Looking for stereo upgrade recommendations!!

[taquitos43]

Hi, I'm new to T4R's and to this forum. I bought an 06 SR5 with stock components. Not a JBL system. Anyway, I want to replace the head, speakers and add an amp. What I'm looking for is simply better sound than the stock stuff. I want it to sound good but not so loud that all the neighbor's will be plotting to steal it. Ideally, I'd like to stay under $800.00 maybe $1000.00 total. Any suggestions? Thanks!!

 

[li_runner]

Your budget is very hard for the request.

A good head unit will eat at least half leaving only $400 for speakers & amp (just not enough). This is of course not including a navigation head unit (which would eat up your entire budget with one item).

I suggest you just do one at a time, maybe you will like the stock speakers if you just add an aftermarket headunit which will add more power to the system (aka more wattage per channel).

OR

You buy a headunit & speakers then you power the new speakers with it without an amp. You would need to find speakers with lower power requirements.

 

[Clemsonfan15]

li_runner makes some good points.

You could get a single din HU and that would save a good bit of money. I think that a double din would look better though.

I suggest you figure out which HU you want and start there. When I changed mine it made a big difference. If your still not satisfied then you can upgrade your speakers.

 

[taquitos43]

Thanks guys, I'll probably go the route of a little at a time. Crutchfield has several Double DIN options for under $300. I can probably find those same units on Ebay even cheaper. One more question... The door cover where the front speaker is looks like it accommodates a 6X9 speaker with a component tweeter high up in the door. Crutchfield only lists 5.25 and 6.5 inch speakers as fitting. So, which is it? Any info that y'all could provide would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!!

 

[Clemsonfan15]

I don't have a 4th Gen, but I do think that they have 6 X 9's up front. I would probably just go with a 6.5". You might need an adapater plate to do this, but their only like $10-$15.

I wouldn't try and get cheap with the HU as it can make a BIG difference. I agree with checking out Ebay though.

 

[rollingthunder]

upgrade you head unit and then add an amp and sub in the rear, your Runner is new so your stock speakers should still be in new very usable condition a new deck will give them more power to play clean and more efficient

 

[MGP]

I have a '01 SR5 and recently upgraded to a new head unit and front speakers. Same deal, I wanted better sound and features but didn't want to drop a lot of cash in the process.

I ended up with a JVC KW-XG700. It had all the things I wanted including CD, front panel Aux IN, USB IN and Bluetooth. It has decent power and all the usual outputs for an external amp and speaker setup. You can find them for about $200-250. I think it's a good base for a system without LCD/DVD/Nav display in a Double DIN.

I also got a wire harness from Crutchfield and the installation was drop-in with no complications.

After I had the head unit for a week or two I decided to upgrade the front factory speakers and went with JBL GTO-627's. They were a big improvement over the factory speakers for less than $100 and also an easy install.

 

[taquitos43]

Thanks for the responses guys. I'll probably go with replacing the head unit first. don't need dvd, nav or anything fancy. I just need to plat cd's and be able to hook my iPod. I'm shying away from a sub because if it's visible, it'll probably get stolen around my neighborhood. That rules out a large amp also. When i get an amp, it'll probably be something small enough to fit under a seat. Thanks again!

 

[Clemsonfan15]

MGP- Did you amp your new speakers or are they running off of the head unit? I'm wanting to replace mine, but don't want to drop $200-300 on an amp. They sound better than stock?

taquitos43- I'm not sure what your budget for an amp would be, but check out Alpine amps. They are pretty small.

 

[MGP]

I'm running my speakers off the head amp. It has wayyyyy more power than the factory radio did or the factory speakers could handle. The head unit has a setting to limit the output amp power to about 1/2 power which was useful for the factory speakers -- I was definitely worrying about damaging them.

When I upgraded the speakers to the JBLs, I set the amp for full power and they really came to life. Probably about the best bass you are going to get out of 6-1/2" speakers in a door. The tweeters in the JBLs rotate so you can point them upwards rather than shooting at your feet which sounded better too. I left the factory tweeters on the door pillar hooked up -- they have their own crossover capacitor -- they sound good and don't appear to be overdriven by the new amp.

The rear door speakers are problematic. There is very limited space and clearance between the door and window when it's rolled down and also the molded plastic door panel. I've heard a 5-1/4" speaker will fit in there but it will have to use an odd spacer that spaces out and angles the speaker so it's magnet assembly will clear the window. It also has to be barely larger than the diameter of the speaker or it wont clear the molded plastic parts on the door panel. I think it's going to be a winter job for me as I really don't want to put 4-1/2" speakers in the rear door unless it's a last resort. The 4-1/2" speakers will definitely fit int he rear door.

Clarion has a Double DIN head unit I considered. It is similar in specs but has a blue-ish front panel and I didn't care for the user interface. It would probably be a nice head unit for about the same price too.

Here are the Double DIN receivers I found and looked at:

JVC KW-XG700

Clarion DUZ385SAT

Kenwood DPX502

Kenwood DPX503

Pioneer FH-P8000BT

 

[martynda]

I had the same dilemma as you a right after I bought my 4runner. After A LOT of research, I ended up going withe a Kenwood DDX512 from Sonix Electronix for $400. They also include the wiring harness and install hardware free.

To me personally, the double DIN CD players look very gaudy. The DDX512 is only marginally more expensive and looks much better imo.

I already had a sub\amp\box to connect to it from a previous car. The upgraded HU and Sub made the sound better, but the stock speakers are still lacking IMO. My next step will be to upgrade the speakers, and if I still don't think it's enough, I will add an external amp for the speakers.

You can also save money on the install by using this guide: http://www.castulucci.com/projects/carpc/oemnaviaccess/

With a sub install (using the grommet for the firewall, wiring the power and RCA cables on opposite sides, etc) , it took me about 5 hrs (first time taking apart the 4runner). Make sure you have socket wrenches!

:beer:

 

[taquitos43]

I'm considering the Kenwood DPX 502 or 503, the JVC KW-XG700 and the Clarion DFZ675MC. The Clarion is by far the ugliest but it has a feature that allows you to rip music directly onto an internal hard drive. That could be useful. I'm kind of leaning away from that though since I'll probably mostly play through my iPod. I'm glad to hear that MGP is really happy with the JVC so at least if I get it and don't like it, I can blame him!! (just kidding). Really, it's good to hear someone else's experience with a product. I haven't really delved too deeply into speakers yet. As for the reat doors, MGP, about what kind of depth are we talking about? Several speaker makers make a shallow depth speaker for these issues. Have you thought about any of them? I wonder how good the sound is with them? Something more to look into, I guess.

 

[Clemsonfan15]

I really don't like non touch screen double dins. I don't think they look right. I agree with martynda that it is worth the extra $100 or so to get a better unit.

 

[taquitos43]

taquitos43- I'm not sure what your budget for an amp would be, but check out Alpine amps. They are pretty small. [/B]

Actually, I called Crutchfield. they carry a Blaupunkt 8" powered sub that will fit under a seat for $200.00. I think he said it's like 3" tall. I think it's like 70 watts rms. I might go with that option. Sounds like a great option for me since I'm not looking for loud. I just want something to round out the sound inside the vehicle. I might be able to make my goal of $800 afterall. I should easily be able to stay under $1000.00.

 

[MGP]

I'm considering the Kenwood DPX 502 or 503, the JVC KW-XG700 and the Clarion DFZ675MC. The Clarion is by far the ugliest but it has a feature that allows you to rip music directly onto an internal hard drive. That could be useful. I'm kind of leaning away from that though since I'll probably mostly play through my iPod.

That's what I thought about the Clarion too. I'm actually finding I play tunes from a USB Thumb drive most of all now although I do use my MP3 player with the front AUX input quite a bit too.

I'm glad to hear that MGP is really happy with the JVC so at least if I get it and don't like it, I can blame him!! (just kidding).

That's OK, I'm used to it.

As for the reat doors, MGP, about what kind of depth are we talking about? Several speaker makers make a shallow depth speaker for these issues. Have you thought about any of them? I wonder how good the sound is with them? Something more to look into, I guess.

Well mine is a 3rd gen and the rear door speaker mounts they have are pretty small. I think the 4th gens are considerably bigger and maybe will take up to 6-1/2" speakers or even 6x9's. Crutchfield's online advisor will tell you.

In my case (3rd gen) the window glass angles in a bit when the window is down so the depth from the door panel is about 2-1/8" at the top of where the speaker magnet would be but closer to 1-1/2" at the bottom. The Toyota factory mount angles the speaker so the magnet is parallel to the glass when the window is down. The Toyota factory speaker is also about 4-1/2" and has an odd triangular 3 screw mounting so no matter what size speaker you fit in there it's going to need a custom spacer/bracket. I can make one easily for a 4-1/2" speaker but I'd really like to see if I can shoehorn a 5-1/4" in there as it will have a lot more mid-bass.