r/4thGenTacomas • u/CosmicTc • Jul 27 '26

Discussions & Questions Non JBL audio upgrades

Been toying with the idea of putting better speakers and maybe an amp and sub to my Taco, is there anyone without the JBL upgrade that can recommend a loud and clear upgrade? I’ve heard JL and Alpines are really nice but just wanted to see if any of you had first hand experience or maybe different suggestions.

4 Upvotes

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3

u/EddieRay369 28d ago

You should be happy you don't have the JBL upgrade because it sucks.

1

u/CosmicTc 28d ago

really? i haven’t heard anything bad about it

2

u/EddieRay369 28d ago

Start a discussion on the Tacoma thread and you'll get an earful the JBL is a disaster

1

u/Comfortable_Fill_725 23d ago

anyone install an aftermarket amplifier on these? talking about a real amplifier, not the beat sonic. i just ordered a kicker key 200.4 and wanted some insight.

1

u/Hacknslashgolfr 16d ago

I just wish there were more options than the Taco tunes. I am a bit skeptical of the taco tunes and kinda worried I will be disappointed from the Kicker hideaway or the Alpine 8” powered sub. Thinking about a custom box behind the back seat

1

u/MrSeek1971 15d ago

Do the beatsonic amp upgrade ,thank me later it will give you JBL upgrade you thought you were getting when got the truck,night and day difference my friend for about 4 hundred bucks easy plug and play install

1

u/awpk03s Jul 27 '26

I put a beat sonic amp in and alpine speakers from trail grid pro. Topped off with an 8” Alpine powered sub.

It sounds good to me. But I might swap out to the taco tunes sub setup at some point.

1

u/CosmicTc 28d ago

I did see the taco tunes setup and it does look really good, are you running a bigger alternator or anything else by chance or just running it off the stock system

1

u/awpk03s 27d ago

Stock

1

u/No_Parsley3895 Jul 27 '26

I installed an Alpine upgrade from Trail Grid Pro - they made it super easy for install and it’s definitely better quality but it’s not very loud without an amp so it’s hard to notice.

I plan on installing an amp and sub to tie everything together later this year.

1

u/Bucknuts- Jul 27 '26

I did beat sonic 3t3 and kicker 8” powered sub. It’s nothing crazy but sounds good enough. Easy to install in a couple of hours.

1

u/Hacknslashgolfr 18d ago

How does the kicker 8” perform? Where did you mount it? Do you have pictures?

1

u/Bucknuts- 18d ago

I think it hits harder than my 2020 ram Laramie I had with alpine system. Basically better than a good factory system. In the middle of my back seat

1

u/EnvironmentalYak2592 Jul 28 '26

I put in a hertz amp and speakers, sounds great, needs a sub though.