Second Gen Questions

Alright I will start by saying: yes I have been hunting on the forum for information for the past few hours related to all the common upgrades for the sound system. But... I still have a few questions that are unclear despite the wealth of information.

The situation: I have a 2014 3rd OR with the "fancy" headhunt. I have no idea what this is called. I hear "entune" being thrown around but that is typically by 3rd gen owners. so the question here: What is the "upgraded" stereo that I have called? And secondly below: what upgrades is this worthy of powering?

I am interested in upgrading all of the door speakers using a plug and play route- I already know what works/what doesn't and all the tweeter nonsense out there.BUT: I know that in most cases putting aftermarket speakers in "factory" HUs is worthless. In my case I am not sure if this would still be true considering I seem to have some sort of upgraded HU already.
the question here: Given that I have the "fancy" touchscreen (2014 touchscreen one) will this be suitable to do my door speaker upgrade without having to upgrade the HU?

Furthermore it seems like this thread:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/premium-audio-upgrade-for-less-than-250.510424/
is revolving around just upgrading the speakers in the "stock" "entune" "fancy" LOL headunit. But it is for third gens. This is basically what I want to do but am not sure if it is applicable to second gens with my HU.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

 

None of the factory radios play any better or worse than the others. There’s a lot of misinformation about that on here unfortunately.

the only exception is the JBL system. It’s obviously different.

what improvements are you trying to make?

 

thanks for the reply. I want to get slightly better sound in the truck. Not specifically going for "bass" or "loudness".. but just a small upgrade. So I figured I would replace all the speakers in the truck and leave my factory "entune?" unit.

But I am not sure if that is worth it considering the adage of "aftermarket speakers in stock HU is pointless"

I am thinking of putting in a set of 6x9 rockford fosgate in the front, and perhaps doing the subaru tweeter upgrade via modifying the stock tweeter harness, and then replacing the rear door speakers too.

Something simple like these 6x9's perhaps: https://www.crutchfield.com/p_130TSG690/Pioneer-TS-G690.html

 

Those are 3 ways,meaning they have the mid and tweeter all in one. Our trucks use components in the front so you might want to reach out to other members and see if anyone is using that set up and ask them how they feel about it. I suggest doing some research on your system to find out exactly how many watts it’s delivering to each channel. After you know that you can drop into your local stereo shop and listen to a few different speakers on deck power as well as amplified it should help you get at least an idea of what to expect. When I first installed my fronts I had them on deck power only and I gained overall clarity but lost bass.

 

I have a '13 with the standard non-entune system and have only upgraded my speakers so far. Considering a Kenwood compact powered sub to throw under the seat when the price on Amazon is to my liking. Also thinking of the Subaru tweeter upgrade as well. After that, I'll be content. I don't feel any need to upgrade the head unit as I have far more things I *need* at the price of the head units I'd want. I use the RAM Mount a-pillar mod for my phone so there's my GPS and Siri runs thru the car just fine for hands-free messaging.

I threw in this set as recommended by many TW members and have enjoyed the sound quality upgrade. No booming bass, but definitely hits significantly more (that OEM magnet is miniscule).

$165 Rockford Fosgate R169X3 6x9 260W 3 Way + R165X3 6.5" 3 Way Car Speakers Coaxial

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GSUDFP8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

While I had the door panel off, I installed Noico brand sound deadening pads to the inside of the door skin. It's help prevent any vibration noises from music as well as reduced the tinny noise when you close the doors. (the link was the quantity I used to do my roof as well as all 4 doors and the back cab panel). Just make sure to clean the surfaces with a degreaser before applying and get a proper roller.

Noico Black 80 mil 18 sqft Car Sound Deadening Mat, Butyl Automotive Sound Deadener, Audio Noise Insulation and Dampening

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07ZZ48BM7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_image?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

thanks for the reply. I did my full upgrade yesterday and I am going to make a quick write up on the second gen page. I installed some after market tweeters (I had a lot of questions about the ideal route to go with these when planning my upgrade so I hope to help others).

 

I upgraded to Kicker 6x9s in the door and lost all low end sound, not that the truck had low end to begin with but now I need a subwoofer.

 

Did you go with components or coax in the doors for the 6x9? Any more detail to your full setup

 

Hey man. Check out the thread I just made. I think the second gen ers are going to eat it up. I bet this helps you a ton. https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/premium-audio-upgrade-second-gen-specific.704700/

 

Bought the truck with a Jenson stereo. Cut the horrible sounding 1" door tweeters and bought the adapter for the stock wiring so I can just plug the speakers in.

 

Maybe I missed it but I was asking What type of kicker speakers did you go with. Components or coaxial

 

Sorry,,, Sunday. you know. Coax

 

Lol. Definitely a Sunday. Thanks