Premium Audio Upgrade for less than $250

No bracket is required, the Subaru kicker tweeters come with a bracket as one piece. They fall in place perfectly, just plug and play.

 

I only did the tweets on the dash and the rear doors. It was never going to permanent, I knew I was going to want more. It was a band-aid for me.

Don't get me wrong, it's a great upgrade, but not what I was looking for.

As for the time frame:

Tweeters were in for 8 months and 29 days
Front doors were in 8 months or so
Rear doors 9 months

The information in my build thread is more accurate.

 

@Choco_Taco if you have a 2nd gen like your profile states, they do not bolt in directly. These are plug and play for 3rd gen only. You would be better off getting a component set for the front, you will still have to fashion a mount for the tweeter.

 

damn.....thanks.

 

I have already done the tweeters J and I am thinking about doing the following any opinions are welcome. I choose the Infinity’s over the Kickers just to be different and I still might save some money and go with the Kickers. I am not an audiophile by any means and I probably listen to more audiobooks and podcasts than music truth be told. All total (with tweeters) I would be in about $600 if I purchased today, most likely I will wait until Blackfriday time period.


Crutchfield, with the free adapters

Infinity Reference REF-9633ix 6"x9" 3-way car speakers

Infinity Reference REF-6532ex 6-1/2" 2-way car speakers

Kicker KEY180.4

Compact 4-channel car amplifier with automatic tuning DSP — 45 watts RMS x 4

Crutchfield CK12
12-gauge wiring kit for small compact amps and high-power car stereos

Amazon

$12 Metra 71-1761 87 - 94 Toyota Vehicle Harness

Metra 71-1761 87 - 94 Toyota Vehicle Harness

$8 Metra 70-1761 Radio Wiring Harness For Toyota 87-Up Power 4 Speaker

Metra 70-1761 Radio Wiring Harness for Toyota 87-Up Power 4 Speaker
Noico 80 mil 18 sqft car Sound deadening mat, Butyl Automotive Sound Deadener, Audio Noise Insulation and dampening

$15 Hyde 30160 1-1/4" Oval Hardwood Roller

Hyde 30160 1-1/4" Oval Hardwood Roller

 

I completed the 6 speaker install yesterday. Super clear, great highs and mids but......at least for me, super lacking on bass. Before I get back into all the details of this 150+ page post for more bass options, I want to make sure I didn’t do something wrong. When I installed the 6x9 and 6 3/4 speakers, I installed the Noico 80 mill material both inside and outside of the door panel. I also installed the boom mat foam speaker surrounds that was recommended by someone. Everything is super secure, less road noise, windows still work, and overall speakers sound great other than lacking in bass. Is it possible that I put too much sound deadening material around the speakers with both the Noico AND Boom Mats? My gut says no but I just wanted to check before looking into a kicker hideaway or other bass options. And can someone tell me what this “break in period” is? Is that a real thing? FYI, I have the audio setting all the way up for bass and just over halfway for mid and treble.

Thanks

 

@Jesse5730

I would recommend adding a Kicker Key amp first. It has a 40 band equalizer that will auto adjust to the acoustics of your Cab. After installing and running the tune I have so much bass and mid range the inside and outside mirrors will shake so bad I can't see out of them (almost). Contact Mr. Marv on this forum and have him make a 2Way plug and play wiring harness for the amp if you don't want to wire your own. After the amp you may not need a woofer.

 

No, you did everything correctly. The factory radio puts out virtually zero power, and unfortunately, bass needs power.

On the factory radio alone, you won’t get bass. No way around it. You will either need an amp on your new speakers to give them the power they want (something like the kicker key mentioned heavily in this thread) or a subwoofer.

While adding an amp to your door speakers won’t give them any crazy bass (they’re still 6x9’s and 6.5’s after all) it will drastically enhance both the capable volume and the clarity/sound quality. Well worth the $200 in my opinion.

Then for subs, there are lots of options. The Hideaway is underwhelming to me personally, but I do car audio for a living so I’m used to big bass. Lots of people I. This forum (and clients in my shop) love the hideaway as long as they have the right expectations of it.

 

I'm not sure you needed the speaker surrounds AND the Noico mat, maybe too much - this part I'm not sure of. As for the break in period, it is true. Your speakers should sound better after a period of use.

Stolen from another website: "Your speakers contain several moving parts but prior to use, they’ve never actually moved before. Pieces of the assembly will be stiff at first. Due to the rigidness of your new speakers, they will not be as dynamic until they have had a chance to move and become more flexible."

When I bought my Kickers from Crutchfield, the sales guy said pretty much the exact same thing as above. Give them some time and hopefully you'll hear a difference. If not, maybe try removing the surrounds.

A lot of people have done this 6 speaker upgrade (no amp & no sub), including myself, and have been very happy with the results compared to the stock speakers.

 

I agree. I've had the Kicker speakers in for several months. Even after a couple of weeks of "breaking in", bass response and depth was notably improved. Sometimes I'm surprised by the deep bass I get out of these speakers....depends on the sound source, of course.....FM won't be impressive no matter what.

 

I went with the JBL GT7 speakers in all 4 doors, but I have to agree that the sound source means everything. XM and HD radio both lack bass. Using a USB stick with higher-quality files is quite different, and the system has nice, crisp bass. I have the bass clicked up 2 or 3 notches and mids up 1 or so, highs flat. Really not sure why there would be that big of a difference, but it is highly noticeable. I haven't messed much with streaming, haven't really found a Google Play channel yet that I like.

 

Thanks for the responses, I will look into the 4 channel amp. I definitely hear an improvement over the stock sound system and would do the installation again. Thanks for the explanation on the breaking in of the speakers. Thinking about it, I’m sure I’m just comparing the sound to my last vehicle which had a small subwoofer in the back (2012 VW Golf R).

Thanks again for all the info!

 

Yes, it's real. What changes is the suspension compliance. Both the spider and surround will change significantly as they're played - up to a point. So you'll start with the suspension as rigid as it's going to get. Over time as the drivers are played, the suspension settles into a more permanent condition and becomes more predictable. Therefore there is no need to go easy on new speakers as mechanical power handling will be greatest when the driver is brand new.

 

Yes, this! No need to play at a lower volume. These CS series speakers can handle DRASTICALLY higher wattage than the factory radio, and even the Key and Power Pack are capable of putting out so feel free to crank your radio to 52 (that’s where mine hits distortion, verified with o-scope)

 

I have a MMATs 600.4 laying around and was thinking about putting it in my truck with new speakers. Are those Kickers still the go to for the stock locations? Always kind of avoided them.

 

All depends on your audio preferences. They caught on because they’re cheap, can be picked up at your local Best Buy, they play loud with very little power, and they are obviously better than stock.

I personally am not a huge fan of the kicker CS for sound quality. They use titanium dome tweeters which are a bit too harsh for my tastes. But if you like loud rock with cymbals crashing like crazy, they might be a good choice for you. I opted for the Kicker KS, but of course there are hundreds of options.

 

Nothing special about the door locations, just the dash tweeters. Crutchfield has plenty of options, especially if you are going to amplify. The CS series (and the JBL GT7 series that I used) just have good sensitivity and likely work better without being amplified, plus they are inexpensive.

 

I’ve dropped over $5K on lift, wheels, tires, cap. Been searching these audio threads to determine what kind of upgrade. I’ve done 3 pretty big audio builds on my own on past cars, ie. $1500-$2000. My nature is to upgrade sound, but like some of the posters out there...maybe I’m just getting old. The stock stereo is obviously not great, but I don’t find it terrible. I’m not craving the boom from 2 -12’s and I’m not even wishing I could turn it up louder. Just curious if anyone else is feeling old like me or is the stock stereo not that awful? Anyone do the $250 upgrade and regretted it or vice versa totally feel it should be done? If I can get a stereo upgrade out of my system for only $250-$300 with minimal work it would be great. I’ve spent weeks on previous projects but just don’t feel like I have one more in me.

 

As far as the tweeters, no regrets at all! As for the kickers speakers without an amp, I actually preferred the stock speakers. They may be cheap and light, but they can use the small amount of power the stock headunit puts out.

 

Same here, although I did budget builds in the past and kept most under $1000. For me, it's a little of both. I don't have the desire to play it super loud, and the sound quality is pretty good for a stock setup. I prefer clarity over volume these days.

I thought it sounded remarkably better with just the tweeters as well, but the sound was a bit muddy. So I did the doors, no sound deadening, just a quick swap and done. It did improve clarity for me, especially at higher volumes (I do still turn it up at times). Totally worth the sub-$250 price tag in my book.