OEM Audio+ Door Speakers Review & Install – 5th Gen 4Runner

OEM Audio+ Door Speakers Step-By-Step Install & Review For the 5th Gen 4Runner

In this third and final article covering the OEM Audio+ Reference 500 audio system for a 5th Gen 4Runner I will be covering the door speakers: the front 6” x 9” woofers, rear 6.5” 2-way coaxial speakers, and cargo door 6.5” 2-way coaxial speakers.

Find it online

• OEM Audio+ Reference 500 Speaker System: Check Price

For an install of these speakers, you can refer to the installation walkthrough by Frank, or you can watch my video install and review below for the full step-by-step installation process and my personal review at the end of the video.

The Front 6” x 9” Woofer

The front of your 4Runner is the one area where you can guarantee at least one person to be when driving (that is of course the driver). In consideration of this, you can bet that OEM Audio+ made sure to provide excellent sound for the driver and passenger.

As I mentioned in my last article covering the DSP Amp and Subwoofer install, OEM Audio+ used a 6-microphone array that was placed in the driver seat to specifically tune this system for your particular 4Runner, based on:

• What type of seating
• Seating material
• Head unit
• etc.

How Does It Work?

This is pretty impressive, and the sound quality is amazing.

All of the digital sound processing the amplifier does have to be sent to a speaker though in order for an audible sound to be produced. In the front, you have the 1” soft dome speakers which I covered in my first article and the 6” x 9” woofers.

The woofers provide the low- to mid-range sounds and let the tweeters take care of the higher pitches. The woofers have a carbon fiber cone construction for optimal performance, the speakers drop right into the factory mounting pattern, and they aren’t just a random speaker with the brackets to fit a 4Runner…these speakers are made specifically for a 4Runner.

Once again, this is something that you simply won’t get in other systems. Other systems will utilize universal 6 x 9s, so you won’t get the quality and tone that the OEM Audio+ woofers provide. You truly are getting a custom audio system for your 4Runner.

Rear and Cargo Door 6.5” Coaxial Speakers

There is one 6.5” speaker in each of the rear doors, and two (2) 6.5” speakers in the cargo door for a total of four (4) 6.5” speakers.

These speakers differ from the front woofer by having an integrated 1” soft dome tweeter.

This combination provides the perfect balance of both low and high pitch…all in one speaker.

They are also constructed of carbon fiber just like the woofers, fit in the factory location, and are tonally matched to the front speakers to provide seamless reinforcement for every listener.

Sound Quality

So, I have the 1” tweeters installed, the DSP amplifier and subwoofer installed, and now all six-door speakers.

What does it sound like? The best way I can describe it is:

unbelievably clear, clean, crisp and powerful…but controlled. The sound quality truly is remarkable.

These door speakers really pulled the system together to work as one complete setup. The blend of all the speakers is impressive, as each seat in my 4Runner now experiences high-quality tones. The carbon fiber cone and larger magnets in comparison to the factory speakers definitely make a big difference.

You really don’t realize how muffled the factory speakers are until you install these speakers from OEM Audio+.

In addition, I do think you have more volume to work with…which may be a result of better speakers, the DSP amp, and simply having speakers that transfer sound much better than factory.

Is it Worth the Money?

Everyone has heard the saying that “the more you spend the more you get”. I’ve always agreed with this statement, but I feel it’s important to recognize there is a point of diminishing returns. The complete OEM Audio+ Reference 500 system is about $1,800 (pre-tax). This isn’t cheap, but there are many more expensive systems on the market.

My recommendation would be to install the door speakers and tweeters if you are on a budget. At approximately $650 (pre-tax), you are getting highly upgraded speakers and setting yourself up for one day purchasing the DSP amplifier and subwoofer for the complete setup. If you can afford the complete Reference 500, you should go for it…because it really is worth it in my opinion.

My Recommendation… Go For It!

The complete system works together so well, and you simply won’t get the full experience until you have the tweeters, door speakers, DSP amp, and subwoofer working together. In my opinion, I think $1,800 is a rather big investment for an upgrade on my 4Runner; however, the Reference 500 is probably my favorite upgrade I’ve done to date. Why?

Anytime I am in my 4Runner, I love listening to music…especially through my Reference 500. It is just awesome. While I do have my roof rack, bumper, lights, etc. with me at all times, I can’t necessarily use them all the time.

Simply said, I can essentially use the OEM Audio+ Reference 500 any time I am driving my 4Runner…and considering I really enjoy music, this system is well worth the investment.

Final Thoughts

I hope this 3-part series on the OEM Audio+ Reference 500 system was helpful and insightful for you.

It was very cool to install all of these components systematically and see how each component made a difference in the sound which includes:

• Part 1: Starting off with the tweeters and recognizing the crisper tones, particularly the higher-end tones.
• Part 2: Then the DSP Amplifier and Subwoofer added a lot of power on the low end and even clearer, cleaner sounds due to the DSP technology…which is amazing.
• Part 3: To finish it all off, I installed six-door speakers which truly made the system complete.

You cannot go wrong with this sound system from OEM Audio+. They have top-notch customer service, systems designed and tuned specifically for your 4Runner and they perform great!

If you are looking for a sound system to put in your 4Runner, I highly recommend the Reference 500 audio system. It is the king of sound systems for the 5th Gen 4Runner!