I am new to this site and I am planning on upgrading both the front and rear speakers in my 2003 Tundra Stepside. I want to keep a "stock" appearance and do not want to add an amplifier.
Following are my questions.
1. Given the power output of the stock Head Unit (am/fm/cd/cassette), are component speakers a viable option for the front? If so, how do the Kicker K65.2's rate compared to the Kenwood KFC-P603's?
2. If component speakers aren't a viable option, what would be good alternative speakers choices?
1. Given the power output of the stock Head Unit (am/fm/cd/cassette), are component speakers a viable option for the front? If so, how do the Kicker K65.2's rate compared to the Kenwood KFC-P603's?i have the all kicker speakers in my truck and love them. at first i ran them with the stock head unit power and it sounded much betterl. but then i put a amp on it and it was 10x better
2. If component speakers aren't a viable option, what would be good alternative speakers choices?[ you can no problem you will have to look in the garage and do the window track mod.
3. What speakers should I use in the rear doors?
i used the kicker rm6 and like them
4. How hard is it to add an external amplifier?
not to hard. if you upgrade your head unit you have more opitons. but really easy IMO
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Along these same lines. I was looking at Crutchfield to see what they had available. They list both the front and back speakers as the same size but they list different speakers for front and rear applications?
If you already have the factory tweeters in the front doors, it's really easy to add a component set up front. All you need in the rear is a set of coaxial speakers. Go to the audio shop and find some that you like the sound of and go with them. Or look at Crutchfield's offerings and pick the one you like. you can't go terrible wrong with any of their selections and you can return them within 30 days if you end up not liking them.
You generally get what you pay for with the more expensive speakers using better components and materials. Pretty much anything is better than the manila envelope paper and fabric surround used in the stock speakers.
If you don't want to add an amplifier but later want more power, there are a number of higher powered (compared to stock) head units available that might suit your fancy.
I figured to upgrade my speakers as a first step. Get some really good speakers that will be able to handle an upgrade of the head at a later time. Don't have the $$ to do it all in one step.
The factory head will sound a lot better right off the top with some decent speakers attached to it.
Along these same lines. I was looking at Crutchfield to see what they had available. They list both the front and back speakers as the same size but they list different speakers for front and rear applications?
Ripper:
It seems that the window track in the front affects mounting depth. That is why different speakers are listed for the front and the back.
I guess it really comes down to how much of a purist you are. What I mean by that, if you're a purist you're gonna want a component set. If you want to "improve" the sound a good coaxial set will work out great.
Here's an idea, this is what I did. I replaced the front speakers with a set of JL TR 6.5's (they fit in fine with no mods necessary). I left the factory tweeters in and functional. I replaced the rear factory speakers with the original factory front speakers. Why?, you may ask. As you may have noticed there hardly is much rear fill with the factory speaker setup. The factory rear speakers are 6ohm and the fronts are 4ohm. By making the swap you'll create rear fill but the better quality coaxial's up front along with the tweeters will give a defined front presence. Plus the factory fronts can handle more (up to 20 or 25W) so you can add an external amp later and they'll be up for the job with the proper crossover selected.
It's a cost effective way that'll still allow you to upgrade in pieces but will sound good in the process. Later you can always move the coaxial's from the front to the rear and upgrade the front to component separates. Kinda like a phased rollout.
Originally posted by gbro
Following are my questions.
1. Given the power output of the stock Head Unit (am/fm/cd/cassette), are component speakers a viable option for the front? If so, how do the Kicker K65.2's rate compared to the Kenwood KFC-P603's?
Since you're using the stock head-unit with no aftermarket amplifier, all you should consider is sensitivity and frequency response. The kickers have a sensitivity rating of 90db and frequency response of 40-20k. The kenwoods have a sensitivity rating of 91db and a frequency response of 35-32k. I'd choose the Kenwood.
2. If component speakers aren't a viable option, what would be good alternative speakers choices?
Components are the best choice for the front doors. In the rear doors you'll need coax speakers. The Kenwood KFC-1668S would be a good choice. Again, look at sensitivity and frequency response. This model is rated at 92 dB, and has a frequency response of 35-22k.
Many of brands are available including my favorites Alpine and Rockford Fosgate.
3. What speakers should I use in the rear doors?
See above
4. How hard is it to add an external amplifier?
Using a commercially available line-out adapter you can add an external four-channel amplifier and keep the stock head-unit. Several companies make adapters including SoundGate.
Thanks in advance for all replies! [/B]
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I have the Kicker K65.2 speakers powered by the Kicker 700.5 Amp There is a BIG difference in the sound quailty over the stock radio w/o amp. I would go with an external amp and you will not regret it. Please look at MY PHOTOS page and check out where I mounted the K65.2 tweeters for the rear cab.
As for using a LOC on the stock head unit... this is a good thing. Soundgate seems to make good stuff. The LOC's that Soundgate sells are designed by David Navone. He makes and sells his own LOC's. I'm not sure the price differences (or design differences) but they would probably both be great. I have heard great things about his stuff though.
You can check out David's stuff at www.davidnavone.com. I have emailed him before and he is quite helpful, so I suggest you do the same if you have any questions. His email is listed on his site. I suggest you don't skimp and get a cheap LOC if you decide to get one. Garbage in, garbage out.
Adding an amp will help a lot. It won't really sound much different but it will be able to play a lot louder before it distorts. I ran some speakers off the stock HU power for a while. It helped a lot when I got an amp. Good luck.
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Basic Speaker Upgrade
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