Tweeter (or seperate) speaker

So my 2013 Access Cab has those small speakers on the upper part of the door panel- they look like the tweeter for a set of separates but I am sure they actually aren't- they are probably just crappy normal range speakers. Well, the driver side one has something rattling around in it and sounds even worse than when it was new (shocking) and even though I can probably have Toyota replace it under my extended warranty, I figured I could get something better and do it myself. I used to do all that big pimpin' stereo stuff, so I'm not afraid to do it myself. What do I need to buy as far as size ad range? They are not a tweeter separate, correct? In fact, if someone has a suggestion with a link I would love that. Tell me what to buy, spend my money for me!

 

Does no one know at least the size of this speaker? I'd like to take the door apart once!

 

those are indeed tweeters and I believe they are stock 1/2". If you replace them, you will need to make a bracket because they are shaped oddly - people have just butchered up the stock ones to fit aftermarket tweeters into the existing template. There are no crossovers for the existing set up so if you do decide to go with the full package, you will need to find a decent place to mount them behind the door panel.

Plenty of write-ups int he audio sub-forum and walk through guides to do it. Crutchfield offers plenty of options that would fit your truck. Again, you will need adapters to fit both the tweeter and 6 1/2" driver in the door if you want to do a full swap.

 

I have 2 free Mr. Marv tweeter adapters you can have if you want them. He makes the best adapters I have seen.

 

I just finished installing a set of Infinity Reference (X REF-6500cx) component speakers from Crutchfield in my 2015 Tacoma Access Cab front doors. Accessories provided by Crutchfield included mounting brackets for the woofer and a wiring harness to connect the new MR/W to the OEM MR/W wiring harness. There was no mounting bracket provided for the tweeter. I used the mounting brackets provided by Infinity but had to drill holes for the self-tapping screws. I mounted the tweeters in the same location as the OEM upper ranger speakers (you can hardly call them tweeters - the magnets on these are actually larger than the magnets on the OEM woofers).

I mounted the crossover in approximately the same location on the door panel as the electric window controller. I then connected the OEM woofer connector to the crossover inputs (+/-) using the wiring harness provided by Crutchfield, and then connected the crossover tweeter +/- and woofer +/- outputs to the tweeter and woofer respectively. After I had everything mounted and connected it was time to test the system - there was no sound except for the sounds coming from the pathetic speakers mounted in the headliner. After playing around with it a while I discovered that everything worked when I connected the OEM upper range speakers to the unused OEM upper wiring harness.

I contacted Crutchfield's tech support. The tech support guy consulted the Toyota wiring diagram and was able to correctly determine that the real +/- outputs coming from the head unit were actually on the OEM wiring harness for the upper range speakers (tweeter); a 4-wire connector which effectively wires the tweeters wired out of phase from the OEM woofer. The wiring harness provided by Crutchfield to connect to the woofer turned out to be unneeded. The +/- input to the OEM woofer is piggybacked off of this 4-wire connector. Looking at the 4-wire connector head on, from left to right, is 1.(-), 2. (+), 3. (-), 4. (+). Left side, pink is (+) and purple is(-). Right side green is (+) and blue is (-). Wires 3 & 4 are the +/- from the head unit. I connected these two wires to the crossover and everything worked as it should.

Now that the component speakers are working properly I am a bit disappointed in the sound. The tones are definitely richer and more distinct than the OEM speakers, but they are definitely lacking in the low end. I had thought my next step would be to install a four channel amplifier, such as the

$288 Alpine KTP-445U Universal Power Pack

Alpine KTP-445U Power Pac, which may improve the sound quality. However, due to the frequency response of the Infinity X REF-6500cx’s and the de-tuning of the OEM head unit, I doubt that the amplifier will improve the low end sound without installing an equalizer and possibly a sub-woofer.

 

Not to jack this guys thread, but an amplifier will bring back your low end. Do you still have the factory head unit? That thing is weak just like the stock speakers and can't push the aftermarkets hard enough to create any decent low end. Even an aftermarket head unit will be able to push a little more power to drive the 6.5s.

I had the same issue when I installed some Image Dynamic components in my Tacoma. Nice crisp highs but actually the entire sounds was downgraded quite a bit. After putting in an Alpine head unit, I got a little more low end, but an amp would of been a huge upgrade.

 

So I guess nothing fits in the stock opening other than the stock speaker? I appreciate the offer, but I may have to put some more thought into this, so I'll let you know. Thanks!

 

Thanks for the response GuitarJamman.

Jethro, There are sources for tweeter mounts like ********* and like Unchained 150 mention from Mr. Marv. You can find mounts to fit most any aftermarket tweeter there.

It amazes me the extent that Toyota goes to to make these systems proprietary. Why couldn't they just provide decent head units and components?

 

I wouldn't say nothing other than stock fits. It just depends on what you want to achieve in the end and how much modification you're willing to do.

My ft1 tweeters fit just fine. **old pic**

 

Yeah, WTF. So it sounds like my best bet if I'm not interested in changing anything else is to just get another crappy, Toyota unit to go back in?