u/RightAlignment

I have a 2024 RAV4 Hybrid LE with the standard audio (ie, NOT the JBL) and wanted better sound. I didn’t want huge sub-woofers, nor did I want to spend a lot of money.  

TL;DR -  

1. $350 for 6 Kicker speakers from Crutchfield, and 
2. $135 for a DSP amp from Puzu-Audio.  
3. Couldn’t be happier!

The details…

I visited a few local car audio installers, but was given quotes which ranged from $1500-1800 - minimal power amp, and no sub-woofers.

I’ve seen good reviews for Crutchfield.com on this subreddit, so I called and explained that I don’t have any install experience.  We spent 30-45 minutes and I decided on the following:

• Kicker KSC350 3 1/2” speakers for the dash (1 pair x $79.99)
• XTC 3 1/2” speaker baffles for all the dash (1 pair x $14.99)
• Kicker 51KSC6704 6 3/4” speakers for each door (2 pair x $129.99) 
• XTC 6 3/4” speaker baffles for all the dash (2 pair x $29.98)
• Bojo Trim panel tools ($11.99)

Also from this subreddit, I’d read a couple of positive reviews on the Puzu Audio DSP power amp, so I ordered this directly from Puzu-Audio.com😄

• PUZU PZ-C7 (1x 135.99)

Install - dash speakers - 30 minutes

Super simple.  So glad I bought the trim panel tools instead of using a flathead screwdriver - I didn’t want to scar the interior of the car (pic 1 dash cover).  The photos will show what a radical difference there is in both materials and quality between the stock speakers and the Kickers (pic 2 dash speakers, 3 dash stock).  I won’t say that the Kickers are the best you can get - but for the price, they are a substantial improvement (pic 4 dash kicker).

Install - door speakers - 2 hours for the 1st one, 30 minutes for the remaining doors

The install instructions sent by Crutchfield were old, low res, black and white pics that really didn’t help.  So, for the DIY install experts out there, please forgive the pedantic selection of photos here - but these represent where I got stuck.  Mostly, out of fear of screwing up the interior somehow.

Taking apart the door panel begins with the small plastic facade that’s near the door release handle (pic 5 door handle).  I slid the trim panel tool alongside the red rectangle on the lock, and that allowed me to get inside and the popping off was trivial.  Note that the little Phillips screw has to come out.

I spent probably an hour trying to figure out what was next.  The Crutchfield instructions make it look like the whole panel comes off at this point, but I knew that I was mis-interpreting everything.  But true to their reputation, the wait time to speak with someone who knows what they’re talking about, and what you’re going through - was never more than 2 minutes for me.  The trim tool is a bit thicker than any separation on this trim panel, so you kinda just have to work it (pic 6 door handle).  A screwdriver would have been horrendous!

The next bit was confusing too - there are 2 screws that attach the silver (on my car) panel to the main door panel, and I thought these were the two which securely fastened the door panel to the door frame.  But no, the two screws you see initially are just for the cosmetics (pic 7 door screws) - the 2 you really want to go after are deeply recessed in the door handle’s plastic.  (8 door correct screws)

Again, you can really tell that Toyota spared every penny on the stock speakers, as the materials and build are significantly better on the Kickers (pics 9 & 10 door speakers).  Crutchfield included new speaker mounts to match the Kicker speakers, so you have to drill out the rivets which hold the old mounts in.  The instructions were kinda vague, so let me share a few points which I discovered that may save you some time.  

1) You don’t need to drill far with the 3/16” bit.  It’s just deep enough to get the washer-looking head of the rivet to separate from the barrel of the rivet (pic 11 door rivet)

2) It really helps if you can use pliers to prevent the rivet head from spinning (pic 12 rivet head)

3) Try to pull the plastic barrel out with needle-nose pliers (pic 13 riven barrel) - it makes pulling the rivet out from inside the door panel much easier

Once the old speakers & mounts are gone, installing the new mounts, baffles and speakers was straight forward and it only takes a few minutes each.  The wiring adapters that Crutchfield included in the speaker purchase made all electrical connections super easy.

Putting it all back together - 5 minutes per door

The door panels pop right back into place - just be certain that all of the white plugs came out with the door panel.  If not, pry them out of the door frame and re-insert them into the panel.

1st impressions

OK, so far all I’ve done is replace the 6 speakers - still using the original head unit with no amplification.  To be honest, I was super disappointed in the sound - they were SOOOOO bright that I didn’t think I’d be able to handle them.  Just listening to 1/2 of one song made my ears fatigued - as if they were being assaulted.  I used the cheesy Toyota EQ that comes with the head unit (Settings -> Sound & Media -> Sound Tuning) to turn down the midrange to almost the far left edge, and the bass up about 1/2 way to the right.  Helped a little, but just a little.

So, I called Crutchfield.  The next agent tried to sell me on $1300 worth of new speakers, and he was convincing, but I decided to wait until I got the Puzu because it has an extensive EQ built into it’s DSP (digital sound processing) logic.

The Puzu took an extra week to arrive - I didn’t realize that it was shipping from mainland China.  I was concerned that maybe I’d have to pay tariffs, but thankfully, no.

Install - the Puzu - 1 hour

This install was crazy simple.  (Pic 14 dash) shows the space behind the head unit when it’s pulled forward.  The 2 close up foam pieces are air conditioning ducts.  I slid the Puzu amp above those, but under the wires.  There is a little shelf above the furthest white plastic where I placed some double-sided tape (pic 15 tape).  The Puzu ships nestled with a frame of foam, so I cut that and used it to create a vibration-free buffer (pic 16 installed).  

The only thing that was a gotcha on the amp install was getting it to recognize the car.  I don’t have a windows PC, so I was relying on the Puzu “PZ-C7” iOS app.  The manual has a QR code for this.  The secret to gettin git to work was to first connect my iPhone via Bluetooth to the Puzu, which means to tap on Hi.Level (whatever that means), and then on BT.  On my iPhone, under Settings -> Bluetooth, I could see the PZ-Audio unit.  After the bluetooth was connected, then the red LED light started to slowly flash, which is the only way you know that the amp it active.  Having set that, I then was able to reconnect my iPhone to the RAV4 using CarPlay, and OMG…

Bottom line - suddenly this WHOLE THING was worthwhile

All of my disappointment and misgivings about the Kickers got eliminated.  The Puzu MADE THE DIFFERENCE.  The midranges which previously sounded SO SO BRIGHT were now balanced by using Puzu user setting #4 (again, that was a reddit user’s recommendation).

There was almost no bass before the Puzu (possibly because the mid-ranges were so bright that I couldn’t handle turning up the volume) - but with the Puzu it kicks.  Like, danceable.  Really surprised, really happy - and all this all for under $500.