2018 XSE audio question
 

I recently bought an XSE and I'm loving the hell out of it. The only thing I'm not a huge fan of is the stock speakers. I'm planning on installing a 10 inch JL subwoofer and a mono 600 watt amp.

In regards to the speakers, can I just buy some nice aftermarket speakers and just do a simple swap or should I get a 5 channel amp to power the speakers? I've looked all over the owner's manual and can't find any specs on the head unit. I don't want to spend extra money on an amp if the head unit puts out enough wattage to power some nice aftermarket speakers

Any tips would be greatly appreciated as I'm pretty new to car audio modification

What are the mono amp specs?

If the OEM stereo has a remote amp, the head unit will put out a signal strong enough for most aftermarket amps. Check if the mono amp has an preamp input (low signal power).

However tapping into the head unit output may require some work as there may be no aux signal output plug.

Look into something called a "line converter." This allows for tapping off a speaker wire (located after the remote amp). This device reduces the signal strength from watts (needed to power the speaker but WAY too high for the mono amp) to milliwatts for input to something like the mono amps preamp input.

I'm looking into getting this amp
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_136JX5...-JX500-1D.html

And this woofer
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_136921...o-10TW1-2.html

If I have to get a 5-channel amp, I'm thinking about this one
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_613XR9...0-5.html?cc=01

Find out the following:

What stereo does the car now have? If having a LCD screen is it 7 or 8 inch wide? Does the car have the optional JBL stereo?

What speaker wattage is the current installed system?

Does the cars head unit have RCA type plug outputs for the stereo signal. This is a very low wattage signal.

The owner's manual may have this info or contact the dealer who sold you the car.

You can replace the car speakers if you can find ones that fit the chassis hole. Thought the optional JBL system had 6 speakers. Is the issue with the current stereo lack of sound output or poor sound quality? Depending on your stereo, Crutchfield has speakers.

The Crutchfield reps may be able to answer most of the above accept for what stereo system the car has.

The 5-channel is 60 watts for 4 speakers. This amp needs to be connected to an RCA type plug output from a head unit. This amp will also power the base speaker. Your cars head unit may or may not have RCA outputs for this amp.

If possible to connect the amp via an RCA plug. You will need to bypass the current cars speaker wiring. If the car has a remote amp, you will need to bypass this amp. This is going to be a lot of work. Suggest just changing out the speakers.

The mono amp can be connected to either a RCA plug or the output from the speakers. The owner's manual shows where to connect either of these on the amp.

If taking the output from a speaker(s). You would tap off the speaker wires and run them to the proper connection on the amp. The amp can either connect to one speaker or two to work. The bass speaker you have in link should work with the amp.

Find the answers to the above questions. My two cents is change out the speakers if possible. Install the mono amp using a speaker wire tap off.

Hi, the head unit wont come close to making the aftermarket speakers sound the way you want. The 5 channel amp would sound really nice in there and make your stereo nice and loud, the way im sure youll enjoy

I've been watching this thread and can say I agree with the OP. The stereo system on my 2015 XLE hybrid is nothing short of miserable. It's the only thing I don't like about that car. I had a pretty good stock system in my old 2004 Acura and to compare, the Camry doesn't even come close. I've changed out (upgraded) the door speakers and the tweeeters on the dash but the midrange and lower frequencies tones are simply not there. The radio sounds tinny when I play my iPod Classic through it, something I never had to deal with with the Acura.

So, for me, the question is how do I get some fidelity out of that radio? Since the GPS and all the other controls are integrated into the screen do I have to live with lousy sound for the rest of me ownership od what otherwise is a pretty darned good car?

Line output converter on JBL system.
 

I have the 2016 XLE and was going to add an LOC so I can power an after market Sub. I currently have the JBL system so does anyone have the pinouts or wire diagram for the JBL amp that I can tap off of?