which speakers for upgrade?

What speakers is everyone using to upgrade the sound system?

Is there only a few that fits, with maybe one or two popular options?
Hopefully there isn't 300 to choose from.
I don't know if some are designed to fit, or if any can fit (universal) by using adapters.

am trying to figure out some good ones to upgrade the stock system, because it sounds like listening to music through a potato.

I have heard suggested before to search "2008 Tacoma speakers" (or whatever model year you have) on Amazon and purchase whatever comes up first under Rockford Fosgate brand, but am just trying to do some research first to confirm.

Though IF these are the best option (Rockford Fosgate), the price doesn't seem bad at $48/pair (6"x9")
Not sure what other speakers the Tacoma has that might benefit from upgrading, such as sub(s) or tweeters

Also, I hear sound upgrade is not just the speakers, but aftermarket head unit as well to pump more power through them. Previous owner of my truck may have already solved that by putting an aftermarket unit, which is nice because it has an aux jack for connecting an iPhone. But it's still currently powering Potato Speakers.

 

Crutchfield is an excellent resource for finding audio products. I personally have an all kenwood system, ddx575bt head unit (would not recommend if you heavily use spotify), 6x9 5 way front speakers, and 6.5" rears. I'm no expert on audio, but from what I researched doing, people prefer component systems over coaxial because you can "aim" your sound better. Also I've heard circular speakers are better than elliptical ones although idk why. As for options, theres a ton of them and you will need toyota adapters for the mounts as well as the cables. You'll likely want to do a bit more research so you can ask the audio gurus more specific questions.

 

Component speakers with separate mid and tweet will always sound better than multiple way speakers because there is nothing in front of the speaker blocking the sound and distorting the sound wave (assuming the same quality of speakers are being compared).

A round speaker will sound better than a oval speaker because of the actual shape of the cone (assuming the same quality of speakers are being compared).

Matching power ratings of the stereos output rating to the speakers input rating is important to speaker longevity.

Efficiency ratings are how loud a speaker will play with a measured amount of input.

There are no standards in the industry and you'll find manufacturers will play with testing methods and play with testing numbers and sometimes even hide how tests were performed in order to write a number that appears better than the competition.

Kenwood used to rate all of their equipment at 10% distortion because people would only read the power output/input ratings and ignore distortion levels. That made their equipment's numbers appear to play louder than the competition.

There are no standards nor a regulatory commission for these tests.

You'll find more opinions on equipment than there is actual equipment available. Knowing how loud you want the system to play and how much power is required to achieve that volume is important, but typically once the bug has bit someone the disease sets in and you'll just keep improving the sound (lol).

Rockford Fosgate has always made great speakers. MB Quart speakers have won a ton of awards but are pricey. For my 6x9's I'll eventually go with Infinity Reference component series. I like how they have a 3 ohm impedance which will play 1.5 db louder than an equal 4 ohm comparable quality counterpart and their frequency chart looks appealing to me.

Looking at speaker frequency charts will tell you a lot. You should look for a smooth frequency curve with as few dips and peaks within the curve as possible. If you are or are not wanting a separate sub woofer is also an important aspect to determining which speakers to go with.

Knowing what you want is probably the most difficult part to grasp from the point of a customer to the salesperson to the installer.

Sound deadening material is highly useful on several different levels and I highly recommend its use but on a minimal level. If you have everything apart just install a small piece of the sound deadening material behind your door speakers, your ears will thank you for it.

 

Sound deadening work wonders. I did my doors before buying my speakers and started to think that that stock speakers actually sound pretty good

 

I've been considering this as well. One observation, although it may be incorrect on my part, is that if you are staying with the stock head unit, avoid the high wattage units. Plain and simple, they take more power to really push good sound through.
It sounds counter intuitive, but if you choose a good quality speaker of a similar wattage to what you have, you'll get better sound. IF you want better sound, just louder, you'll have to push more juice through them via a new head unit or the addition of an amplifier.

Opinions???

 

Winner winner chicken dinner.

 

I have the rockfords. They sound amazing

 

This looks like the hot set up.
https://tacomabeast.com/collections...5-double-cab-sound-system?variant=23087224961

 

their price looks good.
Am just unsure if they'd work with my head unit, Sony CDX-GT40U.
Peak: 52 watts x 4 channels
RMS: 17 watts x 4 channels

I don't get why Amazon says they fit but Crutchfield doesn't.
Looks like they have a mid, tweeter, and speaker all built into one. Which seems like a good idea, but I hear different opinions. Some say it's good if you won't add a sub, but others say a dedicated circular speaker is better, to separate mid low and high.
I assume the Tacoma has them separate, just like any other car. Regular cars usually have a speaker in the lower door, and tweeter higher up. Maybe a small sub in the back.

I hear if the RMS on the head unit is low, to find speakers with low RMS. But even the Rockford's are higher. Yet supposedly they have some of the lowest RMS in a speaker.
They're rated at 65 watts continuous RMS (each), and 130 watts max.

I heard with a stock head unit, you want to add an amp under the seat to provide added power for the speakers.

My last car stereo (also aftermarket) I think had much more watts, but it was also bigger. I don't know if that's because the hole (Single DIN?) in the Tacoma (manual transmission layout dash) is small and doesn't have much room for a big stereo w/ amp

any other aftermarket stereos I see on Crutchfield's site that they claim fits, also has low watts

$1,300
maybe if Bill Gates had a Tacoma

 

My current build.

Audio Frog
GB 60- Front doors
GB 15- Tweets
GS 60- Rear doors
GB615C- Crossovers
2 JL Audio 10TW3-D4

ARC Audio X2 600.4 150w into 4 channels
ARC Audio X2 1100.1 For the 2 10s.

 

if you have already upgraded the head unit, find out what the output is and try to get speakers that are slightly over the HU. I would do some research on the RF speakers before pulling the trigger. They are well priced and nice speakers but you can get a better speaker for around the same price. Crutchfield has Focals on sale right now. (this is what I ordered) I have not installed yet but I got 6 speakers for just over $200. I will keep the stock HU for now because I just don't want to tear the dash apart right now. I may add a sub later and if I do I will need an amp and will probably go ahead and replace the HU then since I will have to have the dash apart anyway.

 

A lot seem to go for kicker but I always liked infinity. I have run kappa perfects in all my cars and have been very happy with the quality. That said I always ran alpine amps. The infinity amps never seemed to give me what I wanted

 

If it really close crutchfield will say they wont. My rear speakers said they did not but I messaged them as based on dimensions they would they confirmed they would and all is good. Picked up some Focals

 

how do you like the focals?

 

They have been good. They are not the High end ones. ISS 165 and ISC 165 setups. Crutchfield had them on sale (I think they are now as well). Def would go with sound deadening on the door. They are not bass heavy speakers by any means but the sound deadening helped bring out the mid bass in them. They def want to have more power going to them. Factory radio was blah on them. Have an Android unit now and its better but I need to drop 50-75 watts each to them with an amp to bring them out i think. Not bad for $200 give or take (not including sound deadening).

 

I installed pioneer ts series speakers back in 2015 and they still work great. Consider using dyna mats to deaden excess noise. It makes almost as big of a difference in sound quality as replacing the actual speakers

 

second that. sound deadening made the biggest difference but I did not try it with the stock ones but it really brought out the focals. Now for more power.

 

Yep, got that stuff on order as well. Thanks

 

Focal speakers are my fav

 

Sony consistently does the same thing with their specifications for decades. 17W RMS and a 52W peak is not an accurately achieved result as it is a simple mathematical equation. That 52W was achieved with an extremely high amount of distortion. I looked up that HU's specs and as I expected Sony doesn't list the amount of distortion when they achieved that 52W max.. They have to do it that way in order to appear to be competitive with other brands.

In a system with low power efficiency is the biggest key to success. Matching RMS power ratings is important however that efficiency rating is far more important in a low power system.

Separate speakers vs multi way speakers will always sound better because there is nothing in the way to distort the sound wave.

2nd gen Tacomas use 6x9 speakers in the front doors which are fairly close to an 8" woofers cone area. Splitting the frequencies between a small sub and a pair of 6x9's isn't a great idea because there are already equivalent speakers in the door. You'll gain some clarity by doing it because the speakers are playing less of the audio spectrum however with all things being equal you will not gain bass.

The majority of stock HU's have weak outputs. It keeps the quantity of warranties at a lower number. Typically they have exceptionally efficient speakers to achieve a reasonable volume level.

The physical size of the HU has nothing to do with the wattage output of a stereo. Higher wattage output is achieved by design and quality of components used.