Premium Audio Upgrade for less than $250

So i upgraded the dash tweeters to the DS18s and yes the sound is much better, but am wondering... and maybe its just me, but...
I seemed to have lost a little bass. Which would be more realistic...
1. The increase in highs/tweets has someone drown out the bass
2. The new speakers are taking more power to work, thus taking away from the bass in the door speakers

Am wondering if I now need to upgrade the front door speakers.
No, am not looking at an amp.

 

I’d guess that you’re new speakers require less power than the factory speakers. So the door speakers just aren’t as loud as they used to be because the volume is lower. New door speakers would correct that.

 

Thanks... that is where my brain was to. Needed some confirmation.

 

i just did this upgrade and its well worth it. i also did the Subaru tweeters and added some 10in subs. i love the way it sounds now

 

Audio inept here so looking for insight.
I recently upgraded the tweeters with the DS18 speakers as a slightly cheaper alternative to the Subarus... I think they perform great.
Was thinking to also try the front speakers which I belive are 6x9.
Dont want to think about an amp or new head unit for now... becuase I dont know what style the stocks are, is there an option on the DS18 website that would be a replacement for the front door speakers?

[edit]
I think I found the right fit. Anyone see any issues with trying these?
https://ds18.com/products/elite-6x9-2-way-coaxial-speakers-with-kevlar-cone-240-watts-4-ohm

 

I just swapped out my Infinity Reference REF-9633ix front door speakers for some JBL GX 9638. The JBLs have more bass and sound better, I feel. Also, they are on sale right now for $100. Once I get an amp going, they're gonna sound real good.

Reason for swapping...one of the infinities went out in the passenger door, or was on it was out.

 

I replaced all the speakers and dash tweeters and, I have to say, it was money well spent. I haven't had to replace speakers in a vehicle since 1993 but the first time I turned the stereo on in this truck I was immediately let down with the oem speakers so I'm happy I finally took the time to do this. I have an '18 Tacoma with the non-JBL speakers. I think no matter which speakers you choose, the oem kicker Subaru tweeters are a no-brainer to complement your aftermarket speakers and it's been stated a million times already but the oem speakers are really, really cheap and crappy. I would say borderline insultingly cheap and crappy. So, the only thing I would add to the many, many walk throughs is that no matter which speakers you choose, I would definitely supplement your speakers with the following parts :

$6 10 Pcs Super Interior Door Trim Panels Clips Retainers Fits for Toyota Prius Tundra Camry Corolla Sienna Sequoia Tacoma Replacement for The Part# 90467-10188

Interior door trim panel clips for $7.99 off Amazon. I broke a few of these so I was glad I ordered these.

$6 Rexka 20pcs Door Garnish Moulding Retainer Clip Compatible with Toyota Lexus 67771-58010 Tundra Tacoma Sequoia RAV4 Land Cruiser Highlander C-HR Yaris Scion xD

Door garnish retainer clips for $7.49 off Amazon. I did not buy these initially so I had to go back and purchase these. If you're careful you may not need them but you probably will. I was beyond patient and careful yet I still managed to break a few of these as they're quite brittle.

fowong Foam Tape Weather Stripping,1/4" Wide X 1/16" Thick,Window Insulation and Seal Adhesive Door Seal Strip (2 Rolls with Total 64 Feet Long)

1/4" wide and 1/16" thick weather stripping off Amazon. I applied this weather stripping on both sides of the the plastic metra speaker adapters. So between the adapter and the door and again between the adapters and the speakers. I don't know if this does anything or not but it's like $9.00, takes a couple of minutes and why not since you already have everything apart.

$22 NVX XBAF65 2 Piece 6.5" or 6.75" Weatherproof Silicone Rubber Speaker Baffle Kit

NVX foldable silicone 6.5 inch speaker baffles - these were $20 and well worth the money, I tested the speakers both with and w/out these baffles and (to my untrained ears) they do a good job of increasing bass a bit and focusing the sound/music out of the speakers better.

$25 Road Kill RKFR69 3 Piece Foam Speaker Enhancer System Kit for 6" x 9" Drivers | Black|

Road Kill RKFR69 3 piece foam speaker enhancer system kit for 6x9 drivers - these were $20 as well. I went with these b/c I could NOT get the NVX foldable silicone 6x9 baffles to work on the front speakers. I could not get the silicone to fully seat so one corner kept popping out, that corner kept the door card from fully sealing shut at the bottom. Unfortunately, I hacked at the NVX speaker baffles up to try to get them to fit so I could not return them.
I needed some miscellaneous self tapping screws b/c the supplied ones were way too long. It wasn't an issue for the front speakers b/c there was plenty of room but the supplied screws that came with the replacement speakers were so long, they prevented me from being able to install the rear speakers so I had to buy some shorter self tapping screws that didn't protrude out of the rear of the metra speaker adapters.

Last notes while it's fresh on my mind :

I chose not to put in any type of insulation at this time because (to me) this isn't like an F-150/RAM/Silverado luxury type of truck. I think if it was a 60k+ fancy lad truck I would consider adding sound insulation. I dunno maybe I'm weird or it's just a preference thing but one of things I love about my Tacoma is that Toyota hasn't (yet) tried to refine the truck out of it. So, I like the rough edges of it, I like that it's loud and noisy, that it makes a lot of mechanical noises and that it still sounds like a truck. I drove a 2022 F150 a few weeks ago and my God is that truck ever beautiful and a wonderful truck but it's so damned much money, I'd be afraid to use it like a truck. That damn thing is way nicer than my old Corvette. . . it costs almost twice as much too! I think I'd put a load of lumber in my Corvette before I would put it in a new $60k-$80k F150 Lariat!

Lastly, I'm kind of holding out for an oem looking amp and low profile subwoofer that won't cost me an arm and a leg, still looking around but I haven't found a setup I quite like just yet. For the time being, I'll just enjoy what I have.

 

I’ve now replaced the dash mid range with the Kicker KS and the front door speakers with 2 way Kicker KS. I also put sound deadening mat on the entire inside of the front doors. The sound is great for what it is. There’s a good mid range punch, highs are very clear, lows are obviously still lacking, but the 6x9s can give a decent rumble.

I’m not sure I’d notice if I replaced the rear door speakers, but for $130, I plan to put in the kicker KS there as well. In part because I want to put the sound deadening mat in those doors as well, so might as well while I’m at it. I’m trying to resist an amp and 8” sub but I’m sure one day I’ll do it.

 

I have a ‘20 Tacoma TRD Pro. Replaced the kickers and love them.

just got the suggested Suberu Tweeters to upgrade from factory dash speakers. But when I went to install, the connectors are different sizes?? Any suggestions?

(In photo, left is stock connected, Suberu on right)

 

thanks for the info on the speaker baffles- i am going to get some of these for my front and rear speakers asap

 

Does anyone think the all around kicker upgrade sucks? Just looking for some diversity in thought before I pull the trigger on something.

 

If you have the Premium Audio head unit, the kicker speaker upgrade does not suck.

If you do not have the Premium Audio head unit, the Kicker speaker upgrade sucks.

 

I have a MT pro, so no JBL, but I think the head unit is still the same as the premium audio head unit…?

 

It's not safe to assume what head unit you have, there were 4 of them.

 

You'll get different opinions depending on who you talk to. Keeping the stock head unit will be the crutch in the system no matter what you upgrade. I don't think kicker sucks, but I don't think they're on the same level as some other brands. Everyone's ears and budgets are different.

I'm doing CDT 4D widebands (6x9 woofers and unity 8.0) in the front/dash, Focal RCX-165 rears, and a kicker key amp with the oem head unit. I don't want to upgrade the head unit due to cost, losing nav, and having to rely on my horrible 5g cell phone reception. I'll see how it sounds and replace/upgrade from there if needed.

I strongly considered the

$48 kicker 47ksc2704 2.75" mid-range speakers, 4ohm with brackets for select gm/chrysler/subaru/jeep and toyota included

kicker 47ksc2704 2 3/4 mid tweeters along with some sort of 6x9 and 6 3/4 for the doors, but didn't want that many tweeters throughout the truck. Also, I really like the Focal flax line, but not their price.

 

I wish more people on TW took this approach to sharing their opinion. Thank you. I just went into cartoys for shits and giggles. They were plugging focal flax HARD. Skip to needing an amp, cost of labor, and dyno....$2,600. I'm good! Even if I had that kind of money to burn, it seems the difference between 500 and 2600 would be nominal for me.

 

I have read through this tread numerous times and I'm a little confused. I have a 21 Tacoma Limited with top of the line JBL audio system.

Is it worth my time and money to do a speaker upgrade?

Right now I have been leaning towards the Kicker CS series for the front and back doors.

As far as the dash speakers, are the Subaru tweeters worth the effort with my HU?

And would upgrading the Sub to a Rockford Fosgate Punch

$200 P3SD2-8 8" Dual 2-Ohm Punch Series Shallow Mount Car Subwoofer

P3SD2-8 do me any good?

Thanks in advance for help on this.

 

This thread is for people WITHOUT the JBL system. There are however a couple of threads about updating that system if needed tho

 

More specifically, this thread is for people with the Entune "Premium Audio" head unit. The other two non-JBL head units do not have enough power to push these Kicker speakers to make enough of a noticeable difference (unless you add an amp).

 

You've got 2ohm speakers. You'll want to stick with 2 ohm's with your JBL system.