Options/suggestions for stereo?

The radio in my new-to-me 2011 is awful. Just two tinny speakers in the doors. What kind of options do I have to make it better? I'm not interested (at all) in a gaudy aftermarket stereo will hundreds of blinky lights though. Did Toyota have a decent stereo option from the factory that I could go with? I have a regular cab, so not sure what they would have done for rear speakers...

 

The oem speakers are trash, you could replace those and see if you need to upgrade your head unit

 

They are literally 2" in diameter. It looks like there's a spot for something bigger at the bottom of the door. Maybe I can get something for that spot?

 

Not sure if trim level received different # of speakers. I'm only aware of JBL or non-JBL options.

Regardless, I would think that the door skin remains the same between base model, SR5, TRD-etc........... and if that is indeed true, then you can fit a 6.5", 6x8", 6x9" or even stuff an 8" speaker in the opening at the bottom of the door. Brand of speaker(s) to use, method of wiring to # of channels, replace or not replace headunit is completely dependent on your project/budget.

 

Cool. I'm willing to spend for the best speaker I can stuff into that spot, since that's mostly all I'll have. How far do you suppose the wiring runs if speakers weren't installed there at all? It would sure be nice if I could open that up and see some wires waiting to be connected. Making the connections to the radio itself is likely a serious PITA.

 

Sorry, I don't know the answer to that. People that have attempted to wiring up different sideview mirrors have reported existing wiring and some needed to run wiring to the door.

Only way to find out is to pop your door panel off which should take like 5 minutes. Once the door panel is off, you can confirm whether you have a 2-way components in your door or just the tiny 2" mid/tweet. And if you don't have the bottom speaker, whether the wiring for it is there or not.

 

In my regular cab I have some Alpine Type S's in the doors. I literally punched out the old woofers and tweeters and mounted them inside the old ones. They work great but didn't really come alive until I upgraded the headunit. Was still not satisfied as there was no depth to the sound. So I got some small pioneer 3.5" coax speakers that I made boxes for mounted to the back firewall. Much better now. Only would be better with a sub, but I'm not willing to give up the space for it.
Check out Crutchfield, they have some great stuff and a staff that will always be helpful.

Alpine components: https://www.crutchfield.com/S-vQc4k...4jKNFcS-Gy2iCGDnInu59iAP5nSD0omsaApa7EALw_wcB

Pioneer 3.5": https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00009QOTA/ref=cm_cr_arp_mb_bdcrb_top?ie=UTF8

 

It’s not the diameter, the stock speakers are just terrible

 

All the stock stuff is trash.
The headunit and the speakers all garbage.
Go to crutchfield and pick out a basic headunit with bluetooth and either co-ax 6.5" speakers, or separates if you want to spend a few bucks more. Running the wires really isn't that hard. They can sell you everything you need including the fishing wire to get the wire thru the door boot. They will even prewire the harness to plug and play to your factory harness. No cutting. You can get a decent headunit for $150 and up and quality speakers for about $100.

Of course, just new 6.5 speakers would be an improvement if you really just want basic upgrade. IDK if the wiring is there for the woofer. Pop the door panel and it will either be there or not.

 

My concern with the aftermarket head units is that I find most of them so ugly. I don't want everyone who gets in the truck to instantly be like "oh, aftermarket stereo". When I scroll down the options at Crutchfield I think, "I am not the target customer". It makes me think everyone who buys those also has under-vehicle lighting.

I guess this one isn't so bad, though the shiny knobs wouldn't really fit the truck, and why are those vertical lights there?



I'll probably start with speakers and see what that does for me. If anyone has pics of a more subtle looking head unit, I'd love to see it too.

 

FWIW. You don't need to sift thru all the offerings at Crutchfield. You can enter your vehicle and their site will sift the speakers and head units that will fit your truck.

Kenwood and Pioneer (along with many other brands) have several HUs that are not the gawdy, blingy stuff.

 

Yeah, I get you. You might be happy with just decent speakers.
If you find you are not, there are some options that look good and bring your tech up to date. Bluetooth, hands free calling, back up cameras etc.

I have a pioneer headunit with carplay similar to this unit (Mine is the 4200 NEX)
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_130DMW4660/Pioneer-DMH-W4660NEX.html?tp=5684
Simple lines, no blinky shit and you can set the backlighting to an orange that matches the factory very well. But they aren't cheap.

Also you can get a basic single din like this with variable color settings that will match pretty good:
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_500UTE73BT/Alpine-UTE-73BT.html?tp=5684

Crutchfield will provide an install kit to fit either style seamlessly into your dash (It replaces the entire plastic between the vents and looks factory)

 

I just put a Sony xav5000 in my 2015 and I love it. Really good sound. Looks very discrete. Simple operating system. Runs Apple and Android. You can wire up the factory backup camera if you need to. I bought through Crutchfield and used one of their doo dads that keeps the steering wheel controls.

 

Do you guys know if a crossover is needed if there are already two speakers in the door? Is there a factory one in there, or are the speakers wired independently from the head unit?

 

There is a factory crossover of sorts. If I recall it was literally just a capacitor and resistor soldered onto the woofer. It won't work for an aftermarket situation. All aftermarket component speakers come with thier own crossover, and coax speakers should have cutoffs for high and low (if they are needed). Additionally any half decent aftermarket headunit will have a crossover in the settings.

My kenwood ddx-595 blends with the truck a lot better than I expected. Most of the giant screen double din units today work very well as there are no giant gaudy knobs or flashy displays. Just a big screen that shows what is playing.

 

I have a 2011 regular cab, and recently did a full upgrade. I will say that the factory speakers sounded better after swapping in my Sony XAV-1000 that I kept from my previous truck (I won’t go back to a non CarPlay unit after using one). I bought the upgrade fro Crutchfield, and went with the Morel Maximo 6.5” component system and a JL Audio 10” powered sub. I knew I wanted JL Audio from the one I had in my last truck, and I knew I wanted the powered unit in order to save space in the regular cab. I ordered it with the optional volume control, which is mounted under the HVAC controls in one of the blanks. I also opted for the Kicker Key amp; there are two models and I chose the higher output one. I can not sing it’s praises enough; it’s mounted above the glove box, and I bypassed the factory wiring entirely. In fact, the stock tweeters are still in place, but not connected, and I surface mounted the Morel tweeters to the kick panels to help with path length equalization. Between the Morel speakers and the auto setup DSP in the Kicker amp, the sound is phenomenal, and I actually run the EQ flat in the head unit, only doing minor bumps up or down on the sub volume as any song requires.

I also swapped out the Metra mounting kit for the Schoshe. While I liked the texture of the Metra unit better, the Schoshe is a much better, more solid mount.

 

A stereo sounds only as good as it's source.

You could drop a nut on speakers and be like wtf. Not getting the sound you were hoping for. Sure it'll sound better, but not that much imo. My stock 6 CD changer sounded so bad imo for music that I listened to AM or nothing.

I finally got sick of it and replaced the head unit with a kenwood excelon single din head unit. Ooooohmfg! These shitty little came to life! Channel separation, presence, the hint of stage depth. I was shocked too say the least.
Granted, I'm not listening to some a/d/s 300i's, but damn, for what they are, they try hard.

As much as you don't want to, I'm going to suggest starting with replacing the radio.

I don't think this looks bad...

 

First, I replaced the head unit with a Sony MEX-N5200BT. It only put out 22 watts but it made a difference with the stock speakers. Next, I installed a Sound Ordnance BP-8 powered sub order the driver seat. Sounding better yet. Just installed a Kicker 65 watt amp and Infinity Primus PR6510CS speakers. Not a high dollar set up by any means but plenty of detail throughout the whole hearing range. The Sony has a 10 band equalizer, so I can shape the sound to my liking.

 

Can you show some pics? Where did you put the sub?

 

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