Tacoma stock stereo

Ern Dog

I've got a 2002 Toyota Tacoma with an ok sounding stock stereo. Would it be a big improvement if I kept my stock HU and upgraded my speakers (fronts only) to Polk DB's? Or should I keep the speakers and replace the HU? I'm saving up for some Rti10's, so I don't want to spend a whole lotta money on car auto.

exalted512

adding an aftermarket stereo to stock speakers will sound better 99% of the time than adding aftermarket speakers to a stock stereo
-Cody

MacLeod

Agreed. An aftermarket HU will be more powerful than the stocker plus it will likely have much better tuning options.

Best of course would be upgrade the HU AND the stock speakers but dumping the crappy stock HU is a great first step.

fireshoes

I just got a new deck to replace the factory one in my Grand Am and was amazed at how much better it was. I figured speakers would make more difference, but it really blew me away. I got the JVC with the HD radio tuner built-in. Nothing too fancy, but I like it.

Ern Dog

Thanks for the advice.

1996blackmax

The best route would be to replace both. That being said some people feel that you will get the most improvement with replacing the OEM speakers. Now, I guess this also depends on how good or bad the OEM speakers are. If the HU you plan on getting has advanced processing options (parametric EQ, time alignment, and crossovers), that would be the route I would probably take first.

Ern Dog

1996blackmax wrote:

The best route would be to replace both. That being said some people feel that you will get the most improvement with replacing the OEM speakers. Now, I guess this also depends on how good or bad the OEM speakers are. If the HU you plan on getting has advanced processing options (parametric EQ, time alignment, and crossovers), that would be the route I would probably take first.

I agree it would be best to replace both.
What is an easy way of finding out how good or bad the OEM speakers are? What does OEM stand for?

Greg Peters

Original Equipment Manufacturer.


Most factory speakers (at least the paper/whizzer coned variety) tend to sound dull, lifeless in the tweeter and midrange area, and only so-so in the bass department. They are a compromise between OK sound quality and longevity when used with the factory head unit. Translation: you could do far better.

Decent aftermarket replacement speakers will sound a world better, but at the expense of some bottom end. This isn't all bad, because a well-thought-out aftermarket system will sound it's best when used with a subwoofer playing the lowest frequencies (that the factory speakers don't have a hope of reproducing anyway).

Replacing all of your speakers with decent aftermarket ones will give you better sound in the treble, midrange, and upper mid-bass regions, but probably wont play as low as the factory ones. They will play cleaner, though.

If you get bitten by the car audio bug and want to get the best (comparable to home audio) type of sound quality in the car, expect to run an aftermarket head unit, replacement speakers, external amplifiers and a subwoofer for best results. This doesn't have to break the bank, but does take some careful thought and planning.