GR Yaris Audio Upgrade

Lauren

Lauren

Totally Hooked
Joined
Nov 22, 2021
Messages
487
Reaction score
1,014
Location
South Manchester
As many will appreciate, the stock audio in the GR Yaris circuit pack is nothing special and whilst it is adequate and has good sound separation, it lacks depth, bass and mid range. In my last car (GT86) I had a £3K install, which was simply astoundingly good. However, when I checked behind the sofa, I couldn't quite find that kind of money. My friends from RRG Macclesfield, Richard and Chris were in a similar situation. What we wanted was something affordable that would make a good improvement without breaking the bank.

To that end Chris had enquired with Tim at Trilogy In Car; http://www.trilogyincar.com/

What Tim came up with was some upgraded Alpine S-565 speakers to replace the originals and also a rather good flat active sub in the Focal ibus 20 that fits very neatly under the passenger seat. Tim can fit this for you for £750.

As you can see from the pictures, it is fairly involved and also includes a remote adjuster knob for the subwoofer so you can vary the amount of bass. I feel that an active subwoofer is key, because you can take the work of the bass away from the door speakers. This installation uses all the stock fittings so nothing is cut. The original front door speakers are sacrificial though as Tim uses the mounting baskets to mount the new speakers. No great loss there.

I've literally just driven home from Stalybridge which is a half hour drive and the difference is astonishing! I do need to run the new speakers in a bit, before they'll give their best and I will update after a week how I'm finding it. :)

OEM speaker:

5C9F3FD1-98F1-4E84-B9C7-544312729412_1_105_c.jpeg


68C6EB2E-3B25-4682-AC60-9A8DC3C01E77_1_105_c.jpeg


660A87FB-4989-47C8-BECE-4F8C957C6F49_1_105_c.jpeg


71F6208B-946E-4898-9A89-0A6D305818AF_1_105_c.jpeg


E140C8AC-951E-41DD-BD3E-6B29AE9D78C0_1_105_c.jpeg


2FE050C8-55C3-4337-A374-02DEAA487238_1_105_c.jpeg



7726546A-EB40-4889-A187-45F20489DC4E_1_105_c.jpeg



CDAD1B3B-9371-4625-8DD9-84C72170F857_1_105_c.jpeg


Volume control for sub which is stuck to the dash, not drilled:

C5EF1A5C-E141-4222-87EE-3D7D87BF8B1D_1_105_c.jpeg


Subwoofer:

3050EDD2-A677-49AF-888E-A40513C6825A_1_105_c.jpeg


1661003825565.webp
 
Last edited:
Martin GR4 said:
How long did it take Tim to do this? It looks like an all day job
Click to expand...
I dropped my car off to him last night. About 6 hours or so as a lot has to come out and come apart. He called me at 1pm to say it was done. He said he started on it at 6.30am this morning.
 
Have you turned the piped in noise off now or is it ok with it on?
 
Wow this is a maximum invasive job done. I'd say I would be to cowardly to take on such a job just for upgrading audio system. Very impressive. I'd combine it with some other stuff like changing dort card material and seats and so on.

But to be honest, I rarely hear music in my car at all. Maybe on really long journeys through Scandinavia when I have to scrub over 1000 km to pass southern Sweden for example. So I am a bad example I guess.

Thanks for the content! Appreciate your informative post with visualising pictures.
 
I'd be happy with just a speaker upgrade but god it's hard to find a car audio specialist in Warwickshire.
 
That looks a nice job, and a bit of a bargain considering the labour needed.

As I’ve said before, with ESE off I find the stock system just about adequate, but for this kind of money I’d be very tempted. Sadly, the same work in Luxembourg would likely cost 2x as much.

The sub adjuster isn’t something you’ll be needing every day though. I’d be wanting it somewhere more discrete, maybe under the steering column or something.
 
nails84 said:
Have you turned the piped in noise off now or is it ok with it on?
Click to expand...
No I haven't. To be honest I only gave it some revs once, but didn't notice anything different. Will doubtless drive it today without the music blasting so will check. (y)
 
Duke said:
That looks a nice job, and a bit of a bargain considering the labour needed.

As I’ve said before, with ESE off I find the stock system just about adequate, but for this kind of money I’d be very tempted. Sadly, the same work in Luxembourg would likely cost 2x as much.

The sub adjuster isn’t something you’ll be needing every day though. I’d be wanting it somewhere more discrete, maybe under the steering column or something.
Click to expand...
The sub adjuster seems really discrete in the car as it's behind the steering wheel. You may well be right about not adjusting it all the time. I do find though if listening to music that is pre-90s that hasn't been remastered that the bass needs turning up a touch. Also you seem to lose a bit when listening to DAB, compared to playing off my phone or Apple Music. I do like that I can instantly tweak it though.

Richard has his at the rear of the centre console in the tray behind the cup holders. I wanted it somewhere easier to reach as I have a coffee cup in my cup holder which would make it difficult to reach.
 
Nice work. I bet the Dynamat behind the speakers alone would make a vast difference. But obviously not much point leaving the stock speakers in if you’re dismantling it that far 🙂
 
nails84 said:
Have you turned the piped in noise off now or is it ok with it on?
Click to expand...
Okay update. Had to turn off the ESE and ANC as otherwise it comes through the sub, which you definitely don't want! Sort of sounds good in some ways, but is annoying as it resonates at low speeds coming on and off the throttle and makes the music sound like the bassist is on another planet.
 
Lauren said:
Okay update. Had to turn off the ESE and ANC as otherwise it comes through the sub, which you definitely don't want! Sort of sounds good in some ways, but is annoying as it resonates at low speeds coming on and off the throttle and makes the music sound like the bassist is on another planet.
Click to expand...
I thought this might be the case, thanks for confirming 👍
 
Can I ask please Lauren, your speakers look to be the co-axial version, Are the original tweeters still there ? If so presumably disconnected?

Do you know if this can done with the component Alpine S-65C speakers, ie replacing the tweeters as well?
 
Yes your right the speakers are 2 way co-axial, which really enhances the mid range and treble with the large voice coil and allows higher volume range, the tweeters on mine and Ricks are OEM and are still connected and I should imagine they still are on Laurens, I personally think you do not need to replace the OEM tweeters as you can still hear them due to the door speakers being wired into the OEM amp which all speakers run through, so they compliment each other if that makes sense.
 
grydoc said:
Can I ask please Lauren, your speakers look to be the co-axial version, Are the original tweeters still there ? If so presumably disconnected?

Do you know if this can done with the component Alpine S-65C speakers, ie replacing the tweeters as well?
Click to expand...
As the speakers use the original wiring, the tweeters are still there and working. Yes there are some additional tweeters in the new speakers but no change to the wiring. I would guess you could get it to work with replacement tweeters with the addition of a crossover. All of this is easily doable but will add to cost of course.
 
One more question please, I understand your original speakers were raided for their mounting plates. I presume this is because the adapter rings which come with the Alpines didn’t fit the Yaris mounts?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top