DIY 3.5" JL Audio dash speaker upgrade - Wow!

thanks! yeah I reviewed the the thread and saw that people we mentioning about soldering wires and that concerned me. I just don't want to mess things up and bottom line I don't own any soldering equipment. for the most part I will start with dash first and see how that sounds. take baby steps to this approach for this rookie like myself. then maybe the doors 6x9 in the future.

like 21OTR, I'm going to order these and:

Dash

Infinity REF-3032CFX Reference 3.5" Two-Way car Audio Speaker

https://www.amazon.com/Infinity-Reference-REF-3032CFX-2-way-Speakers/dp/B07B8T66KB/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3BEI0C3XU3AZ7&dchild=1&keywords=ref-3032cfx&qid=1616087629&sprefix=REF-3032CFX%2Caps%2C215&sr=8-2

$14 RED WOLF Car Front Dash Tweeter Speaker Wiring Harness for 2008-2022 Toyota RAV4 Camry 4Runner Highlander Scion, 2010-2019 Subaru Forester Factory Speaker Replacement Adapter Connector Non JBL System

https://www.amazon.com/RED-WOLF-201...1616087777&sprefix=Red+Wolf+-+tweeter+harness

Front Doors 6x9

$130 Infinity REF-9632IX Reference 6x9" Two-Way Car Audio Speakers

https://www.amazon.com/Infinity-Ref...d=1&keywords=REF-9633IX&qid=1616088252&sr=8-5

$10 Metra 72-8104 Speaker Connector for Select Toyota Vehicles, MULTI COLOR

https://www.amazon.com/Metra-72-8104-Speaker-Connector-Vehicles/dp/B0002BBP7Y/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Metra+-+72-8104+harness's&qid=1616088069&sr=8-1

$16 Metra 82-8146 6" x 9" Front Speaker Adapter for Select Lexus and Toyota Vehicles, Black, Apple

https://www.amazon.com/Metra-82-814...Metra+-+82-8148+adapter&qid=1616088338&sr=8-3

$21 Road Kill RKFR69 3 Piece Foam Speaker Enhancer System Kit for 6" x 9" Drivers | Black|

https://www.amazon.com/Road-Kill-RK...roadkill+-+speaker+foam&qid=1616088389&sr=8-4

can someone please confirm this is all I need for the dash and front doors speakers for now. THANKS a million to all you!!

 

You’ll be good to go with what you listed.

 

not mine, delivery tomorrow...Infinity 3.5 in the dash......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uA5oDlEkkUk

 

Impossible to really know how they sound when recorded with a phone and played through another phone lol. Either way, they’re a significant improvement.

 

Agreed - unsure if amped or other speakers also playing.....impressive movement for a little guy, looks like moving some air.

 

niiice! how was the install?

 

Not mine found it on the interwebs......install should be a breeze, already had the tweeters out to view how much physical space I had to work with for the 3.5 speakers. Not much room, very happy I got the harness to connect them ...... delivery tomorrow.

Mine will be playing this ....... this song really needs to be amped and subwoofers blasting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjRas1yOWvo

 

haha nice! ok keep me posted please if you don't mind. Any tips on install. I just ordered the tweeter harness and the Infinity 3.5 speakers with prime but it shows in stock 3/22/21, no biggie. Thanks.

 

I would of taking a piece of thinner dynamat, cut out a 3 1/2 inch hole. And install the speaker on top so you insulate the front of the woofer from the back?

 

Just got “schooled” by Crutchfield. If my original sound system didn’t sound so awesome I would be broke right now....

 

Crutchfield is the last place I would shop. Way over priced, always have been. Those foams are OK but they greatly limit air space. You're better off using the sound deadening material as mentioned above to seal the back of the cone from the front of the cone.

 

Is this all that is needed (besides a little mounting bracket modification) to replace the oem tweeters in the dash?

Dash




$50 Infinity Reference REF-3032CFX 3-1/2" 2-way Car Speakers - Pair

Infinity REF-3032CFX Reference 3.5" Two-Way car Audio Speaker

https://www.amazon.com/Infinity-Ref...1616087629&sprefix=REF-3032CFX,aps,215&sr=8-2




$17 RED WOLF Car Front Center Dash Pro Tweeter Audio Speaker Wiring Harness Replacement for 2012-2019 Toyota Corolla, 2008-2019 Toyota Highlander, Subaru 2012-2020 Factory Speaker Connector 1 Pair
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Disclaimer: personally not an audiophile in any sense of the word...

 

I believe so glwood54, those are what I ordered....odd though on the Red Wolf harness, some sites list it fits and others don't.
Ill have them tomorrow and confirm for sure and report back. If I had to make my own, I could and have done so in the past but all the soundproofing gonna take some time so I am going for easy.

 

i hope so, lol.. that's is exactly what I ordered today..

 

The Red Wolf harness works great.

 

I made my adaptors. Those red wolf adaptors didn't exist when I did the swap a few years ago.

 

So are these Infinity speakers way better than the Subaru ones?

 

How did your install go? What did you use for the speaker bracket?

 

Subaru ones are a big waste of money. Yes they’re an improvement over stock but they’re still just a tweeter. With the 3.5” speaker you get a 2 way woofer / tweeter. Better high and mid frequency response.

 

Thanks

So are the Infinities one of the better options to go with in that price range or are there even better options?

 

Reality is, it's a 3.5" speaker. They're only going to produce so much sound for the size they are. The Infinity Reference series is the best bang for your buck and is easy to install. I run the JBL GTO series which I love, they're made by Harmon which is the same company that owns Infinity along with a number of other brands. Only downside is the speaker has a tall ring on it which has to be modified before the grill fits over them. Had I realized that, I would have gone with the Infinity speakers.

 

Good to know.

Thanks!

 

There I quoted myself

FYI - the the 6532IX speakers do not work with the metra 82-8148 adapters (to tall) or butchering the original speaker to try to make an adapter out of it (to small) as I have done on other vehicles. Got them in though, they work if you use the supplied Infinity adapter, however, you have to drill new holes I just used self tapping screws.

 

came in sooner that it said..will install sometime this weekend.. “fingers crossed”

 

thanks for sharing that!

 

ok ok fellas I lied.. i ended up doing them tonight was too excited.. passenger side def more room but an easy installation with a few mods to the stock speaker adapter..

def a huge improvement..worth the $ imo..

now i feel confident i’m ready to do the doors and hatch lol.. thanks to everyone for all the tips and suggestions!!

 

The 3.5's are hooked up and sitting on the dash, I have not mounted them yet, busy soundproofing the doors and mounting the 6.5s.

The 3.5s sound really good night/day vs the stock tweeters, so much so you can really hear the crappy signal the radio is supplying. It is to early to tell (more new speakers to mount) but the sound is very overbearing over all other stock speakers. I had to move the fader to the middle of the back seat to even hear the stock speakers.

My 6x9s are coming in tomorrow so I want to hear the 3.5s and 6x9s together and the 6x9s alone before deciding if the 3.5s will stay.

The nice thing about the Red Wolf harness is once plugged in the circuit is complete, so the 6x9s play even before connecting the 3.5s, so you can listen to them by themselves or together by simply unplugging the leads.

The one back door 6.5 I got mounted sounds so much better than the stocker.....huge difference, sitting in the midde of the back seat listening to both huge difference........can't wait to get the rest changed out.

 

Woohoo congrats

 

Are these supposed to fit without having to shave down the bottom side of the dash speaker cover?

 

yup no need to shave down the cover. installed them earlier tonight, fits like a glove.