Upgrade head unit and speakers or just the speakers?

I started with just the Kicker tweeters, then replaced the door speakers with JBL GT7's and added a Kicker Key amp. Then replaced the Kicker tweeters and front door speakers with Kenwood components and switched the Key to run in bi-amp mode just driving the fronts, leaving the rears driven just by the head unit. Each upgrade was progressively better, but too many tweeters got to me. Sound is now much cleaner with a better sound stage.

 

I did kickers in the doors (powered by stock head unit) and a mono amp and sub. Door speakers sound fine with stock head unit IMO. Picked up the subaru tweeters as well but have yet to install them as I'm not sure I need them with 3-ways in the doors.

 

i did it all. how far down the rabbit hole do you want to go?

 

Does anyone know the difference between the Subaru (Kicker) tweeter upgrade and the Kicker CS series speakers for the dash? They are half the price of the Subaru Kickers. I've been looking at Crutchfield for all the Kicker door speakers and thinking about the amp too.
Here's a link to the Kicker CS speakers I'm talking about: https://www.crutchfield.com/p_20647KSC27/Kicker-47KSC2704.html

 

Those appear to not have a mounting solution. Like me, you could make your own brackets out of wood or thin. metal and they would work jsut fine!

 

If you buy them from Crutchfield, they come with the correct mounting brackets for the truck dash for free. I'm just curious if anyone know if these are similar to the Subaru Kickers, but half the price? I know the Subaru Kickers are tweeters and these are midrange speakers. But these come with "Two 150 microfarad capacitors" to help eliminate the lower frequencies.

 

I upgraded the door speakers to DS series Kicker replacements, did the Kicker Subaru tweeter upgrade and installed an

$270 Alpine KTP-445U Universal Power Pack

Alpine KTP-445U amplifier behind the head unit. That was a great improvement. I then built a fibreglass box and put a shallow mount 10" sub powered by a Hertz mono sub amp behind the right rear seat. That really helped too.

 

i also have stock Entunes HU and did the tweeters and front door speakers.
when doing the tweeters have the new ones within arms reach when you remove the very short wire from the old ones. hold on to the wire and grab the new one and clip it on. if you let go of the wire it can fall down in the dash and you will have to fish it out, the windshield is in the way.
also my issue was the front door panels vibrated when i played EDM loud so i had to take the panels off and install sound deading.



the bottom pic is the area by your shoulder driver side. that insert is poorly attached and can vibrate, you can see where i added white caulk also. i also sound deadend the door area.
issue solved!

 

Stock ‘premium sound’ Entune head unit, no JBL. Did the Subaru tweeter upgrade, then upgraded both front and rear speakers to Kickers thru Crutchfield. I did do the door matting/insulation too. It’s not concert hall quality, but def a nice upgrade for not a lot of dough - and everything was absolutely plug and play, not a wire cut. Once you remove the stock speakers you’ll realize they’re pretty ‘light’ duty, and don’t expect much from the rear speakers - they are pretty well necked down even if you use fader. Very happy and will see how they all break in. Stopping at that as it definitely could be a very deep hole to continue down.
Someone asked about visor lights - I purchased mine all from Diode Dynamics, all 5k white color. Great product, and a good warranty. Very happy there too.

 

I did the Rockford Falsecape front dash speakes as the kickers are just a tweeter where as my dash speakers are a 2 in 1 which still gives you the highs and the speakers make it a little clearer. I then added the Rockford amp and box with their 8 inch sub. Its a box sub combo and fits perfect in the space behind the pass side rear seat. Looks oem and fits like it was made for it. All wires are all completely hidden, no pop noise or any issues what so ever. It sounds awesome. The stereo shop I have used for years have a custome made box for the Tacoma but was expensive and I wasn't looking to put a $1000 in a box and sub but for $550 I got better dash speakers and a sub and amp combo all installed. It is perfect for me and just what I was looking for. Nice clean and crisp sounds with a nice punch of clear bass. Check it out.

 

I like the head unit, so far, and just upgraded all the speakers with Kicker KS series speakers. Huge improvement over the shitty OEM speakers. Don’t just do the tweeters (I bought some Kickers where I had to solder on the filter; if I knew about the Subaru ones, I would have bought those ones); do all of the speakers. The whole entire set of Kicker KS series for my truck was about $300.

 

That's what I am doing...Installation on Saturday......

 

Subaru OEM Kicker Tweeter Upgrade - 2015+ WRX / 2015+ STI / 2014+ Forester / 2013+ Crosstrek|Subispeed


This is the website I always used to buy my WRX parts. It's also where I got these when I upgraded my WRX's system. Kinda kicking myself that I didn't part them out when I traded it in last year. I just ordered them for my SR5.

 

$99.00
https://www.ebay.com/itm/265483094245?fits=Make:Subaru&epid=1729959960

$69.00 These could be a good upgrade ?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/304213909577?epid=16050637839

 

Looking to upgrade my sound system on my 2016 SR5 I have a head unit off a friends 2021 TSS. Does anyone know of a plug and play adapter or can anyone make one for me? I am more than happy to pay for your time and knowledge TIA.

 

My setup is as follows:

• Stock Entune Plus HU
• Subaru / Kicker Tweeters
• Kicker CS 6x9 front door speakers
• Kicker CS 6.75 rear door speakers
• Kenwood 5-channel amp
• JL Audio Stealthbox

I'm amped through the stock wiring for the door speakers using speaker level inputs / outputs and then using the amp's speaker into to sub out capability. I also have a remote amp knob to control the subwoofer channel.

It definitely sounds good. The Stealthbox has plenty of bass, but not any more than the 2 10" Polk subwoofers and small RF amp I used back in the early 2000s. Sound quality is good, but it's definitely not as good as the aftermarket HU / component setup I had in my old Subaru. I'm currently fighting some technical issues with my setup that is irking me, but that's not the fault of the components, but the install itself.

The stereo is definitely better, but there's obvious limitations with the stock HU as well as benefits. The obvious limitations is that the rear speakers are effectively non-existent. I know that for proper soundstage and the like you don't want rear speakers for anything but fill, but they are quiet and it is annoying. It's also frustrating as most amplifiers / breakout harnesses use the rear speakers for the subwoofer input so that reduced signal definitely makes itself known. I'm giving the Stealthbox slightly more than rated RMS power if I were to crank the remote amp knob and the volume and it should shake the truck to death and while it sounds good, it's not "blow the speakers" loud.

I have to believe a dedicated HU with dedicated inputs / outputs will significantly improve the quality of the audio as well as give features like CarPlay, but gone are the days of quality budget HUs. Some of the larger screen HUs are well into the four figures and are they that much better than what I've got, I don't know.

The Kicker door speakers definitely require more power than the stock HU is going to give you, so you might gain clarity, but the upgrades may not be as good as you hope them to be. When I ran the Kicker door speakers un-amped they sounded good, but I don't know what I was expecting.

 

Be careful when you remove the door panels. The small white clip can easily end up falling some where in you doorand they are always easy to find. The link below is what i'm referring to.

$8 Rexka 30pcs Door Garnish Moulding Retainer Clip Compatible with Toyota Lexus 67771-58010 Tundra Tacoma Sequoia RAV4 Land Cruiser Highlander C-HR Yaris Scion xD

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CJLB1BP?ie=UTF8

 

My JBL is very disappointing. I feel ripped off and the dealership agrees.
My next taco I’m going to order with no audio at all. Then I’ll call Crutchfield and install soup to nuts including the wiring along with matching speakers amp and the works.

Speaker upgrades are worthwhile, but to really be happy I’d presume a head upgrade will seal the deal. You may need to fix the wiring as well. But you can test that pretty easily.

 

Upgrade the head unit if you want Apple Car Play

 

Got all speakers installed today, sound is awesome.
Not a boom boom bass mobile, since I don't have subs, but without a amp it sounds so clear and has enough bass for me.
The stock speakers were a joke.