Premium Audio Upgrade for less than $250

I dont have the premium Entune and JBL system as previously stated but...I did get around to the Subaru Tweeters over the weekend. It is an easy mod and it did add several layers to the music that the stock tweeters were lacking.
Somebody else here has asked about other speakers available...I'm going with Kicker Coaxial 6X9s up front and 6 1/2 or 6 3/4 in the rears with a Kicker Key 4 channel Amp. Imho you need the amp to push those speakers up into the power range where they operate the best. Then I'll throw in a powered sub at the back end.

 

I wanna know this too, got the tweeters on the way

 

I ran the Subaru Tweeters and Morel 6x9s in my last Tacoma and they sounded good. The tweeters will add in the missing frequencies and the Morels have a good amount of mid bass even just off the factory head unit. Plus they are on sale for 124 at crutchfield. These are much better than the kickers and will sound even better if you decide to amp them. That is if you don't want to just run components up front.

On my 2022 I went a different route and put Sony ES 6x9s and the Kicker 2 3/4s in the dash to try something different. So far I am impressed with the Sony's as the mid bass is really good just off the head unit. The Kickers are good in a different way as the sound is more smooth now and less muddy. They are not quite tweeters so you may miss some of the sizzle, but the warmth and sound is 10 times better than factory. I am going to add an amp for them and also a sub next week so I will report back how it sounds, but so far with just changing the front doors and dash it does sound way better. I am almost tempted to not add anything and just rock it like it is.

Link for the Morels. Honestly I think these are a great deal and will be much better than the Kicker CS series.
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_210MAXIU92/Morel-Maximo-Ultra-692-Coax.html?tp=105

 

I'll post my results soon...

I've got the Subaru kicker tweeters (haven't installed yet) and I just pulled the trigger on the Kicker CS 6"x9" 3-ways while the sale was still good on Crutchfield. Total cost for tweeters and 6x9s came to $208.

 

I have the Subaru kicker tweeters - now I’m looking at the JBL GTO 939 6x9” for the front doors.

JBL says they don’t fit Tacomas - but reviews say they do…

Thinking about the JBL GTO 629 6-1/2”for the back… (maybe pointless)

has anyone tried those?

I don’t know if there will be harnesses for those… I can solder the connections, I suppose…
Any issues with that?

thanks!

 

They should fit...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THbciA5itrg

 

Awesome! Thanks.

 

Can this be done with the Toyota Tacoma SR5 22’ 8 inch touchscreen?

 

You should be fine doing the upgrades. My personal opinion is skip the Subaru tweeter and Kicker coaxs. Get a decent set of components and it will sound better and let you upgrade later with amps and subs. The Kicker KS series components are good so that would be good suggestion or some Morel components.

 

Updates. I initially went back and forth on adding an amp. Once I did it did not work out like I had pictured in my head. The midranges sound good, but once amped I could tell there was something missing. I exchanged them for some JL c3 tweeters and while it did sound better initially there is some harshness I am having a hard time tuning out due to the factory head unit and having too many tweeters in the front. The imaging is out of whack and it doesn't sound full. Luckily my shop is going to exchange all of the speakers for some JL comps or Sony Comps and put in a quality head unit.

My opinion is to just add components from the start. Skip the Subaru tweeter and any coax speakers in the front. Tweeters are great, but you can have too many of them. Two is enough to round out any system. Start with comps in the front and it will sound better and won't cause issues if you decide to amp them and maybe add a sub. You can only get so far without changing the head unit or adding in a DSP.

I know the point of this thread was cheap upgrades and that is possible by just changing out the speakers. I think the Kicker KS comps are around 250 and they sound good. The Subaru tweeter was a great idea before Metra and others made adapters for the dash speakers. Now you can run comps with those adapters or the ones from Burrito Tunes. The plug and play aspect of the Subaru tweeters in not a necessity anymore. I don't dislike Kicker, but anything below their KS line leaves a lot to be desired.

 

Is this the Comp package you're referring to?

$320 Kicker Speaker Bundle - A Pair of Kicker 6.5" & a Pair of 6x9 KS-Series Speakers, KSC6504 & KSC69304

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078GSHKCW?_encoding=UTF8

 

Nope.

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_20648KSS26/Kicker-48KSS269.html

 

I did the kicker tweeters sounds a little better but still don’t know if it’s just a placebo affect maybe I’ll do the doors soon

 

Are the brackets with these good or do you still recommend going with the burritotunes brackets? I notice burritotunes also sells a harness which is nice, since I'm not planning on starting out with an AMP.

Also, do you also recommend upgrading the rear door speakers with Kickers as well?

 

The adapters should work with those. I don’t know the depth of the 6x9 but it couldn’t hurt to use the adapters from taco tunes. I think the kicker comps have inline crossovers so you should only need the tweeter adapter that crutchfield sends. If they have an external crossover then I would get the tweeter wiring from taco tunes

edit…. The kickers do have inline crossovers on the mid so you will only need what crutchfield sends. They will sound good off factory power but it won’t have quite the sizzle of getting a component set with an actual tweeter. You could get a set with a tweeter as well since crutchfield sends an adapter for the dash location. Morel makes a set with an inline crossover on the tweeter and it will sound better than the kickers.

edit...I forgot to add that the back speakers are pretty much a waste unless you are going to amp them and want rear fill. The factory deck only puts out like 5 watts to the rear speakers so you could save that money or spend a little more on the front.

 

it will sound better but mainly because the Subaru tweeter is playing the high frequencies that the factory speaker couldn’t play. It is also an actual KS series tweeter so it is a good speaker. If you decide to put coaxial speakers in the doors then you will have 4 plus tweeters up front which in my opinion is 2 too many.

 

Awesome!

 

@BrokeKayaker did you have any luck with those or other components?

 

Haven’t bought anything yet. Went with new fogs for now, instead

 

Pioneer has new 2 3/4 inch speaker

https://www.pioneerelectronics.ca/POCEN/Car/Speakers/A-Series/TS-A709

• Sensitivity (1W/1m)82 dB. Not strong but an option