Focal 690 Toy 2-Way 6x9 Review

[mteolus]

Not much of a review here. I paid $300 for the two front speakers. I wanted to see what the fronts did before I did anything with the rear. They are heavier than stock and have a bigger magnet, but if there is any difference I can't tell any, maybe a tad more bass. The dash tweeters were not plug and play either, I made it work by using the stock mount from the 4Runner but damaged one of the tweeters paper cones messing with it. So I have 1 Focal in the front and one stock. Again, not much difference.

I would probably guess ANY speaker wouldn't give you much sound improvement without an AMP.

So my recommendation, no way, waste of $300 unless you are going to add an AMP. Sucks that Toyota put such a pathetic sound system in the 4Runner.

 

[Rogue-Runner]

I can't speak to focal speakers, but I own a set of focal elex headphones and they're excellent. For me, there's just too much noise inside cars to justify spending money on Hi-Fi audio equipment. But I know what you mean. I've had vehicles that come equipped with Bose audio, and Toyota leaves something to be desired.


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[mystiqueskillz]

Not much of a review here. I paid $300 for the two front speakers. I wanted to see what the fronts did before I did anything with the rear. They are heavier than stock and have a bigger magnet, but if there is any difference I can't tell any, maybe a tad more bass. The dash tweeters were not plug and play either, I made it work by using the stock mount from the 4Runner but damaged one of the tweeters paper cones messing with it. So I have 1 Focal in the front and one stock. Again, not much difference.

I would probably guess ANY speaker wouldn't give you much sound improvement without an AMP.

So my recommendation, no way, waste of $300 unless you are going to add an AMP. Sucks that Toyota put such a pathetic sound system in the 4Runner.

I also damaged my Focal tweeter during the install. The magnet on the tweeter sucked in one of the metal brackets and punctured multiple holes.

I didn't notice much on clarity, but there is a lot more bass.

I also swapped out the rears and now I feel like the tremble is too high. I have a 2020 and I know with an AMP it'll definitely sound better.

 

[delloro]

Not much of a review here. I paid $300 for the two front speakers. I wanted to see what the fronts did before I did anything with the rear. They are heavier than stock and have a bigger magnet, but if there is any difference I can't tell any, maybe a tad more bass. The dash tweeters were not plug and play either, I made it work by using the stock mount from the 4Runner but damaged one of the tweeters paper cones messing with it. So I have 1 Focal in the front and one stock. Again, not much difference.

I would probably guess ANY speaker wouldn't give you much sound improvement without an AMP.

So my recommendation, no way, waste of $300 unless you are going to add an AMP. Sucks that Toyota put such a pathetic sound system in the 4Runner.

I used the 3.5" JL speakers in the dash and the Power Bass 6x9s in the front doors, at first I wondered if I wasted time and money, but no. After readjusting the sound, and a few days, I realized the sound was much better.

Still getting the Taco Tunes 320 plug and play amp though.

 

[85GT-79FJ40]

I guess I'm glad I didn't pay the extra money for these. I put Infinity reference 6x9 components in my doors/dash and 6.5" reference 2 ways in the rear doors and hatch. Used a tacotunes harness to add a small Boss audio powered sub in the back. Probably $500 total a year and a half ago. It was a HUGE improvement. I also did the mod where the party mode works with all the speakers. My only complaint now is the stock radio doesn't display anything but a phone number when the phone rings.

 

[ads2539]

I was told, many years ago, that your stereo, home or car, will only sound as good as your worst component. New speakers with bad amps won’t sound much better than stock.

The only decent solution is to replace everything - head unit, amp(s), speakers and wiring.

Good quality car stereos can be played loud enough that you won’t hear anything else, but you’ll also damage your hearing.

 

[rhadam]

I believe the largest issue is we are still using the stock trash head unit and no amp. I would imagine those should be the first upgrades to improve audio quality. That and dyno mat the doors.

 

[Steve S]

I installed these in my 2018 ORP shortly after buying it. I did notice a difference in bass and treble. I actually felt they were a little too bright sounding so turned the treble control notch down one. I was planning on adding The same series Focal to the rear doors and hatch. I started looking to see what a sub and amp would cost and finally decided to go with the OEM audio plus setup with the dedicated sub amp. I got it over the Black Friday sale last year and saved a little money. I gave the Focals to my son who has a 2019 ORP.

 

[Longv]

Give it a few days, speakers need to be broken in

 

[1jzgte]

Give it a few days, speakers need to be broken in

there's no such thing as breaking in speakers... lots of long time members including myself decided that the door speakers were a waste of time and money.. the only worthy upgrade were the dash speakers..

the next step would be to amplify and tune ala OEM plus

 

[mteolus]

If I did upgrade again, I thought about Taco Tunes AMP since the OEM is so expensive. Anyone with experience with that AMP?