. parts and damping to the equation.
Iteration 1
I wanted a clean signal(Flat EQ0 going into the amp, so I chose to go with a JL Audio Fix DSP. It takes the Hi-Level input from the Head Unit and makes the EQ flat by listening to a reference signal supplied with the DSP and Time alignment 0-0 by playing a series of pops and clicks. (Auto EQ and Alignment)
The component list as of now was:
1. JL Audio Fix 86 DSP
2. JL Audio C2 Components
3. JL Audio C2 Coaxials
4. JBL Stage A9004 4ch amp
5. Morel MPD 500.1 Monoblock
6. Pioneer TSW 8" Subwoofer
7. Morel Damping sheets
8. Morel speaker foam surrounds and backing sheets
All inclusive, it just about crossed 1.15L
Installation was straightforward. Doors were opened and damping sheets were rolled on, Stock speaker rivets were drilled out and MDF spacers were installed to accommodate the JL C2 drivers. Foam surrounds were applied to direct the sound pressure into the cabin and not stray into the doors.
Dr. Sidd left some old speaker wire with me which came in handy, saved around 5k since I had good wiring with me. I wired the front to accommodate a full active setup in case I ever wanted to. Since I was opening it up anyway. But passive XOs for now.
I was particular that I didn't want any wires to be cut, so we used a harness used for android head units, to patch into the factory speaker level wiring and send the hi-level audio into the DSP. from where RCAs go to the amps.
The monoblock for the sub I got.

Dressed the seats back up to keep em clean
The stock speakers,
Absolutely no sound treatment in the doors
Stock vapor barrier went in the trash, used these sheets instead
The foam that went behind the speakers
The foam strips that go around the speaker to seal it to the door card
They go like this
The new speakers
I knew they could handle a lot more power, but I was not ready for what I had in store. Will elaborate in later posts.
The tweeters were in the sail panels from factory, into which the new JL tweeters sat snug rather easily.
Old tweeter:

Wired everything up, quite straightfoward and it was more or less done in a few hours. Buttoned everything up, and there was a hissing sound in the tweeters. We spent a few hours troubleshooting. Figured the gain was too high and the head unit was also creating hissing. I briefly contemplated a new head unit, but I like the features on the stock unit and didn't really think it was worth the extra lakh.

Went home at 11PM with the promise that the grounding would be reworked and was not too happy with the sound. Got a call from home and I pretended not to have spent all night blowing money by sounding excited. Somehow they always know

the sound was just all too muddy, a little to fatiguing and shouty. Nothing seemed right.
Came home, got my RTA software and mic out and started tuning the meagre 10 channel eq on the four speakers. Set the crossovers right and played it by ear till I looked at the clock and realized it was 2AM. I was a little happier. The Crossovers between the sub and midbass weren't set properly, that itself cleaned up the sound a huge deal.
The Bass was Clean, the Highs were lively, and the system had newfound ease and might with the amplifier. What would take 15-20 volume increments took just 3 now and everything seemed effortless. I was somewhat satisfied.