what an unbelievable difference! - kappa 3.5 dash speakers

Alright so after playing with the stock JBL system I am convinced that I need new door speakers as well as a sub..... Not fully convinced on the setup yet but I am going to order the Alpine Type R 6x9's for the front doors and see how they perform. I will be running them off the stock JBL amp for now.

Please share your review. I have a 2013 JBL system and bought some JBL GX302s a year ago and still haven't installed them.
 
Alright so after playing with the stock JBL system I am convinced that I need new door speakers as well as a sub..... Not fully convinced on the setup yet but I am going to order the Alpine Type R 6x9's for the front doors and see how they perform. I will be running them off the stock JBL amp for now.

You'll definitely notice an improvement, this is something I've done in all 3 of my 4Runners. If you're having issues with highs/mediums I would definitely recommend replacing the dash tweeters with something else, either 3.5's or better tweeters for sure
 
Please share your review. I have a 2013 JBL system and bought some JBL GX302s a year ago and still haven't installed them.

Will do! The JL audio C2-350 should come in at the end of this week or early next week. I will keep you guys posted on the results!

97BlackAckCL,

I really hope I do see an improvement. I feel like the JBL system door speakers distort at high volumes mainly due to bass? I think that's why I have my bass down in the equalizer. Did you run the 6x9's with a stock amp as well?
 
97BlackAckCL,

I really hope I do see an improvement. I feel like the JBL system door speakers distort at high volumes mainly due to bass? I think that's why I have my bass down in the equalizer. Did you run the 6x9's with a stock amp as well?

Yep, I've run Alpine and MB Quart off the stock amp and stock head unit
 
Update: I just installed the JL audio C2 350’s in the dash and they sound great! Very clear over the stock 3.5’s in the JBL package. No distortion at high volumes and makes the other speakers sound dull. Overall review is that I need to remove and replace the sub.
 
Wanted to chime in and say that I feel like the $95 upgrade is worth it! I listened to a few different genres of music with the stock speakers in a quiet place and then again following the 10 min install. Highs sounded much better to me and overall happy with the upgrade!

Pro Tip: I've never replaced a speaker in a car before, but I initially removed the speaker bracket first by accident. I then saw that you still had to use the bracket with the new speakers. Didn't see that mentioned here, but might be common knowledge to a non noob. :cheers:
 
Update: I just installed the JL audio C2 350’s in the dash and they sound great! Very clear over the stock 3.5’s in the JBL package. No distortion at high volumes and makes the other speakers sound dull. Overall review is that I need to remove and replace the sub.

How'd you connect them? How many wires on the factory JBL speakers? Did you solder?
 
How'd you connect them? How many wires on the factory JBL speakers? Did you solder?


On my JBL system I only had two wires on each side. Left speaker was Green (+) and Blue (-). Right was Pink (+) and Yellow (-). I did not solder anything. I didn't even cut off the factory harness in case I wanted to swap back to stock. I used tap splice connectors I bought from Ace Hardware and tapped into the wires on each side.
 
I tried dropping in a less expensive 3.5" coaxial (2-way) and was pleased with the sound.

I decided to try a 4" coaxial from the same brand and they not only fit better but have a much fuller sound.

I did own a car audio shop and did a lot of testing with different sized dash speakers / a-pillar speakers and general bigger speakers yielded better results.
 
I tried dropping in a less expensive 3.5" coaxial (2-way) and was pleased with the sound.

I decided to try a 4" coaxial from the same brand and they not only fit better but have a much fuller sound.

I did own a car audio shop and did a lot of testing with different sized dash speakers / a-pillar speakers and general bigger speakers yielded better results.
Any chance you could snap a pic or share the brand of 4" speakers you were able to fit?

I have a strong desire to use some 4" audiofrog GS42 speakers in that location but not sure if I can shoehorn them in there without serious modification?
 
Installed my dash speakers this evening, and ran a polarity test on the stock speakers. For my 2018 at least, the color codes I mentioned above are correct. If done differently, your dash speakers might be out of phase with the rest of your speakers, which can make them sound off.

This is correct. Thanks for doing the legwork!

The only time it should be wired differently is if someone gets a little more ambitious and runs a second order crossover with an inductor between the + and - wires after the cap on the positive side. In this instance, a 180 deg phase shift occurs so you would need to wire the speakers to out of phase to correct it.
 
Oh and another reminder to be liberal with masking tape on the dash. That rubberized coating is very easy to scuff.
 
I just installed a pair of JL C2-350x's and am impressed. A little fab work on the mounting tabs but no cutting at all on my 2017 Limited w/JBL.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
 
Thanks to everyone for such a wealth of information for this upgrade. I had all of my speakers upgraded over the course of the year in anticipation of a new CarPlay headunit. Which, once I installed it earlier this week I stumbled onto this thread. It made me realize I HAD to change them out and in my install I figured I'd return the favor with my approach:

1. Made a new wiring harness that allows me to plug into the existing factory harness with no cutting as I am on a lease, and I love upgradin.

2. Created custom adapters from Plexi + EVA for the 3.5 and 4" speaker upgrades. so you just have to bolt/screw your drivers to the adapter, drop it in, tighten and you bumpin! (as much as lil drivers can)

I am always conscious of weight and heat/cold living in Colorado and plan to test these versions out this winter, but contemplating plasma cutting some outta steel for the most bombproof installations.
 

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