Hello all, first post, looking forward to adding new photos soon!

I just upgraded from a 2011 Scion tC to the newer body style of the 2014. Scored an amazing deal with loooow miles. Biggest difference between my 2011 is I had upgraded Audio and a Spoiler. Looking to get that fixed soon for this new car.

The previous owner of my 2011 tC put in what I was told (never actually checked) a Bose speaker sound system. It sounded pretty sick, no Subwoofer but the bass was smooth and the audio was some the of best I've heard in a vehicle.
Very clear and easy on the ears. Not an audiophile, but I am definitely an enthusiast and need my ride to have great sound.

First thing I checked in the new 2014 model was the Pioneer Bluetooth audio. Even fussing with the limited Pioneer EQ in the 2014 model, I was very unimpressed with the sound. Bass was pathetic, and the Mids and Highs crushed and garbled.
It was not clear or crisp like mine. I brought it up with the dealer, who worked with me on the price and offered to help pay for the upgraded audio in the new car. Side by side there is no comparison.

Now my dilemma: I can't even find a replacement set of Bose speakers for the 2014 tC?? I don't actually know where to start if they were a different brand (Boss for example) in my old tC, I just want to get a new sound system for the 2014.
If anyone has recommendation for a full set of the 8 replacement speakers that has great sound let me know. I would like to keep the budget (excluding install) under $400 for replacing everything, and I don't need a Subwoofer since my old car didn't have one and I never felt the need for it.


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Cheapest way to improve the sound would be to swap in Fosgate Punch speakers all around. It's a lot of work (and money) to do it right, but those are the best value speaker IMO. I'd start with dropping those in front and rear (with the 2-way w/ coaxial tweeters in the back to pick up some clarity) and see how you like the upgrade. Check my build thread for some details on my audio overhaul (cost a lot more than those tho lol). Due to the way this car is made, the 6x9's in the door are 2ohm (rest of the car is 4ohm) so factor that into your replacement as well.

 

Thanks! I've replaced speakers before, and I'll have help. No doubt it will still take a while, but I think we can do it.

What happens if I put 4ohm in the front? I see a lot of the 6x9s with 4ohm. So far from research i've done, I can do 3-way coaxial 6x9s in the front, 3-way 4" coaxials, the tweeters, and then 6.5" coaxials in the back. From what i've seen I can't find a dedicated woofer 6x9 for the front speaker.

 

Yeah.. the way this car is designed doesn't make for the simplest replacement without doing everything. Those 2-ohms ruin everything.

I replaced my lowers with 6.75" rounds (the rears as well using Tacoma brackets). You pick up a lot more clarity with a round speaker (but lose a little bass) vs an oblong design. Also it's unnecessary to have 2x 3-ways up front, will overload your system with highs if the car even sends signal to it. Since it's already a 3-way component up front it makes sense to keep it that way and only add a 2-way coaxial in the rear to pick up some clarity.

You will also need a rivet gun to do the 6x9's in the doors. If you swap them out with a 4-ohm they'll run at half power and the output will be muddy. Need to either get a speaker that can operate on both impedances (which may make for a severely unbalanced sound) or replace them all with a proper 3-way component setup and amp them like I did so the sound is uniform all around.

Another option would be replacing tiny factory amp under the driver seat (which only powers the 6x9's) with a little 2-channel 4-ohm amp and tuning the balance with that.

 

That sucks about the ohms. If I replace the front door with 6x9 component speakers, can I leave the 4" factory in the door? Or will that impede sound? I am willing to spend a little more if I can get good sound, its just overwhelming how many options there are and the intricacies of the details.

I put together a cart of items from Crutchfield -
- Infinity Reference REF-9630cx Reference Series 6"x9" component speaker system
- Infinity Reference REF-6532ex Reference Series 6-1/2" 2-way car speakers
- Pioneer GM-A3702 2-channel car amplifier — 60 watts RMS x 2
- Dual DM620N Digital multimedia receiver with navigation (I like the display on this and the user EQ option)

I feel like with this setup I replace most of the speakers, have an amp as you suggested, and have better control over the sound.

 

You can leave them - they will probably sound better with the new deck too. The stock tweeter is pretty pathetic though, if Infinity makes a Reference speaker in 3.5 - 4" and a 1" tweeter they would definitely be worth swapping out as well and hopefully not too expensive in that size. I have run Infinity stuff before and it was a pretty nice upgrade. Should be nice in the tC.

That's cool if you like the Dual stuff. The last time I used them was in the early 2000's and I didn't care for them much, maybe they've gotten better since then. Does that deck integrate with the steering wheel controls or mic?

All in all though this seems like a pretty decent upgrade. If you can, throw some deadener up as well while you have everything apart and it will help to severely reduce the road noise from this car. My recommendation for that would be at least 36ft of Noico from Amazon and just blanket as much of the surface as you can. It'll add a bit of weight but sooooo worth it with how loud this car is. Doing just the quarters and doors should reduce a good 30-40% of the road noise, and help to eliminate rattles if placed between the speakers and the car.

 

I have an audio guy who loves Kenwood stuff, he actually sold me on just replacing the head unit with a Kenwood DMX4707S for now to see how the speakers sound after gaining better control and more power boost (he said it can replace an amp?). I think that it has power steering controls, but I am not sure where to look to see if it has all the hardware for it in the package. If I still need replacement speakers after that, I will review my options again since the head unit alone is $300.

Good call on the sound deadener, would have never thought about that. The roads are crazy noisy around here in Seattle area, noticed that a lot coming from SoCal where the roads were really quiet and smooth.

 

Ah, much nicer deck as well. The source unit is always a good place to start, but not sure if it will completely make up for the muddiness of the stock system. Definitely a good place to start though.

For controls I really like the iDatalink Maestro, but not all decks are compatible. It made for a mostly pnp install and integrates with the steering wheel controls and ODB2 to display some engine vitals, cels, tire psi, etc. As long as that kit keeps existing I'm not sure I will ever not be able to buy it in the future, it's too cool to have all that functionality. All I had to do was a little splicing for the backup cam but that's not surprising seeing as how the car was never designed with one.

I have a buddy near Seattle, he complains about the roads there constantly lol. I Noico'd the car with 54sq/ft and could have easily found places for another 18, lol. That plus a layer of Second Skin Heatwave Pro on the trunk floor and on both doors/quarters/center console/under rear seats probably eliminated a good 85% of the road noise (the noico did add close to 40lbs tho). There's still a little in the wheel wells and roof but can't do much about that. Quieter tires help.

 

Just checked the iDatalink Maestro website and of course my unit is not listed as one of the compatible ones... As long as I can control the volume/mode from my steering wheel with the new head unit I would be happy. Everything else is just a plus for the future.

The tires are new on this vehicle, but I actually really liked the goodyear eagles I had on my 2011, when I bought it the previous owner had some nice Pirellis on them but I couldn't notice a difference noise/performance wise for the price lol. I don't do much drag racing,
only with a couple friends in their stock Civics/Fusions/Optimas lol. Would consider upgrading when I have more wear on them.

But for now I need to focus - get new head unit, Noico deadener, and possibly speakers. GAH, so easy to go overboard right off the bat haha.

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Might have to grab an Axxess unit or similar. I've used a PAC in the past and it was awful, can't recommend lol (super laggy and lost programming often).

That's about the same as how I drive mine. It's definitely not a racecar but it's definitely nice upgrading it to be a better car car. I am absolutely loving the Hankook S1 Noble2's that I threw on a few months ago though. Probably the smoothest riding and quietest tires I've ever owned and the grip is on par with the V12's I've run for the last few years.

 

How accurate would you say Crutchfields speaker sound comparison is? I have pretty good headphones and I spent about two hours comparing speakers through their online tool, it kind of amazed me what speakers I ended up loving and others that sounded like trash. Used the same song and compared it to what it sounds like through Apple Music on my laptop, on YouTube, and the Crutchfield tool. I ended up preferring Infinity speakers to just about any other brand beside the C2 series JLs, in any price range. I am going to wait until June to make all my purchases most likely since a few things I want are backordered or out of stock.

 

TBH I haven't used it, but they're a pretty reputable site, I would imagine they spent a fair amount of time perfecting it. As long as you don't get Kicker I'll be excited for you lol.

I do really like my Focal's, but they're a bit out of your price range, esp since they'll require a 4ch amp and new wiring to receive full power.

 

Bumping this up. I ended up putting in RF Punch series all around a couple months ago. We did surface mount tweeters, left the old middle speakers in, replaced the front and rear woofers.


RF component speakers, had to surface mount the tweeters but they look great.

Rear RF woofers

Kenwood 400w amp

JVC head unit, I love the interface and we got the steering wheel controls to work!

While the mids and highs are great, I was unpleasantly surprised that the new speakers had significantly less bass than my old ones, (bass)ically non-existent. I kinda wish i'd known that before upgrading, so I could have saved for a sub at the time or found different speakers.

Still crazy to me that my old 2011 scion had an amazing (and bassy) sound system and no subs or trunk speakers. Too bad we'll never know what was in it, as I sold the car without ever checking.

As for my new question, I want to get a subwoofer. Does anyone know if this will fit the 2014 model? https://www.sonicelectronix.com/item...G-STC12-D.html
It says 2004-2012, but as far as I know the newer (not the 2nd gen) body style was the '12-14, with 15's and 16's have a slightly more sculpted look. Would this greatly effect the fit? The price seems right to want to just to try it out.

I definitely want to get a 12" sub, something tells me I would not be happy with a 10". My audio guy mostly carries RF so I would just take his recommendations.

I am just so torn between saving the extra $ and getting a custom enclosure, and just living with the box look. We camp, hike, and travel a lot in my little car and I use that trunk space a decent amount. But with 2021 probably being a quiet year for us, maybe I won't miss the space...

 

TBH I'm shocked you thought the stock system had any bass. I thought it was the worst sounding factory audio I'd ever heard lol. All it did was rattle and sound muddy.

With your amp you should be able to bump the bass up a bit, but yes, to really get lows you should install a sub.

I don't believe that box would fit. Looks like it's for a 1g. Check eBay or grab a JL Stealthbox if you need a corner box. TBH the sound from the 10w3 in there sounds cleaner and just as loud as my last car with 2x12's.

Have also heard good things about the under-seat subwoofers, but I have not installed or heard one. Simpler and cheaper to install than a custom-fit box though.

 

Well I would not say stock had good bass, but it was a warmer tone overall tone for sure. These new speakers lack any depth, but the mids and highs are super clear. When I try to milk lower frequencies in the the eq it just sounds distorted.

I was looking into the JL stealthbox, but I hate that for $700 it does not come with an amp...

 

Yeah.. they're overpriced but if you pay someone to make you a properly formed box for the same location, you're going to be paying a similar amount. The site I found mine at (in the $400's) quickly changed their price to the 6's after my order lol. Was one of my first mods on this car though and I absolutely don't regret it.
Give the Fosgates some time to break in, sometimes it takes a few weeks for the bass to show. Round speakers aren't great for bass but they should be doing better than you're describing. Perhaps need some tuning on the hu? My 6.75" Focal's have awesome bass but the rear speakers by themselves cost more than the whole system of Fosgates lol.

 

I have had them in about three months now, I have gotten accustom to the sound, I can crank it pretty loud with no distortion so that makes me happy. Obviously all I need now is some deep lows from a sub.

If the JL stealthbox 10" sounds as good as a RF 12" I would give it a shot, but obviously the downside is cost and permanent damage. What amp would you recommend for the stealthbox?

Out of curiosity, did you do the cut out and install the stealthbox or have someone do it for you? I am not going to mess around chopping up my trunk and will have my audio guy do it, just have to figure out how much it will cost now lol.

 

I install everything myself. Installed it as the instructions say.

Funny you should mention that, the 10w3 sounds much better than the 12" P1 we put in my buddies 4Runner (along with a full punch setup). Makes sense though the magnet is over 2x the size. I have mine paired with a JL JX500/1D mounted under the passenger seat and the volume **** is mounted under the blanks next to the steering wheel - it's never missed a beat. Also never needed to turn it up past halfway. I had planned on keeping my Alpine from my previous car but it wouldn't fit under the seat and needed something with a smaller footprint. FWIW I will be mirroring the same setup I have in the tC in my next vehicle as well as soon as I have enough saved for the down payment, it's incredible.

 

Ok, I think you've sold me on the stealthbox! That amp is pretty pricey though, hoping I can just pick up like an Alpine MRV-M500 or another Kenwood KAC model, since those are what my audio guy usually has in the store, he price matches which is nice too.

Off topic, but I ordered RGB (I just want red) footwell lighting and I'm going to see if he will cut off the cig lighter end and wire the power and ground wires to my dome lights so they come on when I open the doors. He could wire it into the cig lighter area but then I would manually have to turn them on, if I am not mistaken. The brand I got has an app so adjustments should be simple, I just wanted lights to come on with the dome lighting without too much fussing.

 

That's the amp I had before the JL. It won't fit under the seat. If you want to mount it elsewhere you'll be fine though. I was going for a fully stealth and oe-looking setup.

Have an R400-4D powering the rest of my system thats hidden under the driver seat.