Just purchased my first 2015 Prius II today and the first thing I plan on doing is replacing the stocks speakers and adding window tint. Any suggestions on brands that won't break the bank would be greatly appreciated. I'll most likely take it to a local shop. What should I expect to be paying? Thanks!
I have never been able to tell the difference between "standard" speakers and ones costing 10X as much.....at comparable volume levels. Just be sure that you CAN before throwing your money away.
When I switched from my sentra with Rockford Fosgate speakers to my prius with stock speakers, the first thing I noticed was how quiet the car was and then I noticed how much the audio system sucked. Oh how I miss those RF speakers. Most "entry level" speakers are much better than oem speakers. I would suggest components in front and coax in the rear. Decent comps will cost you been 100-150 and coax around 100. There are cheaper options but I'd consider them last, though they are still better than oem. I'm partial to RF. R1675s and R1675x2 ought to do it for coast effective speakers.
Any aftermarket speakers will be an improvement over the OEM speakers. Look at the link below to see how crappy the OEM speakers are. Here is my detailed build, replacing the speakers first: weasel.com: 2012 Toyota Plug in Prius Stereo If a shop does it, the cost will likely be dominated by labor. Stay away from any 2 ohm speakers, as the dash speakers and the front door speakers are wired in parallel. If you want, I have some decent sounding and efficient kenwood speakers which will fit in the front, and the adapters for them for sale cheap, and I am local. I will even put them in for food...
If I ever change the speaker, which I doubt.. I'd go for a nice set of separate dome tweeters, mid's and full range speaker and throw in a sub.. I had Focal a long time ago.. they were outstanding.. go to a specialty store, not a box store like best buy.. Good luck.
Bang for the buck, swapping in some good dash speakers is likely the #1 sound improvement you can make, especially if you DIY. It moves the soundstage up where it sounds more natural and I now hear a full range of sound from the dash, with some bass and much better mids and highs. What did you do to ur Gen III Prius today???? | Page 355 | PriusChat The URL above is my post where I upgraded the dash speakers with some 3.5" 2-way Pioneers from newegg. These particular speakers have a great range and have worked well for several other Prii owners on this site... they make a big difference. Search for Spiderman's post from a couple years ago where he posted a detailed PDF of his dash speaker swap instructions with these same Pioneers. I'd guess a good shop would charge $100 labor for swapping out Prii dash speakers. It took me 3-4 hours but I was a lot more careful and obsessive than a "professional" would be. I could have saved 1 hour by not reusing the stock speaker connector and just fabbing a new cable with an inline capacitor, some wire and 4 spade connectors, and another hour by not being so careful with how I cut the dash. If you're having a shop do the dash squawkers, you might as well have them swap out the front door speakers with some better 6x9's to match what they install in the dash.
First...Get the wiring diagram "specific to your car" to see how the speakers are wired in (direct or parallel), find system power and resistance, then determine suitable replacements. Slapping any ole after markets in there that fit (expensive or cheap) will not guaranty an improvement...in fact you could actually degrade the sound if not matched properly.
Unless broken, leave the rear speakers alone: upgrading them is a waste of money. I think an amp and sub are the best value for money upgrades in car audio, even if you're not a bass head knuckledragger. Yes you can upgrade the front speakers but you'll get limited value from the upgrade without doing some door treatment. If you're not going to do door treatment then just swap out the dash speakers as others have suggested.
