Premium Audio Upgrade for less than $250

Welcome to the thread - while initially posted months ago, many, many Taco owners have found this to be an incredibly worthwhile and inexpensive upgrade that will surprise you in terms of quality and ease of install! Enjoy... And if you have edits to suggest to the OP, PM me and we'll continue to refine!

Recently, I stumbled onto the EASY tweeter upgrade thread here and as often happens w/ TW it began a process of upgrading all of my factory speakers. I am beyond happy with the results of the inexpensive upgrades to the stock speaker system. In fact, my wife has a Bose system in her car which I've always listened to with envy comparing to my factory Entune Premium head unit and factory speakers (non-JBL). No more - mine actually sounds better!

Why I upgraded? I found the factory speakers to produce decent bass VOLUME, but the clarity was terrible. Sound depth was very shallow. Crispness wasn't present really at any volume, but I felt I had to turn the speakers up to near max to hear the subtle notes and in doing this the whole thing had a muddy sound. Personally was resigned to live with it - my experience has always been that if I wanted to fix the factory sound I was normally looking at a $1000 minimum for amp, sub, speakers, etc.,

What I've learned: The factory speakers are indeed pretty remarkable. When you take apart the doors you'll see what I mean. They are paper-thin, soft, and are only a few ounces... the fact that they are able to produce as much sound as they do is pretty astounding. But, what this also speaks to is the power that DOES exist within the stock head unit to amplify enough juice to make these produce sound.

What did I buy and install? After buying the Subaru/kicker tweeters that are completely plug-n-play with no adapters or mounts, I was sold on the Kicker quality. After hearing some rave reviews from other forum members I decided to bite the bullet and replace the other front / rear door speakers! As of this writing I haven't done any sound deadening and not sure I will given how great they sound.

Tweeters: HUGE difference - don't miss this important piece of the puzzle. If you don't do ANYTHING else, replace the tweeters. Seriously. The factory tweeters are worthless....

$98 Subaru Genuine Tweeter Kit Kicker WRX STi Forester Crosstrek Impreza H631SFJ101

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PV6F8I2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Front Speakers: Kicker CS series
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_20646CC693/Kicker-46CSC6934.html

Rear Speakers: Kicker CS series
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_20646CC674/Kicker-46CSC674.html

You will need adapters and mounts for the door speakers - luckily Crutchfield includes these when you order the speakers for free!

Total Cost = $240 (NOTE: At the time of this writing, Crutchfield has buy 1 set, get one 1/2 off on Kicker speakers through 9/16)

Install - while I didn't want to drop the cash on the premium OEM+ Audio system, it was really nice of them to do a tutorial. Taking the doors apart on the Tacos is actually pretty easy.

WARNING - Be very careful with the cables for the door handle/locks. Some have locked doors shut and had to work at getting them re-opened. Either be extra careful with the cables or you can do what some have done and never remove them. This can be achieved by holding the door panel up with some bungees or supporting it table on a surface while you do your work on the doors.

Purchased this cheap kit to help with this task and it's been helpful to pry things apart with ease:

BlingKingdom 12 pcs Auto Pry Tools Kit Door Trim Panel Dash Stereo Radio Interior Light Removal

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01I0SUZOY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

How To: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=241&v=c37zgaUQsVo

Using Metra Speaker Adapters: While Crutchfield will provide the necessary adapters to fit each set of speakers it does take a bit of work and patience to get them mounted properly.

• Front 6x9s - Most folks ended up using the screws that were included with the SPEAKERS and discarding the hardware that was included with the MOUNTS. You'll see some screws that don't look long enough and some metal clips that are unnecessary. You may need to angle the screws a bit to get a good bite, and only turn each screw a couple of times initially then slowly, evenly tighten all of them down a turn or 2 at a time so they are all cinched evenly. Make sure to pay attention to where the screws are on your door (i.e. with one on the bottom and two on either side closer to the top).
• Rears - The adapters that Crutchfield sends for the rear speakers are “adjustable”. In other words, they are made for both 6.5” and 6.75” speakers. In order for you to fit the 6.75” Kicker speakers in this thread, you must break the tabs that are in the inner mounting circle. Simply bend them with a pair of pliers.

Grills - When you get your speakers they will include grills for the speakers. These are not needed. Your doors ARE the grill for the speakers.

Install time - about an hour for all 6 speakers. but expect that to increase depending on your level of OCD, and whether you are adding sound deadening which easily doubles or triples this install time. set aside a morning or afternoon and you'll get it done.

Results: Wow! Amazed at the quality of sound I now have in my truck on the stock Entune Premium unit! Treble and Mid are crystal clear at all volumes now, Bass KICKS if you really want it to but at normal levels balances so well! I find myself listening to the same music at 2/3 of the volume I used to and the depth of sound is outstanding.

No doubt there is value in dropping cash on an expensive system for those who want, but for many folks who are "meh" about the factory system but not wanting to invest in it this could be a very cheap and easy way to drastically improve the sound quality in your truck... all for less than $250!

Edit: Since installing, forum members have tried (and succeeded) in improving the sound even more, also on a budget. If you want to invest another $30-40, there is also a cheap option to add some good sound deadening. Noico 50mil 25sq ft (this size is more than enough) is a quality alternative to Dynamat at a fraction of the cost. Sure Dynamat is the jam, but if you're reading this thread you likely aren't looking to spend yet another $150-200 on deadening. To be clear, this setup sounds fantastic in every way without taking this extra step. However, by installing this in your doors and behind the speakers you will achieve an even greater bass response and clarity. Install details can be found in the thread as well as pictures folks have posted. Highly recommend as an optional add-on.

Noico 50 mil 21.5 sqft car Sound deadening mat, Butyl Automotive Sound Deadener, Audio Noise Insulation and dampening

https://www.amazon.com/Noico-deadening-automotive-Insulation-dampening/dp/B012AVX5HQ

On SR model upgrades: Based on reviews and experiences it would seem the stock HU on the SR models is not sufficient enough in terms of power output to give you the same level of "wow" that many experience on the Entune head units. For these trucks an amp might be required to achieve similar or better output. Still unsure about SR5s so please post up your experiences. Overwhelmingly folks are extremely happy with and enjoying this upgrade for Entune head units (standard 6" and Premium 7") and some good response on various 2nd gen trim models as well. For 2nd gens, the door speakers should fit, but the TWEETERS do not fit the 2nd gen but are plug n' play for 3rd gens.

Kicker Hideaway: If you decide you want to take this a step further, @Exracer2 has a great write up on install. MOST (myself included) don't need/want a sub as the kicker 6x9s once broken in put out some killer bass IMHO particularly with the sound deadening material. But, if you're a bassaholic and want another relatively inexpensive bass upgrade... https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...de-to-the-250-3rd-gen-premium-upgrade.541375/

 

Nice! I'm planning to replace my speakers and this will speed up the process. Thanks for posting.
Update: got my door speakers installed, I went with 6.5” Kickers in all 4 positions and used the connectors off the OEM speakers instead of hard wiring them. Now just waiting for the tweeter to show up. As mentioned, the OEM speakers were really cheaply built and I’m amazed that they were able to sound as good as they did, but the new speakers are much better sounding.
Update to the update: the tweeters came this morning and it took literally 20 minuets to install. Man oh man I can’t believe the difference!! Best mod so far! I was going to get an amp but after hearing the new speakers I’ve decided that its good enough for me now. I highly recommend changing out your speakers if you’re on the fence.

 

I second this. Did the tweeters already which was a huge improvement. Planning to install door speakers tomorrow, all 4 with mounts and adapters cost $112 shipped so I am under $200 to replace all 6.

 

Here are some notes from when I did my speaker swap:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/easy-tweeter-upgrade-3rd-gen-non-jbl.478318/page-8#post-15760180

Yes, I should have done what the OP did and start my own thread, but lazy I guess and we were already talking about it there.

I went w/ JBLs, but I hear great things about those Kickers, so it's cool that they worked out so well.

For anyone wondering, this makes a world of difference in sound... you just won't understand until you do it.

 

Way to go man...

You just cost me $135 dollars...

 

I did something similar though a tad further with addition of an amp for my rocksford fosgate speakers and it sounded great for a couple months but the sound has since lost its luster as I've become accustomed to it. I'm now a firm believer that the head unit just can't be totally saved. I put in a $150 Sony double din in my 02 4Runner with stock speakers and it actually sounds just as good if not better than my setup of stock HU with upgraded speakers.

This is coming from a 2nd gen owner but I doubt HUs have changed too much

 

This is great, I've been looking to upgrade at least those tweeters. Mine snap, crackle and pop...

 

Thanks for the write up.

 

I wonder what my wife will say - THANX!!

 

You're welcome. Money well spent - 2 weeks ago i'd thought you were full of it had you told me I could get such an improvement for so little. you won't be disappointed

 

Agree 100% - and your input along with others in the tweeter thread pushed me over the edge. Just wanted to create a non-tweeter specific thread to centralize! It's awesome!

 

You did the right thing by putting it over in it's own thread. I was amazed that the Subaru speakers dropped right in, connectors and all. That was so nice as Crutchfield does not have a great replacement for that speaker and I think what I got is better than what I was going to try through them.

 

Thanks for the write-up! The sound is terrible on the stock base Entune "Premium" setup and I just didn't want to spend $1000+ to fix the sound when I'm not sure I will have this truck more than two years at this point. At this price point, it will be worth it just for 2 years...

 

Gonna have to make an order now!

Edit- any other considerations for different speakers in this price rangr?

 

You won't regret it - that head unit had nice amplification. My experience normally has been if you want to replace the speakers on a factory unit you're gonna need an amp to prevent loss of volume. The opposite is true w/ this one - the amp is pretty strong on the head unit. It HAS to be to power those dinky factory speakers... Enjoy, my friends!

 

Just picked up a pair of the tweeters. Seen a few mentions about removing the A pillar, other where they didn't. What's the consensus, remove A pillar or not?

 

Yep, considering the OEM door speakers give off decent enough Bass, the biggest bang for the buck is just swapping out the Tweeters alone!

 

I didn't remove, no problems. Others have though so not sure you'll get "consensus"

 

You know about my frustrations with this truck, so when I'm not happy with something as important as the eng/tran setup, the "little things" like a shitty sound system are amplified 10x in their annoyance factor. Fixing this will help significantly with my stress level over this truck, even though I'm not really that big of an audiophile. I don't know if that makes sense or not reading it, but it makes total sense in my head!

 

Agree this is a significant step in the right direction - if you do nothing else replace those damn tweeters. Problem for me was that it actually made me realize how bad those door speakers were at producing mids and CLEAR bass... and for not much more than I spent on the tweeters to get all 4 doors upgraded was nice! The decent bass I'd agree with, but damn its so muddy sounding in comparison to these Kicker speakers.