Speaker Replacement Opinions

[fesaques]

Hi keyser_soze,

The HU has a 4ohm minimum impedance rating and is designed to generate it's maximum power output into 4ohms. As far as whether it will be able to drive 60W speakers or not doesn't depend on how much power the speaker is rated for but rather, if the speaker's sensitivity rating is high enough. Even a 20 watt speaker can have a low sensitivity rating, e.g., 68dB @1w/1m.; and most 'Cheap speakers do' as a result of the loose physical tolerances associated with pressed/stamped steel speaker frames, weak magnetic structure assemblies, poorly designed/wound voice-coil formers... etc. OTOH: a high performance pro-audio driver with a 700W RMS power rating can have very high sensitivity e.g., 105dB @1w/1m or more! My guess would be that... YES, the stock hu will drive those 60W aftermarket speakers with no problem because they're known to be of reasonably good quality!



This question is one that only you can answer. The way that you shop, and the way that you listen to your music will determine what would be right for you!

Best to you!

YES! The sensitivity is what you'll be looking for. Higher sensitivity means less power required for more volume, or less power required for same volume. I would strongly recommend going to crutchfield.com and chatting with an advisor (free) to get their take. They just helped me pick out some front door replacements on my daily driver (they arrive tomorrow).

Much of this will be driven from what type of music you listen to and if your objective is volume or clarity. Although not mutually exclusive, it's good to know your focus when purchasing. Because of my budget, the type of music I listen to, and my preference (clarity), I would save my money and wait until I could afford a full system replacement.

Alternatively, you could replace the head unit now and wire up everything so that there's easy access to the wiring for when you do your speakers later. Then you can take your time and buy/install one pair at a time when your budget allows later.

Good luck, and have fun.

 

[tigger]

That looks real nice Brian. Much better to match our interior. My truck is two weeks old, coming from a nice decked out H3 which is slowly giving up the ghost. I would be too worried on how that holds up compared to OEM. I am pretty good at scratching things. You do however have me thinking about black flake paint now. Other option might be a UV based powder coat.

Not sure about your interior but on the early 5th gens, you could scratch the silver areas with a dirty look. They had terrible scratch resistance. I did a satin clear coat on it to help protect. You other option is to wrap it, Vinyl is pretty durable.

 

[rigtec]

"...I would strongly recommend going to crutchfield.com and chatting with an advisor (free) to get their take. They just helped me pick out some front door replacements on my daily driver (they arrive tomorrow).

Much of this will be driven from what type of music you listen to and if your objective is volume or clarity. Although not mutually exclusive, it's good to know your focus when purchasing...

Alternatively, you could replace the head unit now and wire up everything so that there's easy access to the wiring for when you do your speakers later. Then you can take your time and buy/install one pair at a time when your budget allows later..."

Hi fesaques,

Your post is a little confusing... you quoted me as if I was the one seeking advise about purchasing speakers; my truck is done regarding speakers. In my above post I was addressing a question posted by keyser_soze about driver power handling specs. I personally wouldn't contact Crutchfield for advice about drivers; though I think they do have a very good T/S program.

If I were curious about a particular driver (High, mid, low or Sub...) I would likely download the spec /parameter, data sheet and use that to decide which driver would perform best for my particular situation. I also think Crutchfield charges way too much for a device that can be found for much less online else ware! The Alpine R-series subs that I purchased a while back, I think I paid something like $194.00 and Crutchfield was getting $400 (+); that's a huge difference... and I needed four of them!

Cheers

 

[fastboarder]

That looks real nice Brian. Much better to match our interior. My truck is two weeks old, coming from a nice decked out H3 which is slowly giving up the ghost. I would be too worried on how that holds up compared to OEM. I am pretty good at scratching things. You do however have me thinking about black flake paint now. Other option might be a UV based powder coat.

So far I have bought or ordered:
Dash JBL GTO329 3.5's -3 ohm,
Front doors JBL GTO928 6x9's 2 ohm
Rear doors and hatch - JBL GTO628 6.5's 2 ohm
Sub - JL Audio 8 inch Microsub CP108LG-W3v3

Metra 72-8104 wire harness adapters (front, rear, hatch)
Metra 82-8146 6x9 speaker adapters (front)
Extra door panel clips
Generic Toyota 6.5 plastic speaker adapters (rear, hatch)
GTMat 20sqr feet

Plan is to install (unless I hear some good input) the speakers minus the sub first to hear quality and volume.

After that is the choice to add mono amp just for sub or to expand the project to amplify the dash and front doors as well as the sub.

Seems like I am going the route of a lot of you in how the project expanded. Oy Vey!

Hate to build on this thread, sorry if this is close to hijacking. Think the following question goes in line with what everyone on here has done.

I installed all the speakers, went so smooth with all the advice and pics on the site, thanks to all those who have done this and posted. I am about to do the actual amp install - have an Alpine MRV-V500 sitting waiting to go in. Unfortunately I am on information overload.

Need help on the actual wiring. Was originally thinking I could use the Metra harness off the HU to the front and rear speakers. When planning out my install I just realized front is dash and front door (L/R) and Rear is rear doors and hatch (L/R). How did you folks wire your amp?

I was thinking to let the 3.5 go to the factory HU. Front doors to channel 1 and 2, rear (doors and hatch) to the channel 3 and 4, channel 5 to the sub.

Would this be worthwhile? Not sure how it would sound with the dash on the factory HU. If I do this I need to cut the dash to front door wires. I think from reading other posts it goes HU to dash then dash to front door hence if we break the jumper at the dash, front doors go dead. Where can I catch the door wiring from the dash before it goes into the door? I don't want to fish wire through the door looms instead would prefer to cut the dash to door wire inside the vehicle

Again, information overload but in writing out my process I realized I had forgot to take into account all the parallel wiring. Any help greatly appreciated!!!

 

[rigtec]

"...Again, information overload but in writing out my process I realized I had forgot to take into account all the parallel wiring. Any help greatly appreciated!!!"

Hi fastboarder,

I hope I've got it right... You need to know how you should approach the Speaker wiring, Amplifier, and Subwoofer Installation in your 2016 4Runner; not sure if it's a JBL or non-JBL stock audio system... you can post back which audio system it is that do you have. In the meantime I'm posting two different links which should both be Immensely helpful to you in getting started... particularly [MENTION=65614]Antman[/MENTION]'s subwoofer Installation thread because it focuses on the installing and wiring aspect of the audio system whereas the 'Low-frequency Wavefront' thread' gets involved in the 'Theoretical aspects' of subwoofers! You can checkout the two thread links and post whether yours is JBL or not. rgds!

Antman's Sound Ordinance Subwoofer Install

rigtec's: Introduction to 'Low-Frequency Wave-front Reproduction'

 

[GRIMACE]

Hate to build on this thread, sorry if this is close to hijacking. Think the following question goes in line with what everyone on here has done.

I installed all the speakers, went so smooth with all the advice and pics on the site, thanks to all those who have done this and posted. I am about to do the actual amp install - have an Alpine MRV-V500 sitting waiting to go in. Unfortunately I am on information overload.

Need help on the actual wiring. Was originally thinking I could use the Metra harness off the HU to the front and rear speakers. When planning out my install I just realized front is dash and front door (L/R) and Rear is rear doors and hatch (L/R). How did you folks wire your amp?

I was thinking to let the 3.5 go to the factory HU. Front doors to channel 1 and 2, rear (doors and hatch) to the channel 3 and 4, channel 5 to the sub.

Would this be worthwhile? Not sure how it would sound with the dash on the factory HU. If I do this I need to cut the dash to front door wires. I think from reading other posts it goes HU to dash then dash to front door hence if we break the jumper at the dash, front doors go dead. Where can I catch the door wiring from the dash before it goes into the door? I don't want to fish wire through the door looms instead would prefer to cut the dash to door wire inside the vehicle

Again, information overload but in writing out my process I realized I had forgot to take into account all the parallel wiring. Any help greatly appreciated!!!

I have the same amp waiting for install! Since the front and dash are connected in Parallel (corrected! Thanks Rigtec) I'm going to just to leave them together(Channels 1&2). I've replaced the tweeters and 6x9s per rigtec and IMO they sound balanced already. The same goes for the rear doors and tailgate (Channels 3&4).


A few questions from me. Do you need a voltage adapter from the HU to the amp? What are you going to do for a sub box design?

 

[rigtec]

"...Since the front and dash are connected "In-Series" I'm going to just to leave them together(Channels 1&2)..." I've replaced the tweeters and 6x9s per rigtec and IMO they sound balanced already..."

Hi there Mr GRIMACE,

Did you forget: It's the dash and front doors that are wired together "In Parallel". The rear doors & tailgate speakers are wired together "in series":



If you need them, I'll post the rear channel speaker wiring scheme up as well!

Cheers!

 

[GRIMACE]

haha Thanks I corrected the above.

 

[rigtec]

haha Thanks I corrected the above.

Hahaha! It does appear to be wired 'In-Series' at first glance doesn't it (?)! Best to you!

rig

 

[fastboarder]

Thanks gents for the responses. Rigtec - actually read both of those threads, actually keep Antman's open full time till I do the install. Well that and all the mods I am going to do all at once while I have the interior opened up.

The JL Audio 8 inch Microsub CP108LG-W3v3 I will use came out of my old truck. Small 8 inch sub in a ported box bought with sub installed from JL. Strangely it hits hard and this amp should drive it perfect for my needs. Read the reviews for this thing on Amazon and Crutchfield - pretty amazing.

My problems are that the speakers I installed for the dash are 3 ohm 25W RMS. The front door speakers are 2 ohm 100W RMS. Gives me 2.5 ohm load. I am worried about the 25W vs 100W issue as my door speakers can handle 100W RMS, amp delivers up to 60W RMS at a 2 ohm load. I figure I would get somewhere between 50-55W from the amp which would toast my 3.5. This is the reason I asked if anyone just left the 3.5 on the HU, just provide amp power to the front doors and rear. Not sure what would actually happen if I give the front and dash the power from the amp. Worried if i just amp the door speakers I totally drown the dash. Guess I could always buy higher rated RMS dash speakers. I based my purchases on the sensitivity level/ohms but didn't take the RMS factor into account as originally I was only going to install a mono amp for the sub.

As to the rear and hatch speakers, dang, I had thought these were wired in parallel. Interesting. Too bad, guess I will get 40W vs 60W (2vs4 ohm output).

Grimace - I am going to try this without a LOC. The amp we have takes in high level inputs via the harness which comes with the amp. I did a lot of reading, going with the conclusion an active LOC would add noise to the circuit (another piece of electronics, extra ground, etc) Nice thing is this amp will also auto sum the 4 channels and provide and output for the subchannel. No need to tap the rear or other outputs from the HU for the sub channel.

 

[KGcobra]

My problems are that the speakers I installed for the dash are 3 ohm 25W RMS. The front door speakers are 2 ohm 100W RMS. Gives me 2.5 ohm load. I am worried about the 25W vs 100W issue as my door speakers can handle 100W RMS, amp delivers up to 60W RMS at a 2 ohm load. I figure I would get somewhere between 50-55W from the amp which would toast my 3.5. This is the reason I asked if anyone just left the 3.5 on the HU, just provide amp power to the front doors and rear. Not sure what would actually happen if I give the front and dash the power from the amp. Worried if i just amp the door speakers I totally drown the dash. Guess I could always buy higher rated RMS dash speakers. I based my purchases on the sensitivity level/ohms but didn't take the RMS factor into account as originally I was only going to install a mono amp for the sub.

I haven't done this stuff in a while so I may be a little off, but I think you are looking at the power distribution wrong. If you're amp is putting out 60W/channel, that 60W is being distributed to the speakers on that channel. So if the two speakers have equal impedance, each would be getting 30W (or with unequal impedance, the lower ohm load would receive a larger portion of the whole 60W). The 3ohm would receive ~24W and the 2ohm would receive ~36W.

However, I just read your post again and your amp is going to be seeing a lower load than you think. 3ohm & 2ohm wired together in parallel will be seen as 1.2ohm by your amp (not 2.5ohms). Is your amp 1ohm stable?

 

[fastboarder]

I haven't done this stuff in a while so I may be a little off, but I think you are looking at the power distribution wrong. If you're amp is putting out 60W/channel, that 60W is being distributed to the speakers on that channel. So if the two speakers have equal impedance, each would be getting 30W (or with unequal impedance, the lower ohm load would receive a larger portion of the whole 60W). The 3ohm would receive ~24W and the 2ohm would receive ~36W.

However, I just read your post again and your amp is going to be seeing a lower load than you think. 3ohm & 2ohm wired together in parallel will be seen as 1.2ohm by your amp (not 2.5ohms). Is your amp 1ohm stable?

Hey there KG, crap, you are totally correct. Thanks for catching that! Not sure why I was thinking 2.5 ohms. Happy hour is leaving by brain cells dancing solo. The amp is only stable to 2 ohms. Even if I bought 4 ohm dash speakers that would give me a 1.3 ohm load. Guess I will be wiring straight to the door speakers. Bummer. Any idea where to catch the speaker wires from the door inside? May just have to take the time to wire directly to them and go through the loom. Curious if they will drown the dash speakers.

With the rears in series at least with these 2 ohm speakers I end up at 4 ohms.

Guess the only other option would be to buy some higher rms dash speakers, wire each as a separate channel, let the rear doors and hatch run off the HU... Not sure which way to go. Any suggestions?

 

[fastboarder]

Wanted to see if anyone had any suggestions on this lovely 4th weekend. Going to try to do the amp and a bunch of mods late this week. Thx!

 

[GearJunkie88]

Very helpful thread!

This entire thread has been very helpful to me as I replaced the lousy front speakers and dash tweeters in my new 4Runner. I replaced the front speakers with the Focal IS 690-TOY per many recommendations here. The install was very easy. The kit came with everything needed plus some extra connectors. I did have to drill the holes in the mounting bracket for the 6x9s. The existing holes were just a little too small for the factory bolts. The tweeter bracket took a bit of head-scratching to figure out, as others have mentioned. I posted a picture in case anyone else has a question about it.

I also installed Dynamat Xtreme in the front doors. I used one 2-door kit (12 sq feet) on each door. I covered the inside layer (the backside of the outer door "skin") and the outside layer (the part you immediately see when you remove the door panel). So, a total of 24 sq ft to cover both front doors. The panel removal videos from Taco Tunes on YouTube were very helpful. Getting the door panels back on was a huge pain, but made easier by another YouTube video (pro tip: remove the rail that hangs over the edge of the top of the door, line everything up, and pop all the clips back in).

Dynamat install pro tip (learned the hard way): While installing the inner layer, there are lots of sharp edges in the door metal. Wear gloves and a long sleeve shirt. Wrap some duct tape around the shirt sleeves so they don't ride up as you work. It also helps as extra protection. My forearms look like I was attacked by a rabid feral cat.

The sound from this setup is a gazillion times better than the factory setup. I also bought a compact powered subwoofer (Kenwood KSC-11SW) with the intention of installing it under the passenger seat. I don't think I need it after hearing the new sound. Granted, I wasn't after Earth-shaking bass, though. I may install some new rear door and rear hatch speakers with Dynamat. But, I'm very pleased with the output of only the front speaker replacement + sound deadening material.

Many thanks to everyone on here who shared their experiences and opinions!

 

[bbenson]

2016 sr5 premium entune.
I installed 3.5 sound ordinance speakers in the dash and kept factory wiring and factory bassblocker (little black resister in blue wiring cup.) Tweeters now sound better than stock.

Installed Rockford prime 6x9 in the door with and they didn't sound good at all. Low. Ass and muddy sounding.

Any ideas if factory JBL speakers would work and sound better if I can get a set? I think they are rated at 20w just like the non jbl.

I'm a little gun shy about getting it to sound good with factory head unit but I'd like to keep it. Stock 6x9 have decent bass and if I can just keep he same bass but improve the sound overall I'd be happy!


What should I do?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[GearJunkie88]

Did you have any trouble fitting the Alpine 6.5s in the rear doors and back hatch? I installed a set of Polk DB651s in my rear doors this weekend. Crutchfield told me they wouldn't fit, but I gave it a shot since I had the door taken apart for Dynamat anyway. I used the Scosche SAT6 bracket and they mounted up perfectly, but the clearance was VERY tight with the stock grill covers when I put the door skin back on. I really had to work it around to get the bottom door clips to snap back in place. Maybe if I hadn't used speaker baffles between the speaker and bracket, it would have fit a little better? Can't see those baffles adding barely a quarter inch to the mounting height, though.

I just installed Polk DB651s in my rear doors. Crutchfield still says they won't fit and they are kinda right. I originally installed Dynamat on the door and it went to the edge of the speaker hole. I installed the Polks over the Dynamat and included the foam gasket that was in the Polk box. The plastic door trim panel wouldn't fit over the speaker. I removed the foam gasket and tried again... and again the door trim wouldn't snap in completely in that one corner where the speaker is. I cut away the Dynamat and tried again. It worked this time. So, it's a tight fit but it will work with very tight clearance.

 

[2016 4Runner SR5]

Anyone here interested in an LCQ-1? Used about a month, going a different direction with my build. $175 shipped to your door. Also have a bunch of amps and speakers if interested.

 

[Auntie Soshul]

You might also try posting this in the classified section.....just a suggestion.

 

[2016 4Runner SR5]

What are you all running in your back doors and are you happy with the upgrade? I'm looking at going Infinity reference in the dash, stock front door 6x9s, Infinity reference in the rear doors, stock tailgate since they're so far back they can hardly be heard anyway. The other speakers i'm looking at for the same set up would be the JBL GT series. Same company, same build, slightly cheaper but I think they will perform just as well. No amps for this build right now but that'll likely change in the future.

 

[2112 R]

I just did an upgrade, speakers and NVX Sound deadening in all doors.
2017 TRDORP

Infinity Reference REF-9620cx 6"x 9" Component System
In the front doors and dash. I highly recommend replacing the factory 6x9s, they were paper and shit. The new ones sound great. You'll need brackets and a little custom mounting for the in dash tweeter.

Kenwood KFC-1665S 6-1/2" 2-Way Speakers
In the rear doors. I could not find a set of stand alone Infinity speakers that would fit.
Most were 5 1/4" and part of a component system. Checked out Crutchfield, Amazon and even the Infinity site. If you can find some please let us know, because I'll order a pair as well and put the Kenwoods in the tailgate, as you said, they are so far back there it won't matter much.

Tail Gate = No replacement yet.

From a sound perspective I think because I cheaped out on the rear doors they could sound better than they do.