Anyone have any recommendations of good websites for recommendations on audio upgrades? I'm just looking for a possible speaker upgrade for my Avensis, most sites I have found either do not recommend for anything other than the pre-03 Avensis, or have no 'vehicle-based' search. I don't want to turn it into a rolling boombox, just get some speakers with greater range and clarity.
So, anyone used any online retailers that they would recommend?
Cheers,
Rich
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I can heartily recommend Phoenix Gold Octane R5.0c & Caliber CRP 5 speakers as I fitted to my car in the front & rear doors respectively. The difference from the standard ones is amazing. Stunning performace & clarity. £100 for both sets from a local car hi-fi shop.
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Cheers for the pointer Grafen. Is that a mk2 Avensis you have fitted them too?
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Not an Avensis, no & they weren't a direct replacement. Same diameter, but had to do a bit of judicious hacking with a Stanly knife to fit them. Once the the speaker covers were put back on, nobody can tell.
But believe me, it was worth the effort.
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From what you say, it sounds like yours is the latest model Avensis? If so, I thought one of its big claims to fame was the high quality sound system. No?
BTW I've had good service from www.incarexpress.co.uk - you might want to drop them an email.
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Was there an Avenisis spec with a better setup than your own? e.g one with satnav built-in.
My last car had a premium factory Bose system which we became accustomed to over the years, upon changing cars, the standard one was a dissappointment, I planned on changing the speakers for better quality direct fit ones, in the meantime, I replaced the with an optional extra double DIN VW Navigation System version, and the sound was 10x better, louder, clearer, better dynamic range, as good as my last car, so it turned out that the speakers were fine, it was the standard VW Gamma head unit that was no good.
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Caliber speakers; I fitted some in the original mounting points (leased car, and mods not allowed, ahem) of a company car. Originally suspicious of the salesman ("Caliber, who are they? Don't you want to sell me Alpine or similar?") I'm glad I listened. Driven by the original head unit they made a huge difference to sound quality. Tightly controlled without being lean, and with wonderful tonal range. Not expensive, either.
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Was there an Avenisis spec with a better setup than your own? e.g one with satnav built-in.
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No, with Toyota (at least in the Avensis) you seem to get the same stereo whether you buy anything from a T2 to a T180. Mine (T3-X) doesn't have sat nav, but the controls are all present, and all indications are that the sat-nav models use the exact same stereo. There are zero audio options in terms of the amp and speakers (you can get DAB or a multi-changer added) on the Avensis range.
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From what you say, it sounds like yours is the latest model Avensis? If so, I thought one of its big claims to fame was the high quality sound system. No? BTW I've had good service from www.incarexpress.co.uk - you might want to drop them an email.
Yes, mine is the latest facelifted model - brochure does make a big thing of how good the sound system is - 8 speakers, digital sound processing etc.
I'm not saying it's rubbish or anything - just sounds like it could be improved with better speakers - currently it has very 'boomy' bass with no real clarity to low end sounds. One advantage is it plays WMAs/MP3s, and I do make use of this (albeit with the highest quality WMA settings possible when ripping/recording them from CD). Original recording CDs don't sound much better, so I don't think it's the recording quality that's responsible.
Cheers for the site tip.
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Like the sound of this. Where did you get the Calibers? Is that not a Maplin exclusive??
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