[dpatschke]

Just want to say that I found this forum randomly after doing a search for terrible audio on my premium system. I recently purchased a used 2016 RAV4 Hybrid Limited with the JBL system and was horrified with the sound quality. I went ahead and got the speakers (same ones from Crutchfield) and am so glad I did: it turned this into a pretty decent system, all for an incredibly low price and about 30 min of work.

A couple clarifications, I also got the baffles but didn't know whether to get the slim depth or regular 3 1/4", I got the regular and they seemed to fit well. My main concern was with polarity during the install --making sure that the speakers would match the rest of the system. I just use the light grey wire from the new speakers attached to the lighter color wire on both sides. Hopefully that did it.

As far as to WHY this sounds better, while I do agree the speakers are softer (since they are less sensitive), I didn't find them to be THAT much softer. Testing during the install I A/B'd them with a new and and an old one. They were softer, but to my ears, the sound quality is also improved due to the expanded range of the new coax speakers (hi end and low end), and not as much emphasis in the annoying 1-3k range that the factory speakers were blasting. They seem to be better all-around full range speakers that actually compliment the system much better.

Regardless of why, I am indebted to RickPro for him sharing this fix. It has saved me from hating listening to music in my car, and for hundreds of dollars I may have otherwise spent to rectify. It really does sound so much better. Thank you!