[TartanJack]

I'm not one for loud stereos and thump-thumping . . . (at least in my own vehicle).
But, I am always  playing the stereo when driving, enjoying it.
Now, the stock unit and speakers aren't bad, but (like on the rims) Scion/Toyota went a bit cheap on the speakers. (Edit: The reason Scio-Toyo did that was the figured owners would change them out anyways, so why spend too much on those -or so that's what I've been told by several sources that should know.)

Now, audiophiles, here is the question:
Does anyone have recommendations on an improved speaker set that works well as a direct-replacement for the original ones and provide improved (crisper, cleaner) sound with the original headunit?

Is there a speaker whose balance works esp. well with the xB2?

 

[xbam27]

BUMP!!

I wanna know too!!!

 

[gr8scape]

Me Three.

 

[LenrdZelig]

When I had my subwoofer installed, I asked the guy what the next step would be to improve the sound system in the car. He was a really strong advocate for installing sound dampening mat in the doors and elsewhere in the car ( such as Dynamathttp://www.dynamat.com/) , and claimed that while you could install upgraded speakers they'd not really sound much better in the car than stock equipment due to road noise. And it's the road noise that your stereo has to compete against in sound reproduction, thereby reducing the overall quality and experience. He stated that by installing mats even in just the doors, you'd lower the road noise in the car substantially, and therefore hear more from your stereo as is, and it would naturally sound better because of it. He made a compelling argument, and it was his assertion that the head unit, and at least the FRONT speakers / tweeters were substantial enough on their own, that sound mats would improve everything in the car as much if not more than new speakers. (The ones in the back doors, however, are kinda crappy).

Of course, he was also trying to sell me on the product since he is a dealer, but the demonstrators he had there were impressive.

I know there have been others on the boards here who have installed sound mats in their Scions. Perhaps they could weigh in on before / after in regards to stereo sound quality in their boxes.

 

[RedDragons]

Dynamat or similar dampening products always help by decreasing road noise and panel flex. But, there are many other things that go into a great sound system.

A 4 ch amplifier to supply the power needed for new speakers. Your average factory or aftermarket stereo is rarely above 20w. I know some of you will argue you have a deck that is 200w max power. Well your wrong, look at the RMS power rating that is what your stereos output truly is.

Find some new speakers, I pesonally love the alpine type-r speakers.

Run components in the front, a component set is a mid woofer and a seperate tweeter. Component sets usually come with a crossover for your speakers.

For the rears you have 2 options you can go with a 2way speaker. A speaker with the tweeter mounted on it. Or do what I intend on doing and running only a midwoofer leaving out the tweeters. Rarely do I have passengers and for a good soundstage you want your image to be focused around the front. This will also provide a little more bass for those of you not wanting a sub.


Its always a good idea to run an aftermarket stereo, but luckily with scion they provide RCA outputs so you dont have to do that.

Hope this post helped. If you have any questions I'll do whatever I can to answer them.

 

[TrevorS]

Now, audiophiles, here is the question:
Does anyone have recommendations on an improved speaker set that works well as a direct-replacement for the original ones and provide improved (crisper, cleaner) sound with the original headunit?

Is there a speaker whose balance works esp. well with the xB2?

I went with Alpine SPS-17C2 drivers in all four doors. The sound was much improved with the stock head unit. The drivers were reasonably priced, but they appear to have been replaced with the SPS-600. I don't believe there's any need to replace the OE tweeters, they work fine.

When you change the drivers, you'll need to change the OE HU tonal contour setting to the custom mode and adjust the bands to best fit your preferences. If you eventually upgrade the HU, then you'll definitely need to install eDead or Dynamat to control door panel resonances that will otherwise very audibly damage the sound. You may not need to take that step using the OE HU.

 

[RedDragons]

Using those type s alpine speakers, you should definately put them on a small 4 ch amp. The stock HU probably puts out approximately 15-20 watts rms. Those alpine speakers are looking for around 50w rms.

By under powering the speakers, not only are you degrading the performance of the speaker, you are decreasing the life of the speaker.

Match you equipment properly if you want it to last. Always get your RMS rating as close to matching as possible. And your stock or aftermarket stereo is most definately not 220w or whatever they said.