Sound Quality Worse After New Head Unit

Not trying to be a dick, but if your speakers sounded blown... Why wouldn't the first thing you look at be the speakers?
Feels like my tire is flat, better check to see if my gas tank is full.

 

I thought the same thing, but didn’t say it. Anyway, we are glad he has resolution.

I remember doing extensive meditations on speakers a few hears ago and found that Toyota switched to that poly-cone style in 2003-ish. The outter rim foam? would blow like @bspurs. Guys posted how to fixes with one guy using Silicone around the rim to bridge the gap.

My 2002 has the paper style and they still sound proper as a cheap factory speaker can. I push on them sometimes when I have the panels off to test their flex. Still strong.

 

It may seem nit-picky but technically these speakers aren't "blown."
The foam surround has just deteriorated to the point where the cone no longer stays centered. This is due to environmental factors and/or age.
This produces the floppy, paper in front of a fan, noise that people most often associate with bad speakers.

A "blown" speaker refers to when the voice coil, which is essentially a wire coiled around the neck, breaks and causes an open circuit.
This is usually caused by over driving, or overpowering the speaker.
This produces either no sound or very scratchy/popping sounds.

In either case, the end goal is the same, which is to get better sound but its typically cheaper and easier to simply replace them vs. repair.

And this concludes today's lesson in speaker terminology. *twirls mustache*

 

Given that he was told by the previous owner the problem happened after the HU was installed, I don't think it's too unreasonable to look at the HU first as the posssible problem and eliminate the settings there as a potential problem before you start pulling door panels off to look at speakers...

 

Oh sure, look at the settings and such first. I just don't think I'd start blaming the head unit and/or factory amp right away. If I put a bigger engine in my truck and brake an axle shaft, it doesn't mean there's anything wrong with the engine or transmission. The first thing I'd check would be the item showing the symptoms of an issue.

 

Buy this man some mustache cream!

 

Hmmmm

You seem to be missing some parts!!!

 

Whatever you do, don't cheap out on the new speakers. You may spend more money now, but end up not having to spend money later if they end up breaking. Hope this helps you in the decision making lol

 

What do you mean?

 

Same reason as some guys suggested, but since the problem began with the install of the new HU, that was my first place to begin looking - wiring, bypass the amp, etc. Those were the steps Crutchfield advised I take as well.

 

Probably the fact that some of the speaker cone is gone

 

The entire surround of the speakers!

 

Oh for sure! I thought you meant something different entirely.

 

Just to bring closure:

Never found a factory amp. Installed new Kicker speakers (kept factory tweeters in place) from Crutchfield today. All 4 of the factory speakers had cracked and crumbling surrounds like the picture above. New sound is strong and clear, rattling is gone.

Now to play with EQ settings and find the right mix.

 

Great to here!

 

Good to hear! I find nice acoustic country music is good for getting the proper sound levels.

 

Almost country..

Eagles - Hotel California Live (Hell Freezes Over 1994)

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x30pss5

EF' YouTube..

 

Thanks for that....got to hear my all time favorite, brings back thoughts of munchies !

Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven Live

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4gk4af