I have a Hybrid XLE (OEM radio/speaker) and it sounds terrible when you're sitting in the back. I saw few topics but it was always related to the JBL.

I would be happy if someone has a solution. Changing only the rear speakers would be an option but not sure if it would sound better, maybe the amp is the problem?!

 

2016 XLE hybrid here so I'm assuming your system in the SE has JBL so it is different than mine but I have replaced all 6 speakers in my car with Polk audio. I have also built a custom box fit to the car to hold a JL Audio 12w3 with the amp in the spare tire area.

TREMENDOUS improvement. Obviously replacing everything with high quality products will do that but it seriously made driving much more enjoyable.

USE CRUTCHFIELD! They are awesome. They include everything needed to replace the factory ones and to make sure they fit. They provide the wires so you aren't cutting factory connects. Brackets are included too. Seriously. I've been in the car modification world for a long time. I ONLY use them. I did the fronts on my own and had to hack up the factory bracket/speaker to adapt to the new one. Bought from crutchfield for the rears and with everything included the install was a painless with the nice instructions they had in there about installin, compared to the fronts where I had to buy hardware and figure out everything on my own. Just do it.

That being said you are taking the entire door panel off. This isn't for someone that doesn't know how to work on cars at all or has the proper tools.

 

Do you have a link to the Crutchfields you used? I have a 2017 SE Hybrid, probably same for speaker installs. Like to see a pic of your custom box in your spare tire well.

 

I have a 2017 LE, just starting to do some research on it. I will echo the idea that you should order whatever you need from Crutchfield, I've always gone to them and never had an issue. I'm not sure if this factory speakers are 2 or 4 ohm, but definitely something to keep in mind before ordering.

 

Speakers for 2017 SE



I have a 2015 RAV4 LE and recently upgraded my sound system with a Kenwood DNX573S, replaced all speakers and added a subwoofer under the passenger seat. Not sure if the 2017 is configured the same but I used Kicker 6" speakers in my doors and for the fronts I used the smaller Kickers, 3.5" I think. I got everything from Crutchfield and I will tell you they were awesome to deal with. Called tech support at least 7 times during the install and they are THE BEST tech support I have every experienced.

When I took the old speakers out I found they were very cheaply made and light as a feather. The Kickers I installed really do well. And with the Kenwood head unit I don't really need an amp - it has plenty of power, unlike the stock head unit. I also installed satellite radio. And with the Maestro unit (interface system between the Kenwood and the car), I was able to flash program it to customize my steering wheel controls. I have my backup camera, blue tooth, navigation, etc. I couldn't be happier.

 

I have 17 SE, I recommend first replacing front dash speakers... Big improvement for low cost. I replaced ended up replacing sash and all door speakers(cost $225. Next installed Alpine KTP-445U mini amp behind glove box. (cost $125 for amp radio harness plugs). Big difference in sound for relatively low cost. If I decide I want more bass I will add sub and amp.

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Thanks for sharing your experience with us. Could you clarify if your car had JBL speakers or not?
I have JBL speakers and I have heard I cann't get any improvement just by replacing speakers (I want to replace rear speakers) because the problem is from head-unit and not the speakers.

 

I have the Rav4 Hybrid XLE 2017 (OEM radio/speakers). Like I said before, the front speakers are fine IMO but rear speakers are terrible.

Do you guys think I could only change the rear speakers and get a great improvement or the real problem is related to the OEM radio/amp?

Thanks!

 

Change front dash speakers first, you will notice big improvement. Then you can decide where you want to go from their. If you change front and rear door speakers you will need mini amp in my opinion. I have used the Alpine KTP-445U in both my Camry and Rav4 and very happy with the bang for buck.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned but when changing door speakers the factory speakers are rivoted in and need to be drilled out to remove. You will need to drill new holes in door sheet metal and screw or rivot new speaker mounting bracket.

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I am planning to change the head unit first as I think the speakers might be adequate for my needs. What is really bad is the software in the head unit. The tone controls are useless. A new head unit will also provide Android or Apple functionality. Also one will get an equalizer and a setup system (if you get the optional mic. The bad software in the oem head unit provides really poor crossover points for the front speakers.

 

What if the problem is not head unit?
Maybe they put good quality speakers for front doors and we only need to replace speakers on the rear and trunk?

 

17 Platinum Audio Ugrade

I bought my wife a 2017 platinum and like everyone else we were very disappointed in the JBL's sound quality. Having experience upgrading my 2014 SR-5 Tundra I decided to go back to Crutchfield and start with replacing the Rav's speakers. I had a new pair of MTX Audio 3.5" coaxial, 4 ohm speakers which I installed in the dash and immediately noticed a big improvement. I then ordered four Kicker DSC65 6.5"coaxial, 4 ohm speakers for the doors. When you see the cheap construction of the stock JBL speakers you will understand why the sound is so poor. I was very pleased at how much of an improvement just changing out the six speakers made! I was prepared to change out the amp and sub-woofer like I had done in the Tundra but after some adjustments I felt that the JBL amplifier and the factory sub were good enough. The front door speakers really did not have to be coaxial because they are basically only being fed a bass signal, you could buy subs for the front doors instead. I chose to go with coaxial because I would like to feed the front doors with a full signal, I have to figure out where the signal is being clipped, once I get the sorted out I will tackle this issue. When I tuned the system I found that setting the front to rear fader control more towards the rear seat gave a much nicer balance and eliminated that bouncing off the windshield effect.

We are very pleased with the car and now the audio that it has been fixed.

 

I read this post a few weeks ago, seeking answers to upgrade the crappiest sound system I've ever experienced in any car so far! Anyways, through this thread, I went over to Crutchfiled. Sure enough! I bought all 6 speakers and added a $10 inline crossover made by Crutchfiled for the dash speakers. I've ALWAYS had this impression that Crutchfield is over priced in everything. So I shopped, based mu 2017 Rav4 XLE non-JBL. Put entire Kicker setup in cart. To my surprise, Crutchfield includes FREE speaker wire harness AND speaker mounting adapters! I've bought those things before and they add up! Then I compared prices with Amazon and Best Buy for the exact speakers, wouldn't you know it! Crutchfied matched OR beat out the others. With the added install harnesses and adapters, I bought everything. They add a cherry on top with a downloadable install guide and customer service rep gave me a wiring diagram for the stereo harness. Only thing I bought on Amazon was some dynamat knockoff brand. Don't know if this really made a difference, BUT I'm as happy as can be with this experience and setup. Stereo sounds 100% better. See pics of the OEM and Kickers speakers.

 

So after reading through all these posts I have a question which the op sort of asked. I have a 2017 rav SE and want to know by replacing all 6 speakers will there be a big improvement. I dont want to mess with adding amp etc. I 'm pretty skilled at removing replacing the door panels, drilling out old speakers etc so im not concerned at all.about that. Just dont want to waste time and money replacing just the speakers if im not going to see much improvement. If someone has done this what speaker package did you use. I dont have an issue with spending several hundred on new speakers as long as it is worth it. Thanks!

 

Just dont want to waste time and money replacing just the speakers if im not going to see much improvement. If someone has done this what speaker package did you use. I dont have an issue with spending several hundred on new speakers as long as it is worth it. Thanks!

Factory head units have weird EQ curves that appear to do things like reduce bass as you increase the volume. From what I read OEM does this to make sure the speakers last as long as the car does (reduced warranty claims with reduced sound quality). There is also something funky going on with the fading. You can read about the Honda and Toyota cars with 300+watt premium systems with little to no output, particularly on the low end. I've tried a variety of configurations so here is my opinion. All stock head units pretty much have poor sound quality and installing better speakers won't fix it.

1. Add dynamat to the doors for a minor increase in clarity and speaker performance. Cost $50-$100 DIY
2. Install a good set of dash speakers. You will get increased volume but not necessarily better sound quality and you might actually lose bass from the door speaker. Cost is around $50-$100 DIY
3. Install the plug and play Chinese 10 inch radio and call it a day. Built-in amp will actually bring those stock speakers to life and the EQ is fully customizable. Noticeable sound quality improvement for $350.

After doing all three options above (and more) i'd go with number 3.

 

Have a question regarding the stock headunit impedance, wiring/speaker configuration, and replacing with aftermarket speakers.
- I believe the stock front door speakers (non JBL) are 4ohm impedance. And the front dash speakers/tweeters are wired in parallel to the front door speaker. So that would make the head unit see a total of 2 ohms impedance ( 4 ohm plus 4ohm in parallel) on the circuit. If the stock headunit, or even after market headunit, is designed for 4ohm circuits/speakers, wouldn't this cause damage to the head unit?
Let me know how you guys worked around this issue when installation after market speakers.



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Let me know how you guys worked around this issue when installation after market speakers.

Haven't heard of anyone on here having component failures using 4ohm dash and door speakers. Maybe it's because the power levels are so low? Toyota has this front speaker configuration on a bunch of different models. Focal has a 4ohm plug and play replacement component speaker set. You could probably ask Crutchfield but I don't recall them ever informing of any issues against certain kinds of head units or speaker configurations. As long as it's 4ohm on the non-jbl and the dimensions fit it's pretty much okay as a recommendation.

You could jump the dash speaker terminal if you want to run a single 4ohm speaker up front. You might even get better performance out of it since the watts are going to a single driver and you don't have to worry about time alignment or those other specifications.

 

Rockford Fosgate R1675-S component speaker system has separate tweeters. How do you plan to mount them?

 

In the dash speaker housing. Will have to use the factory speaker bracket, with some modifications .

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i installed JBL components in my 2018 Rav4 Limited non JBL radio , I did a write up under REAL JBL SPEAKER INSTALL , I covered the wiring because how the front door speakers are wired thru the dash tweeters

 

here are the speakers I used all 6 1/2 '' I removed the factory tweeter and installed the JBL tweeter in the factory bracket , I used coaxial speakers in the back doors, I bought the speakers from crutchfield and the came with the speaker mounts and wiring adapters everything fit perfect , I also bought a wiring plug from taco tunes , that plugs into the harness for the tweeters because there are 4 wires going into the tweeters, 2 are for power and the other 2 go to the door speakers , you can check my write up, search for REAL JBL SPEAKER INSTALL I go over the wiring to the crossover for the component speakers up front