Upgrading system...need advice

 

New member
Username: Perk

Post Number: 1
Registered: May-05
Hello,
Great site, thank you to those who take the time. I'm in the process of researching a system upgrade for my 95 Toyota Landcruiser. The currently stock setup consists of a pair of 5 1/4" front door speakers wired with a pair of 4" dash tweeters, a pair of 4" rear door speakers wired with 3 1/2" tweeters in the cargo headliner, and a free-floating 6" subwoofer in the PS panel of rear 1/4 panel. All the stock audio parts are completely anemic and only there so Toyota could advertise a 9 speaker system with sub.

I've currently got about $1300 to spend and am interested in achieving high quality sound. I want high quality components, so perhaps I can't do the whole system all at once. I plan on having this vehicle for many years, and don't want to regret not spending a little more to get top notch equipment. The vehicle is used off-road, so the audio equipment needs to be durable.

Sub/Amp: Lows will be hard to come by with the system as I don't want an external sub-box. This means I am limited to the factory location in the rear 1/4 panel. This is also where an amp will need to go. This space has room for an 8" sub in a small enclosure along with an amp, but not a very large one. Some have said it is too small for fibrglass. I need help picking the right amp and sub for my limitations.

HU: So many out there, any suggestions? Ideally, it would be MP3 compatible, sattelite ready, and have a high FM signal sensitivity. I'd prefer a simple looking face and I think it will need to power part of the system. Any reason to look somewhere other than Alpine?

Front: I'm thinking 6 1/2" components, but it will take some cutting and spacers. I've been researching these for a little while now, but don't have a dealer nearby to go and listen. I know the Kappa Perfects are often recommended, but I'm a little concerned about being too bright; I do want crisp, tight highs but not bright or harsh. Are there significant gains in say MB Quart Premium, Diamond Audio Hex series, Focal, or Adire? Do any of these give more bass than the others? I'm not sure what to do about the 4" dash speakers that are wired with the front doors. Are there gains to be made by putting the right 4" speakers here or am I better off leaving them out, perhaps to be used with a CB radio. If they'd help, I do want to use them.

Rear:I'm thinking 5 1/4" coaxials for the doors but I'm not sure what brand. I would like passengers in the second and third rows to experience a high quality sound as well. Are there 3.5" speakers out there that can hold there own for the very rear of the vehicle? These are the ones up in the headliner, wired with the rear doors.


Thanks in advance for any suggestions,
Perk
 

Anonymous
 
Well you will either need to get one reasonably large amp or two medium sized amps. One will power sub/s and the other the components. You are probably going to have to sacrifice some space.

Front dash- Just unhook those speakers and don't use them.

Front doors- Unless you are into doing a really nice custom install you are going to want a nice set of "plug and play" comps. I would suggest the CDT Braxials or Adire Kodas. The braxials are really simple and utilize less space. The Kodas are excellent comps too.

Rear fill- I suggest only getting a midbass for rearfill otherwise you will be distracted and the coaxials will not sound as good as the comps. CDT and Image Dynamics make excellent midbasses.

Sub- You're going to need to find a good open air sub.

Amp- This is decided by what other components you get. No use looking at amps until you need to know what you are going to power. But the look into Zapco, JL, US Amps for top grade stuff.

Head Unit- Look into Alpine, Eclipse or Nakamichi. They are all excellent, but you should buy the one you like the look of and options of.

I hope this helps get you started.
 

New member
Username: Perk

Post Number: 2
Registered: May-05
Good info, thank you. I'll start looking into the HU's. So far, I've been spending all of my time trying to figure out speakers. I was leaning towards the Adires, but I found they're a bit too deep, I've only got about 2.5" and they're mounting depth is 3". I think I'll need to stay around $300 for the 6.5 comps. Is it risky to buy used speakers off Ebay if seller is saying good condition? I'm trying to decide if I should go for new CDT's(CL or HD) or perhaps Image Dynamics, or go for something like used Dynaudio or Focal.
Are there any 3.5" speakers that stand out above others that will work well in my rear cargo headliner to compliment the sub and midbass in the rear?
Thanks
Perk
 

Gold Member
Username: Jonathan_f

GA USA

Post Number: 4009
Registered: May-04
"Sub/Amp: Lows will be hard to come by with the system as I don't want an external sub-box. This means I am limited to the factory location in the rear 1/4 panel. This is also where an amp will need to go. This space has room for an 8" sub in a small enclosure along with an amp, but not a very large one."

How deep? The Image Dynamics IDQ 8", while discontinued, is an excellent subwoofer. They are still online in some places by independant sellers. Of course there is the JL Audio W7 8", not good on a budget as they're pricy, they're also very deep and require a good amount of airspace, making install tricky, for less cost the W3v2 8" is good and easier to install. The RE 8" from Resonant Engineering is good for the money. The Image Dynamics ID8 (not the IDQ8 I mentioned above) is available and also very good for the money.

"So many out there, any suggestions? Ideally, it would be MP3 compatible, sattelite ready, and have a high FM signal sensitivity. I'd prefer a simple looking face and I think it will need to power part of the system. Any reason to look somewhere other than Alpine?"

Lately there is plenty of reason to look other than Alpine, LOTS of problems with new units. Plus they've sacrificed SQ function for bogus features. I'd look at Eclipse, Pioneer Premier, and Clarion Pro-Audio. Or last years Alpine decks, such as the 9833 and 9835.

"Front: I'm thinking 6 1/2" components, but it will take some cutting and spacers. I've been researching these for a little while now, but don't have a dealer nearby to go and listen. I know the Kappa Perfects are often recommended, but I'm a little concerned about being too bright; I do want crisp, tight highs but not bright or harsh. Are there significant gains in say MB Quart Premium, Diamond Audio Hex series, Focal, or Adire? Do any of these give more bass than the others? I'm not sure what to do about the 4" dash speakers that are wired with the front doors. Are there gains to be made by putting the right 4" speakers here or am I better off leaving them out, perhaps to be used with a CB radio. If they'd help, I do want to use them."

Stick with just 6.5" components. If you want a door install and best performance in that, I'd recommend the CDT HDs since you can't fit the Kodas. Focals, MB Quarts, Dynaudios, and others are fantastic, but trickier to install and best results won't be had from a factory door location.

"Rear:I'm thinking 5 1/4" coaxials for the doors but I'm not sure what brand. I would like passengers in the second and third rows to experience a high quality sound as well. Are there 3.5" speakers out there that can hold there own for the very rear of the vehicle? These are the ones up in the headliner, wired with the rear doors."

I wouldn't spend a ton of money on the rears, just look for a good pair of coaxials that match the timbre of the front components. CDT makes these as well, they also make braxials if you want to dish out more money for SQ in the rear. I'd leave the 3.5" coaxials alone as I would the dash speakers, more isn't better in that case. Component system up front, one in the rear, and a sub is all you need for quality, loudness, and volume. Any more will start to mess up your imaging, especially without processing.
 

New member
Username: Perk

Post Number: 3
Registered: May-05
Thanks a lot Jonathan. Sub enclosure is 48" long, 26" high, 8" deep (top), 10" deep (bottom). Are any of the subs you mentioned open air?
 

New member
Username: Perk

Post Number: 4
Registered: May-05
I found mounting depth for the CDT HD 63, unfortunately I think it is slightly to deep as well at 2 13/16". I couldn't find the depth of the HD 62. Is there any reason to think it would be different?
 

New member
Username: Perk

Post Number: 5
Registered: May-05
Is FM reception better when HU has a lower or higher FM sensitivity?
 

Silver Member
Username: Illuminator

Post Number: 381
Registered: Apr-05
The smaller the number, the greater the ability is to pick up weak stations.
 

New member
Username: Perk

Post Number: 8
Registered: May-05
"How deep? The Image Dynamics IDQ 8", while discontinued, is an excellent subwoofer. They are still online in some places by independant sellers. Of course there is the JL Audio W7 8", not good on a budget as they're pricy, they're also very deep and require a good amount of airspace, making install tricky, for less cost the W3v2 8" is good and easier to install. The RE 8" from Resonant Engineering is good for the money. The Image Dynamics ID8 (not the IDQ8 I mentioned above) is available and also very good for the money."

I'm having a hard time finding JL 8" subs or the Image DYnamics IDQ 8. Any suggestions for websites that carry these? and, will my enclosure space allow a 10"?
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