forester tweeter upgrade

I'm no audiophile, but after installing the tweeters in my 2003 Forester X, I no longer turn down the bass settings on the stereo. So, I would say that the difference is quite perceptible.

OTOH, many others have posted that the stock stereo and speakers are all crap. This is probably true, but I don't use the stereo in my car for high fidelity playback. With all the wind, road and traffic noise, a car isn't exactly a good listening environment.

-R.

You'd be better off spending $100 and replacing the crappy oem speakers in the front door panels.

I have a '99 Legacy and my wife bought the tweeter kit. It improved things a little, but the audio was still poor. Someone on the group suggested replacing the front door speakers so when a set of Infinity 9002i's came on sale at Fry's for $50, I got them. It made an incredible difference. The stereo is now a pleasure to listen to.

I was so impressed I ran down and got another set for the rear doors. That only slightly improved the now-excellent sound.

The speakers that came with the car are utter crap. I was surprised that they were about the cheapest speakers imaginable.

Now that I have good speakers, the tweeter kit doesn't make any significant difference.

BTW, if you do the speaker job yourself, there is quite a bit of fitting and carving to get the Infinity's to fit. And make sure that the speaker wiring doesn't interfere with the power window mechanism. Don't ask how I know (:

Thanks. I love my Forester, but the OEM stereo sound is disappointing. I hoped just a speaker upgrade would fix it, but didn't want to invest the $$ if it wasn't enough.

I bought some Boston Acoustics FS60s, with separate woofer and tweeter. The woofer fit nicely and the tweeter fit onto the plastic housing where the tweeter is supposed to go. For the tweeter, I dremeled a hole in the plastic and voila! Looks nice--all for $120. If you want, I can post a photo. I bought the Subie tweeters but returned them. I **love** my sound now.

Andrew

Thanks. I love my Forester, but the OEM stereo sound is disappointing. I hoped just a speaker upgrade would fix it, but didn't want to invest the $$ if it wasn't enough.

If you don't mind putting the photo online, I'd like to see it. Thanks!

Back in November 2003, I bought a Baja with the stock speakers. Now, I'm not the most discerning listener but I quickly learned to hate them. They were way too bottom heavy. So, what I did was I went on Crutchfield's website, found what fit, bought them (in my case Pioneers)on eBay (saved mucho $$) and installed them with a minimum of fuss. I got the installation instructions off the SubaruParts.com site. The results are wonderful, so much so I now listen to music again. Note: I got component speakers for the front and those tweeters are great. And I used the wiring that was already there in the doors. If I had bought from Crutchfields I would have paid more but they provide wiring harnesses and such to make the installation even easier. Good luck to you!

Mike, Many of these suggestions are good, but many of them require too much work. Yes, the tweeter kit will improve the Subaru audio. Are you deciding to include it in a car purchase, or are you looking to improve the audio in your existing system?

It's a worthwhile item, but if you're really trying to improve the audio in an existing car, you're better off going to a nearby audio store and get a moderate priced set of speakers. I wish we got the tweeter upgrade in my wife's Forester. I got the "upgraded" speakers in an Outback and am very pleased with the audio. At $70, the tweeter kit is a good price, and will make a noticeable difference unless you're over 65 or have damaged ears.

-Bill Radio

Thanks to all for your advice.

I agree with Bill. I'm not trying to change the entire sound system to an "awsome" sound system, just wanted an inexpensive and EASY way of improving the forester's sound. I ordered and received the tweeter ungrade yesterday. Used allsubaru.com for the parts and they shipped it out the same day as I ordered. Very good parts place to order from.

Will let you know how I like them once I get around to installing them. It just snowed here in Long Island, NY and I need to shovel.