Some advice on upgrading the speakers

[DaveJenks95 3]

Hi all,

Ive been in the process of looking to replace the standard speakers which are widely regarded as rubbish!!

All im looking for, is to replace the door speakers and the tweeters on the top of the dash. I dont want to replace the headunit, as it fits my needs.

However, its proving more tricky than I thought to get some replacement speakers that can be simply installed without any spacers/customising etc. I have already looked through the forum for assistance, however its all confusing me ! Im not tech savy!

 

In summary, has anyone replaced their stock speakers with aftermarket ones without any cutting or adapting required. If so, please could you recommend the speakers which you used 

 

Grateful for any advice

 

Dave 

[LarmiqGt 49]

Focal do an integrated range which are simply plug and play in the doors. It you want to add a 2 way in then unfortunately there will most likely be some sort of fabricating/making a bracket. I installed the focal ps165's and an amp but I've installed speakers and amps a number of times. 

In short if you want tweeters and you haven't already got the jbl system then no its not usually plug and play.

I'd recommend focal though 

[Church 209]

And if you got LOT of cache to spare, look into OEM+ offerings, eg. Reference 450Q. Will cost as much as stock option of JBL speakers, but supposedly you'll actually get top sound.

[Kodename47 446]

Quite a few people suggest that the poor quality is mainly down to the HU rather than the speakers.....

[billdingo 14]

1 hour ago, LarmiqGt said:

Focal do an integrated range which are simply plug and play in the doors. It you want to add a 2 way in then unfortunately there will most likely be some sort of fabricating/making a bracket. I installed the focal ps165's and an amp but I've installed speakers and amps a number of times. 

In short if you want tweeters and you haven't already got the jbl system then no its not usually plug and play.

I'd recommend focal though 

The focal integrated replace the tweeters in the dash as well, so still two way.

[rob275 1817]

Focals are worth the punt. You're welcome to sit in my car at a show and listen to my OEM+ install which is fairly plug and play. There's only one bit of crimping to do and that's the fuse from the battery.

[DaveJenks95 3]

Long story short, it sounds like there isnt a simple fix a such. I will look into a local car customising store that might be able to help me out :). Thanks for the info though  

[DaveJenks95 3]

1 minute ago, rob275 said:

Focals are worth the punt. You're welcome to sit in my car at a show and listen to my OEM+ install which is fairly plug and play. There's only one bit of crimping to do and that's the fuse from the battery.

Would love too. If you dont mind me asking, how much did your system cost?

[ThatGuyThere 54]

1 minute ago, rob275 said:

Focals are worth the punt. You're welcome to sit in my car at a show and listen to my OEM+ install which is fairly plug and play. There's only one bit of crimping to do and that's the fuse from the battery.

Did you do any sound deadening along with fitting the front speakers? I'm shocked at how much the trim vibrates even with the OEM speakers with a little bass!

[ThatGuyThere 54]

3 minutes ago, DaveJenks95 said:

Long story short, it sounds like there isnt a simple fix a such. I will look into a local car customising store that might be able to help me out :). Thanks for the info though  

I think as per this thread:
 

These speakers are a direct swap and do exactly what you are asking for: https://audiovisualworld.co.uk/focal-is-165toy-toyota-model-16-5cm-2-way-component-speaker-kit.html

I'm considering the same.

[rob275 1817]

1 minute ago, DaveJenks95 said:

Would love too. If you dont mind me asking, how much did your system cost?

Around £1500 by the time it landed in the UK, the focals are plug and play though if you want an easy option. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Focal-IS165TOY-Component-Speakers-Fortuner/dp/B010TR7NBM

They are two ways and fit directly. I've fitted them in to Sarahs GT86 with Keith.

Just now, Adamd said:

Did you do any sound deadening along with fitting the front speakers? I'm shocked at how much the trim vibrates even with the OEM speakers with a little bass!

No, the OEM+ kit is tuned to reduce trim vibrations  it's not required.

[DaveJenks95 3]

3 minutes ago, Adamd said:

I think as per this thread:
 

These speakers are a direct swap and do exactly what you are asking for: https://audiovisualworld.co.uk/focal-is-165toy-toyota-model-16-5cm-2-way-component-speaker-kit.html

I'm considering the same.

Ill look into these! thanks!

[DaveJenks95 3]

This looks like an option to pursue???

[S18 RSG 429]

Adam already linked my thread talking about this subject, but I'll clarify my findings for you here.

This list is in order of quality with what I did to my car (worst to best):

1. Stock HU and stock speakers
2. Uprated HU and stock speakers
3. Stock HU and Focal IS165TOY speakers
4. Uprated HU and Focal IS165TOY speakers
5. Uprated HU and Focal IS165TOY speakers with sound deadening in doors

If you only want to change speakers, I would recommend the Focal speakers that have been linked here a few times. They take 20 minutes per side to change (as long as you're familiar with removing the door cards) as it's just 3 screws and 1 plug per speaker. The tweeters are a little more involved, but still only took me around 30 mins per side. 

Although I didn't test it, I would guess that stock HU with these speakers and some sound deadening in the doors would sit somewhere between 4th and 5th on this list. The head unit made some difference, but it's not an Alpine or Pioneer, so I didn't expect much, but the sound deadening made a good difference.

I went between the door skins for the speakers, and it made such a difference that I put some more under the rear seats, footwell, boot and bonnet. Only used very light stuff, but made a big difference to road noise, which in of itself improves sound quality by eliminating other noise.

[LarmiqGt 49]

18 hours ago, billdingo said:

The focal integrated replace the tweeters in the dash as well, so still two way.

I didn't see this when looking for mine! You learn something every day!

[ThatGuyThere 54]

On 16/03/2017 at 10:52 AM, S18 RSG said:

Adam already linked my thread talking about this subject, but I'll clarify my findings for you here.

This list is in order of quality with what I did to my car (worst to best):

1. Stock HU and stock speakers
2. Uprated HU and stock speakers
3. Stock HU and Focal IS165TOY speakers
4. Uprated HU and Focal IS165TOY speakers
5. Uprated HU and Focal IS165TOY speakers with sound deadening in doors

If you only want to change speakers, I would recommend the Focal speakers that have been linked here a few times. They take 20 minutes per side to change (as long as you're familiar with removing the door cards) as it's just 3 screws and 1 plug per speaker. The tweeters are a little more involved, but still only took me around 30 mins per side. 

Although I didn't test it, I would guess that stock HU with these speakers and some sound deadening in the doors would sit somewhere between 4th and 5th on this list. The head unit made some difference, but it's not an Alpine or Pioneer, so I didn't expect much, but the sound deadening made a good difference.

I went between the door skins for the speakers, and it made such a difference that I put some more under the rear seats, footwell, boot and bonnet. Only used very light stuff, but made a big difference to road noise, which in of itself improves sound quality by eliminating other noise.

Very useful post, thank you.

Can I ask which HU you went with, and did you utilise the small amp that you purchased with the speakers? If so - where did you mount it? Many thanks again.

[S18 RSG 429]

21 minutes ago, Adamd said:

Very useful post, thank you.

Can I ask which HU you went with, and did you utilise the small amp that you purchased with the speakers? If so - where did you mount it? Many thanks again.

No problem I went with the XTrons Android unit that a few people on here have. It's fairly OEM looking, cheap, has every feature I would need and fits the space perfectly. 

I did initially fit the amp, and while it made a decent difference at high volumes, it had a fair amount of noise, which I thought was due to an earthing problem, but turned out to be something else. I therefore removed it and have never fitted it since.

[ThatGuyThere 54]

2 minutes ago, S18 RSG said:

No problem I went with the XTrons Android unit that a few people on here have. It's fairly OEM looking, cheap, has every feature I would need and fits the space perfectly. 

I did initially fit the amp, and while it made a decent difference at high volumes, it had a fair amount of noise, which I thought was due to an earthing problem, but turned out to be something else. I therefore removed it and have never fitted it since.

Lovely stuff, thanks. Did you get one of the cheapy fascia panels to fill the gaps in the dash, and if so do you have any photos - I don't want to make the cheap dash any worse!

[S18 RSG 429]

4 minutes ago, Adamd said:

Lovely stuff, thanks. Did you get one of the cheapy fascia panels to fill the gaps in the dash, and if so do you have any photos - I don't want to make the cheap dash any worse!

Nope, that's what I mean by fills the space perfectly. It's a 200x100 screen, so it fits the OEM space perfectly without the need for the fascia adapters. One of the main reasons I went with it. See below.

[ThatGuyThere 54]

Glorious. Thanks again.

How quickly does it "boot up" compared to the standard stereo?

[S18 RSG 429]

3 minutes ago, Adamd said:

Glorious. Thanks again.

How quickly does it "boot up" compared to the standard stereo?

I honestly can't remember how long the original took to boot, and don't know the actual time for this one, so I'll just say this:

When I leave for work in the morning, I start the car, pull out of my garage, get out of the car to lock the garage and music is playing before I get back in my seat. I would guess 20 seconds or so. Occasionally takes a little longer, but rarely am I driving away without music being played.

[Rich 378]

For comparison: original is about 10 seconds to boot, though bluetooth is a bit longer, more like 20-30 seconds to connect (mine is the sat nav HU).

I'm thinking about sorting my sound out a bit. Which sound deadening material did you go for Ross?

[Ade 517]

@Rich if you wait a few more weeks, I will have some info on lightweight weight damping/deadening....both doors and car....

 

[S18 RSG 429]

This is what I went with @Rich https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00NVF9OIA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It's very lightweight (I think under 2kg for all 10 sheets) and did a great job on mine. It was recommended to me by a local audio specialist who uses it for lightweight installs.

[Rich 378]

I'm in no hurry, thinking before summer timescale rather than tomorrow.