Premium Audio Upgrade for less than $250

I'm thinking about JBL Gt7 speakers front and rear. They seem to have the best specs for my small SR5 head unit and not running an amp. Which I don't want to add. What I like is the 93 dB sensitivity.

 

Passenger front 6x9 took a shit.... warranty replacement on the way. Technician said he thought we could be under powering the speaker of the factory HU causing a melting situation. Not sure what that means but I don't' like the sound of it.

 

So just an issue with RF speakers, not op. I think I’m going to run an amp with the kickers to get a little more volume and hopefully cleaner signal.

 

Yes but if the guy is right all aftermarket speakers may have this issue.

 

Read. Bought. Installed. Heard. Believed.
Well worth the dough. Nice write up!

 

I assume he means that in some cases with some head unit amps clipping may occur and damage the speakers. This happens when the unit is turned up too high (user trying to get a desired loudness at a more demanding load on the head unit amp) and the sine wave of the current has the peaks "clipped" off. The speaker ends up maintaining a frequency for an extended period of time which can damage the speaker. I haven't checked yet but I have heard that our stock stereo doesn't clip even at the high volume.

I would assume having a failure that quick is just a defective speaker.

 

I agree about the speaker I think it was bad from the jump. I don't' think it ever sounded like the other one.

 

I have an SR5 and finally got around to installing he four door speakers. Was only going to do the two front today, but it’s a pretty simple swap out. Bigger pain was lining the speakers up with the mounting hardware provided, but once I figured out the first one it was easy. I was only to get three screws into the front speakers. As stated in other post if I hear rattling I’ll take apart again and drill an extra hole. So far the unit has no problem powering the speakers. I’m sure an amp would give me even more, but I am very impressed! I’m a musician so sound quality is a big thing for me. I tried all kinds of music after I got them in and they are above and beyond better than stock. The bass has a nice hit to it. Not muddy and kind of flat like stock. The treble is clean and crisp (I thought the tweeters alone were great). Mids as well add another demension of clarity that I wasn’t getting out of stock. You will not be sorry replacing all of them! Maybe someday I’ll get an amp, but for now this is all I need!

I should probably mention I have a 2017. Not sure what year your SR5 is.

 

I myself added Kicker KS speakers today. Was going with JBL speakers in four corners. Absolutely happy . No distortion. Great Bass. Miss are great. Kicker Subaru tweeters superb. I'm not adding an amp. Someone said they weren't happy with there's. I am happy. Thanks everyone for the posts. Helped me loads. Mine is a 2018. Was going with JBL speakers but opted for the better KS Kickers. Glad I did.

 

I've had mine in a little over a week. It improves over time as well. You definitely get more bass at a lower volume as the hours stack up on them.

 

Are the door speakers and tweeters listed in the OP plug and play for a 2016 SR5? I could do some wire splicing if I have to but would rather not if I can. Also, can the stock SR5 HU even power them adequately?

 

I beleive the models didn't really change until 2018 right? I ahve a 2016 SR5 and I would think it would be the same as yours, but somewhat different from a 2018 of the same trim level.

 

Nice! I made my wife sit in the truck and I blasted The Cure “Primary”. It’s two bass guitars. She gets it now, or she says. Glad it worked out!

 

When you go to the site that he linked it’ll ask for your year and model. Crutchfield did not disappoint. Everything that is needed they sent. If 2018 is the change and 2016 and 2017 are the same you’ll have no problems. No splicing required.

 

This was in the middle of it. Most of the work was prep work with the mounts. And that speaker is just laying on the mount. That's not how it goes.

 

has anyone done the 4 doors without the tweeters? any review on that?

 

The tweets by themselves are worth it. With just the speakers, it’s just going to sound muddy. If it means anything, I briefly considered just doing the tweeters after I installed them.

 

Thanks. That's what i was looking for. maybe i should do just the tweets. with the tweets only, did you have to mess with the HU EQ to get the thing sounding right?

 

Just slight tweaking with the EQ. You’ll definitely notice how much clearer and detail there is with the tweets. I ended up ordering the door speakers after a little while just so I could see how much better it could get, lol.

 

I did the Kicker 6x9 front speaker upgrade, rear 6.75 upgrade and the Subaru tweeters today. Everything went smooth except for the Crutchfield provided speaker mounts (Metra) for the front 6x9 speakers. As mentioned elsewhere in this thread, only 3 of the holes would line up and I had to MacGyver rig the 4th hole with a zip tie.