Upgrade Sound system

I am looking for advice on which sound system to upgrade in our 2020 tacoma. I am not looking to spend a ton of money. If possible less than 800.

 

Welcome!

Do you have the JBL or non-JBL system? One is a lot easier to work on than the other, in terms of adding an amp and/or sub.

Regardless, for any system, this is a good place to start for plug-and-play stuff.

 

I was very satisfied with a headunit upgrade in my '19, the factory one seems under powered and without good EQ and balance options. My aftermarket unit allowed a ton of fine tuning to get the most out of the factory speakers without having to upgrade anything else, and I was very satisfied. Just my choice on that one, I have had other cars with fully built out audio systems and they can be absolutely incredible, just depends on your end goals.

 

give us a clue with what you went with

 

My advice: alpine power pack or kicker key ~200, subaru tweeters ~100, jl microsub 8 ~300, alpine a60 amp ~ 200. Those are the components I would suggest for your roughly 800 budget. Obvious more if you need new wiring, cables, etc. Your system will be louder, clearer, and have more bass pretty easily.

 

Oh yeah duh, Kenwood DMX-906S. Allows full steering wheel button customization and integration too with a Maestro ADS unit.

 

I went with jl audio 8 micro sub ,Subaru tweeters ,jbl 6x9 loud speakers in the front . And a kicker amp . Cost me around 600 with install I shopped around to get the beat deal . I didn’t bother replacing the rear speakers u can’t really hear those things even with a upgrade unless your running amp to them . Ran everything on the stock head unit . Sounds great to me .

 

Thank you for all the fast responses! I am still trying to figure out how to use this forum as i am new. With that being said I am not sure how to respond to individual posts! I will be looking into all these recommendations!

This system is for my husband for his birthday in a couple weeks! I am not sure what the system that is in his truck now but I will now look into that! I just know he has been begging for a system so the man gets what he wants. Lol

 

You should check out crutchfield website they usually have pretty good sales . The Subaru tweeters u can get those on Amazon .

 

If he doesn’t have jbl then a kicker key and some new speakers would be great.

 

The kicker sub doesn't really have any bass. Sound more like your home theater subwoofer. If he likes bass get a JL Audio 8 inch sub. It's costly but well worth it. Mine has the amp built in. It fits behind the rear passenger seat area with no mods. For an 8 inch sub this thing is loud and hits. Very clean sounding. Will hit harder and sound better than cheaper 10 and 12 inch subs that you see in little civics. I have one in our taco and discovery.

https://www.amazon.com/JL-Audio-ACP...ords=jl+audio+micro+sub&qid=1598553927&sr=8-3

For door speakers I went with JL Audio C1 components in the front and JL Audio C1's in the rear. With the stock head unit the truck sounds good. A lot more of clear and clean sound over the stock speakers. Matched with the sub it pairs really well. You get a full sounding system. You can crank the volume all the way up without any distortion. The sub hits hard enough to make the mirrors jump. It's loud enough where you will hear him pulling up to the house. I think I paid around $800 installed for all of it.

JL Audio C1 690 - 6x9 components
JL Audio C1 650x - 6.5 coaxial
JL Audio ACP108LG-W3v3 - 8 inch powered sub w/ JL enclosure

 

is it worth changing the headunit out? i kinda like the nav and the steering wheel integration. thinking of throwing and amp and components. i want crystal clear mids and bright highs. dont really care about adding a sub.

 

Start with the speakers. Stock speakers suck. Changing them out will make a big difference. The higher end speakers will require a separate amplifier to get the most out of the sound and sound really good when you add the amp. High end speakers without an amp will leave you wanting more. Each brand makes aftermarket speakers designed to work with factory amps (such as the JL Audio c1 i have). But as you step up in the models and add the amp the sound gets even better. The brand of speakers also makes a difference in terms of the tones/highs you will hear. Focal and Infiniti have really high highs and are very clear. I would look into those brands if that is the sound you are looking for.

In terms of car audio you do get what you pay for. So don't buy cheap speakers thinking your car will magically sound better.

Also when you upgrade to after market speakers you might lose some of the bass since the after market speakers are usually designed to work in conjunction with subs. They will have better highs and clarity but may require a sub to get a full sounding system.

 

Really the JL componets sounded better because I have those same speakers but on a boss headunit which they say is 20 rms and the JL is 40 rms and the stock ones sounded better in.Am I doing something wrong