Suggestions for 'reasonable' sound system improvements?

I've got the Entune Premium Audio with Integrated Nav and App Suite in my new truck. The sound the system produces is ok, but not great. I'd like to improve the quality of what I hear without spending more than one large, including professional installation. I'd like to get some more volume, too, since, when I drive with the windows open, the music sound kinda disappears.

So, I am thinking...replace some or all of the speakers, and wire in an amp but keep the head unit. I don't think I need a subwoofer...I mostly listen to "classical" music or the sort of "reasonable rock" old farts like me like.

Suggestions for gear? I'd like the "new stuff" to fit precisely into the holes left behind by the "old stuff."

Thanks.

 

Crutchfield.com is awesome for this. They do a whole lot of research as to what fits and what does not fit on various models. 6x9 speakers are a common size so your "new stuff" should fit directly into the old holes. Worst case scenario, if you go from oval speakers to round speakers, or if Toyota has some sort of wacky setup behind there (haven't looked on mine yet!) there's usually a simple plate that adapts them. No fabrication on your side, it would be "screw new speaker into plate, screw plate into factory holes."

As far as your budget and use case goes, I think you might be able to get away with just new speakers, so long as you look at their sensitivity. Sensitivity is how efficient the speaker is, or how well it turns the existing power into noise. Get speakers that are like ~92dB or higher sensitivity (Crutchfield tells you this, it should be on the "details" tab of all the speakers they sell) and you should find that it's noticeable in how much more louder-er it gets.

Drop the coin on 2 pairs of really nice, high sensitivity speakers for like $150 a pair and you're in it $300, and if you listen and it still doesn't get you the volume you wanted, then you can look at putting an amp in and you've got plenty of budget left!

 

I have one of these: http://www.crutchfield.com/S-LD1Pr6KEPJi/p_777B8PTD/Sound-Ordnance-B-8PTD.html

I put it under the driver's seat, fit perfectly. I found that the weakness with the sound on my 2011 was the low end. This fills it in nicely, wasn't expensive, and stays out of sight. The benefit to a small sub like that is you can take the low frequency load off the door speakers, which allows them to get louder.

I also have a Kenwood DDX271, mainly for the functionality (the factory '11 headunit was a joke). All of my speakers are factory.

I have nice stuff at home/work (Klipsch/Polk), but for the truck I'm more than happy with the change from just adding the cheap sub.

 

Speakers etc aside.. One of the best things you can do, that will even make your stock stuff sound better.. Is sound deaden the whole cab, it will help keep out road noise and keep down vibrations.. Won't do much for you when you have your windows down tho.. But it is worth doing regardless. Just makes it sound/feel more solid.

I noticed a noticeable difference when I still had stock speakers, but sound deadened.

 

^^^ That +1