Question for the people on here that like the bass and high hat.  I’ve got a ‘17 Fun 150.  My dad has a ‘19 but lariat with damn good speakers.  Since he’s more rich than I I have the less awesome sound.  I was floored by the difference between the lariat and my speakers.  I love music.  I just wanted to ask what could I do do upgrade.  I’m sure specs will be required.  Speaker sizes and such.  But I’ll start with, I like my music loud, I like bass as well as the “tss” of the treble.  I’d also like to have a “clean” install.  I.e. nothing that will take space from the truck or replace the factor head unit since I’ve got a nice size screen for nav, sat radio and all.  Perhaps the radio isn’t enough to make me shake, but wondering if I can get the right speakers to give me a nice and audibly better experience whilst jamming to my lane music.  Any suggestions would be great as well as a place to go to get it installed professionally. Thanks guys.  And rock on!

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Question for the people on here that like the bass and high hat.  I’ve got a ‘17 Fun 150.  My dad has a ‘19 but lariat with damn good speakers.  Since he’s more rich than I I have the less awesome sound.  I was floored by the difference between the lariat and my speakers.  I love music.  I just wanted to ask what could I do do upgrade.  I’m sure specs will be required.  Speaker sizes and such.  But I’ll start with, I like my music loud, I like bass as well as the “tss” of the treble.  I’d also like to have a “clean” install.  I.e. nothing that will take space from the truck or replace the factor head unit since I’ve got a nice size screen for nav, sat radio and all.  Perhaps the radio isn’t enough to make me shake, but wondering if I can get the right speakers to give me a nice and audibly better experience whilst jamming to my lane music.  Any suggestions would be great as well as a place to go to get it installed professionally. Thanks guys.  And rock on!

If you're talking about the kind of bass that thumps loudly in traffic, I call it noise pollution!  I resent it when someone pulls up near me and the bass is thumping like that.  Those people have no regard for the rights of other people.

Is that what you're talking about?

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My advice is to not listen to music that loud. Your ears will thank you in later life. Tinnitus sucks bro, I speak from experience. Like me though, you'll probably do it anyway.

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I'm condescending. That means I talk down to you.

My advice is to not listen to music that loud. Your ears will thank you in later life. Tinnitus sucks bro, I speak from experience. Like me though, you'll probably do it anyway.

Listen to this guy. Better to enjoy the music at lower volumes so you can continue to do so throughout life.

If you want better sound quality you can probably consult any of a number of places in town that do automotive audio.

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Question for the people on here that like the bass and high hat.  I’ve got a ‘17 Fun 150.  My dad has a ‘19 but lariat with damn good speakers.  Since he’s more rich than I I have the less awesome sound.  I was floored by the difference between the lariat and my speakers.  I love music.  I just wanted to ask what could I do do upgrade.  I’m sure specs will be required.  Speaker sizes and such.  But I’ll start with, I like my music loud, I like bass as well as the “tss” of the treble.  I’d also like to have a “clean” install.  I.e. nothing that will take space from the truck or replace the factor head unit since I’ve got a nice size screen for nav, sat radio and all.  Perhaps the radio isn’t enough to make me shake, but wondering if I can get the right speakers to give me a nice and audibly better experience whilst jamming to my lane music.  Any suggestions would be great as well as a place to go to get it installed professionally. Thanks guys.  And rock on!

If you're talking about the kind of bass that thumps loudly in traffic, I call it noise pollution!  I resent it when someone pulls up near me and the bass is thumping like that.  Those people have no regard for the rights of other people.

Is that what you're talking about?

No, not at all.  I do like it loud but I’m not “that guy”. I don’t care for it either.  I’m not wanting a huge upgrade with subs and [BLEEP].  Just upgrade the speakers I have.  My dad has practically the same truck but the nicer version.  It has the “premium sound”. I’m looking for something more like that.

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My advice is to not listen to music that loud. Your ears will thank you in later life. Tinnitus sucks bro, I speak from experience. Like me though, you'll probably do it anyway.

That ship sailed long ago.  Already feeling the affects. Over a decade on a mower with earbuds in.

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I’m impressed with the stock system in my Tacoma. It doesn’t have the premium JBL speakers but still sounds good.

Probably the best stock system I’ve heard was the factory Sony system in my wife’s old Honda CRV. Very pure sounding.

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An automobile is a terrible listening environment, so do automobile audiophiles actually exist? That said, speakers do make a great difference, as they are the thing that directly delivers the signal to your ear. The filtering before them (crossovers) are important too. I'd upgrade those first, assuming the head unit's amplifier is of decent quality.

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An automobile is a terrible listening environment, so do automobile audiophiles actually exist? That said, speakers do make a great difference, as they are the thing that directly delivers the signal to your ear. The filtering before them (crossovers) are important too. I'd upgrade those first, assuming the head unit's amplifier is of decent quality.

Do the crossovers in a car system reside in the speakers, as well? It's been a few years since I've even handled car speakers and I don't remember ever seeing a crossover circuit on them.

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An automobile is a terrible listening environment, so do automobile audiophiles actually exist? That said, speakers do make a great difference, as they are the thing that directly delivers the signal to your ear. The filtering before them (crossovers) are important too. I'd upgrade those first, assuming the head unit's amplifier is of decent quality.

Do the crossovers in a car system reside in the speakers, as well? It's been a few years since I've even handled car speakers and I don't remember ever seeing a crossover circuit on them.

Yes, they can. Combination speakers definitely have them, like 6x9s. However the system is configured, these components are very important.

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An automobile is a terrible listening environment, so do automobile audiophiles actually exist? That said, speakers do make a great difference, as they are the thing that directly delivers the signal to your ear. The filtering before them (crossovers) are important too. I'd upgrade those first, assuming the head unit's amplifier is of decent quality.

Title may be miss leading.  I liked the alliteration.  But I guess I should’ve lead off with the speaker thing.  Maybe my manual gives me specs on the head unit, idk.  I’ll check it out.  But being out of the loop, what are good speaker brands? I’ve heard JBL thrown out there.  What are the “better/best” brands? Or should it be specs I’m looking for?

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I always thought an "audiophile" was a person who wanted accurate sound.  It seems like the OP wants enhanced sound.  

I want the sound to be like I'm in the concert hall or room where the instrument(s) are being played.  I want accurate sound.  

When I bought my latest car, I paid a boatload for the "upgraded" sound system, which was a mistake because I neglected to research what they really meant by "upgraded."  What I think they did was add a subwoofer.  I don't think a subwoofer is an upgrade.  A subwoofer takes the low notes and creates what sounds more like a thumping sound.  It's not music.  It's an atonal thump thump.

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Yes, I guess I’m looking for sound enhancement. Maybe I don’t know enough about it to ask the right questions. A song came on in my wife’s car and I said “oh, turn this up” after doing so I said”never mind”. It sounded hollow and tinny. In my truck it sounds good. In my dads truck it sounds even better. I want the even better. That’s all. I figured it would be a simple upgrading to better speakers. I’ve had the truck 3 years now, if I don’t upgrade it’s not a big deal. It’s something that’s crossed my mind on/off for a while. Increasingly lately. So Im just trying to figure it out.

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Yes, I guess I’m looking for sound enhancement.  Maybe I don’t know enough about it to ask the right questions.  A song came on in my wife’s car and I said “oh, turn this up” after doing so I said”never mind”. It sounded hollow and tinny.  In my truck it sounds good.  In my dads truck it sounds even better.  I want the even better.  That’s all.  I figured it would be a simple upgrading to better speakers.  I’ve had the truck 3 years now, if I don’t upgrade it’s not a big deal.  It’s something that’s crossed my mind on/off for a while.  Increasingly lately.  So Im just trying to figure it out.

It's more than just speakers. The audio head unit is the heart of the system (or is it the head?). Anyway, good equalization and linear amplification are important to get any speaker sounding good. Speakers respond to input. Bad input makes for bad output. Better speakers will make bad input sound a little better, but you get the idea.

This is why the Sony system in my wife's old car sounded so well. We bought the vehicle used but I'm sure the sound system was an upgrade from the factory. The Sony audio head unit drove the speakers beautifully. I'm not even sure what kind of speakers they were, but the head unit was so well engineered that it would have made most speakers sound better. 

Concentrate on the head unit if you want better sound. If the speakers you have now still don't give the sound you want then look at upgrading those next, but start with the head unit.

As far as speakers go, crossovers were mentioned above. What crossover circuitry does is assign given frequencies the proper speaker to duplicate the sound. For instance, a multi-element speaker will have a larger speaker for lower frequencies, a smaller speaker for midrange, and a small tweeter for the highest range sounds. They are mechanically limited to producing those sounds. An straight input to a multi-element speaker without a crossover simply floods each speaker with the range of frequencies which then causes distortion because each is trying to duplicate that flood of input.

This is where good speakers separate themselves from the rest. High end speakers, for the home or car, will have good quality crossovers which properly separate the frequencies. The term crossover comes from the ability of the circuitry, matched to the speaker types and sizes, to accurately crossover a changing sound frequency from one speaker to the other, such as a rising guitar riff or a singer's rising pitch. The larger speaker will pull most of the duty while in lower ranges and then smoothly transition, or crossover, to the other speakers for accurate duplication.

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Thanks for the info. After a little digging, it seems in ‘17 Ford had Sony systems and in ‘18 switched to B&O systems (which I gather is better.). I was hoping the same head unit would be in both mine and my dads truck. Doesn’t seem to be the case. But, I did find out that one of the equipment packages on my truck included 7 speaker system. Which I guess explains why my truck sounds better than my wife’s car (also a ford). So, I guess without swapping out for the B&O and the appropriate speakers, I’m stuck with what I have? Does that sound about right? That sounds (hehe) like it would be fairly expensive to do all that. If that’s the case, I’ll just hold off.

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Thanks for the info.  After a little digging, it seems in ‘17 Ford had Sony systems and in ‘18 switched to B&O systems (which I gather is better.). I was hoping the same head unit would be in both mine and my dads truck.  Doesn’t seem to be the case.  But, I did find out that one of the equipment packages on my truck included 7 speaker system.  Which I guess explains why my truck sounds better than my wife’s car (also a ford). So, I guess without swapping out for the B&O and the appropriate speakers, I’m stuck with what I have?  Does that sound about right? That sounds (hehe) like it would be fairly expensive to do all that.  If that’s the case, I’ll just hold off.

Bang & Olufsen systems are premium grade. Perfectly understandable why it sounds so much better. But what makes B&O so good is their use of high end materials and highly engineered and balanced systems. I'm sure your dad paid premium bucks for it. 

Research the system you have in your truck now. I'm sure some audio heads somewhere have dissected it and identified upgrades to the system without replacing the whole thing. Will it ever sound as good as the B&O? Probably not, but I'm sure you can make it sound better than it is now.

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While HB's knowledge is spot on, I believe you can get better bang - or boom- for your buck by replacing the factory speakers.

I have a 2017 Tundra, of which I have few complaints. The factory system is one of them, though. I did a little research, and the #1 problem seems to be cheap speakers with tiny magnets on the back of them. The system as a whole clips off the lower and higher frequencies, and the upshot is that it sounds not much better than a Kraco from the 80s.

My other car was a Lexus LS430 with a premium Mark Levinson system. For those saying that a car isn't an ideal listening environment, I would invite them to take a ride in that thing. It had a rear subwoofer as part of the design, which wasn't for "boom", but actually really helped balance out the low frequencies. As HB mentioned, crossovers distribute the correct frequencies to the correct speakers. In a subwoofer system, the subwoofer takes all the frequencies below a certain amount (say, everything less than 80 hz), allowing your other speakers to deliver sound with much less distortion. As a few of you may remember, I'm one of those weird prog-rock fans, and can appreciate busy music that requires frequency responses from all ranges. That vehicle made me get all my old CDs out to re-listen to, because I would always find some new notes I'd never heard before.

I would at least look at the speakers first before going into the dash. If they obviously suck, Crutchfield sells upgrades at a price that won't break the bank and will sound a hell of a lot better. Also, you don't need a lot of power to get great sound. Don't get upsold on wattage.

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^ above is what I was hoping I’d be able to do. Like HB said, I’ll do some research on what I have. Idk how it’s all set up since it’s all tied into a touchscreen which is used for navigation and satellite radio as well. If I had one of my older trucks without all the technology, I wouldn’t hesitate upgrading the head unit. And all in all, the sound doesn’t suck. It’s not too bad. It’s just after hearing “factory” nicer system in practically the same truck had me thinking.

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I always thought an "audiophile" was a person who wanted accurate sound.  It seems like the OP wants enhanced sound.  

I want the sound to be like I'm in the concert hall or room where the instrument(s) are being played.  I want accurate sound.  

When I bought my latest car, I paid a boatload for the "upgraded" sound system, which was a mistake because I neglected to research what they really meant by "upgraded."  What I think they did was add a subwoofer.  I don't think a subwoofer is an upgrade.  A subwoofer takes the low notes and creates what sounds more like a thumping sound.  It's not music.  It's an atonal thump thump.

Both you and audiophiles aren't looking for perfectly accurate sound. Your example of a concert hall or room still has the sound being influenced by the room. What you're looking to mitigate, or completely eliminate, is room reflections and room modes that cause comb filtering and amplitude spikes of lower mid to bass frequencies. A good concert hall actually does this by the design of the hall (walls not being parallel, for example) and absorbing materials. A room in a house would have to be treated properly for the same outcome. But both are still have room influences.

Recording engineers desire completely accurate sound to properly mix and master music. That sound isn't always desirable commercially. Michael Jackson's "Thriller" was mixed using monitors made by Aurotone. They are flat frequency response speakers. The joke is they are called "Horrortones", but they work great for mixing because they accurately represent all frequencies. That, combined with a well treated studio room makes for great information to mix by.

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I always thought an "audiophile" was a person who wanted accurate sound.  It seems like the OP wants enhanced sound.  

I want the sound to be like I'm in the concert hall or room where the instrument(s) are being played.  I want accurate sound.  

When I bought my latest car, I paid a boatload for the "upgraded" sound system, which was a mistake because I neglected to research what they really meant by "upgraded."  What I think they did was add a subwoofer.  I don't think a subwoofer is an upgrade.  A subwoofer takes the low notes and creates what sounds more like a thumping sound.  It's not music.  It's an atonal thump thump.

Both you and audiophiles aren't looking for perfectly accurate sound. Your example of a concert hall or room still has the sound being influenced by the room. What you're looking to mitigate, or completely eliminate, is room reflections and room modes that cause comb filtering and amplitude spikes of lower mid to bass frequencies. A good concert hall actually does this by the design of the hall (walls not being parallel, for example) and absorbing materials. A room in a house would have to be treated properly for the same outcome. But both are still have room influences.

Recording engineers desire completely accurate sound to properly mix and master music. That sound isn't always desirable commercially. Michael Jackson's "Thriller" was mixed using monitors made by Aurotone. They are flat frequency response speakers. The joke is they are called "Horrortones", but the work great for mixing because they accurately represent all frequencies. That, combined with a well treated studio room makes for great information to mix by.

What’s funny is, to a layman, I say if it sounds good it sounds good.  But then I think about other hobbies, some I have and some others do,  then I understand the appreciation of getting all the subtitle nuances right for perfection.  But, that is also why I asked the question in the first place.  Some of you here are way more knowledgeable in this than I am and some have a higher acceptable level of what is considered “good”.   I didn’t want to waste money doing something stupid and buying expensive speakers if it wouldn’t improve what I had.  Just looking for the happy medium.  But the more I hear, the more I’m thinking my system is alright enough.  Or enough for me.

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That and on my way home today Powerman 5000’s “V is for Vampire” came on.  Level 10 is loud in my opinion in my truck, but I literally cranked it to 11!!! (I’m such a rebel)   It was AWESOME!

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Both you and audiophiles aren't looking for perfectly accurate sound. Your example of a concert hall or room still has the sound being influenced by the room. What you're looking to mitigate, or completely eliminate, is room reflections and room modes that cause comb filtering and amplitude spikes of lower mid to bass frequencies. A good concert hall actually does this by the design of the hall (walls not being parallel, for example) and absorbing materials. A room in a house would have to be treated properly for the same outcome. But both are still have room influences.

Recording engineers desire completely accurate sound to properly mix and master music. That sound isn't always desirable commercially. Michael Jackson's "Thriller" was mixed using monitors made by Aurotone. They are flat frequency response speakers. The joke is they are called "Horrortones", but the work great for mixing because they accurately represent all frequencies. That, combined with a well treated studio room makes for great information to mix by.

What’s funny is, to a layman, I say if it sounds good it sounds good.  But then I think about other hobbies, some I have and some others do,  then I understand the appreciation of getting all the subtitle nuances right for perfection.  But, that is also why I asked the question in the first place.  Some of you here are way more knowledgeable in this than I am and some have a higher acceptable level of what is considered “good”.   I didn’t want to waste money doing something stupid and buying expensive speakers if it wouldn’t improve what I had.  Just looking for the happy medium.  But the more I hear, the more I’m thinking my system is alright enough.  Or enough for me.

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That and on my way home today Powerman 5000’s “V is for Vampire” came on.  Level 10 is loud in my opinion in my truck, but I literally cranked it to 11!!!   It was AWESOME!

Regarding your first sentence, absolutely. If it works for you, the search is over. Some people get caught up in a chase they weren't really prepared for, or one that doesn't have a clear goal. 

That said, I completely agree with the Rush fan about speakers. As I said earlier, they are the component that directly delivers the signal to your ears, turning it from electrical to a sound wave. Their importance cannot be overstated.

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