What is the difference in changing your exhaust and changing your muffler?

Ok, so I have a 2.7L 4cyl and I'm wanting to change the sound. Ive looked up videos of Magnaflow, Flowmaster, and Thrush. Some videos say they have just the muffler, while others say they have an exhaust. (ae: "Magnaflow Muffler on a 2.7L Tacoma" or "Magnaflow Exhaust on a 2.7L Tacoma") When they say "exhaust" does it mean they have everything swapped? Like is it pipes and all? Or are they just saying they've changed the muffler? Im wanting a magnaflow muffler for my tacoma but ive heard different sounds and i want to know whether i need a whole new exhaust system to get that deep, non-clangy noise, or if i can just get a Magnaflow muffler and get the same noise. Also, should i get a Catalytic Converter from magnaflow as well if i just get the muffler? or will the sound not be any different with the stock cat?

 

My suggestion is to just replace the muffler with whichever one sounds the best to you. YouTube videos are a great help in that regard. The factory stock mandrel bent Tacoma exhaust pipe is about as good as you can get.

Greg

 

Exhaust system means everything from the manifold back. Best just to go with a muffler, they sound just as good imo.