Alpine stereo bad audio quality

Hello TW! I’m not sure exactly what to do about this, I’m hoping someone has had a similar experience and fixed it somehow.
But I’ve got an 02 Tacoma that I just installed an Alpine ilx-670, and In my opinion, has pretty bad audio quality compared to the stock radio, my FM transmitter, and my pioneer from a different vehicle.
sort of hard to explain how it sounds but it’s like how a low quality video looks/ sounds in audio form. S’s sounds more like SH. Instruments like a cymbal are kind of crackly.
It’s not horrific but it’s definitely not great.

I’m unsure what to do. Simone told me maybe I need an amplifier, but I also don’t really mess with that sort of stuff so I don’t want to spend more money on something that may or may not fix it. The stereo is brand new so I’d be okay with going for a refund if that’s what it takes.

I’m interested to know your guys’s thoughts.

 

Are the speakers still stock ?

 

yes sir

 

Have you checked the equalizer settings? They might be set to a low audio level. Additionally, during installation, did you verify that the wiring was correct? Reversing the positive and negative wires on a speaker can cause polarity issues, which may result in poor audio quality.

 

Yes I’ve messed with the EQ quite a bit. On the wiring comment, I actually had Crutchfield do the wiring for me pre shipment. It’s one of their services you can pay for. I didn’t check although I certainly could. Thanks for the advice

 

After you make sure all that is correct , get rid of the factory speakers . Usually the Ohm rating is not right for most aftermarket radios. The sound should be significantly better once done. Don’t forget the tweeters. I owned that exact year truck at one point .Look for decent coax speakers with high signal to noise ratings and NOT ones that require high power

 

A lot of these internet radios have a compression setting(s). Check you are downloading at the highest bitrate you are able. I pay for FLAC files. Also there maybe a compression setting. Turn to un-compressed.

 

Thank you very much I think this is a good plan. Hopefully it won’t break the bank.

 

+1 for new speakers. that receiver puts out 50w/ch. Those 22yo speakers are having a stroke right now.

 

Would it be a bad idea to just replace the tweeters? It’s really only the higher pitched sounds that sound bad. Or should I just do them all? I’m just wondering because I’m not exactly sure what speakers to get, is there a certain wattage or something I should be looking for?

 

Try lowering the treble. If the bad sounds lessen, then you know the tweeters are the weakest part. Upgrading midrange gives a better overall sound experience. I used ds19 for my dash speakers in my 2022, was maybe $80 and the improvement was night and day difference fyi

 

As a car audio installer, it sounds like you probably are over driving the factory speakers like mentioned above. Or the speakers are starting to separate, or you may even has corrosion on the terminal connectors to the speakers/tweeters.

Would highly recommend a woofer and tweeter combo pair. Example listed below is a great setup that we recommend to customers. Brings the car audio back to life and has great performance from the price point.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/pionee...-impp-cone-pair-black/6559579.p?skuId=6559579

 

Change the speakers too
They won’t be too much and it will be a game changer
Also remember the speakers were junk when they were new . Imagine now after all these years

 

If it sounded fine with the factory HU, then got worse with a new HU, it's not the fault of the speakers. The factory speakers aren't great, but you kinda have to point the finger at the thing that changed here.

OP, what do you listen to? Genres, sources, levels, etc. Are you streaming? Does the sound get worse when you turn it up? Or is it consistent across volume levels?

This HU also doesn't make 50W RMS. Probably more like 17.

Someone mentioned impedance mismatch. I'm not sure if the stockers are 2 ohm, but that could make the amp do crazy things. Most stand-alone amps just shut off or pop a fuse when taken outside that comfort zone, but not sure about HU amps.

 

It’s just the speakers. I was going to replace the head unit and speakers 3 yrs ago and started with the speakers first. After I replaced those it made such a difference that I put off replacing the head unit.

 

Stock Toyota speakers are like paper airplanes the make sounds...need to change them all, always..

 

I think the Toyota speakers maybe 1 ohm
I know it was not the norm, and I agree they are junk. Before I put my system in I put front and rear speakers in the doors and had the factory head unit for about a month or so . It sounded much better than the factory stuff . Then of course going down that rabbit hole…. I added a head unit , 4 channel amp , a mono amp for the sub , a 10 inch sub woofer , and now I like being in the truck just to listen to the sound system . It really sounds nice and clean , well worth the extra work . No regrets at all

 

Did the old stereo have the premium option of a CD and tape? If so, did you bypass the stock amplifier?

 

There was no external amp in my 1st gen. I don't think any Gen 1s have external amps. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

 

Okay. I was basing my comment on my wife’s’99 T4R. I figured since Toyota likes to move tech between models, there might be a shot.