I just picked up my '07 Scion tc from the dealership on 5-18, and so far I love it. The one thing on my wish list now is louder sound. I have the standard factory 160 watt system, but when I roll down the windows and open the sunroof, a lot of the music gets drowned out.

Thus, I went to a local car stereo place, and they quoted me $1k for speakers and installation. I didn't really want to pay that much, so I was wondering if anyone had some suggestions on what I could do. Please speak in lamens terms for me, cuz again, I don't know stereo lingo. Like what a kicker is, or what 2 10's are (size maybe?), or what size amp I might need to power it all.

What should I get to simply make it louder? I could buy the stuff on the internet (better prices than the dealership or the local car stereo shop), and get someone to install it locally. Also, what I should expect to pay for it.

Thank you fellow scion owners. I am proud to join the club.

 

I guess this really just depends on what you are looking for. Are you wanting a lot of BOOM? Or more a long the lines of just being able to hear the words clearly when you are driving down the road at 80 MPH and the windows down?

What kind of music do you listen to? Maybe that would help a bit.

As far as 10's, 12's, 6x9 and so on goes, those are speaker sizes... If you want some more information buying amps and subs, here is some good information (read the whole thread please)...
https://www.scionlife.com/forums/vie...175&highlight=

Oh, and "kicker" is a brand.

 

Ow! My head hurts after reading that. Ohms, impedence, Hz, phase, enclosures... The more I read, the dumber I feel.

I listen to a variety of music...from NIN, Alice in Chains, KORN, Seal, Beyonce, Jamiroquai, Beck, Gorillaz, OK GO, Train, RHCP, Rush, Outkast, Tool, Mary J. Blige, and tons of 80's 1 hit wonders.

So, I sorta want some more thump, but not where I want people hearing me a mile away. I just basically need everything to sound louder so the wind doesn't eat up all the sound. So if I had to pick between the 2 options you gave me, I'd pick the second one, "more a long the lines of just being able to hear the words clearly when you are driving down the road at 80 MPH and the windows down"

Or should I just take it to Best Buy, and tell them, "I have a 160 watt sound system. I need more watts of sound, and speakers that can handle it."?

Thanks for your time and patience.

 

No! Don't do that, as you'd likely pay a lot and still may not get what you want.

Forget about the "more watts of sound", as that won't necessarily translate to more volume (what you want) when using "speakers that can handle it".

I guess you realize that this can be resolved by driving with the windows up, but did you know that driving with the windows down for years can lead to loss of hearing? This is especially true for the left ear if you're always driving with the windows down, air-conditioning is more comfortable than blasting wind, and at that speed MPG is better with the windows up too.

Ok, so you simply have to drive fast with windows down, then what to do? I'd bet a simple upgrade would resolve your issue, and wouldn't cost too much either. Here's a potential solution;

Line Output Converter on stock head unit
4 channel amp with crossover, "40w x 4" is adequate
10" 4 Ohm subwoofer in a small sealed enclosure

LOC to RCA to Amp. HU powers rear speakers. 2 channels of amp in high-pass mode (>80Hz) power stock front speakers, remaining 2 channels bridged and low-pass to subwoofer. 40w to the stock front speakers from the amp would be MUCH louder, and they can handle the power when they're high-passed so they don't have to try and reproduce bass frequencies. The bridged channels pushing the sub would be >100w, which will meet the requirement you described.

There are a lot of options beyond this, but that would be a good start.

 

Yeah, driving with the windows up is probably better all around. (For my ears and my wallet.) The two words my wife says I say the most are "HUH?" and "What?" I thought it was just a sign of getting old, but maybe it's from playing my music too loud.

It might be best to just take your advise, and ride with the windows up. I don't want to buy the wrong stuff, and it not work the way I want it to. I'll keep reading "Car Audio for Dummies" and see if that helps me at all. I just love riding with the windows down, with the wind blowing all around.

I don't want to give up on upgrading the system, but I don't want to screw it up either.

Thanks for your input.

 

I agree with nodsetse. This would be an excellent start. Much louder, and give you the thump that you are looking for.

But because you asked for layman terms, I thought I would explain it a bit...

The LOC (Line Output Converter) would simply make it where you can connect your HU (headunit) to an amp (by creating RCA outputs from your HU which go to the amp).

The amp would be 40w x 4 (meaning 40 watts in 4 channels... front left, front right, rear left, rear right = 4 channels).
You would take the two front channels and connect them to your front door speakers. The cross over on the amp would filter the low and high notes. You would have a high pass on the front speakers (meaning let any high notes go through... >80 hz would start to get in the treble range).
The two rear channels on the amp would be bridged (meaning use both channels as one channel, essentially combining the watts of both channels together = 80w) and would have that go to your sub with a low pass (meaning let low notes go to the sub). That would give you a nice little thump.

And the price of this would be inexpensive... I would say in the $250-$500 range... maybe less if you shop around.

 

If you want to upgrade, then go upgrade. Just please don't go to Best Buy. Most of those installers really don't know a lot about stereos... they just know how to plug up some wires and hope like hell it works.

I would suggest that you go to a car audio place with the info that we have given you and try to talk to them. Tell them what you want (just a louder sound and a little thump) and see what they can offer. Give them a price range and if they are a decent audio store, they will prolly work with getting you the best bang for you buck.

:D