Dash Speaker Review - Infinity REF-3022cfx

salong53

New member
I decided to replace the dash tweeters in my 2016 non-JBL with Entune with the Infinity REF-3022cfx 3.5" 2-way speakers. Summed up, these are a mild improvement in clarity to the highs, and a major improvement to the upper-mid tones (think pianos) that were missing from the OEM system. I'd recommend this to anyone who has the desire to tinker and wants a mild audio improvement.

INSTALLATION
I got these in an open box deal from Crutchfield for about $65. These speakers come with a capacitor, but I didn't install it. Instead, I used the [MENTION=70510]darkdane[/MENTION] wiring method (see http://www.toyota-4runner.org/794787-post162.html) except I kept the OEM capacitor. After snipping the wires and removing the blue piece from the OEM speakers, I soldered the new connectors onto the wires I snipped and plugged in the Infinitys. Piece of cake.

To mount them, I used the XTC 3.5" speaker baffles and cut a 1/2" hole in the bottom for the wiring. I bought some 2" mending plates from a hardware store, and only ended up using 1 per side. These helped to position the speaker slightly further away from the firewall, centered the tweeters under the speaker grilles, and bending the mending plates helped to recess the speakers down a little as well. I used a razor knife to trim the speaker grille for clearance, and everything fit into place fairly easily. No rattling or popping up to 3/4 volume so far.

REVIEW
Compared to the factory speakers, they provide a slight upgrade. These speakers offer a little more clarity in the highs and vocals, but they are not ear piercing like the last set of Infinity Reference 6.5" speakers I had 10 years ago. The clarity in upper-mid range is a huge improvement. These are very efficient (91 dB) so the volume and balance with the factory system is spot on.

The biggest improvement that I've noticed is that I can hear pianos and some of the upper-mid frequencies better with these speakers. I noticed as soon as I got the 4runner how well the door speakers were tuned for bass, but the drawback is that the doors don't put out much upper-mid range. The factory tweeters were decent at putting out the highs, but they were really quiet in the mids as well. For example, if you've ever heard the song Car Radio from Twenty One Pilots, the piano intro was barely audible with the factory system. The Infinitys have fixed that issue, and that's the most notable improvement so far.

I'm satisfied enough with these speakers that I'm going to stick with them, especially for the price. As always, I think I would've gotten a little more if I'd have been willing to spend some more cash on a nicer set of speakers or power them through an amp.
 
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[MENTION=145187]TVA21[/MENTION] I did not, but if you'll look through the thread that I linked in the original post, there are several pictures in there.
 
When you said you did not "use the capacitor" that came with these speakers, do you mean you snipped it out on each speaker and connected the driver line directly?

EDIT: Never mind, I was confused by the capacitors build into the speakers, and the extra ones bundled in the styropack (which I didn't see before I wrote the above note.)
 
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I just finished a dash speaker upgrade over the weekend and am very satisfied. Probably the best $50 I have spent in a long time. I went with the JBL 3020 because the price was right and the reviews at Crutchfield were very positive. Given JBL and Infinity are the same company and their model numbers are so similar at this price range I figured the results would be very similar to what salong53 posted in his review. And I could not agree more. Much better mids and mid highs.

I used the Kappa 3.5 thread for help with the wiring seeing I opted to go with the provided capacitors from JBL. I cute my factory brakets to allow for mounting the speakers like many others have done.

I also used this thread for some guidance as well.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/215918-dash-speakers-2.html

All in all I think this makes the factory system pretty darn good and I will probably skip any further upgrades. Before these speakers I was planning to replace all of the speakers and go for an Alpine under seat sub. But now I think I will save the $$ for some wheels.

If I had to do it all over again, I would reuse the factory plugs and not bother cutting wires. that's it though.

If you want a nice upgrade without too much work, go for some 3.5" speakers in the dash!
 
so should you use the filters that come with the new speakers or resolder the toyota oem one to the new speakers?
 
[MENTION=107760]salong53[/MENTION], this was one of my favorite upgrades. I used the Infinity Ref 3002cfx which I think is the earlier version of yours. They were clearanced at $49. I used the same wiring method as you referenced utilizing the stock connector without the crossover capacitor. I used 300Hz bass blockers on mine and I also did the party mode tweak with option 1 that utilizes all of the rear speakers.

Once done with these things, the sound was drastically improved. A lot more bass (surprisingly) and much more definition and clarity through the midrange. It is like a completely different system. I do recommend the party mode tweak assuming a '16 has that silly feature.
 

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