Any ideas from the Board on a good Sound System.

[mongo161]

The speakers in my Toyota 4Runner are original, from Toyota and the sound has finally gone.

The Toyota came with 6 speakers, CD Player and Tape Deck and I would like to get a reasonable system with good sound for a good price.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Mr Nice]

Alpine, Sony, Pioneer

 

[brandini]

Not sony speakers.

Boston acoustics lower lines are great for headunit powered lower end systems. I'd highly recommend them.

 

[wander2039]

Are you keeping the stock head unit? What music do you listen to and how loud? Several ways you can do it. Any decent head unit for around $10, 4 channel amp and components for the front and a 10 inch sub in the back should suffice in a truck. If I had to build a ultimate system that's what I'd do. Actually had almost the same system in my Ranger. Pioneer head unit, dB drive 5.25's up front and a 12 inch sub powered by a 1000w amp. Sounded awesome. But for where I live, work and my cars a decent head unit and pioneers all around suffice.

 

[IndyIan]

I've been very happy with my $150 JVC head unit, its got a USB input, sub output and controls, and seems to have alot of power for a headunit, I think due to internal capacitors as it runs for a few seconds after the power is shut off.
I've got a pair of $120 pioneer 6x9 3way speaker in the trunk deck which sound pretty good, except maybe the highs are a bit over done.
Anyways I listen to some drum and bass music and was going to put in a subwoofer but the JVC deck and 6x9's reach down surprisingly low so I haven't bothered.

 

[mongo161]

Thanks to you guy, with all the suggestions, I will start to look for some sales in the coming weeks. I hope to report back here with good results. Again, my thanks for all your input and suggestions. Cheers!

 

[01rangerxl]

I put an Alpine head unit in my truck about a year and a half ago. It has served me well. It has excellent sound quality, doesn't look ridiculous, and has had no problems at all. The controls are very straight forward. The USB port, aux input, and iPod connections are nice. Navigating through folders of music on a thumb drive is very easy.

Several months after installing the headunit I put in some Alpine Type-S speakers. I blew those after only maybe two months, which was disappointing because they sounded great at first and I wasn't running any kind of amp. I installed Pioneers after that and they have been trouble free for about a year now.

 

[pidster]

Originally Posted By: IndyIan
Anyways I listen to some drum and bass music


I don't feel at all bad getting off topic a bit to give a huge thumbs up to that

 

[kkreit01]

First, pick a budget. If you are spending any money at all, buy decent brands. Check Crutchfield for sizes, prices, reviews, etc, and then price shop the items you pick out. Start with a decent HU -- which can be anywhere from $100 way on up. Pick brands like Pioneer, Sony, JVC, Alpine for the head unit. Stay clear of Dual, Boss, Pyramid, Sparkomatic, etc. Once you have your HU, decide on speakers. Again, stay with the major brands. Listen to some sound boards at your local shops (if they exist). Components will sound better, but are more difficult to install, and really need power (amplification) to shine. While you're into the speakers, add some sound deadening (secondskinaudio or sounddeadenershowdown). You don't have to spend hundreds, and cover everything (like Dynamat-users). Stay clear of edead, fatmat, roofing material, etc. A nice HU, speakers, and some sound deadening will satisfy you initially (much better than OEM system).

Next, plan for Phase 2: Amp(s) + sub. Again, pick a buget, and go with good gear.

 

[meep]

If you aren't going for a complicated system, like sub and separate amps, you can still get good sound, but you have to be careful. GOOD speakers will reveal bad amps/HUs. I have been thus shocked and disappointed with kenwood and blaupunct, both sound good thru an amp, but hissy/tinny/ringy through the internal amp, when played thru good spkrs.

I have had great success with run-of-the-mill pioneer HUs and decent name brand speakers. Pioneer 2-ways, kenwood 2-ways, I really really like polk. Infinity 2ways are solid too, though can be a little bright IMO. sometimes the 3ways are a mess because the cross-overs are pretty basic and they can get shrill. I don't like the sony drivers... they seem lifeless to me. ALL brands have their good and bad ones, and price is not a direct indicator of SQ.

Separates (woofer/tweeter) are nice if the oem system already has them--- you will pay a bit more.

Always audition the speakers at a store. But keep in mind, the listening station has them all mounted in a 1 cubic foot enclosure, and they are designed to sound their best there. They will sound different in a car door.

It gets far more complicated (and frustrating) when you start adding subs/amps, x-overs, etc. a 4-speaker 1 HU system can be had for $300, $400 with better speakers (separates) with a few nice options. Add amps, and it goes up...

If it were me, in my jeep, I'd put polk 6.5 2 ways in the rear, and same up front. my jeep runs the tweets in the dash-- so I'd either go with separates, or I'd dremel the tweets off to save $50 and just stick them up there instead. I'd go with a $120 pioneer head unit.

M

M

 

[mechtech2]

In years past, the only way to get halfway decent sound was to put in your own radio/tape deck and good speakers. Maybe even a reverb unit under the dash!

Cars come with superb systems available now, comparatively.

Crutchfield is a good source for info on what is new and will fit.

 

[ChuckBerry]

If you have a telephone with Bluetooth connectivity, you can sync it up to some headunits and take the call through your car stereo. My Pioneed headunit does that, I routed a wired microphone out of the back of the headunit, through the dash and up the A pillar of my car to clip on to my visor. Now, when a call comes to my phone, it routes it to the stereo, I flip down the visor and take the call, talking through the microphone.

 

[unDummy]

If you're gutting your system, visit your local shops to see what they carry. Set your budget. And, post back the estimates/equipment that you can get.

If you're doing the job yourself, make sure you understand what you're getting yourself into. Post your budget.

You do get what you pay for. And, many brands are overhyped.

I find that a good layer of sound proofing/insulation can make an average speaker sound great. And, lack of said proofing can make an exotic speaker sound like junk.

Toyota OE systems have 'boominess' built into them. Boominess or buzz should not be confused with bass. You will be depressed if you don't make room for a small sub somewhere. Most systems will NOT have that boominess/buzz that you might be used to.

I don't care for Croutchfield. They are overpriced. They are over conservative with speaker choices. But, what you pay for is super support if you need them to hold your hand, or a shoulder to cry on.

I run a newer Alpine head-unit to 20 year old Sony amps to some JL speakers(that smoked). I have some Boston Acoustics replacements going in. My Clarion, Pioneer, Sony.... head units were also excellent.

Amp selection is the most difficult as many are communist junk.

Speaker selection isn't too bad. Get a good name brand 5-channel amp. This way you can power the 4-doors and a small sub under the seat, on the rear hatch, or tucked into a side panel somewhere.

Get the best speakers you can afford. For example, I would not recommend the JL Audio C2's. The VR and C5's were OK. And, my Boston Acoustics Pro's and SPZ's always sounded great while their lesser models I would just avoid.

And, research sound insulation. You don't need to add 1000lbs to your vehicle. But, a roll or two split among the inside of your door panels, since they're off for the speaker install anyway, will make a big difference.

 

[Malo83]

In years past, the only way to get halfway decent sound was to put in your own radio/tape deck and good speakers. Maybe even a reverb unit under the dash!

"Reverb" unit!!! Jeez ,haven't seen any since I had one in the 60/70 time period,are they still around?

 

[VK56VD]

Start with a new decent head unit such as Alpine, Eclipse or Kenwood. These are my preferences but other brands are just as good.

You'd be surprised in the difference of sound quality in just replacing the head unit makes.

If you're still not satisfied, look into replacing your front speakers first and than move onto the rear speakers.

A front sound stage is most important and rear speakers are just used to fill in the sound.

 

[grampi]

Lots of good advice in here. I'll add look for a head unit that has a time correction function. I have an Alpine that has this and its an invaluable tool for setting up your sound stage. Also, rear speakers aren't really necessary, undesirable in fact, unless you're setting up some type of system in the vehicle that requires surround sound. For music you want all the sound coming from the front, therefore you want your mids and tweets mounted in the front of the vehicle. It doesn't matter where subs are located as their sound is omni-directional (meaning you really can't tell where its sound is coming from). If you must run rear speakers they should be faded to the point of only providing rear fill.

 

[bigmike]

I've been using Infinity speakers for anything smaller than a sub for 10 or so years. They lack some midrange, but highs are spectacular. Amazon has them for decent prices.

Amp choice for me is always MTX.

Couldn't recommend a modern sub to you. I still own my original kicker solo (round). And I have an Infinity 12" but wasn't happy with the lows. Nothing compares to the old solobaric.

Head units choices are a dime a dozen, unless you are getting into high end competitions.

Personally, after blowing thousands on sound systems over the years, I'd suggest just buying a decent head unit and avoid amps.

 

[grampi]

bigmike

Nothing compares to a solobaric? You're kidding, right? That, or you just haven't heard many subs...

 

[Mr Nice]

Originally Posted By: brandini
Not sony speakers.

Boston acoustics lower lines are great for headunit powered lower end systems. I'd highly recommend them.


Hmmm, I installed some Sony X-Plod door and rear speakers with an Alpine head unit on our old Honda and it sounded great. The OP can find Boston Acoustics on Amazon very cheap.

 

[mjoekingz28]

Keep in mind the visuals. If you're like me, you do not want a head unit blaring out neon blues that illuminate the entire cab. Look into a red or orange display and adjustable light levels.

Kenwood CD players have always been a notch above Sony and Pioneer in my book. A decent, few frills 2 RCA output is around $100. Just 5-10 years ago decent units started at $200. Maybe they're made in China now or something.

Whatever you get, consider yourself lucky as most modern automobiles are very tricky to modify with aftermarket components.