Audio Upgrade - What I’m thinking...

I know nothing about car audio really and need some advice on the package I’m putting together for my Tacoma. The fiancé just got a new Jeep Sahara High Altitude and it really showed just how bad the stock speakers are in my Taco. I’m a metal head and the stock speakers just aren’t cutting it for me.

- Sony XAV-AX1000 - $298
- Focal RCX-165 / 6.5” x4 - $280
- Focal TWU 1.5 - $100

With everything they said I need for install it comes out to $755 which is right at my budget. I’m not looking for a show quality setup but when I’ve got Whitechapel blasting I want to hear everything and want Apple CarPlay. Does this work or do ya’ll have some alternatives for that price range?

 

I don’t mean to burst your bubble, but your fiancé’s jeep has a premium alpine (at least it used to be alpine) audio system in it. You aren’t going to get sound anywhere near that with a Sony radio and some 6.5” speakers.

You may be able to put together something near that price range. What year is your Tacoma

 

It’s still Alpine.. I’m not expecting to match her quality with my budget but I do want the best I can get in that range.

It’s a 2017 TRD OR.

 

I put this Alpine Amp in. I use it to power the rear speakers. I replaced the factory speakers all around. That Sony should work well for you. Better control over your sound with a graphic equalizer and pass filters.

 

$280 Alpine ilx-w650 Digital Multimedia Receiver with CarPlay and Android Auto Compatibility

Alpine ilx-w650 head unit $300

$214 Alpine kta-450 4-Channel Power Pack Amplifier with Dynamic Peak Power 45W RMS x 4, at 2 Or 4 Ohms

Alpine kta-450 amp $200
Kenwood kfc-xp6903c speakers $220
PAC rp4.2-ty11 interface/wiring $100
Tacoma radio dash kit $20
A pair of Tacoma tweeter wiring adapters $10

that $850 will get you the best and by far the easiest system upgrade for that little money.
If you want your metal to scream at you, this setup will do it.

 

with a 3rd gen wouldnt you be able to do the Subaru Tweeter swap as a direct plug and play?

$119 Subaru Genuine Tweeter Kit Kicker WRX STi Forester Crosstrek Impreza H631SFJ101

https://www.amazon.com/Genuine-Suba...+H631SFJ101+Tweeter+Kit&qid=1610987958&sr=8-3

i second going with a better deck the Alpine is a step up from the Sony you had listed. if you want to retain steering wheel and back up camera controls you will need to think about that with a Maestro RR. you should think about sound deadening as well while you have it all open.

 

The Subaru tweeters aren’t all that, people like them because they are easy, not because they are awesome.

The PAC unit Destin referenced handles the other stuff you mentioned.

 

Ended up ordering the

$280 Alpine ILX-W650 Digital Multimedia Receiver with CarPlay and Android Auto Compatibility

Alpine ILX-W650 and

$214 KTA-450 4-Channel Power Pack Amplifier with Dynamic Peak Power 45W RMS x 4, at 2 Or 4 Ohms

KTA-450 amp like destin mentioned but I stuck with the Focal speakers and tweeter after talking to the people at Crutchfield. There’s a back order on both Alpine products so I play the waiting game now... may go ahead and hook up the speakers.

 

If you put 6.5’s up front, you’re going to lose SO much low end. Don’t do that.

also, the speakers you’re looking at are coaxials, which will put a tweeter down by your feet and completely throw off your staging. And you want to put another tweeter on the dash? Not the setup I’d go with and I can’t understand why Crutchfield is even suggesting you go that route

 

I agree with this. You’d have to add a sub using the line outs from the receiver.

 

Which would destroy this budget-aimed build for sure

 

That was my plan was to add a sub to this package next month to go along with the Focal speakers. Are powered subwoofers a good route to go? I have a weird thing with wanting to stick to same family of products so was looking at the Focal Integration IBus 20. It was either this sub or two Roam Adventure cases... my Rigid boxes are working just fine.

 

Like I said... I know nothing about car audio but I do know Crutchfield has a great reputation so I’ve been following their lead. I can still cancel / return this order if I’ve completely butchered it.

Edit: Just read a write up on standard vs component speakers and I cancelled my order. Not a fan of taking a strangers advice but Destin seems to be spot on with his assessment so far.

 

That is a LOOOOT of money for an 8” powered sub... and its 75w RMS.

literally no chance I would spend my money on that.
Crutchfield makes a ton of money on Focal (huge markup) so it’s no surprise that’s who they’re pushing.

 

The weight of heavy drop tuned guitars is in that 100-300hz low mid range. That’s gonna be above a sub with an 80hz crossover. You will want to make sure to sound treat your doors, its a problem range in amateur recording studios and mix setups typically rectified by room (car) acoustics upgrades to eliminate mushiness and room nodes.

Focal is an awesome top end brand in pro audio world. I can’t vouche for car audio world to same degree that someone like Dustin can however. Their monitors and speaker tech are some of the very best. You wouldn’t catch me dead using kenwoods over focal but it would be way cheaper and easier for sure.

if you spend anytime in pro audio forums the first thing you will always hear when people ask about speaker upgrades is to treat the space first, which in a car would be the panels and such.

20+ years in pro studios, almost a million mile club member

 

Following as i'm in this decision making stage myself

 

It sounds like you know a thing or two. So would these, Infinity Reference REF-9633ix 6x9 component speakers be a bad choice? I ordered them on a whim during Black Friday for half off and they are still on back order but just curious on your thoughts. I still have the OEM tweeters.

Sorry to hijack the thread a bit.
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_108R9633IM/Infinity-Reference-REF-9633ix.html

 

I’m not a fan of coaxials down in the door. Especially 3-ways like those. Your staging will be off (highs from both the dash and the floorboard) and your music will be very highs-heavy.
These are the biggest complaints from the people who do the $250 upgrade and put the kicker 3-ways in their door.

 

Thanks, maybe I’ll rethink it or maybe go with what you recommend above that comes with the 6x9s and tweeters.

 

This is because Destin has spent years professionally installing car audio. He understands what meeting a customer’s expectations means, including meeting a budget, or explaining that someone has unrealistic expectations.

He’s had his hands on, and has more experience with more different brands of equipment, especially budget and mid grade, than about anyone else that posts here on Tacomaworld, including harnesses and interface modules. He can guide you to the wire you can’t find faster than almost anyone, I always have to look stuff up, and a lot of the time a Google search will take you to something he’s already posted.

Often I’ll see a thread with an interesting problem I think I can have input on and then I see Destin already chimed in and I’m like “he’s already got this one” and move on because my input isn’t necessary.

We’re all really luck he’s here. I don’t always agree with Destin, but that’s only because I’m a bit of an audio snob. Regardless, his reputation is well earned.