Audio Noob. 2013 Double Cab Head Unit / Speaker upgrade

I'm pretty much an audio novice, having only done speak upgrades myself twice. Looking to upgrade sound in a 2013 Tacoma. Not looking to install a sub, as I know I have the patience and capability to do a speaker swap after doing so on my current vehicle (01 Cherokee), which has an aftermarket Panasonic, and 2 pairs of Kicker speakers. I know I screwed up when I made a rush purchase of the 2nd pair years after the first and I'm pretty sure I exceed the RMS capability of the head unit. I used to be able to raise my volume to 45, now can only go as high as 35 without popping or cutting out.

I've been reading / seeing in videos that the stock head unit in the Tacoma will not allow for all aftermarket speakers to be used to their full potential. That being said, is it better to get an amp or replace the head unit in addition to speakers?

$166 KICKER 43DSC69304 D Series 6x9" 360 Watt 3 Way Dual Speakers with 43DSC6504 6.5" 240 Watt 2 Way 4 Ohm Car Audio Coaxial Speakers

I'm looking at this speaker set. Aware I need to get different brackets and speaker connectors. Not sure how Kicker's rank in audio world, but I do like the sound and bass I can/do get out of them currently before they start cutting out at the higher volumes. For the speaker set linked, I'm reading it at 2x 90RMS, and 2x 60RMS per pair = 300. Is that right or is it actually 2x45RMS and 2x 30RMS per pair = 150? What does the stock head unit in the Tacoma put out?

I'm open to any help on the technical aspect of this, as well as recommendations of different brand speakers or general opinions on Kicker.

 

Welcome to TW. IF you have a budget in mind that would help figure out a direction as well. Since the speaker set you listed has 4, im guessing you have a Double cab so i will answer a few questions and give some opinions below

The stock headunit only puts our around 10-12watts of power.
I would start by replacing the Headunit and going with a nice aftermarket Kenwood Excelon or some other name brand unit that will give you more power, EQ abilities and CarPlay or Android control to mirror your phone. I went with a kenwood myself listed in my thread in this forum

The speakers you listed show a 3 way 6x9 set up front. Our truck have a 6x9 woofer in the lower part of the door and the tweeter near the top. The downside to that 3-way set is you will have the vocals and midrange sound screaming at your legs not up high where you want them. I would look at a component set that puts either a 6x9 or 6.5'' woofer in the lower door and a tweeter up top. The rear speakers you chose will be fine.

If you add some sound deadening to the doors while you are doing the speaker swaps, it will make a huge difference as well. I did that to mine and it is a night and day difference. I haven't replaced my speakers yet as im waiting on an amp decision first but i have some Hertz 6.5 components to go up front. For now, me swapping the radio and deadening the doors made a huge diff with the stock speakers alone until i finish the rest.

 

When I started to do my audio upgrade on my 2013 double cab with base system, I put a theses skar audio tweeters with theses 6.5 for the doors and I put in theses ds18 crossovers, the tweeters will fit in the factory location tweeter just need some wire ties to help hold them in, and remove the grill on the tweeters. Tbh I didn't hear too much of a difference with a stock radio head.
https://www.skaraudio.com/collectio...products/vx200-st-1-8-inch-pro-audio-tweeters
Skar Audio - FSX65 | 6.5" 300 Watt Mid-Range Loudspeaker
2-Way Passive Crossover – ds18caraudio

 

I did it again! I was on a time crunch before a 16 hr road trip and made the same mistake of installing new speakers without an amp. Blew out a back speaker after a month. I couldn't find a shop near me that could set me up properly in time (I don't really want to mess with electrical - plug and play I can do). Also add in the fact that the few head units I'd get are still out of stock. I did notice that I couldn't get audio with the tweeters simply unplugged. Guessing they're part of the continuous circuit?

I would really prefer NOT to get a sub simply because I don't want to eliminate cargo space in the cab. are there other sub options that don't include under or behind the rear seats? What about the hideaway kicker sub under a seat? Is it any good? Would I need two or is one sufficient. Obviously two would keep the bass balanced as opposed to having my passenger or myself getting bass blown into their a$$.

 

ANY headunit alone WILL NOT blow a speaker, UNLESS it is driven to distortion. To do that would require obscene amounts of volume. There’s probably a wiring fault with the speaker. Did you use an adapter, like the ones from Metra, to adapt the factory wiring to make them wire ends that go on the speaker spade? Or did you cut the end off and twist the wire on?