Just got the 2011 tC 2 days ago. Already I'm not happy with the sound. Everything sounds blended together, the MX settings on the head unit take away from the music, I get the door rattle that you guys talk about in the other thread, and am getting ____ed off that everywhere online it says I have to drill out BOLTS to change the front speakers! I thought Scions were built to be modified!

Ok. Anyone with a door panel that looks like this, please help me: http://caraudiomag.com/sites/default/files/images/00000/27/76/scion_tc_door_speakers.jpg

That's what I have. People are saying the woofer is a 6x9, you can look at it and obviously see its a 6.5" speaker. 3 way component systems are impossible to find. Here are my questions:

1) Is there a crossover for each set of door speakers that determines the range of the speakers, or do all 3 plug into the back of the head unit, and does the head unit handle that task? I ask this to know whether to buy a component system that comes with a crossover, or to simply work on finding high quality 1-way speakers to replace them with.

2) Has anyone here changed the speakers, without any major modification to the door? I ask this because I'm leasing the car, and I want it to visibly be all factory looking.

PLEASE HELP - I love this car, it performs and handles great, but I need my stereo to be up to par in this purchase.

Thanks,
Alex

I'll help with one answer....the door speaker is not 6.5...it is indeed 6x9. I learned the hard way.

The grill is an 8" circle but the speaker is a 6x9.
The stock head unit's acoustics are pretty decent if you put it on "FEEL" and pump up the treble 2 or 3 depending on the type of music you listen to. I also have amped mine with an Alpine KTP-445 and now it sounds pretty good. WIll hold me over until I can drop another 1k in the car..

You can always run one component, then a 2 way speaker for the middle.

We had a long discussion about this in a theead i had started

Can you share the link to that thread?

I just bought Hert HSK163 3 way components. They seem to be a good fit. I have not yet looked inside the doors, but the 6x9 will require an adapter. I am hoping the Schosche SAT69 adapter will work for the 6.5" woofers. The midrange seems like a perfect fit, but if not I will get a custom adapter made. The tweeter looks like it can be pressure fitted otherwise I will used some epoxy glue to hold it in place.

I am going to be adding 3 layers of dynamat in the doors. The doors are terribly prone to rattles, so dynamat is a must.

You would actually be fine with a 2 way system, but I'm going with a 3 way since I am looking for a little better detail, stage, and imaging. I will keep you guys all posted when I crack open the doors and look at the fitment for a 3 way set up.

Put the stereo on - loud -mode.
I don't know if this would help but it did make the stereo sound much better too me.

Yep i learned the hardway too. I thought the speakers inside were 6.5 and they were indeed 6x9! Also you will need an adapter for the 6x9(speaker baffle i think its called) and u will need to drill the speaker out! I ended up installing a subwoofer in the car and was fairly easy to do. Car sounds great because i took the bass off the stock speakers so theres no rattle and everything sounds crisp n clear!

First, verify your speakers are actually working properly. See the Alpine HU Defect thread. Sound isn't very good with the defect, but it surprisingly robust when the HU is working properly.

Second, door rattle is an easy fix with the paper in the window controls, but stems from the issue mentioned in my first point.

Third, if you are unsure of any of what is said, the tC is a very easy car to disassemble. 3 screws and the door just pops off and you can look at the speakers themselves. Shouldn't take you more than 2 min to get the door panel off.