I'm not much of a stereo guy, installed a HU and thats about it. I'm looking to upgrade the OEM speakers and add an amp to my '96. I don't want to get carried away with fitting. I'd rather just plug in new speakers and add an amp.
What are your thoughts on quality replacements?

 

How much are you willing to spend ? (genuine, legitimate question)

 

^ yeah, what he said.

 

Yep, your budget will determine what we recommend.

 

Also consider what kind of music you listen to most;for rock I've heard several good sets of boston Acoustics in a variety of vehicles.

 

Well....I'd like to get the best value for my dollar. Not top end but I'm not cheap either. I listen mostly to rock and blues.
Thanks

 

How Much $$$$$$$$$ ????

 

I just got to say I always thought you were a chick. I thought Emil stood for Emily. Damn assumptions.

 

I'm not trying to dodge your $$$ questions but a price range would help me out...

 

You can spend from $20 to $1000's of dollars on speakers. There are "best bang for the buck" in each category.

So... Where's your top-end on, say, _one_ pair of speakers? $100, $200, $500?

Do you want to run just new door speakers or do you want a multi-channel dedicated tweeter hot-spot install?

Will you replace the front and rear door speakers at the same time?

Are you looking to to a sub as well? $100, $200, $500?

The amp has about the same price ranges... $100, $200, $500. Will you want to run separate amps for the front and rear speakers? What about a separate amp for the sub? Passive or Active crossover?

Are you looking to run all new power or speaker wire as well? Lamp cord budget or are you into oxygen-free cabling?


These guys can spend any amount of money that you want to cough up. You really need to let them know how mauch you're willing to part with.

 

Im trying to help you here.... Give me your spending range on this project Im not trying to find out how much money you got in your waller or bank account.


Think of it this way....
A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Knowing how much chain you have to work with will help us get the length you need, with the equal sized links from end to end. No sense doing Overkill on a HU and then skimping on the speakers ?

Knowing how much your willing to invest, will help us get you the best balance and bang for the buck.

 

Almost all of the stuff at circuit city, HHGregg, and Best buy is middle of the line or slightly less. Still, the best stuff they sell there is good quality, middle of the road names. I would suggest Infinity reference separates in the front, a MTX 4 channel amp, and whatever subwoofer system is right for you. I think the MTX amps are decent, but I am a JL fan even more. You will need to go to a car audio store for the JL, or the internet.
If you don't run rear speakers in the doors, then you can take the 3rd and 4th channels and run a modest size subwoofer with plenty of power to provide some good, loud bass if needed. If you want to use rear fill, and you decide that you don't want to use your head unit to power them (some people don't want them very loud, so they just power them with the HU saving the amp channels for other uses), then you will need a separate amp for a subwoofer.

I recommend you do it in two steps. Get a 4 channel amp, the front door speakers, and a sub woofer with a box. I assume you already have a Head Unit. All of that is expandable to a full blown system by deciding how far you want to go, or if you want rear fill, more bass ect. Nothing will be wasted that way, and you will have great sound for under $500-$800 installed. Then add the rear fill, second sub box (if you really need one), and anything else you want to do later.

Don't forget you need to get an amp wiring kit. I recommend going to walmart for the kit. You can get an 8 or 4 ga kit for $25 to $40, and that is an awesome price.
Good luck,
Wes

 

O.K. How about if we price it out in steps? A pair of front speakers for $200. would be fine. I would probably prefer not to replace the wiring unless convinced that it would be of great benefit. An amp is in my future, probably without a subwoofer. Rear speakers for $200.00/pair would also be great. I suppose an amp for $100.-$200? Would I benefit much by replacing the front tweeters? Lets keep those in line with the speakers for $200 as far as quality, hopefully pricing them less....I am running this off of a Sony HU, C7000X.

 

Yup, you are right in line with the Infinity Refs front and back. $200 in front for components, $80-$100 for coaxial refs in the rear, and a nice 4 channel amp at $299 average to round it all out.

 

Lemme add a bit of personal experience in this...

If you replace the tweeters up front (I take it you have a Limited?) then you'll want an EQ or someway to tone them down. The point being that the stock tweeters are SOOO lame, that replacing them with most anything will be too bright and you'll want to tame them a hair.

You may find that the digital EQ in your Sony HU is too harsh to sound "warm", hence the possibility of an external EQ or a level control for the tweeters.

 

Thank y'all. Now I have a place to start. If not too much trouble, what size speakers do I want for the '96 Runner?
Thanks!

 

6" in the doors?

so spend about $300-400 for a pair of GOOD coaxes in the doors.

then a kick-ass (great) 4 channel amp. 2 channels to power the fronts. bridge the other 2 channels to power a GOOD subwoofer in a premade enclosure. i'd say about $300-400.

you really dont need speakers in the rear doors. they would just tend to ruin or drag the image.

since you have an aftermarket head unit, you are good to go.

 

Check here...

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f2/3rd-gen-can-you-fit-6-5in-speakers-rear-door-19263/

The short form is that you should be able to get 6 1/2" to drop right into the front, the rear's may need some sheet metal cutting to get that size in.

Also, don't forget about speaker depth as well. The window is in the door and you'll probab;y have to space the speaker out a ways (1/2"ish) to get the window to clear the magnet on the speaker.

 

and those spacers are very easy to make. Since most components come with grills, just trace the inner circle of the grill on a piece of 1/2" plywood. Cut that out, drop your speaker in there, and trace around the speaker. Remove teh woofer, cut that line out, and you are done.

Oh, most compnent sets have crossovers with a tweeter attenuation switch to kill some of the highs. It pads them down so you dont have to EQ it out as much.

Wes