DIY 3.5" JL Audio dash speaker upgrade - Wow!

Did you ever change out your dash speakers @glwood54?

 

Yes I did. Better audio is way down on my list of wants, however - I took the easy road and swapped in the Subaru Kicker tweeters. I didn't feel like fabbing up brackets or trimming the speaker cover. Something to be said for plug-n-play. I'm perfectly happy with the sound.

Not the most popular mod judging from this thread, but it works for me.

 

Thanks. I'm still interested in doing the Infinity Reference swap. Been thinking about tackling it recently.

Anyone have a recommendation for a soldering iron/gun? There's about a billion on Amazon. Don't want to get something expensive, but I don't want it to be cheap crap either.

 

I bought this one from home depot. You'll also have to buy some butane, but this think worked great for getting the capacitors attached. The trickiest part for me was the shrink tubing.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Bernzom...e-Rosin-Core-Solder-and-Case-368600/304813553

 

Cool! Thanks for the link! Never needed a soldering iron before but I use a bernzomatic hand torch at work all the time and it’s been good to me.

I always have issues with shrink tubing as well. I decided to finally pull the trigger on a heat gun instead of using the lighter method. I think it should go smoother this time around.

Any comments from anyone on an electrical soldering iron vs a butane one? I’m not planning on assembling circuit boards or anything…..just car audio stuff. Any advantages or disadvantages to either?

 

The best soldering iron I have for small jobs like this is from harbor freight. They also sell solder and spring tube so it’s a one stop shop.

 

Well, I got everything to give this a go. Hopefully I have time this weekend.

 

Good luck and all in all everything in this thread is fairly easy. The most PITA part of what I did was the sound deadening inside and outside the door. In fact after doing the rear hatch it put so much weight on the door I had to swap out the hydraulic lifters with the ones designed for people putting the ladders on their rear hatch. All in all I'm happy with the Infinity speakers.

Now all I have left is the Alpine PSU-300FRN subwoofer/amplifier. I'm going to try to do that on Sunday if I can. Supposed to be a 2 hour install but I'm sure I can stretch it out to 8 like I did with the power folding side mirrors mod....which I also highly recommend.

 

Thanks!

I've never seen that Alpine set-up before. Sounds like a pretty cool solution. That sub box is tiny.

Please let us know how the install goes. Really interested to hear your thoughts on how it turns out.

 

Finally installed my Infinitys in the rear hatch. I followed @aroyalsfan bracket mod and it worked out perfect. Thanks to him for his help along the way also. I didn't go crazy with the killmat but still put some around each speaker. I added some foam too for a tighter fit against the panel. Zero rattles and the speakers sound awesome and clean! Next are the 4 doors..meh..not looking forward to that. Taking the panels off seem like it's going to be a pain.

 

Glad it worked out. Looks great and I am sure sounds better.

 

Got the capacitors on the wiring harness today.

I learned that I really suck at soldering.

That's all I did today as I ran out of time for anything else.

 

Heat the wire not the solder. As the wire heats, melt the solder into the wire by touching the solder to the wire rather than trying to melt it with the soldering iron.

 

Good tip! Thanks!

 

Alright!

Got the Infinity Reference 3.5's in and they sound great! Big improvement over stock. Easy install. Amateur tip......remove the bolts securing the speaker to the bracket before removing the screw attaching the bracket to the dash. It'll make things a lot easier on you.

Cutting the speaker brackets was easy with the right tool. You won't need to use all the pieces you cut from the speaker bracket as one end of the speaker can fit into the existing dash mount hole. I used an orbital sander to bring down the lip on the dash speaker covers. Took about 2 minutes per side using 80 grit.

Warning for anyone who decides to tackle this mod.....these speakers will make you wonder how much better your stereo will sound if you replaced all the speakers.

 

I got the Alpine PSU-300FRN subwoofer/amplifier installed today. Took me about 4 1/2 hours..because well I milk things. I did not take any pictures or write up a tutorial because this involves removing the front seat and placing it in your lawn. So that's a little more detailed than I wanted to get involved. You have to remove everything from the stereo to the center console. You have to cut a hole in the extra rubber nipple in the firewall grommet on the passenger side to fish the power wire through.

Also if you've done other mod's that involve removing all the kick plate panels and such...this past knowledge comes in handy.

Cool thing about this set is that everything is plug and play. There is a wired bass level knob. It suggests you mount it outside the center console. I just drilled a hole and put it inside.

As far as sound....holy cow this made things so much louder. So The max level from stock equals about level 30 on the amp. The max level with all infinity equals about level 40 on the amp. Absolutely no way will I ever take this thing back up to 60+ again. No need to. I am a rock fan so some Boston sounded good. Can't wait to blast some Tool. I turned it over to channel 43 on Sirius to listen to check out the bass level. I was impressed the sub with the 6x9s really kick some bass out. My girlfriend keeps her sunglasses in the passenger door and they were bouncing around.

Only thing I am wondering is if I already blew the 6.5" infinity speakers before this install or if they don't pair well with this amp. The front 3.5" and 6x9" sound great with it. The back sound fine, but not perfect, a little tinny....if that makes sense. Maybe the speakers all just need a break in period again with this amp. All in all though I am happy with the sub/amp. Crutchfield sells is for $799. Amazon was selling for that price too...for some reason it popped up at $499 right before the 4th. I jumped on it and bought it. The next day it was back up to $799. Sometimes it's worth keeping things in your Amazon list.

If anyone goes for this unit feel free to hit me up with any questions. I'll help the best I can...I'm no pro though.

 

I have a 2019 TRD PRO 4RUNNER WITH THE JBL STEREO, will this work or am I going to have a problem? My Tweeter blew out on the passenger side and I want to replace it using this I refuse to give the dealer 300$ for one factory JBL tweeter.


Any help from anyone would be greatly appreciated.



Thanks

 

It’ll work but I’m not sure if there’s a plug available. You may have to make something yourself.

 

Great info on this thread for an old guy like me. Would a speaker upgrade help someone who basically listens to Talk Radio and audio books while driving? The last time I looked at or bought after market speakers was in the mid 1980s. I'm probably not interested in changing out the head unit itself (is that the right term now?), although down the road who knows. Last time I did this was installing a Pioneer Cassette. lol.

 

Kinda pointless in your situation.

 

What's your goal? Sound quality doesn't seem like it would matter with talk radio or audio books.

 

Sound quality. Many on this thread have posted of improved sound for music listening so I was wondering if upgrades would make a difference. I probably don't need a sub-woofer or extreme loudness, just clarity, clearness, depth.
To be fair, I do have a 1970-80s CD with different music I listen to sometimes. Old stuff..Judas Priest, Boston, Journey, old country ect.

 

You’ll gain sound quality for sure. Not sure how much on an audio book but definitely when it comes to music

 

Up grading the speakers makes a big difference, add a little sound deadening and even better.

 

In your situation perhaps go with the Subaru tweeters referenced in the main speaker replacement thread already referenced above. They are plug and play. Then replace the 6x9s in the door with a plug and play option from Crutchfield (then search Amazon for lower price), or the Infinity Reference in the same thread. Then be done with it. Don't worry about your sound deadening or the back 4 speakers and sub and amp. You'll be happy with that setup with what you're trying to accomplish.

 

I have a 2016 4Runner Limited with JBL and in the same boat. Could really use some guidance on the how to swap the blown tweeters for something with better sound. So far I haven't found much on the JBL replacement path. I am considering just pulling the trigger on OEM replacements at this point which are $66 each.

 

Pull the speaker out of the dash, check wiring, wire in a new 3.5” speaker of your choice. There’s nothing special about the factory JBL system.

 

Update on the deleted update....Turns out a speaker wire jiggled itself loose. It caused both rear left speakers to stop working. Once reconnected everything was working again. Still worried that I have a couple blown speakers on the right rear side because they were over compensating the entire time. It's either that or something else in the rear tailgate door is vibrating when I am blasting Regulate by Warren G featuring Nate Dogg.

 

Okay...so only started messing around with everything because I'll be headed out on a road trip at some point in the future. Now that I've got my speakers working properly again and everything sounding great, I have really notice how bad the stock head unit is...or at least XM radio audio is through the head unit.

If you have XM radio try using the XM app through Bluetooth. It sounds 10 times better through the app.

 

Do you think the 3.5 dash and quality coax front speaker is a better setup opposed to something like the discontinued focal is690toy or other comparable component setup?