Premium Audio Upgrade for less than $250

Nice, which sub are you running? Does it poke out at all or tuck fully?

 

Kicker HS10. Fully tucks under the drivers seat perfectly. Takes months to break in, but it sounds great now. There is a support under the passenger seat blocking you from adding one there, but idk. I may cut that shit lol

 

I believe there are airbag sensors and other things under the passengers seat that are not present on the Driver's seat so I'd definitely be careful before hacking anything up.

Thanks for the tip on the sub!

 

LOL!

We'll send flowers!

Ps. If she bumps you off, how do you know she won't keep the truck?

 

$249 on Amazon with 9 in stock as of this writing. I'm not buying one today but this IS the route I plan on taking. And yes, I'm trying to keep the factory Head Unit and going with the Subaru Tweets. A powered Hideaway (Kicker) will come later.

 

what about putting the 8" kicker HS8 under the passenger? Would that be weird having two different size subs?

 

If you peek under the passenger, there is a metal support that is in the way, attached to the floor. Everything has a purpose, *I guess* but I have no issues giving stuff on my truck the SNIP SNIP.

 

Yeah I saw that, but I don't have good luck buying anything from Amazon. It always arrives used or counterfeit. I'd prefer to buy from Crutchfield or another reputable car audio source. It's only an extra $20, but that fact that I could have got it for $249 or $212 on Black Friday from Crutchfield a couple years ago kinda bugs me.

At least you've made up your mind on what you want. I'm leaning towards the Kicker Key 200.4, Focal Rcx-165 in the rear doors and maybe the Focal PS165FE in the front doors. I haven't decided on a sub yet.

 

Never had any issues with Amazon, and I have like an Amazon package every single day. If you get something that’s damaged, drop it off at Kohls and they send you a new one.

 

I get what you're saying about trusting Crutchfield. They've been my go-to for 15 years now but we also do a lot of buying from Amazon. Many of my Taco's small accent pieces (body emblem blackout kit, interior color shift pieces, some of my body decals, interior LED bulb replacements) have come from Amazon and you can't complain about how fast you get them.
As for subs (if you don't mind me offering some free advice/experience...) I think Kicker makes some really great equipment. For my money I don't think you can touch a passive tube subwoofer with one of these hideaways and I've owned/ installed both. The tubes just pound the air, in the best of ways. I mean they are loud! The problem is none of us can put one in a Tacoma without giving up prime real estate. So we are stuck with the hideaways. I'm currently building a system in a friends GMC diesel pickup and we've already installed two HS10s. We haven't gotten to the door speakers yet (holidays), but they are all Kicker as well.
The HS10s are fine...they can be adjusted to give you really good sound. His problem is he won't leave the gain where it should be and he's blown up one in the first two months. That's a $360 lesson. I also told him I didn't think he needed 2 of them but he's hard headed. In a pickup he's gonna be bass heavy. Anybody reasonable can adjust for that with the remote knobs but I doubt he will. Says he needs to "feel" his music.
So what's my point?...for the space we have to work with in the Tacos, Kicker HS8 and HS10s will give you really good bass. One is sufficient, I will opt for the 10 over the 8 when I get to it. You can't beat the all-in-one capability of these powered subs. A couple of wires and a little adjustment for levels and you never touch them again. Very user friendly. They are durable with metal housings and grills. I haven't found one yet that rattles or isn't built well. Happy shopping!

 

I still love my "OP Kicker upgrade, sans amp and deadening, but want more bass. I grew up in the 70's and am used to surround sound, however bad it might have been back then. And I also have little knowledge about anything except what sounds good. I'll probably do some sound deadening in the doors but I get the raised eyebrow from my wife when I mention amps and subwoofers (to be fair, I am spending too much money for a retirement budget; but.....toys!). All of this is a prelude to my asking a stupid question or two.

Since the rear door speakers in a doublecab have very little power sent to them from the OEM (non-JBL) HU, is it possible to rewire them to connect to the L and R front speaker wires only and have every speaker coming from those wires? Would that give more oomph behind me and be more of a surround sound effect?

By the way, I have a wonderful wife and I have been able to buy many toys. I admit that I am losing control when it comes to upgrading my toys! Thx. Doc

 

Lots of things to like about the above comment but to answer your question first...I believe yes, it is possible to jumper off the front speakers, amp those jumpered wires and run them to the rears seperate from anything you're doing with the fronts. And pretty sure the how-to is buried somewhere in this thread. I say that because I've already read somebody's comments here or somewhere else on TW (Tacoma World) where it has been done.
I can't look for it right now because another one of those reeeeeally considerate wives is waiting for me to take her to dinner! But the answer is here, either in this thread or somewhere close.
If I recall what I was considering doing myself it includes two Kicker Key 200.4s if that's what it takes to amp the fronts and rears seperate so that I have equal power going to all 4 corners...then an HS10 hidden behind the drivers side rear seat, in that little compartment.

 

Thanks! How about just cutting the rear door speaker wires near the HU, splicing them into the appropriate front speaker wires (L or R) and no amp?

 

I've heard it stated here the factory HU has 12 watts going to the front speakers and 5 watts to the rear...my ohms law is a little rusty but I think your suggestion only puts 6 watts to each speaker. Unamped that'll make all 4 pretty much no better than the rears now. Anyone concur?

 

Depends on the impedance of the speakers as well as if the fronts are series or parallel. I do know there is hardly any sound coming out of the rears when faded to the rear.

 

Thanks. It sounds like a bad idea if I will then have the equivalent of 4 rear speakers. I’ll try some sound deadening first and go from there. The bass is better than it was with stock speakers anyway.

 

Just a suggestion...first couple pages of this thread are a great place to start. I am using a stock non Entune HU in an SR5. Seems like the Entune folks aren't as upset with their systems.

My first replacement will be for the Subaru tweeters as suggested. Will build everything else around them and the stock HU.

 

Could you send me the link? I'm trying to upgrade mine now.

 

Just a suggestion but I think you'll find everything discussed in this thread linked below...its says "Products Discussed In: (see below).

 

Will just adding speakers increase the total volume output, or do i need to add an amp? I feel like I am consistently at 2/3 volume or more when playing music over Bluetooth or carplay. Was planning ordering these

$119 Kicker CS Series 150 Watt 6 x 9" Car Audio Coaxial Speaker Pair, Black

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NSC87RF