I'm the proud owner of a new 2009 Toyota Corolla (Base). In my previous vehicle, a Hyundai Sonata, I used the OEM deck and stock speakers, and had great audio performance (so long as I didn't go overkill on the bass, of course). In my new Corolla, however, the volume doesn't seem to get very loud. I'm not concerned with the bass or anything, but in a lot of my music, I've found the maximum sound level (62, per the deck) is not loud enough, especially when driving on the highway. The music is hardly audible.
Sooo... with that said... I was thinking about getting my first upgrade. My question is, however, do I NEED to buy a new deck to amplify the sounds, or can upgraded speakers do this for me? I'm totally new when it comes to car audio equipment. I'm not looking to spend a whole lot of money, and figured I'd just get something from Best Buy and have it installed.
Thank you for your suggestions. I guess I'll look at getting the deck replaced. I was thinking I'd eventually get a DVD/GPS system to put in, as opposed to just a simple deck (or deck with XM).
I know for the regular decks, I'd need one of these:
You will also want to get a wire harness adapter, some small diameter heat shrink tubing, (maybe wire strippers), solder and a solder gun to attach the wire harness adapter to the new head unit. That way you can easily remove the unit if you need. You can get a heat gun for the shrink tubing from Harbor Freight for about $10 on sale or you could be very careful and use a candle to shrink the tubing. The adapter harness is really the way to go and it is a pretty easy job, but it takes a little time.
If you go back through the forum there are a couple of threads that provide illustrated instructions for installing a Nav unit in 10th generation Corollas. There are pictures of installed units so you can get an idea of what fits best.
You can also upgrade your component speakers, add an amp or two and some subs first. That's what I did since it was cheaper for me in my situation since I have a friend who is an installer and used to work for blaupunkt. I got most of the hardware for less than cost and the installation for free.
the head unit I really want is more than twice what I paid for what I noted above.
Having said that though I already had the stock navi unit so that further cemented my direction.
But the best bang for the buck in your case would be starting with the head unit.
I would take a look at purchasing the Head unit only through Crutchfield. They include all the mounting brackets and wiring components for free with the HU. Everything else I would either buy locally or on ebay as Crutchfield tends to overprice their products.
Ray's Electronics in Addison on Lake street is very well known around here. If you're looking to do business with a brick and mortar or need anything for your installation check him out. They have installers too.
I got my box, wiring, power blocks and everything we needed for the installation at a good price from Ray's.
Would this be a good option? It has a 12 month warranty. Is $500 about average for devices of this type? There's one part which concerns me, where it says if 50mm, select from Din 1 series, and if 100mm, select from Din 2. What mm do I have in my '09 Corolla?
IMHO I would stay away from that with a 10 foot pole. First of all its a no name brand; which means good luck finding the manufacturer if it craps out on you in a month. Second of all for 500$ you can get a name brand with some actual reviews behind it to see what kind of equipment you are buying.
I would look elsewhere.
if anything, i say replace the deck. the speakers can only reproduce the signals that they receive.
you really should take a look at the factory speakers in the rolla! cheap cheap cheap!!
__________________ 2001 Toyota Tundra TRD 1994 Jeep YJ - no top, no doors May-Oct 1996 Toyota Tacoma - RIP! frame recall $16,638 2009 Toyota Corolla XRS - SOLD
you really should take a look at the factory speakers in the rolla! cheap cheap cheap!!
So true, I have not seen cheaper speakers in any other car that I've owned.
A few months back when I was installing my blue logic bluetooth I figured it would be a good idea to magnetize the screw driver before I get started. I was shocked when I looked at the rear speakers. A magnet was nowhere to be seen and touching the screwdriver to the speaker did nothing. My friend, who is a GM nut, was over at the time and he couldn't stop laughing at me. We ended up using the factory speaker in his Impala which had a huge magnet.
The stock speakers need to go, I have an 09 with the navi Head unit.
I didn't want to give that up so I put in an alpine MPF 300 amp, and in the rear some alpine 6x9's in the front go with a componant speaker system like the alpine 600 c's it sounds fantastic, The amp has adjustmants for your High level inputs, it gets load more enough to overcome road noise. The componant speakers give you a nice spacial sound.
you really should take a look at the factory speakers in the rolla! cheap cheap cheap!!
That is no joke. When I saw my factory speakers I about died laughing. I have NEVER seen a more poorly made speaker than that. The magnet on it makes you wonder how there's any sound at all coming out of it.
I have a dual head unit in mine and that really helped my factory speakers. Then I added two 12 inch db Drive subs and a powerbass amp and the factory speakers actually sound pretty good, but I am looking at replacing them after I saw how cheap they really are.
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2009 Corolla Audio
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