Audio Upgrade / Sound System

Hey guys, I don’t know anything about sound systems but I want to upgrade mine. My ‘18 Trd OF doesn’t have the JBL upgrade. Basically the stock system leaves a lot to be desired in my opinion. What would you guys recommend? I don’t want to go crazy with bass and all the stuff. Just looking to spend 1,000 - 1,500 for something that is an improvement and has good sound. Thanks!

 

Get the trail grid pro Sony XAVAX7000 head unit package and their plug and play kicker speaker kit. Great beginner setup and very loud because the head unit has a built in amp. I’m running that with two 12” subs and a 1200w amp and it sounds amazing
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/3rd-gen-tacoma-audio-upgrade.831071/

 

Just curious, what kind of music do you generally listen to?

I have the JBL and it thumps when listening to hip hop or anything with a punchy kick drum / bass. However, some music doesn't really come through as deep because of the EQ on the source material, especially rock/country/metal with a lot of mid range.

You might try messing with the EQ on your phone (assuming you're using bluetooth) to get better sound. If you use Spotify it will save your EQ settings until you change them or turn them off.

 

I just did the Tweeter upgrade and added an 8" underseat powered Sub. Clean sounding right up to full volume!

The tweeter upgrade opens up the soundfield immensely. The Sub gives a nice little bit of thump. I'd probably try a 10" underseat sub, if it fit, but I'm content with what I have.

 

Start with the tweeter upgrade, then Kicker door speakers. Listen how it sounds. Make your decisions after that and listen if you need more like a sub or amp.

 

Good sound is so subjective, what i think sounds good might sound like garbage to you. Is there anything specific you are looking for? Types of music you are listening to?

 

This is what I went with from TrailGridPro:


You can go with a cheaper HU and drop the sub, probably get you around where you want to be. These kits are nice because they plug and play with custom connectors made for your Tacoma.

Looks like they have some Sony HU's in the $500-$900 range and a kicker speaker kit without the sub at $370. The stock HU's are a bottleneck, as they don't output much power, so if you're upgrading speakers, you won't get much improvement without upgrading the HU. I also wanted a HU with WIRELESS CarPlay so I didn't have to use a dongle lol.

I learned a lot from talking to @soundman98 - he helped me through several options I looked at and I'm very happy with where I landed.

I was blown away with how much the stock tweeters apparently sucked. When I replaced them, the new ones were so much louder, so early in the volume, I thought I fucked something up lol.

 

The trail grid pro radio and speaker options are solid choices. I like the sony 7000 and kicker speaker combo mentioned in post #2. You don't have to spend a lot for a subwoofer. This ported and powered 8" rockford fosgate punches way above its $310 price point and fits in the plastic cubby behind the seat.

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_575P3008P/Rockford-Fosgate-P300-8P.html

 

From what I read, the tweeter upgrade is probably the cheapest thing to improve your sound. Bought my TACO used, and discovered the speakers were blown, used this guide https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/how-to-subaru-toyota-3rd-gen-tweeter-upgrade-holy-s.540548/ to figure out what to do, but mine were the JBLs. People swear by the Subaru Tweeters. The install isn't hard, tons of youtubes out there. Just need to be sure to get the right parts.

 

I listen to a really wide variety of music haha. It sounds kickass playing anything imo. The EQ on the Sony head unit I mentioned is very easy to work with too