Audio Upgrade and Questions

[MasonL1997]

Hi there,

I've got a Toyota 86 GTS which has the Toyota touch screen head unit, now I'm interested in upgrading the sound system, but not sure what the most effective and easiest way to get a bit more kick out of the stock head unit (knowing it has some limitations). Do I go for a sub and an amp? Or go for a high quality amp with everything else stock? Or upgrade door speakers/tweeters?

Opinions and reccomendations will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
Mason

[soulreapersteve]

I simply went for an amp and sub. Never realized my songs had bass until I got the sub.

If you want to go all out, there's OEM audio+ which a lot of members here enjoyed. Lots of good reviews posted here on the forums.

http://shop.oemaudioplus.com/86-FR-S-BRZ_c5.htm

[jawn]

Originally Posted by soulreapersteve

I simply went for an amp and sub. Never realized my songs had bass until I got the sub.

If you want to go all out, there's OEM audio+ which a lot of members here enjoyed. Lots of good reviews posted here on the forums.

http://shop.oemaudioplus.com/86-FR-S-BRZ_c5.htm

What sub/amp are you running? Have any photos of your setup?

[soulreapersteve]

Originally Posted by jawn

What sub/amp are you running? Have any photos of your setup?

I'll get back to you on that after I'm off shift, don't remember exact model for sub and amp. It's Pioneer though.

Forgot USB cable at home so no pictures either.

[MasonL1997]

Originally Posted by soulreapersteve

I simply went for an amp and sub. Never realized my songs had bass until I got the sub.

If you want to go all out, there's OEM audio+ which a lot of members here enjoyed. Lots of good reviews posted here on the forums.

http://shop.oemaudioplus.com/86-FR-S-BRZ_c5.htm

Ive heard good things about the OEM audio+, but price hurts with that one. Sounds like a simple amp and sub set up would be enough then

[ryoma]

a lot of people say that adding sound deadening to the doors/trunk helps.

[eggncheese]

I'm running a Kenwood KAC-5001PS and an Alpine SWS-12D2. An absolute word of difference. About $215 after everything was said and done.

[soulreapersteve]

Originally Posted by jawn

What sub/amp are you running? Have any photos of your setup?

As promised! Had a choice to mount the amp to the back seats or lose a set of the spare tools. Wanted a more cleaner install, and so groceries won't hit the amp. Located under the air compressor in the bottom picture.

Amp: Pioneer gm-d8601
Sub: Pioneer ts-swx2502

[Ryder86]

Factory head unit is great. The limitations come from the amp and speakers. The OEM+ stuff is an improvement but not where most are trying to go.

The amp is power matched for 2 ohm speakers which makes it hard because the minute you go to the audio shop and buy a pair of upgraded speakers (most options are 4 ohm) you will have to crank that head unit and amp twice as loud.

If you want 4 ohm aftermarket speakers, you're definitely going to need a better amp.

The most recent recommendation I got from California Auto & Sound was to leave stock head and amp but purchase the 2 ohm Focal component speakers which are shallow depth and make it a perfect plug and play for Subaru owners. The only problem is they are pricey @ $1500.

IMO it's well worth it to be able to put in a speaker of that caliber and not have to replace the head or amp. By the time you factor in the price of the new head and amp the $1500 speaker set is a wash.

http://www.focal.com/usa/en/k2-power...058751325.html

[jawn]

Originally Posted by soulreapersteve

As promised! Had a choice to mount the amp to the back seats or lose a set of the spare tools. Wanted a more cleaner install, and so groceries won't hit the amp. Located under the air compressor in the bottom picture.

Amp: Pioneer gm-d8601
Sub: Pioneer ts-swx2502

Thanks! I've been thinking about a setup like that.

[xFury]

Definitely Amp and Sub first IMO.

OEMPlus looks great, but I'm pretty sure you can get a much better audio set up for that price, including a custom made enclosure for the trunk or wherever you want to put it.

But if you got the $$$ and don't mind, OEMPlus seems like a great kit. But as long as you get some sub and amp, you'll start to see the difference in your song, since the OEM speakers don't do justice at all lol.

Also when you get the Sub and Amp, try to keep the Bass settings at 0 and adjust to your likings. Usually those decent amp would come with a controller to adjust how much dB you want to add to the Bass also.

Avoid crappy brands that says 1000W for $100. Take the safe route and protect your electrical with a decent name brand Amp. Get a beefy gauge cable to connect your amp to your battery. I think the Kickers Amp install cable are a great buy.

[ajcarson11]

Originally Posted by Ryder86

Factory head unit is great. The limitations come from the amp and speakers. The OEM+ stuff is an improvement but not where most are trying to go.

The amp is power matched for 2 ohm speakers which makes it hard because the minute you go to the audio shop and buy a pair of upgraded speakers (most options are 4 ohm) you will have to crank that head unit and amp twice as loud.

If you want 4 ohm aftermarket speakers, you're definitely going to need a better amp.

The most recent recommendation I got from California Auto & Sound was to leave stock head and amp but purchase the 2 ohm Focal component speakers which are shallow depth and make it a perfect plug and play for Subaru owners. The only problem is they are pricey @ $1500.

IMO it's well worth it to be able to put in a speaker of that caliber and not have to replace the head or amp. By the time you factor in the price of the new head and amp the $1500 speaker set is a wash.

http://www.focal.com/usa/en/k2-power...058751325.html

The stock headunit/amp put out an EQed signal to match the factory speakers. You'll need some sort of DSP to flatten out the signal coming out of the headunit otherwise you'll be feeding your $1500 speakers with a biased signal. This is where the OEM+ setup comes in strong, IMO.

Not suggesting you can't get good results with a speaker upgrade... but please keep this in mind before you drop that kind of cash!

[MasonL1997]

Thanks for the recommendations and feedback everyone! Definitely assisted me in making a decision!