I'm simply looking to replace all four door speakers and the 2 tweeters up front w/ some JBLs or Boston Ac. and run a 4Channel amp. However, I want to keep my factory radio.

I know it's way under powered and there is so many other units out there that can do 4 times the work this unit can, but I'd still rather keep it...if possible. I have not seen an aftermarket head unit that has an OEM appearance to it, and my ultimate goal, is to have a good radio w/ an OEM look. My radio is the standard toyota "double stack" radio w/ the cassette and CD player.

My question is, can I upgrade my speakers, add an amp, yet still keep my factory radio? Anotherwords, does the factory radio have any outputs on the rear of it for this to work? I know I can pull it out and look at the back of it myself, I'm just curious if anyone else has done this before?

 

i dont think it will work that well

 

I am very curious about this and have the same question. A factory head unit does NOT attract attention and I love how it blends in with the rest of the dash. I know nothing about audio but also wanted to replace my tweeters, and replace all four door speakers with something fancier and louder, and run them through an amp hidden under the seat or something. I do not want a sub or a woofer.

However, if anyone DOES know of an aftermarket unit that looks OEM and has an aux in ( mp3 player, would beat using a casette adapter) please, please share!

Many thanks!

 

I doubt you would hear any improvement in sound quality without upgrading the head unit, but I do know that upgrading the HU makes a huge difference even with factory speakers...

...and as for aux inputs with the factory HU I asked a similar question and I was referred to:

This-
http://www.pie.net/store/index.cfm?a...ails&ItemID=94

and plug it into this-
http://www.pie.net/store/index.cfm?a...ils&ItemID=102

It goves you 3 aux inputs straight into your factory stereo! Great option, I will definitely be getting one for myself since I don't want to buy a new stereo right now but I have Sirius and an MP3 player...

EDIT: Oh, and as for attracting attention with your stereo, my recommendation would be to make sure any amps are hidden under your seats, tint your windows, and always take off the face plate on the HU... worked for my friends' cars in Tucson. That, and don't play your stereo loudly in your neighborhood, it advertises that you have a nice one.

 

Elton, what do mean you dont think it will work that well?

I'm not trying to be cocky, just need you to explain it better. I'm out of the loop on stereo equipment. I figured by hooking up a 300 wt amp to everything, that I could set it up to push 50wts to each of the 4 door speakers. Am I thinking this wrong?

Nick-m, I agree. I don't want my 4Runner broken into or worse, stolen over a radio. At least w/ an OEM unit, the chance of it being stolen is slim compared to an aftermarket one. Plus, I like the flush mount of the OEM unit.


Mastacox, I talked to Steven Schaefer and he said he could tell a huge difference when he replaced his stock speakers. He's still running his OEM HU too. Now, I don't know if he had bad speakers before, but I'm sure you would still hear some improvement over stock.

Of the two links you provided, help me to understand what those 2 units accomplish? I'm a bit of a noob when it comes to stereo equipment.

My windows are tinted, but not that dark. And yes, I would def. mount the amp under the seat. I don't plan on running any subs b/c I use my cargo space too much. (Plus, talk about an attention grabber for theives.) And you're right, def. don't play your speakers loud in your neighborhood. Some buddies of mine learned that lesson the hard way when we were younger. Too bad some of the young kids in the neighborhood now still have not learned that lesson.

 

Simple anwser to your question is yes, you can. The stock head unit does not have RCA outputs on the back. But, what you can do is get an amp with speaker-level imputs (most amps have these) and match it to some aftermarket speakers. Then you'll run your stock speaker wires to the speaker-level imputs on the amp and you'll run new speaker wires to the new speakers. It will sound lots better. Good luck.

 

^^ what he said

 

Sounds like between mastacox and Cape Yota, you should just about have this down...let us know what you decide to do, and how it goes...and course....

 

Basically, the stock radio has no inputs to plug anything into it. But, with those links I gave you, you can plug in mp3 players, satellite radios, whatever and still keep the factory head unit. It plugs into the back of your HU between the harness plug and the HU itself. One of the biggest reasons people upgrade to an aftermarket HU is to be able to plug in extra equipment.

 

Sweet. You make it sound so easy. I'll look into amps w/ speaker-level imputs. Then just figuring how I want to run all the wires will be the fun part.

04 Rocko Taco, The project won't happen for a couple months, but when it does (and it will trust me) I will post pics of everything for all the post hoars out there.

mastacox, that makes sense now. Thanks for the explanaition.

I'll keep everyone updated on the install. Thanks for all the advice.


Oh and any recommendations on how I should mount the amp under my seat? Another words, do I just screw it down to the floor pan and have the screws come out underneath? Just curious what others have done to secure an amp to the floor.

 

why not upgrade ur stock cd player to the scion one. you can get the 6 disk mp3 player with sirius satellite (or xm?) for around 70-100 bucks on ebay or scionlife.com. Still gives you the same stock look, but lots of cooler little features. Plugs right in to ur stock wiring harness and requires just a tad of trimming on the outside of the radio face to get it to fit. uses same stock brackets and everything. Ill be pickin one up for my runner as finances permit.

 

will that work on 3rd gens? I'm not familiar with what the stock HU looks like on 2nd gens...i'd love to get the factory look with sirius...instead of the plug and plays...

 

ya it will work on a 3rd gen too

 

Still no RCA outputs on the Scion though.

Erich

 

Good point. I had thought about swapping to the Scion HU, but did not think it had RCA outputs on it. I really have not gotten into MP3s, Ipods or XM radio. So as far as having more access points on a HU to plug other units into doesn't really "excite" me.

 

He is 100% correct.

However a aftermarket CD player is going to have better CD to sound qualities.

If you want louder and a little better quality and keep the OEM look just get a amp with speaker level in and new speakers.

If you need install help just PM me.

 

I put the Scion HU in my 4Runner...big difference. The main reason I upgraded was my stock deck was not ejecting CD's. The Scion is made by Pioneer.

 

it MIGHT work and if it does work they will be extremely underpowered and they won't be very loud.

OR you could get an amp to power the speakers

 

Tron, that's true, I didn't think about sound quality. Might have to consider that. You think the Scion HU would do better as far as sound quality goes? (I'm trying to stay as close to an OEM looking HU as I can.) And yeah, I'll probably be PM'ing you soon!

BigBen, yeah, I'd definitely get an amp to power them. Didn't think this little OEM HU could handle everything the way I'd want it to.

 

I love having the MP3 capability (Sony head unit). I don't have an Ipod or XM, but I can put 10-14 albums on one CD so that keeps me busy for a long time during my short commute.

Erich