Premium Audio Upgrade for less than $250

I used Taco Tunes and it took about 3 weeks to get my stuff but the only thing I needed was speaker wire to the sub. The plug and play worked out nicely. They have a lot of videos and I tuned the amp myself. Crutchfield shipped the Kickers free and included the adapters for the door mounting and the adapters for the factory plugs to new speakers. I didn’t cut a single factory wire for the install except tapping in for the remote turn on.

 

I can send you some videos once I pop off the door panels and show you if crutchfield sent me everything needed to complete.

 

Wanted to ask if the sound deadening mats were necessary while installing new speakers?

if so, how much of it did you buy?

 

Necessary, no. Does it help, probably. I did not use the material on mine and have no issues.

 

Glad to hear this

 

So after a couple of weeks, I finished reading through this entire thread. Mid way through I did all 4 doors and tweeters with the recommended kickers. Great improvement but now I think I'm ready for the next step which will be Kicker Key and Hideaway. My main concern is the harness everyone keeps mentioning for the Key, my confidence is definitely not up to it and would prefer to pay to have one made. I've read a couple of members named on here who were offering to make one and possibly T-tunes? Also assuming I'll need an amp kit for the Hideaway? I haven't done car audio since 02'. Anyone from So. FL have this setup done?

 

TTumes is plug and play. Only items I needed to add were speaker wire to the sub and a remote turn on wire.

 

Just another endorsement for the OP's Subaru tweets and Kicker CS door speakers. Paired it with the Dasaita headunit and the results are simply night and day from the anemic stock setup. Originally, I could barely hear the speakers on max volume while on the highway, now, paired with the sound deadening, it is strong and clear at 2/3rds volume.

 

are you referring to the harness they offer or the amp

 

Both, I used their amp and harness. Plus they have a good video of how to properly tune the amp plus the calculator on their site gives you the correct voltages for your settings.

 

Wow all o can say is doing the tweeters is worth it! Just installed yesterday (40 min) and drove around. Such a difference in sound. Next I’ll do the doors.

 

Did you got with their image dynamic components as well? How long did it take you to get the items you ordered. They have $hit name on the site so curious as to how your experience was

 

I have the 12” Image Dynamics sub and box but I opted for the complete Kicker set up. I ordered on 12/21 and got my stuff on 1/12. Their site is a little difficult to get around (just my opinion) to all the right stuff and they didn’t have anything actually listed for the 2021 so I emailed them. I was specific in telling them what I had and what I wanted. Daniel replied the next day with links to the items I needed. I think they took a long time to get it to me but with the holidays, I figured it was to be expected. I went on the site and asked a question about the delivery of my order on the Live Chat after I hadn’t heard anything for a couple of weeks and got an update within a couple of minutes. The next day I got an email notification from USPS that a shipping label was created and they were awaiting pick up of the order.

When I tried to tune the amp, it didn’t seem quite right because, again their site is a little tough to navigate, so I emailed Daniel and he replied the next day. My question was that they didn’t have specific tuning for the 2020-2021 and the TXD10005 model amp. Daniel sent me a link to what looked like a just posted YouTube video with the tuning instructions specifically for that amp.

All I can say is that my experience was fine and the only issue was that I thought I would’ve gotten the order sooner. Everything is still functioning just fine, its a lot louder than I need it to be but I figured that anyway. The stock HU is pretty anemic in the SR. The other thing that I noticed is that the rear speakers are still softer than the front but I guess its just the way it is with the stock HU? If I did it all again, I would probably leave the stock rear speakers in because the amp I got has a built in x-over and the level of sound it produces is quite a bit less than the front. With the small cab of the Tacoma, I doubt anyone in my truck will notice it much unless I Fade it to the rear.

 

Good info. Thanks for the details

 

I did this upgrade last year using Rockford Fosgates which sohnd pretty nice after break in, and cost less than the Kickers everyone uses on Amazon.
Now i am taking it all out to install sound deadening mat to help with sound/bass response and further reduce road noise. When i do this I will go ahead and install a complete new Kicker speaker kit from Crutchfield like most folks have. Mostly just because i want to hear the difference and decide which i like best.
when i do all this I’ll post pics/info on here, and whichever set I dont keep, will go up for sale here to someone who needs a good deal

 

Anyone know what these tweeters are made of titanium I’m assuming and the rms peak power ratings thanks? Also I believe it has a built in crossover unless there is one hiding in the dash anyone know? I install this “upgrade” regretting not getting components way to many highs I’m hoping once I amp these the power will bring back some of that mid bass response to level things out, on a side note they sounded better when I had just installed the dash tweeters and not the coaxial door speakers so anyone just looking for better sound I would suggest doing that it sounds decent as it blends with the stock door speakers better also the head unit is not putting out enough power to drive these very well that’s why the magnets are so small on the stock ones but it sounds decent with just the tweeters and is balanced sound so if your not going for huge volume I would save the money and just get the tweeters

 

The Subaru tweeters are actually Kicker KS, which are silk-dome tweeters. 65w RMS. Crossover is built in.

The Kicker CS are titanium done, which are much harsher.

 

The subaru kickers sound great

 

Says here they are titanium

 

While not necessary, deadening will make noticeable improvement in the audio quality. They will even make your stock speakers sound beefy.