Premium Audio Upgrade for less than $250

Good call - take a look at the edits and see if that gets the job done. It's been 6 months since I've installed mine so I'm a little rusty on the process I used

 

@bshammer0 this is a good graphic....

 

done

 

OK, speakers done, @bshammer0 you can choose to include some of these tips in your OP or not, it's your thread . . . just throwing out what I did and what I think might help some folks with this awesome upgrade.

I went with JBL speakers based on some specs, but I don't think there would be much difference with the CS or DS series Kickers, specs are really close as well as price. As long as you stick with speakers that have a sensitivity over 90dB and aren't designed for high-power systems, you should be fine. Front is the Subaru Kicker tweeters, JBL GT7 3-way 6x9's, rear is 2-way GT7 6.5.

I have the Entune Premium HU. I have Bass 3 clicks up, Mid 1 click up and Treble flat in the center. It sounds AWESOME compared to stock, complete difference, no comparison. It did sound a bit better with just the tweeters, but WAY better with the speaker replacement.

Some tips based on my install experience:

- If you don't have panel removal tools, get the orange ones that are recommended in the OP, although you may not need the more expensive set. I went with the cheaper set and it had everything I needed -- but it is well worth the few dollars to avoid marring your interior with a screwdriver or whatever else you have laying around.

- The connector for the power windows on the driver side can be a pain. There is one tab to press down, but it is hard to get it pressed down far enough with your fingers. There is an opening just below the release tab. I used the pointy part of a panel tool to press in that opening and get the connector to release. This is the same connector that gave my grief on my wife's old 4Runner.

- Taking off door panels: Once you have all the small trim and screws out, start from the bottom of the door to get it started. If you are being overly cautious like I was, it could take some time to get the first clip to pop loose. Once it starts popping loose, go evenly side-to-side to avoid trashing your clips. Even if you bought new clips, you don't want to trash the door panel. I got lucky and was able to salvage all my clips, but this is the first time I was able to do that. I trashed multiple clips on previous installs.

- ***Panel clips***: In many cases, especially with the small trim panels, the clips stuck in the door and did not come out with the panel. Be sure to remove the clips from the door and put them on the panel for re-installation! Small panels may go back on OK, but the door panels will not. Several door panel clips stuck in the door, and this is an area where one of those orange fork tools comes in to make things easier. Don't force stuff too much.

- The cheesy featherweight stock speakers have a thin foam insulating ring/gasket type thing where they mate with the door panel. If you are OCD like me, and careful, you can peel that off and stick it to the new speaker adapters. The rear ones require a little stretching as you are sticking it on, but they are foam and stretch easily. Just a little insurance against buzzing or vibration, but probably not necessary.

- Rear speakers: The screws that came with the JBL speakers were too long and stuck through the back of the adapter by about 1/8". This prevented mounting. Regardless of which rear speaker you go with, the screws cannot be protruding past the mounting surface. I had some shorter sheet metal screws that are slightly larger in diameter that worked well. There are also some outer tabs on the adapters I got that needed to be popped off, similar to those inner tabs.

- As already covered, the front Metra speaker adapter screw holes don't line up nice with the 6x9 speakers. Apparently this is an issue with both the Kicker and JBL speakers, so not sure what Metra is using as a standard. As mentioned, start the screws at an angle and you can get them cinched down, it's not that far off.

- Connecting the Metra adapter wires to the speakers takes some finesse. It is a good, tight connection but takes some pressure. Be careful not to damage your new speakers getting the connectors on. Be patient, they will eventually go on. I braced them from the back with the side of a set of pliers so I could get enough leverage.

- You don't want much wire hanging out of the hole on the speaker adapters. Leave most of the wire behind the speaker and the adapter, only the connector needs to be accessible. Too much wire might interfere with getting the door panel back on.

- If you are OCD like me: I spent about 2 hours prepping the speakers and adapters (mounting the speakers, getting the connectors on, securing the wires, etc.) with some family distractions in the middle. It did take about an hour or so to get them installed once prepped. Take your time and don't expect it to take an hour, especially if you haven't done it before. Count on 3 and you should be fine.

Anyway, great find, and I am super happy with the outcome. And I only spent $220! Now I gotta find some Pink Floyd and go sit in my truck . . .

 

This thread was my intro to TW this week! Ordered the tweeters, and Kicker CS speakers front and rear on Monday night. Just installed the tweeters tonight, and the speakers will be here on Friday.

 

Welcome to TW!
Enjoy and Learn.
There's a lot of experience here.
But, Mind your wallet!
There's always something shiny that you think you need.

 

Ordered all items OP went with, plus 36 sq ft of the 80 mil Noico for less than $260. I’ll have enough for the whole interior. Will borrow the seam roller.
EBay 15% sale for the sound deadener and tweeters. Keep an eye out because they have been running 15-20% sales on ANY item. Went with Cruthfield for door speakers because of free accessories and a pretty good website.
Might need some tips on install...
See you guys soon

 

Welcome!

 

Replaced my JBL tweeters with the Kickers.

 

I can not believe you guys are buying subaru tweeters, they're oem lol. And they probably don't have a timely crossover (Where one speaker begins to play and the other one no longer handles said frequency of the other speaker.) with kicker or stock speakers.
The best option on the market for a cheap pair of components is morel maximo 6 (2 way) you could even run these active and they don't have a bright tweeter. Crutchfield has the best offer going. They're better than hertz speakers and jl audio by a long shot. A pair of morel maximo 6 rear co-axials for the rears leaves kicker in the dust guys. This is just advice from a car audio enthusiast who's installing a sub and these as well. A great forum to learn about car audio is diymobile.com
Also your not going to escape factory radio eq settings without replacing the radio... however crutchfield does give you a speaker adapter to plug into your oem harness in the door with any purchase of speakers I guess if you tell them what you drive. Also they give you free door adapters... all with the lowest price I've found online for the morel maximo 6.
I also can not believe you guys think cutting up the oem speakers is a good idea for an adapter, they're like $80 from toyota a piece. Waste of money guys if you wanted to go back to stock.

 

I thought the same thing on the tweeters, but they are actually Kicker tweeters and do have a high pass filter that allows more frequency through than the stock speakers. This is covered in the thread. Way better than stock and just bolt right in. I think most everyone here has been ordering from Crutchfield and getting the free installation gear, I don't recall anyone cutting anything up. For component tweeter mounting (not covered in this thread), Crutchfield sells strips of back strap to make your own mount now. That's how I have done it on previous installs and it works well. This thread is all about cheap plug and play improvements, though.

I was looking at those Morels and considered going that route, but I went with the highest sensitivity and lowest wattage in an attempt to get the most out of the head unit. I ended up going the JBL route, which is what I have used in a previous install and was happy with. But, I looked long and hard at the Morels. If someone goes that route, it would be nice to hear their thoughts. Information available indicated they may require a bit more power to run than a stock head unit can provide -- but the Entune head unit has surprised me.

My stock speakers just went in the garbage, no going back to stock for me, lol. They would just take up space in the garage.

 

That is exactly why the good Lord invented the DSP.

 

For a 2nd gen there may be some merit to your concerns/comments. Many different ways to get there... For the 3rd gens those tweeters sound fantastic and are a stupid easy install with no wiring / mounts needed.

 

PSA

Crutchfield peanuts completely dissolve in water by design. No need to trash or recycle.

 

I wish those air-filled plastic bags that most things come with these days also did the same. Or at least had a better perforation to tear along vs. taking scissors to them each time. #firstworldproblems

....my conveniently packaged box of crap I was too lazy to go buy at a store came in packaging it took me an extra 30 seconds to break down. ha

 

A couple things here.

I have owned a 2nd gen and a 3rd gen and I can tell you that both audio systems are completely different animals. The 2nd gen's were much easier to work with, so swapping out speakers was very straight forward. With the 3rd gens...it got a lot weirder because the front tweeter (in the dash) is wired in series with the front woofer (in the door). So if you replace the OEM tweeter, then you have to either run new wires or cut into the wiring harness and splice it so that the woofer will still work. Many people are not comfortable doing either of those.

Is the Subaru tweeter going to be as good as Morel/Hertz/JL Audio? Hell no! But it's far better than the crap OEM tweeter and it only takes 15 minutes to install both. This thread is all about saving money, and saving time (or install fees) factors into the decision process in this thread.

With Subaru tweeter, you are getting a Kicker tweeter that is plug and play. The speaker is tehcnically an OEM speaker for Subaru, but it's an upgrade option for Subaru similar to our JBL upgrade option...but made by Kicker. But the main thing is, it has the same connector as our stock tweeter, plus it is wired to pass the signal thru to the woofer...so no messing with wires.

One thing that both gen's had in common was that if you had the JBL package, it made things a lot harder unless you replaced the entire system (HU, speakers, & the amp).


The other things I'll point out is that the Premium Entune headunit in the TRDs is actually one of the better factory HU's out there that I've worked with. It has good power output and it's realtively clean EQ settings. Yes, you should still get a sound processor to clean it up, but for those looking for a cheap and simple system upgrade, I do not think that it is necissary to upgrade this HU.


And as for going back to stock...there will never be a shortage of people trying to give away their OEM speakers. lol No one wants to buy them cause they suck that bad. They barely qualify as paper weights!! Personnaly, I had no problem with the crutchfield supplied speaker adaptors, so my OEM speakers are still untouched and collecting dust in my garage.

 

The OEM Taco speakers are probably the cheapest they could make them
Why are you letting garther your precious dust? Don't wish them on any one else, trash them.
If they need speakers tell them to go to Wally World and spend $29.00, and find adapters anywhere.
I went for soundproofing first, that's when I saw how crappy the speakers were I knew the need to replace them.

 

I have completed my upgrade as you detailed and been running it a few weeks now. I would describe it as high end “factory” upgrade. Not as stellar as a big dollar setup but definitely a solid performer. Now I am waiting on my kicker hideaway powered sub because what the hell. I am so impressed with the Subie tweeters and Kicker CS upgrade this should be the final piece to the puzzle. I never would have imagined such a nice sound with this upgrade so might as well finish it off.

Big thanks to the OP. You have done us all a huge service by posting this thread.

 

Hey guys, new to the forum! I just brought a 2018 Tacoma Limited with the JBL speakers and I had a few questions for anyone who has/had the same JBL system and a speaker upgrade:

1. Can I still do the Subaru tweeters in this truck?
2. Anyone do the Lanzar OPTI6PM front speakers and will they work in the truck?
3. And last question, this truck has a subwoofer in the back passenger side, has anyone upgraded that and if so, what did you throw in there?

 

For #1, I think you can, but @ToyoDrew might be able to give you some pointers. The JBL system is a bit different.

For #2, haven't heard of them but looked them up. I will just leave this here:


For #3, again, I am sure people have, but you may want to search and post in the main Audio forum for pointers. Upgrading the JBL system moves out of the cheap plug-and-play realm. The JBL system in my wife's 4Runner sounds great, though. No reason to upgrade.