Officially Contacted Dealer about stereo!!

Lol.

 

OP, your head-unit is a non-JBL like mine. Regardless, these are trucks and the quality of the audio from these head-units are going to be inferior. The speakers are known to be inferior.
For about $130-150 or so, you could improve the quality of the tweeters in the dash (Subaru speakers by Kicker are plug-n-play compatible, and there are a few YT videos on the subject) and you can replace the front door speakers.

Serious question: is it possible you have hearing loss? Do you, or have you worked in a profession with long sustained periods of high noise levels, or have you been listening to headphones, or earbuds at high volume levels?
You should be able to tell your speakers are working, and yeah, you may have to turn the level up to 35-40. You might ask another person if they have a problem hearing the audio.
You could have a head-unit issue, and so you could bring it into the dealership to have them listen.
I like the idea that an audio shop can test the levels, however, they are also going to suggest upgrades.

Start with the audio source. I recommend streaming from iHeart radio. If you are using SiriusXM, you are handicapping the experiment.

 

Tweeters produce high frequencies. Most of the stuff we listen to is in the mid frequency range. That is why they don't sound loud most of the time.
You can try like Tstack22 suggested below to see if they are working. You can find test tones online to test each type of speakers in their frequency range.
I upgraded my 2nd gen speakers right after I bought it because of terrible midrange. You can find a good set for around $200-300. My install was easy, not sure about 3rd gens though.

 

Why are you contacting the sales people, their role ended as soon as you agreed to a price.

 

That's a very very good suggestion. See if a high-bit-rate recording of test tones can be found to better gauge the sound reproduction of the tweeters in the dash vs. the mid-range speakers in the doors. Possibly the test tones automate the generation of left/right sources. See if these help with the adjustment of equalization, fade, and balance.
Many people have recommended the Kicker tweeters as replacements. They are available via Amazon, possibly even cheaper mail-order or parts counter at a Subaru dealership. Google is your friend.

$95 Subaru Genuine Tweeter Kit Kicker WRX STi Forester Crosstrek Impreza H631SFJ101

https://www.amazon.com/Genuine-Suba...mzn1.fos.f5122f16-c3e8-4386-bf32-63e904010ad0

 

Glad I read this, just picked up my TRD Sport with standard audio and was expecting complete trash from the way people talk about the stock system here. It’s actually not too bad to my ear but perhaps the issues crop up more as you start to crank up the volume.

I was planning to do the kicker tweeter/front door upgrade almost immediately but don’t feel as much rush now. Is it that noticeably better and in what ways?

 

Some of the vehicles I have owned had a single speaker in the middle of the dash from factory... the Tacoma audio system was a serious improvement over those...

 

2018 non JBL speakers here. They were poor quality speakers but not disorienting and you could definitely hear them (esp with the windows up). The back speakers got such little power that you barely heard the back. Sounds like you might actually have a problem.

that said - I replaced all 6 speakers with KS kickers. Much much better.

 

I'm reading the OP's responses, and to my eyes it sounds like he has a genuine HU problem.

The bone stock non-JBL unit with all settings at neutral will be perceived as 90% sound coming through the front doors, 3-5% dash tweeters, 5-8% rear doors. Yes, the stock speakers stink-on-ice, but they should at least be balanced. Sound leaning forward is normal (for some reason), but if it's leaning to the rear or to one side, that to me says there is a signal-output issue.

 

My experience with stock speakers was exactly this. Back barely gets any juice. Added the kicker front/ back and tweeters and way better. Still lack of power to the back but much cleaner and louder. Have an amp I'm yet to install to deal with the rear.

 

One of the resident sound-nerds said it best: They were impressed that the speakers can pump out what they do with a magnet that's not much bigger than a penny. I have to agree. They aren't great, or even good speakers. But they did a better job than I expected.

 

Did kickers all around, lined the doors with mat, hideaway under the seat, and shoehorned a key amp behind the dash. Still not worthy of a Van Cliburn piano concert, but the Key really put my truck back into balance.

 

I've been hesitant have a little Sony amp to throw behind the HU but don't know if it's worth the hassle of disassembling everything or if I should just sell it

 

Even with the stock radio and speakers, your system should sound better than you described. I would get a second opinion before you start throwing money around. It sounds like a bad radio. That being said, the stock speakers and tweeters are not that good. I upgraded with the Subaru/Kicker tweeters(plug and play as I am not a radio installer) and Kicker KS in the front and rear doors. The rear speakers were a waste of money since I do not want to change the HU or add and amp right now. It does make a difference , at least to me.

 

I think the amp is worth it. I don't even crank the volume, but it adds a little bit of balance and clarity that's lacking from the HU.

...still can't get my head around that, to take a speaker output, down convert it to low-level, and then amp it back to speaker output, all somehow makes a cleaner sound.

 

Had quite a few of my buddies ride in my truck, volume almost full blast. I told them dudes on the forum say these speakers are trash. My buddies laughed.

Im guessing my buddies and I are easy to please.

I also think it has something to do with the leather, like how it bounces off the sound instead of absorbing it like a cloth interior would. Just my stupid theory.

To me the sound is clear even at high volume, bass sounds great. No complaints at all from me.

 

Did you put something like this?

 

It sucks a 40k truck with a 20 dollar stereo. I talked to the dealer and got no where so I figured it's upgrade time , check out the audio \ video forum
on here , there is a lot of outstanding info to fix this. It did not make any sense to just add speakers to a under powered deck so I went with
All new speakers, sub and 5 channel amp and it did cost a bit because I got out of hand but my god it sounds great.

 

If there's an actual issue then bring your truck in, "my speakers suck" email with a threat of making it public on a forum to a salesperson isn't going to achieve anything other than pissing people off.

This place never ceases to amaze me at the ridiculousness of some of the content that's created. Next up is a thread complaining that their ice cream is too cold.