mid range dash speaker options

I've read of builds replacing the dash tweeters with smallish mid range/wide band speakers in the stock dash location. They are hard to come by, maybe there's not many that have done this, idk

if you want to share your experience with your 3.5" midrange/wideband speakers(I assume most call for a 3" cutout) make/model and if you had to deal with dash modification(s), was it a perfect fit or... , I'm all eyes here

 

I have 2nd Gen so no dash speakers. I just ordered a set of wideband for where my tweets go in the doors.

alot of people rave about these

https://www.cdtaudio.com/sep_components/unity-drivers/unity8.php

 

I've considered doing this as well. Agreed with the CDT's above or audiofrog gs25 for a 2 1/2".

https://www.crutchfield.com/S-XgK5lQad7kp/p_898GS25/Audiofrog-GS25.html

This guy went with CDT 6x9 subs and GS25 mids for the dash using a kicker key 200.4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnjoUj-5xA0

https://www.cdtaudio.com/sep_components/subwoofers/cl69subcf.php

Kicker makes a 2 3/4 as well for cheap with lots of positive reviews, but I haven't heard them.

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_20647KSC27/Kicker-47KSC2704.html

 

JBL stadium 2 inch mids in my dash, they fit into the wave guides of the factory grills perfectly. No cutting, no trimming. Picture taken with old mounting plate, I have since made a better one.

 

Funny, that’s me! I actually just put a KeyLOC in front of the Key amp tonight since there’s something about the mid/hi I’m not really loving with the GS25 and the Key amp. The KeyLOC helped a lot, took the all pass filters right out of the stock head unit.

I have some CDT unity 8.0 on the way to try out too. I will say that their 6x9 are bass monsters. I run them pretty much open up to 640hz, so they get the low bass.

 

No way, small world! Curious to hear your feedback on the CDT unity 8.0. I'm planning on doing something with Focal or CDT paired with the Kicker 200.4. Welcome to TW!

 

This might be what you're looking for. Came across this while looking for install vid on Kicker front door speakers for 3rd Gen. He says the tweeters are for Subaru but will fit the Tacoma.

Wasn't planning to install tweeters so I haven't tried this out. His link is to Amazon but you may be able to find them on Crutchfield

 

Very popular mod, but those are tweeters and not mid woofers/tweeters. On second thought, I wonder how those kicker tweets would sound with the CDT CL 6x9 subs.

 

Serious question from someone who is not knowledgeable about car audio - what's the difference between tweeters and mid woofers/tweeters?

 

There are 4 kinds of speakers that can be installed in a car audio system
Tweeter - generally small (1 inch) handles high frequencies but does not do well with lower
Midrange - Usually around 2.5-4 inches in size, they handle vocal frequencies very well and provide a much richer sound
Midbass - These will handle most bass and lower frequencies
Subwoofer - Below 100 hz is where the subwoofer shines

In a normal component system there are 2 speakers per side, a tweeter and a midbass. The crossover sends higher frequencies to the tweeter, and the midbass handles everything below that. Generally this results in vocals coming from your feet, and higher freq sounds coming from the dash.
In a 3 way component system that uses a midrange, the midrange takes over most of the vocal frequencies and keeps them up high and in line with the tweeters. The midbass is then left to just fill in the lower freq. Remember, bass is omni directional, so its hard for our ears to pinpoint where the sound is coming from. Higher frequencies we can point exactly where its coming from.

In a 3way coaxial speaker, the tweeter and midrange are mounted to the center of the midbass. This is a nice compact package for people who can not install components. But generally they are a gimmick and not built very well. Our trucks are designed for component speakers so we should be using those.

I am using a 3 way component system in my truck, I have a midrange in the dash, tweeters in the sail panels (triangle cover by the side mirrors) and a midbass in the doors. I have the tweeters playing 5000hz - 20k hz, midrange plays 700hz - 5000hz and midbass plays 30hz - 700hz. Subwoofer handles everything below 75hz. Most of my sound comes from the midrange and tweeters, but it sounds rich and full because the midranges can play lower than a tweeter alone can.

 

Here is a nice diagram that shows 2 way (tweeter/midbass) vs 3 way (tweeter/midrange/midbass) and how the midrange fills in that center area that a tweeter and midbass are just not great at doing.

 

Midwoofer/tweeters don't exist, sorry. This thread is referring to installing a mid range speaker in the dash corner as opposed to a regular tweeter like the kicker Subaru tweeter. Some already have 2 way or 3 way speakers in the doors and want more mids, hence why I called it the "midwoofer/tweeter" in the dash.

I was kicking around the comparison idea of CDT's 6x9 subwoofers in the doors and either a small mid woofer in the dash or the kicker Subaru tweeters. Basically, lots of bass and mids with the mid woofer or lots of bass and highs with minimal mids with the kicker Subaru tweeters.

 

They kinda do actually, a 3.5 inch coaxial would fall into the category of midwoofer/tweeter combo when used with a dedicated midbass woofer. But a better example of a mid/tweeter setup would be the old JBL gto220. It was a 2.5 inch mid with a tweeter built in. I have a set in my basement, I had them in my old rav4 for awhile. They sound very good, but are nearly 20 years old and just worn out.

 

I stand corrected then. I've always considered those 2 ways despite their small size. I guess they're 2 way midwoofer/tweeters then.

 

3.5 coaxials I say match a mid/tweeter, but thats stretching it a bit since the woofers in them can technically play pretty low (not great, but they can do it) the jbl gto220 I posted is a dedicated midrange with tweeter, so its actually a mid/tweeter. Currently I dont think there are any real production mid/tweet systems.

 

Either way, I like that idea with the CDT 6x9 subs.

 

Great explanations, thanks!

 

Added 3.5 speakers in place of stock tweeters. | Tacoma World I did this except i have changed them to JBL's now

 

Which JBL's specifically?

 

@5nahalf

You think these might fit in the dash? Crutchfield says no.

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_109CL322F/JBL-Club-322F.html