2015 Tacoma Radio

ed martin

Member
Purchased my new Tacoma 6cyl. 4*4 in January and mostly love the truck. My singular concern at the moment is the feeble radio (will not call it a sound system) that was installed with this truck. While it has the basics, e.g. cd/ fm/ am/ etc., the sound quality from the 6 speakers is poor. By poor I mean little base sound and over-all low quality sound projection. First question....am I the only one with this concern (do I have a bad radio-as suggested by a friend), or is this a more general problem? Second, what suggestions do you have to improve this (e.g. better speakers, separate woofer, replace whole system, etc.). Opinions welcome....
 
Purchased my new Tacoma 6cyl. 4*4 in January and mostly love the truck. My singular concern at the moment is the feeble radio (will not call it a sound system) that was installed with this truck. While it has the basics, e.g. cd/ fm/ am/ etc., the sound quality from the 6 speakers is poor. By poor I mean little base sound and over-all low quality sound projection. First question....am I the only one with this concern (do I have a bad radio-as suggested by a friend), or is this a more general problem? Second, what suggestions do you have to improve this (e.g. better speakers, separate woofer, replace whole system, etc.). Opinions welcome....
Crutchfield will be your best friend. Plus you get free installation crap.
 
I have a 2015 myself and I would say my stock speakers are pretty good, my friends always jokingly say that my truck came stock with subs. (They aren't that loud but pretty good sounding.)
 
I am not any kind of expert on audio stuff. But, it is obvious to me that there is a lack of power in the system. This is the only vehicle I have ever owned where I can turn the volume up all the way and find that it is barely loud enough. Every other car, even my 1988 Plymouth Horizon, I couldn't have the volume all the way up when I was in the car. The only time I would turn the volume up all the way, well not quite to the point of distortion, would be when I was using the car as a stereo while working in the garage etc. With my '15 Taco, I can peg the volume and not be able to hear the music when I am only a few feet from the car.

The sound quality is good AFAIK, but like I said, I am not some kind of audiophile or recording engineer.
 
I have a 2015 4X4 double cab V6 with Entune radio and not the JBL. I agree the speakers do not have a very good range. I pulled the front 6X9 door speakers and the woofers have NO magnets. The tweeters are actually more like mids and are decent. I ordered a pair of component speakers from Crutchfield and after a couple of weeks of break-in they sound way better. No amplifier needed as the speakers I ordered are very efficient. A little pricy but you get what you pay for. The sound is crisp with great highs and thumping lows. Yes, a sub would be better and an amp is always nice but a really good set of speakers that are very efficient will really help. Don't waste your time and money buying lower end speakers. Get high db rating which requires less power to drive them. I went with Focal is690toy as they are close to a direct replacement for the factory speakers. $300 shipped from Crutchfield. Didn't need to change rear speakers since I can't hear them anyway. Has 2 6X9 woofers and 2 1" tweeters to replace the upper mids. They fit perfectly but the connectors don't work with the 2015 connectors so you will need to splice them. I found out the mids were made in Mexico and they had the polarity switched on the back of the factory speakers which blew my mind as the wiring suggested it was backward until I discovered the error. Not sure if just a bad batch or if all the Tacoma mids are that way.
 
Here's one for you. Bought an 07 six months ago sound system sounded like crap. Just bought a Kenwood Head unit and Boston Acoustic speakers. Factory speakers sound great with more power from the new head unit! Speakers aren't going in until one goes bad!
 
I bought a 2015 tacoma limited with the jbl system and i have no complaints about it sounds and bass sounds good.
 
Yeah not sure, I figure the newer the vehicle the better the tech and sound. I have a 07 dcsb off road and the jbl system sounds great! I'm usually a guy that will spend extra on a aftermarket but haven't had the need to.
 
and i have an 07 with JBL
it rocks
now the soon be purchased 2016 doesn't have it and I want to upgrade
what do I have to spend to get decent sound? can I just put a big woofer in the back, do I need an amp too?
 
I am in that same boat. My radio is definitely not the loudest in the world. Some songs sound great coming out and others not so much.
 
If you want good sound at minimum you'll need an amp and speakers. I upgraded to Focal woofers and tweeters which really helps but no amp. Much better clarity but lacks power.
 
I feel like the volume "max" number is so arbitrary.. its like 61... 62... 63.. MAX ? Or something like that. Not in the truck at the moment, but ffs. Make it 1-50 or 1-100.. or at least 1-11....
 
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