Premium Audio Upgrade for less than $250

Just completed the install of all 6 speakers, and Noico/Dynamat in all the doors of my Access Cab, and two solid thumbs up! Way less muddy than stock, and the 7” Entune has plenty of juice behind it for these speakers. Might hold off on getting the Kicker Hideaway for now, the 6x9s aren’t really that bad.

This upgrade is at least 80% as good sounding as the full custom setups I’ve done in my last two cars, for about 20% the cost. Win.

 

What systems are you comparing it to?

 

In my Jetta, I had Phoenix Gold components all around, with two infinity 12” reference series subs, 400 watt Kicker 2 channel amp for the speakers and 1200 watt Hifonics for the subs.

In the Impreza, Infinity Kappa series components all around, Kicker L3 10” sub, and a 700 watt Kicker 5 channel amp for it all.

Obviously, the new system doesn’t touch either one on bass, but like I said, clarity is at least 80% as good as either system.

 

I have a base SR as well, I'm going to end up getting the tweeters, but is there an option for speakers that require less wattage that the SR HU can handle that would be better than the stock? Or would the difference be negligible and just take it how it is with just the tweeters lol Would doing the sound deadening make a significant difference with the stock speakers?

 

The Kicker's in the OP's post are some of the most sensitive aftermarket speakers on Crutchfield. The DX series is a bit lower wattage and more sensitive than the CX, which is what I was thinking about doing, but I went with the JBL GT7 series in the end, very close to the Kicker specs. It's not likely you will find something more appropriate in a value speaker. I have no first-hand experience with the non-Entune, but feedback in this thread indicates that it hasn't improved much for those systems.

I wouldn't hassle with the sound deadening unless replacing the speakers as well, the stock speakers are pretty much hopeless.

 

I have those exact speakers and you really need to power them. I have them powered now and the mid bass is great, you cannot hear it whatsoever before than. The speaker will still produce all sound, but honestly it sounded worse than stock, which is strange because as you mentioned they have high sensitivity. I do have full sound deadening which affected that some, but then again powered they sound better than anything else I have heard for ~$130 depending on sale prices.

 

Does anyone know how much wiring is needed for a big 3?
Also the morel maximo 6 2-way component's up front and co-axials for the rear is the best option on the market. It will totally defeat anything in it's price range... order from crutchfield and you get door adapters and harness adapters. Guys stop messing with subaru tweeters and kickers lmao.

 

It looks like you might be able to get both the Maximo Coax and components for about $250 if you can find them at a discount, but normally they wound cost more than what many are looking at spending in this thread. Not only that, you would have to buy adapters for the speaker connectors since most of the people in this thread don't want to cut anything (they want simple plug-n-play which the Subaru Kicker's provide).

But I totally agree that Morel>Kicker

Now the real big question would be is do the Morel Maximo's sound good without an amp? People are not adding an amp when throwing in the Kicker's (to keep it under $250)...

 

Crutchfield gives you speaker adapters and plug in adapters for free, and they're about $10 cheaper than anywhere else on pricing the speakers. Any speaker works with 1w of power! It's how they're given sensitivity ratings. These really are the absolute best speakers in their price range, the components are at least according to diymobileaudio.com highly comparable to spending $500 on some speakers at which point you should be looking at Audiofrog. And Audiofrog is by far definitely competition speakers.
Anyway, I'll be powering mine off a head unit and then a 75w X 4 amplifier and they'll only sound better with amplification. It's pretty hard to defeat factory eq settings without getting a new receiver/head unit/radio which obviously does completely. And those Subaru tweeters do not fit the bill when it comes to defeating factory eq settings either.

 

Will these Subaru tweeters work on the 2nd Gen?

 

Only with modification. They are not plug and play for the second gens, which defeats the purpose of those tweeters.

 

Glad Crutchfield is throwing in free speaker harness connectors now! It's been a while since I've bought speakers through them. I've bought adapters and other bits from them, but if you're patient and crawl the for sale forums enough, you can usually find some good-but-used speakers for half the price.

lol - I think everyone in DIYMA loves Morel. I know I loved the 3-way components I had for many years (see my sig for details on when I had them in my 2nd gen). However, I have not heard the Maximo series, so that's why I was curious to see what you or others may think of these while being powered by the stock Tacoma HU.

It's definitely hard to defeat factory EQ settings with speakers alone...you need to at least add an amp with built-in basic eq adjustments to do help do that. Of course, it's better if you can add a full DSP if you can budget for it, but that goes beyond the point of this thread (which is to stay at about $250). So for the sake of this thread, I assume that a sound processor won't be part of the system builds here...just speakers, adaptors & connectors, and maybe some sound deadening.

I'm sure many others here will also be very intersted in hearing your inital impressions on the Morel's (especially after break-in)...I know I am!

 

As a down to earth side note they are morel's cheapest components / coaxials and don't have bright tweeters like most other high end stuff at this price range. And It does fit the bill for $250! Also any real car audio speakers are going to do better than the stock speakers however adding an expensive subaru tweeter just doesn't make sense. Your probably crossing out allot of detail in music by simply not playing those ranges.

 

I'm nto sure you meant to say it that way, but these guys aren't just adding a Kicker tweeter, they are also swapping out the door speakers (all for about $250).

 

Kicker's a great brand of audio. Really is. However it is noted that my selection does retail slightly higher; a bright tweeter is really awful to listen to and is typically the reason why low end components give listening fatigue at loud volumes is all I meant by that. There is evidently people swapping OEM Subaru into their trucks... and I guess it would sound better possibly if the Subaru tweeter is better quality the only problem with this is that their might be cross talk or a gap in frequencies being played which isn't a good idea.

Really I suppose the solution to a sub $250 audio upgrade would be to go through crutchfield as they do throw in the door mounts/speaker wire adapters and choose from the 6.5" co-axials and 2-way components on crutchfield for rear/front speakers respectively and having a look at those speakers that are under $250 for a co-axial and component selection together. I feel kicker probably does make a really great speaker at this price point however.

 

The "Subaru" tweeter is actually the kicker oem upgrade for Subaru and is pretty good.

 

I've seen like 4 different videos on removing the drivers side pillar cover, but zero for the passenger. Any difference? There's a handle on that side... It has to be somewhat different.

 

It’s no different if you just remove the tweeter cover without taking the pillar cover off. I took the cover off for the drivers side, then realized it wasn’t necessary. For the passenger side, there’s just a small hooked tab that goes under the pillar cover. Coax the cover off, and hook it back under when you’re done.

 

To answer your question, it’s two bolts versus one. I’d recommend removing the pillar. No sense risking breaking any clips. I’ve read some posts where it has happened.

 

I have read through a good amount of this thread, but couldn't find an answer for this question. Anyone know about doing this upgrade with a 2nd gen SR5 HU?