Premium Audio Upgrade for less than $250

I haven't seen what's in the box with the speakers, but if you ordered from Crutchfield and got the speaker adapters, you shouldn't need any of the wiring that came with the speakers. Using the adapter wires with the Toyota plug, just run the female slide connectors through the hole on the speaker adapter and connect to the speaker terminals. Just as an extra precaution against rattles and buzzes, I usually wrap a narrow strip of thin foam around the wires and tape it before putting the door back together.

As far as screws, I am sure the speakers came with an assortment for different kinds of installs. Use whatever works to get a solid mount, you won't use everything in the box. Some of the posts here indicate that the screws that come with the speaker adapters are not big enough to bite well in the door and have purchased bigger ones. It's always good to have an assortment around.

There is not a right and left speaker, you can use them on either side. Not sure about he Subie tweeters since they come with the Toyota/Subaru bracket, mine arrive tomorrow. But if they look identical, just make sure you mount them oriented in the same way as the stock ones.

 

@TenBeers thanks for your input. The Subaru tweeters were super easy to install.

I’ll try to install them again when I have the time and make sure I have the right hardware before I take everything apart.

Thank you again for your helpful input.

 

So, I'm going to follow this guy.

 

@CoastieRon what amp and sub did you install? Any pics? Did the amp also hook up to the other six speakers (I’m assuming you did the tweeters, 6x9’s, and 6 1/2’s)? This is the route I’m planning but clueless to the wiring needed!

 

Ok. Here is what I did for wiring:



These harnesses go from the head unit to the amp, then from the amp back to the OEM harness that unplugged from head unit. In other words, I used all of the OEM wiring.

I used an Arc Audio 850.5 amp, but you could use any amp that accepts speaker level inputs.

There was a lot of soldering involved. Like a lot. If you can solder, you can do this. I just need to write down what I did.

The sub was a left over 10tw1 by JL. The box is by @Mr Marv . He was very supportive and I spoke on the phone with him a lot.



Ping me outside of the thread. If I don't get back to you right away, it's because I'm trying to get everything on paper.. .

 

Thank you sir @CoastieRon

 

Hey, so I am writing a how to for @taco_medic and created this picture for people that have trouble understanding the rear speaker mounts that come with the rear kicker speakers if you order from Crutchfield:

The adapters that Crutchfield sends for the rear speakers are “adjustable”. In other words, they are made for both 6.5” and 6.75” speakers. In order for you to fit the 6.75” Kicker speakers in this thread, you must break the tabs that are in the inner mounting circle. Simply bend them with a pair of pliers.

 

Just as a quick FYI as well: If you are looking to add a sub and amp to power everything (kick it up a notch!) but don't want to break the bank with that, or don't feel like soldering:

$160 Soundstream PN5.640D Picasso Nano 640 W 5-Channel Class D Digital Car Audio Amplifier

Soundstream Amp PN5.640D Amazon $144.05

$23 BOSS Audio Systems KIT2 8 Gauge Complete Car Amplifier Installation Wiring Kit with Power Cables, Ground Cables, Turn-On Wire, Speaker Wire, Terminals

Amp Power Wiring Kit Boss 4 Gauge Amazon $15.99

Taco Tunes wire Harness Kit V3-77EZWH106 ********* $79.12

Do not be afraid of Soundstream amps! They are well received. The ********* harness is on sale now. $236 before adding the sub. Pick a sub and go......

 

I did read on several Sound Stream reviews that it accepts an 8 gauge wire harness much more happily than 4 gauge. Apparently the wire connections are small. I don't know first hand just sharing what I read.

 

Changed it. Comes under $250 now....

 

Well, I just installed the speakers in the original post in my son's 2015. But, I went a good bit further than the original post. I also added Kicker tweeters (Subaru tweeters won't work in 2015s) and 2 10" Kicker subs with a Alpine MRV-F300 amp driving the doors and a Alpine MRV-M500 amp driving the subs.
Wow...the clarity of these speakers is amazing when you add a little power. The whole set-up sounds great and my 18yr old son is very happy.

 

Tweets are in, easy peasy -- but you do want to remove the A-pillar trim like in the video in the first post, at least on the 2018 models. There is a tab that slips under the edge of it.

Using an interwebs calculator I found, it says that 2.2uF capacitor on the stock tweeters (mine say the same) would put it at 18 KHz cutoff. That means they are really only effective from 18 to 20 KHz (or higher, but most humans can't hear those frequencies), so not really a lot of range there! They probably would sound better with a different cap, but the speaker design is also significantly different than the Kicker replacements. Sounded much improved sitting in the driveway, but I need to drive around a bit for a full evaluation.

If the 68 that is printed on the Subie caps is actual uF, that would put its cutoff at 585 Hz. That seems kind of low for a tweeter, but they sound better to me so far. I can see how they might start distorting at really high volumes, though.

I think ToyoDrew was right, though -- now mids and lows stand out as a just a bit muddy and off. I went ahead and ordered some door speakers, went with the JBL GT7 series since they have the highest sensitivity, lowest wattage, and were on sale. Same price as the Kickers. I used them on the wife's old 4Runner (or maybe it was GT6 series then), and they are still going strong. I threw in some bass blockers for the rear speakers based on some reviews, seems the lower frequencies cause distortion at higher volumes. I may or may not use them, they are only 8 bucks.

 

Yeah, these Subaru cap numbers don't make much sense. 585 Hz is gonna be a good bit lower than Fs although that data's not published that I can find. Best I can tell that's a 19mm metal dome. Fs will likely be around 2 kHz. I'd have a 6 uF cap on it for a 4 ohm driver if I wanted it to last. 12 uF for a 2 ohm driver. 68 uF is a reasonably big cap though - especially to stick on a tweeter. It would make the tweeter pretty awkward actually.

The stock cap makes a bit more sense. I'm not sure what impedance these drivers are, but something around 8k wouldn't sound too far off. Of course the woofer isn't playing anywhere near that high - probably one reason why the stock stuff sounds like garbage. I doubt that tweeter plays much past 16k. If that's the case, this tweeter is playing <1 octave. No wonder it sounds like it's not doing anything. It's not.

Food for thought

 

I used JBLs: GT7-96 & GT7-6

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_109JBLG796/JBL-GT7-96.html?tp=91

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_109JBLG76/JBL-GT7-6.html?tp=94

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/easy-tweeter-upgrade-3rd-gen-non-jbl.478318/page-8#post-15760180

 

That's what I ordered. If it is too tweetery for me, I may just put them in my wife's 4Runner, get the component set and only install the woofer. She's not picky, thinks bluetooth speakers are the $hit. She'd just be happy that I did something to her stereo too.

 

I think you will be fine. After I turned up the bass a notch or two, it was really good. I think most of what I was hearing when I had a lot of highs was that the system was just middle on all the settings. After I adjusted it a little, it was just fine.

 

Cool beans, I have been running mine totally flat, so plenty of adjustment available. Probably get it done this weekend.

 

I was doing the same (flat equalizer) and I noticed a lot of high end, but once I turned up the bass, it's really nice. I'll be honest and say that I think some big bass songs scare me a little as this little stereo can really rattle the mirrors.

 

Added the tweeters and kicker speakers for the front and rear door this weekend. Awesome sound.

Only Issue:
The 6x9 front speaker Metra mounting adapters that came from Crutchfield did not fit correctly. Had to modify the adapter to mount the speaker. At the time only 3 bolts lined up and had to drill out a location on the Metra Adapter to mount the fourth screw.

Like a post above said, its pretty amazing the sound the factory speakers put out being paper thin and ultra light.

 

@bshammer0 I think the OP should be updated to reflect the "how to use the Metra speaker adapters", especially the 6x9 hole alignment issue where you have to just put the screws in one or two turns each, then tighten evenly a couple turns each until snugged down to overcome the alignment, and then the clips issue for the rear doors. I think both were covered ad nausea, but this thread has now become so long, those data points are being missed.....