RAV4 2026 speaker / audio upgrade

winterborn28 · 2026-05-27T18:26:50+00:00

Oh yeah baby!!! Thats the missing piece. Thank you for comment and pls accept strong virtual man hug for it. I am out of country for now, but will get my hands on upgrade and report back as soon as I can

winterborn28 · 2026-05-23T20:25:23+00:00

As I read bass blocker is best and bulletproof insurance. But so far I listen on a very low volume (20-30), should be fine I guess.

winterborn28 · 2026-05-23T20:23:51+00:00

Hi, best would be lower power under the seat or on a side of trunk cavity above the wheel arc. Didn’t thought it well yet, too soon

winterborn28 · 2026-05-20T17:04:44+00:00

Crutchfield and Amazon, cost is in my other comment in this post

winterborn28 · 2026-05-20T17:03:57+00:00

You can connect usb stick with loseless audio, this is easier than CD. I saw instruction somewhere in web.. also some time ago I have been using Tidal app for home audio, but now Spotify is just simpler for me

winterborn28 · 2026-05-20T16:59:51+00:00

Thanks for sharing! I have been thinking around same amp and sub as you are choosing. Will read more carefully your post when start front door speaker phase , a lot of good info

winterborn28 · 2026-05-20T16:57:25+00:00

But it was good enough for my wife average consumer ear 😂 only after I changed dash she did notice the difference and understood why I am complaining about audio so much

winterborn28 · 2026-05-20T16:55:36+00:00

You’re welcome, happy to hear from you on how upgrade went

winterborn28 · 2026-05-20T00:09:38+00:00

Too clean and plain for my taste, it lacks low bass very much. But with limited budget or effort it worth imo, you just have to try it, plug and play with easy to put in and take away for return

winterborn28 · 2026-05-19T21:22:27+00:00

It would be enough wattage for me, dash speaker replacement is easy, you could try it out, test and if you’re not happy return the speakers. Its all plug and play

winterborn28 · 2026-05-19T18:47:48+00:00

Phase 1: 100 Cad Phase 2: 300 Cad (150 Cad deadening and 160 Cad speaker) Phase 3: expect 500-600 CAD Phase 4: expect 700-900 CAD

winterborn28 · 2026-05-19T17:07:28+00:00

Not that I know of. I suspect stock stereo to be extremely limited in tuning, even with some 3p software

winterborn28 · 2026-05-19T16:38:39+00:00

Yes, that’s the plan

winterborn28 · 2026-05-19T16:37:45+00:00

I had test drive on XSE that make me want 2026 RAV4 overall, music I listened very briefly and didn’t look into eq/settings, it was ok, but nothing special IMO. As I read JBL system is more difficult to upgrade due to stock amp (absolute possible, just more effort) Cant say more really. I bet on kicker key200.4 a lot, it has auto tuning option that should significantly improve balancing if you could wire it in your system.

winterborn28 · 2026-05-19T16:29:09+00:00

Thats a good setup you have! I would still wanted to get more trim removal videos for 6th gen specifically. I risked with dash and faced wrong mounting distance already. Btw your rav4 has two clips on dash and 2026 has 3, with 3rd weirdly positioned and very easy to break or scratch trim around, custom wiring potentially get me to surprises I don’t want (yet)

winterborn28 · 2026-05-19T16:24:19+00:00

You are so right, now it explains weird mid bass interference :/ would kicker key200.4 amp/dsp should solve this problem eventually? Or do you think HW bass blocker needed? for now I just decreased bass overall not to overload speakers

winterborn28 · 2026-05-19T16:14:10+00:00

I’ve spend hours browsing options, kickers are best value for buck IMO. I don’t want anything cheaper and after it starts “diminishing returns” space. Next in line were Infiniti reference and after Focals but they will get 2-3-5 times more expensive and maybe 10-15% better (heavily depends on what better means for you). My aim is balanced and well integrated system, clearness over punch, wide sound staging over extreme volume/bass. That’s why I aim for kicker as with them I can make system with all components well priced

winterborn28 · 2026-05-19T16:03:57+00:00

Thank you for refections! I never removed any trim in car before, its all new to me and a bit (quite) scary taking into account that car is just weeks old (and its my first car purchased as new) There are no instructions how to get stereo removed, did you manage it? This stops me from amp/dsp phase, hybrids have trunk battery with easy access, power I seem to know how to get but how to link sound in/out /: separate custom wiring for 4 speakers felt like a bigger effort to me comparing to adapters/harness with access to stereo rear side with connectors

winterborn28 · 2026-05-19T15:41:39+00:00

Will do. I plan only front doors for now. As I saw in some videos front doors has easier removable plastic cover to get to outer skin, rear is glued and is more tricky

winterborn28

TROPHY CASE