Best speakers for Tacoma (front)

Appreciate that feedback, I think I'm going to do it for that benefit alone. Properly worded, interested in removing the "mud".

Any suggestions on places to buy/part#s?

 

$96 DS18 PRO-ST OEM Subaru/Toyota Upgrade Bullet Compression Tweeters with Crossovers 1.9" - Car OEM Tweeter Upgrade Kit for Many Subaru/Toyota Models - Replacement for H631SFJ101 and H631SFJ100 (Pair)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09HVCQZXF?smid=A2O35ZQF0HWQ2Q

 

Harman engineers calculated that the vehicle wiring will add impedance so their speakers (JBL, Reference+ are two of their brands) are designed at 2.3 ohms. I installed Reference+ 6x9 speakers from Crutchfield with the solid HPPE spacers from Taco****s after installing HushMat sound deadening in the front doors (after buying a pair of JBL 6x9s with Metra spacers). (I have two sets of the spacers since I didn't use the Crutchfield set... willing to part with those and the JBL 9638, too.)

Edit: after the Reference+ 9633ix in the front doors improved sound, I replaced the OEM double DIN unit with a Sony MEX-N5300BT single DIN unit, and I am much happier. I'll likely have to replace the OEM Bluetooth mic with the Sony mic after some time looking into the routing. For now, I'll stick with my old "I'll check Recent Calls and call you back after I park it."

 

I kept the factory head unit- went with the Infinity Kappa 603CF's up front, along with the Infinity Reference 6532ex in the back doors. Also installed a kicker key amp for all four door speakers, along with a sub and amp in the back- and it really sounds great.

 

Perfect, thankyou. Will be ordering.

 

I hadn't replaced the rear door speakers since the OE head unit's supplied power to them is less than the fronts (IIRC 7w rear vs 10w front). Didn't think replacement speakers would make much difference. However I just took a look at the Infinity REF-6532EX speakers you referenced and noted that they're 3 ohm (vs stock 4 ohm). That might be the key to getting a little more juice out of the rear door speakers even without a separate amp. Fairly inexpensive, so I may give them a try. Thanks for the tip!

 

I have put upgraded speakers and head units in all my cars since I was 18. (50 now)- this is probably one of the best sounding setups I've had. With the kicker- the amp also balances out the rear speakers with the front when you run the setup...

 

First vehicle I've had in decades that I haven't replaced the stereo! With some speaker tweaks, it actually sounds pretty decent.

 

Yeah the factory head unit does have a more front bias. I tried to over come that by setting the gain on my Alpine power pack a little bit higher for the rear channels but that didn't make a real substantial impact. I also took the speaker level feeds for the powered sub I'm installing off the front speaker outputs so as to try to avoid the lower rear power issue Toyota has created.
Why they did that I don't know either. My only guess to why is they wanted the sound to be stronger up front because they figured these trucks would mostly have a driver and front passenger only which is mostly the case for me.

 

Sorry, I misunderstood. I thought that you had changed the head unit itself for an Alpine stereo. Didn't realize you were supplementing the OE system with an Alpine amp.

 

Yep I used a universal version of the Alpine power pack to add more power to the system. It's a small amp that actually fit in behind the factory head unit. It puts out 45 Watts rms x 4. So that's way more than the head unit alone.
Here's a link to it. I'm sure there's other things you can do but it's a good little amp I think. The kicker key is about the same price but is currently sold out as it was when I bought mine.
https://www.crutchfield.com/S-16Bvy...VC-toh8Syku4Mmm4EWIFHjb9Hoi8-KYIaAvHoEALw_wcB

 

Nice. But when I start looking at paying that kind of money I start trying to justify a new head unit. Not today though.

 

True. I think I paid a bit less for the amp than the current price. It was almost 2 years ago and the price of everything has gone up some.

 

Whats your budget?

 

If you're asking me, it's not so much a budget thing... it's that I was just hoping that I didn't have to do it. Been installing aftermarket stereos in almost all of the vehicles I've owned over the past 40 or so years. I know that it's not difficult. I've already pulled the stereo out to add a Car Play adapter (more here) and it's exceedingly easy. But I kinda like the OE unit. Although it's not a capacitive touch screen, it works fine and looks nice. Just wanted to pop in some speakers and leave things be. Probably won't happen.

I added sound deadner and per @flattirebob installed new Infinity REF-6532EX speakers in the rear doors last night. Have the DS18 tweeters and Infinity Reference speakers front and back now. Sounds pretty good. Truth be told, the DS18 tweeters made the biggest difference. Who knew?! I just keep inching toward replacing the head unit and in the end probably will. If/when I do I'll probably go for one that replicates the Toyota personalization and data like the OE unit. Alpine makes a couple like that.

Open to any and all suggestions though! Guess I should prepare.

Edit: Should have mentioned that replacing the rear speakers didn't help with volume. The new speakers sound much better than OE, but they're still way under-powered compared to the front. Not sure why that's a design "feature", but it is what it is. Adding an amp or a new head unit would resolve that. The front and rear sound deadening improves the bass and makes it sound like I'm closing the refrigerator door now.

 

It really isn't. The WC6600NEX combined with an IDatalink Maestro retains full factory functionality including 360 camera, steering wheel controls, etc. It sits flush in the head unit spot as though it was made for it and looks totally OEM.

The rear sound stage in a car really doesn't matter. It exists for the passenger. You'll get much more bang for your buck upgrading the front, specifically the tweeters. If you can go for a full 3-way set-up with tweeters in the sail panel and a midbass in the dash (rather than running tiny tweeters in the perfect mid spot) you'll notice a huge difference.

I'm running a Helix V Eight DSP in the back driving my 3-way active front sound stage of BLAM Signature's and Focal Flax Evo PC165's in the rear. A second sub, a Match M.21, powers an Audison APS10d where the JBL used to be. No space lost.

 

Cow football is correct . The head unit will keep everything with the maestro , add some nice power and speakers and it is a game changer .
I did separates in the front
Coax in the back
Audio control 4 channel for the four corners and dash .
Audio control bass amp
10- inch sub behind passenger seat
Some sound deadening material
And it sounds really nice . Very clean and tight nothing crazy . I almost like driving the truck for just the sound system.lol

 

I'm thinking this setup might be in my future, and I'd also be keeping the factory non JBL head unit. I'm looking for a simple upgrade and this seems to fit the bill. Any reason I shouldn't go this route?

 

I haven't priced out the speakers TGP is selling as a "kit" individually. That's the only thing I'd do first. Check Crutchfield.com and Amazon. Most of the mounting kits and speaker connectors are either free or pretty inexpensive from Crutchfield. They also have a 60 day return policy and excellent customer service. Trail Grid Pro may be the way to go though.

 

I went with the kicker 2-3/4" speakers on the dash. I added a band pass filter so it's a mid range speaker. Then I added some kicker component speakers in the front door and put the tweeter in the A piller.