Scion Audio upgrade, phase 2

So, I got some 'plans' for making speaker adapters, and cut them out of
some old melamine shelving I had hanging around. They came out OK; they
aren't going to be seen, so looks weren't that important.

I dug up my 'spare' pair of MB Quart 6.5 inchers, and set to the task of
drilling the rivets out of the stock speakers. It actually went a lot
better than I had expected.

I made a cheesy 'harness' to connect the Quarts to the stock wiring,
mounted the first Quart and went to screw it in.

That's when I noticed the speaker surround was separating from the frame!
I knew the older Quarts were notorious for needing to be reapaired, but
didn't know why. Now I knkow.

So, I got out my 'Velcro' glue (remember that? ;) and glued the rubber
back to the frame and 'clamped' it with a dozen clothespins. A quick
inspection of the second speaker revealed even worse separation!

While waiting for the glue to dry, I drilled out the second speaker and
mounted the adapter and made up the wiring. By this time it was a little
more than an hour, so I checked and the glue was sufficiently dry to mount
the speakers.

So, now I have 5" Quarts in the rear, and 6.5" Quarts in the front, and
what a difference! It sounds pretty good. I have to turn it up a bit more
than with the 'cheap' speakers that came with the car, but the quality is
certainly rewarding!

If I decide to upgrade the head unit and add an amp, that's going to have
to wait for Spring. It sounds decent enough as is, though!

Hachi -

Sorry to be dense, but I haven't followed everything you have been
saying about the speaker upgrade in your tC. It sounds like there are
no hard mounting points for the speakers, is that correct? Or is that
true only in the back? Are you saying that the stock speakers are 5"
in the rear and 6.5" in the front? Did they have any branding at all?

I would like to upgrade the speakers in mine, to go with the subwoofer
I've had in for a few months now, but I can't see upgrading the head
unit.

BTW, I blocked the port on my sub to give it a little less thump and
keep it from rattling the speaker cover, which I had left off for that
reason. It sounds better (tighter and less harsh) now I think.


Hachiroku wrote:[color=blue]
> So, I got some 'plans' for making speaker adapters, and cut them out of
> some old melamine shelving I had hanging around. They came out OK; they
> aren't going to be seen, so looks weren't that important.
>
> I dug up my 'spare' pair of MB Quart 6.5 inchers, and set to the task of
> drilling the rivets out of the stock speakers. It actually went a lot
> better than I had expected.
>
> I made a cheesy 'harness' to connect the Quarts to the stock wiring,
> mounted the first Quart and went to screw it in.
>
> That's when I noticed the speaker surround was separating from the frame!
> I knew the older Quarts were notorious for needing to be reapaired, but
> didn't know why. Now I knkow.
>
> So, I got out my 'Velcro' glue (remember that? ;) and glued the rubber
> back to the frame and 'clamped' it with a dozen clothespins. A quick
> inspection of the second speaker revealed even worse separation!
>
> While waiting for the glue to dry, I drilled out the second speaker and
> mounted the adapter and made up the wiring. By this time it was a little
> more than an hour, so I checked and the glue was sufficiently dry to mount
> the speakers.
>
> So, now I have 5" Quarts in the rear, and 6.5" Quarts in the front, and
> what a difference! It sounds pretty good. I have to turn it up a bit more
> than with the 'cheap' speakers that came with the car, but the quality is
> certainly rewarding!
>
> If I decide to upgrade the head unit and add an amp, that's going to have
> to wait for Spring. It sounds decent enough as is, though![/color]

On Sun, 15 Oct 2006 19:32:55 -0700, Mark wrote:
[color=blue]
> Hachi -
>
> Sorry to be dense, but I haven't followed everything you have been
> saying about the speaker upgrade in your tC. It sounds like there are
> no hard mounting points for the speakers, is that correct? Or is that
> true only in the back? Are you saying that the stock speakers are 5"
> in the rear and 6.5" in the front? Did they have any branding at all?[/color]

You guessed right! 5 or 5.25" in the rear, and 6.5" in the front. They are
branded Pioneer, and marked "Made in China"

If you go to Scionlife, look up tC ICE speaker and you should find a
template for the front and the rear speakers. I had some baskets from a
Honda, any my OTHER nickname is "Kludge, Master of the Cob Jobs", so the
rears are held in with one screw at the top. They are mounted in the
baskets, though and when I put the interior panels back in the car, it
presses them in place, so they don't rattle.

I made the mounts from some old shelving using the template from
ScionLife; make them just a shade meatier if you do this. In a couple
spots, when you cut the 6-6.25 inch hole for the speakers, it's a little
'thin' in a spot or two, but the design is pretty good!

Also, cut a notch for the wire! Otherwise, you'll have to pinch it
somewhere. I cut about a 1/16" notch and pressed the wiring into it, and
then mounted the speaker.

It sounds pretty good. I think perhaps next time I open it up I might put
6.5s in the rear as well, since their position does not make them well
heard.

And, another note: the Quarts I used had a tweeter in them; I left the
factory tweeter in palce and just added the 6'5s complete, since the stock
6.5 is a 4 ohm speaker and the Quarts are 4 ohms overall. Actually, a
tweeter appears on the system more as a capacitance, so I don't believe
there will be any problems with balancing as far aas the stock head unit's
amp is concerned. It sounds good!

And, one more little tip: high frequencies are VERY directional, where as
lows are not. GENTLY bend the tweeter bracket on the driver's door to face
more towards you. It makes a BIG difference! You can also relocate the one
on the passenger's door, buty because of it's position, it doesn't have to
be moved a lot. The highs will be a LOT clearer!


[color=blue]
>
> I would like to upgrade the speakers in mine, to go with the subwoofer
> I've had in for a few months now, but I can't see upgrading the head
> unit.
>
> BTW, I blocked the port on my sub to give it a little less thump and
> keep it from rattling the speaker cover, which I had left off for that
> reason. It sounds better (tighter and less harsh) now I think.
>
>
> Hachiroku wrote:[color=green]
>> So, I got some 'plans' for making speaker adapters, and cut them out of
>> some old melamine shelving I had hanging around. They came out OK; they
>> aren't going to be seen, so looks weren't that important.
>>
>> I dug up my 'spare' pair of MB Quart 6.5 inchers, and set to the task of
>> drilling the rivets out of the stock speakers. It actually went a lot
>> better than I had expected.
>>
>> I made a cheesy 'harness' to connect the Quarts to the stock wiring,
>> mounted the first Quart and went to screw it in.
>>
>> That's when I noticed the speaker surround was separating from the frame!
>> I knew the older Quarts were notorious for needing to be reapaired, but
>> didn't know why. Now I knkow.
>>
>> So, I got out my 'Velcro' glue (remember that? ;) and glued the rubber
>> back to the frame and 'clamped' it with a dozen clothespins. A quick
>> inspection of the second speaker revealed even worse separation!
>>
>> While waiting for the glue to dry, I drilled out the second speaker and
>> mounted the adapter and made up the wiring. By this time it was a little
>> more than an hour, so I checked and the glue was sufficiently dry to mount
>> the speakers.
>>
>> So, now I have 5" Quarts in the rear, and 6.5" Quarts in the front, and
>> what a difference! It sounds pretty good. I have to turn it up a bit more
>> than with the 'cheap' speakers that came with the car, but the quality is
>> certainly rewarding!
>>
>> If I decide to upgrade the head unit and add an amp, that's going to have
>> to wait for Spring. It sounds decent enough as is, though![/color][/color]

Great tip, thanks. I may try that first.


Hachiroku wrote:[color=blue]
> On Sun, 15 Oct 2006 19:32:55 -0700, Mark wrote:
>[color=green]
> > Hachi -
> >
> > Sorry to be dense, but I haven't followed everything you have been
> > saying about the speaker upgrade in your tC. It sounds like there are
> > no hard mounting points for the speakers, is that correct? Or is that
> > true only in the back? Are you saying that the stock speakers are 5"
> > in the rear and 6.5" in the front? Did they have any branding at all?[/color]
>
> You guessed right! 5 or 5.25" in the rear, and 6.5" in the front. They are
> branded Pioneer, and marked "Made in China"
>
> If you go to Scionlife, look up tC ICE speaker and you should find a
> template for the front and the rear speakers. I had some baskets from a
> Honda, any my OTHER nickname is "Kludge, Master of the Cob Jobs", so the
> rears are held in with one screw at the top. They are mounted in the
> baskets, though and when I put the interior panels back in the car, it
> presses them in place, so they don't rattle.
>
> I made the mounts from some old shelving using the template from
> ScionLife; make them just a shade meatier if you do this. In a couple
> spots, when you cut the 6-6.25 inch hole for the speakers, it's a little
> 'thin' in a spot or two, but the design is pretty good!
>
> Also, cut a notch for the wire! Otherwise, you'll have to pinch it
> somewhere. I cut about a 1/16" notch and pressed the wiring into it, and
> then mounted the speaker.
>
> It sounds pretty good. I think perhaps next time I open it up I might put
> 6.5s in the rear as well, since their position does not make them well
> heard.
>
> And, another note: the Quarts I used had a tweeter in them; I left the
> factory tweeter in palce and just added the 6'5s complete, since the stock
> 6.5 is a 4 ohm speaker and the Quarts are 4 ohms overall. Actually, a
> tweeter appears on the system more as a capacitance, so I don't believe
> there will be any problems with balancing as far aas the stock head unit's
> amp is concerned. It sounds good!
>
> And, one more little tip: high frequencies are VERY directional, where as
> lows are not. GENTLY bend the tweeter bracket on the driver's door to face
> more towards you. It makes a BIG difference! You can also relocate the one
> on the passenger's door, buty because of it's position, it doesn't have to
> be moved a lot. The highs will be a LOT clearer!
>
>
>[color=green]
> >
> > I would like to upgrade the speakers in mine, to go with the subwoofer
> > I've had in for a few months now, but I can't see upgrading the head
> > unit.
> >
> > BTW, I blocked the port on my sub to give it a little less thump and
> > keep it from rattling the speaker cover, which I had left off for that
> > reason. It sounds better (tighter and less harsh) now I think.
> >
> >
> > Hachiroku wrote:[color=darkred]
> >> So, I got some 'plans' for making speaker adapters, and cut them out of
> >> some old melamine shelving I had hanging around. They came out OK; they
> >> aren't going to be seen, so looks weren't that important.
> >>
> >> I dug up my 'spare' pair of MB Quart 6.5 inchers, and set to the task of
> >> drilling the rivets out of the stock speakers. It actually went a lot
> >> better than I had expected.
> >>
> >> I made a cheesy 'harness' to connect the Quarts to the stock wiring,
> >> mounted the first Quart and went to screw it in.
> >>
> >> That's when I noticed the speaker surround was separating from the frame!
> >> I knew the older Quarts were notorious for needing to be reapaired, but
> >> didn't know why. Now I knkow.
> >>
> >> So, I got out my 'Velcro' glue (remember that? ;) and glued the rubber
> >> back to the frame and 'clamped' it with a dozen clothespins. A quick
> >> inspection of the second speaker revealed even worse separation!
> >>
> >> While waiting for the glue to dry, I drilled out the second speaker and
> >> mounted the adapter and made up the wiring. By this time it was a little
> >> more than an hour, so I checked and the glue was sufficiently dry to mount
> >> the speakers.
> >>
> >> So, now I have 5" Quarts in the rear, and 6.5" Quarts in the front, and
> >> what a difference! It sounds pretty good. I have to turn it up a bit more
> >> than with the 'cheap' speakers that came with the car, but the quality is
> >> certainly rewarding!
> >>
> >> If I decide to upgrade the head unit and add an amp, that's going to have
> >> to wait for Spring. It sounds decent enough as is, though![/color][/color][/color]