I take it you have JBL since you mentioned 2 ohm?. There is a reason it lacks brightness, there are no tweeters up front.

Few things to look out for:
-Get a high sensitivity speaker, your working with lower power from the JBL amp (around the 20 watt RMS range)
-If you have JBL, you can re-use the JBL mounting bracket (base models is one molded piece, on JBL a 6x9 is screwed into hte bracket and can be removed/reused)
-Watch speaker mounting depth. When you lower the window it comes down behind the speaker. At a depth of 3.5" and using the JBL mounting bracket, I hit the window barely (probably 1/4" to deep). I had to space it out with a 3/4" piece of MDF to make it clear.
-Don't worry about room between the speaker and door panel, you got gobs of room. If you need to, you can trim a little bit of the plastic on teh panel. It has a oval of plastic that fits onto the JBL speaker , I just took a box knife and trimmed a bit away to make room, you don't even know it on the outside. But this is only important if you had a spacer like I did, in terms of room for tweeters, there is tons, its not a concern.

This is the reason I had to make a spacer, these 6x9's are really deep...

Now I use a 6.5 component set, but had to make an adapter plate but just used a 3/4 MDF.

Point is, even with those and the 3/4" MDF, I still have ~1" between the panel grill and the tweeters/center of the speaker.

 

Did you have the JBL sound system Sweeney?

6.5" components wouldn't be bad. I can't remember where you put the tweeter. If you have the JBL, doesn't the amp already limit certain frequencies? I'm assuming only 4000hz and below goes to that speaker.

Did you splice the tweeter into the dash wiring? I like the idea of a tweeter in the A pillar but I fear there would be an issue from the pillar airbags not deploying perfectly if there is a wire stuck in the trim. I wish modifying these sound systems were easier.

 

Thanks Sweeneyp. The JBL GTO938 6x9 is 2 ohms and the depth is listed (on JBL's website) as 2-15/16 (74mm) so it looks like it will fit. Thanks again for your help.

edit: So I replaced the 6x9 front speakers in my 2012 Limited with coax speakers, but they still only play up to about 500 hz. How do I get them to play full range? Do I need to take off a filter and where is it? Thanks for your help.

 

edit: So I replaced the 6x9 front speakers in my 2012 Limited with coax speakers, but they still only play up to about 500 hz. How do I get them to play full range? Do I need to take off a filter and where is it? Thanks for your help.

Thats because there is a low pass filter on the JBL system's 6x9's at around 500hz (that is why the dash speakers pick up around 250hz with a high pass filter around there). The rear door 6.75" speakers are the only full range signal on the car.

You have to use a signal summing device to combine the dash signal and the door signal to get a full range signal

 

Replace dash speakers with a nice set of tweeters. Less than $100
Sounds priceless! Lol

 

Speaker

Does anyone happen to know if the stock bracket / clearance is the same for the base model?

I'm wanting to install these in a 2010 base model:
http://tinyurl.com/o899xcg

Thanks!

 

yes it is the same.the speakers you want to buy are a bit taller ,but you can try.worst case you have to return them.

 

Base model bracket is part of the speaker. Not separate like the jbl. Just fyi

 

Ok

1. OK thanks a lot. If I order double brackets for each speaker I'm wondering if that will be enough height for the window to clear the magnet. ? (I understand there is lots of room for height on the panel, or grill side of the speaker.

Also another question on a related note:

-I have the 2010 base model.
-I didn't think I had dash tweeters with the base stereo system. I thought it was a 4-speaker system. (2 - 6x9" Front : 2 - 6.5" Rear) However I recently noticed a spec sheet that stated "6 speaker system". So I removed a dash tweeter grill and there they are...

2. If I install Pioneer 6x9's in the front, will I get full signal to them? Or is there a crossover/filter somewhere?

Thanks!

 

Answered

Crutchfield tells me:

1. Not a lot of top mounting/panel side room either.

2. Full signal to 6x9's in front.
---Full signal to 6.5's in rear.
---Dash tweeters have filter.

Recommended:

Front: JBL GX962 (3 Ohm)
Rear: JBL GX602 (3 Ohm)

 

Crutchfield tells me:

1. Not a lot of top mounting/panel side room either.

2. Full signal to 6x9's in front.
---Full signal to 6.5's in rear.
---Dash tweeters have filter.

Recommended:

Front: JBL GX962 (3 Ohm)
Rear: JBL GX602 (3 Ohm)

I also have a base model HL and this is the recommendation I got from Crutchfield last week too, so I went with it. I then realized that there is a dash tweeter in the vehicle. Would there be any benefit to replacing or disconnecting the dash tweeter? The JBL GX speakers have an adjustable deflector for aiming the tweeter output, which isn't quite the same as bouncing it off the windshield but close.

 

I haven't replaced my dash tweeters, but a couple people have and noticed a nice difference. The JBL's have plenty of tweet IMO, especially with the tweeter button out (Full Range)

 

Here's the thread I made on my install:
http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/1...8-2013/1112682-budget-2010-base-highlander-4-chan-stereo-bass-tube-upgrade.html

 

The GX series don't have the dB adjustment on the tweeters. However, my Pioneer AVH-4100NEX head unit has a 13-band equalizer with Auto EQ, so I can tune the system really well for the vehicle, including speaker levels and timing. I ran the Auto EQ with the factory speakers and, other than the lack of clean treble due to the factory tweeters, the results were impressive. I can't wait to hear the difference with the new speakers.

 

I did have the JBL system (its 100% ripped out now though...). This post is old, I now have a 3 way setup. 8" speaker in the front door, ~3" speaker in the dash, tweeter in the a pillars.

On the JBL, ~250hz and up go to the dash speakers (~2" metal cone speakers) and the door speakers get up to around ~500hz. They are individual channels coming out of the amplifier, its not modifiable.

I had an aftermarket amplier so I powered the component set directly from that. As for how it got its signal...early on, I used a signal combiner to try and combine the 2 channels (dash and door) into a single full range channel. Long story short it doesn't work and sounds like garbage. I ended up using the rear door signal for my front speakers. Its full range. You lose your fade front/back, but it sounds better.

The curtain airbag doesn't go to the bottom of the a-pillar, tweeter/wires won't be near it (it wouldn't bother it anyway). And totally stealing your image from that other thread steve :lol: