Audio upgrade for 96 single cab

I have a 96 single cab, 5 lug Tacoma with factory radio, speakers, etc. Can anyone recommend me a good set of speakers and head unit for an upgrade? Not looking to add a sub or amp or anything crazy, just better speakers (maybe 6.5" if they will fit...not sure if they will though??) And a better head unit. One with GPS navigation would be cool but from what I've seen those are $$$. I'm ok with spending mid range, say $100 for set of speakers and $200-250 on the stereo. Hope that gives me some decent options, would appreciate any advice or recommendations.

And yes I did search and the search feature sucks on here for whatever reason...didn't find what I was looking for.

Thanks!

 

Crutchfield is your goto place.

 

Been looking on there but mainly I need to know #1: What mods does it take, if any, to fit 6.5" speakers in the doors

And #2 what brand head unit is decent for my price range? Crutchfield has lots of options but I'm new to stereo stuff so just looking for opinions

Thanks

 

Plug in your vehicle in Crutchfield and it will give you filtered options

https://www.crutchfield.com/g_400/All-Car-Speakers.html?tp=105&l=C

You can do 6.5s (s = slim mount) in the front doors with no modification.

 

Thanks, I did that and found a bunch that said they would fit. Was just coming here for some real world feedback and hopefully recommendation on a certain brand, etc.

Also thank you for confirming the 6.5 slim mount will fit, that helps a lot

 

You can also try the audio/video sub-forum.

As far as 6.5" speakers, IMO I doubt you're going to notice much of a difference between a 5.25" and a slim 6.5, especially without an amp.

As for brands, at your price range just about *anything* is going to be a vast improvement over the stock stereo, and I doubt there's much of a difference across brands either.

I'm partial to Kenwood deck only because that's what I've had in my 2004 Doublecab since about 2005 and it's still working great. Still running stock speakers, though...

 

For best sound you need to stiffen the outer door skin with some sort of deadener.

Also you should amplify the speakers.

I really like the sound of my Polk Audio 6.5s speakers powered by a small amp.

I did properly deaden the doors etc

 

I suggest a head unit that has time alignment or seating position eq; makes a huge difference. Also Bluetooth, great for streaming from phone and taking calls hands free. Don’t bother with gps; the stock location is far too low for that to be effective. Smartphone gps mounted up high ftw. For speakers, don’t get anything too power hungry unless you plan on adding amplification.

 

Can you explain what time alignment is? I assume seating position equalizer equalizes both speakers, correct?

Bluetooth is a must have for sure.

I've seen some pretty small amps but idk what goes into that. Like once you add an amp does it need it's own wiring, or this or that, etc. Whats the advantage to an amp and no sub vs no amp?

 

Time alignment delays the signal from the nearest speaker so the sound from each speaker reaches the listener in a phase-coherent manner. Helps with perceived bass response since it mitigates wave cancellation from out of phase signals reaching your ears at the same time. Also helps maintain a more accurate soundstage. Only works for one seating position at a time unless you have a center channel speaker, which your Tacoma doesn’t. Therefore the sound quality suffers for the passenger seat.

Some head units allow you to measure this with a microphone on the driver headrest and a series of test tones from one speaker at a time. Simpler implementations just have some presets that do a pretty good job, which is what I’m calling seating position eq.

 

Gotcha, that makes sense. Thanks for the explanation

 

Like a couple have mentioned, if you're definitely not going to add an amp, make sure you get efficient speakers, meaning they don't take a lot of power to drive them. There is an efficiency rating which is based on decibels of output at a certain wattage. The higher the number the more efficient they are. And speakers that will be driven decently on head unit power will have a lower watts RMS rating like 15-40 watts give or take instead of like 60-100 and more. Ignore peak watt ratings of speakers for the most part. I also second using crutchfield to see what fits but I have often found better prices elsewhere. And lastly try simply googling "best 6.5 on head unit power" or "best 6.5 no amp" and other variations of that. You will get multiple results from others asking the same questions on car audio forums. Then you can read through the members' responses. if you start to see a few speaker models repeated in a few places you'll start to get an idea of a set that may sound great for you on your head unit.

Good luck!

 

As for brands, I don't think I have run (or can't remember ha!) aftermarket speakers on head unit power so I can't comment on that but I have been quite happy with both the Pioneer HUs I have had in recent years.

 

Thanks for the response.

So an amp basically steps up the power going to the speakers allowing the head unit power go into sounds vs running itself and the speakers? I've seen some pretty small amps that I could fit somewhere in the truck, if it's a worthwhile upgrade.

 

Sort of...external amp takes the head unit amp out of the picture entirely. Try with head unit power first, since installing an amp and running speaker wire to the doors is a royal PITA.

 

Gotcha. Will do, I think that sounds simpler to me. Will start off with that! Really appreciate the help guys

 

OP, how is your audio endeavor coming along?

 

Slowly, I decided I'm going with a Kenwood double din head and probably just some stock size kicker speakers. I like the little pocket below the radio for a cell phone, etc but I hate how small all the buttons get on a single din. So double it is, nothing super fancy. Will update when I get it ordered. Time has been my biggest issue so far and I haven't had much of it.

 

Cool. Well, let us know how it goes when you have a chance.

 

You need a fairly good sub to get the most out of your system