Another stereo question #2

Greetings,

Ok, I gave this some thought and completely changed my plans about the stereo upgrade to my 2010 Tacoma TRD Sport access cab.

I am not looking for a lot of loud base, just the best sound I can get at a reasonable price. At first I thought of going with a single din. Last thursday I had a Kenwood DNX 6960 installed in my truck. It has nav, blue tooth and HD radio along with ipod inputs. I decided to go that way because I looked at a number of single din upgrades and though they looked nice, I thought that they dated the dash. I decided that a double din would give the panel the modern look as most car manufacturers are going that way.

The store that installed the radio initially included a sub woofer, initial check revealed that it would install under my front passenger seat. After the radio went in, the installer discovered that the sub woofer would not fit under the front passenger or driver seat. We looked around the truck and couldn't find an alternate placement location for the sub. I decided to cancel that component install to give more thought to placement options. So here I am, I invested the money to have the hu changed. There is an improvement in the sound quality but I don't think it justifies the money I have spend so far.

I am looking for ideas to take this a little further. I really would like to make some additional changes to get the sound a little better. Given the limited space in the access cab, does anyone have ideas where I could possibly place the sub? I was wondering about the possibility of placing it on the rear floor. If I were to do that, would it be possible to make it removable in the event I wanted to cram two people back there. Does anyone know of a sub that would fit under the front seats?

Thanks to all who respond in advance. I really value the help on the forum.

cbreeze

 

Did you add an amp yet?

 

There is a manufacture on here that makes rear access door panel subs for shallow 10's (believe it's 10's) but it's not cheap. Some people have put them inside the center console, or you could dedicate a seat or part of the floor like you said to it. To make it removable isn't too hard... mount an Alpine PDX amp under the pass seat, and then run some quick disconnect lines into the rear console or something so you can unplug the box when you need to reclaim the space.

 

madisonsfinest,

Thanks for the response. Looks like we both share the same occupation. No I haven't added an amp yet. I was hoping to avoid adding an amp and sub hoping that a hu up grade and possible speaker up grade will make me happy. I will see what ideas I get with this post but I am gonna call my radio shop tomorrow to talk about a speaker up grade. At this point I think the speaker up grade makes sense. I have a nice new hu installed and it doesn't seem right still using the factory speakers.

Be safe out there,

cbreeze

 

may i suggest if your not looking for a lot of bass how bout add a 4 channel amp and change the factory speakers skip the sub. i think maybe u can go to *********.com to get an idea on sub placement if you still prefer to go that route.

 

Im no expert but an amp to me is very important. An amp pushes the sounds you get through the speakers. If you add an amp without changing anything you might find a lot of difference. If you get an awesome head unit and speakers but lack the power to push them then you will only get a certain level of sound. The JBL unit with 6 discs, bluetooth, XM radio, amp and sub that came in my truck sounds pretty flat. I think the amp is way under powered. I would go to a local car audio specialty shop and ask some questions.

 

^^
my thoughts exactly

 

Greetings,

Just wanted to post an update here, primarily to help anyone with a similar question.

Had Kenwood component speakers installed in the front yesterday. With the new hu and speakers now, there is a marked improvement in sound quality. I simly could not believe how cheap the factory speakers were. I just might end the upgrade here. The tech and I briefly talked about putting speakers in the rear somewhere but will give that some thought.

There are two speakers in the roof, just to the side of the driver and passenger seat. They are useless. The tech used the work "crap" and he is right. Toyota would have been better to leave them out. We discussed replacing these but the tech thought there might be a problem with the overhead air bags. He said he believe that with the overhead airbags, the headliner is glued in making it a very difficult install.

Anyway, anyone contemplating a stere upgrade, I will add to the chorus that says great rid of the mickey mouse speakers first. My goal was fidelity over loud. What I have now is not perfect, but a marked improvement.

Happy 4th to all!!!!!!!

cbreeze

 

bump