Head Unit vs Amp upgrade

Those speakers are designed to handle up to 100watts rms and 300 peak. I think the larger speaker material is just too hard to push without enough wattage to power them. I'd say, go for the amplifier if you want the best sound right away. A powered sub is just a bandaid, and you'll still be missing some midrange. A new head unit will help, but you might still feel something is missing. Dynamat helps when you have alot of bass, doubt that's your issue here.

I'm probably going to buy this one for my car.

 

My solution (if I ever get around to installing my equipment) is to run the factory head unit through a DSP to clean up the signal and then through the amp to the speakers.

I agree, that once you start to upgrade your speakers, you will want an amp to provide proper juice them. Also, you will need/want it regardless of the head unit, so I would start there. I would get a nice 5 channel Class D amp so you can run a front mid in the doors and a tweeter in the dash as well as power a sub (I bought an Alpine PDX V9).

You will probably also benefit from adding a separate tweeter in the dash. It will help "raise the soundstage and provide a better path to your ears. Of course, then you will need some sort of DSP/Crossover unit to separate/optimize the signal.

If you want an upgrade path:
1) 5 channel amplifier
2) DSP or crossover
2) tweeters for your dash
3) subwoofer run off off 5 channel amp
4) head unit (although some my put this first - note that while they are hard to find some units allow you to adjust & run active so in theory you could skip the DSP/Crossover)

Sound deadening will make a great improvement on many levels. I would avoid slapping Dynamat everywhere as it is costly and not as effective as other approaches. Look at Welcome to Sound Deadener Showdown | Sound Deadener Showdown for what I feel is the best approach. You could start on the doors and then add on as budget/time allows.

 

I wouldn't follow any of the advice already given.

First thing to check is whether the speakers are in phase. If they're out of phase then you lose the lower frequencies.
If the speakers are wired correctly then there's a problem with their enclosure. Dynamat (or similar product) makes a massive difference to midbass reproduction.

If the speakers aren't working off the headunit, then there will be no magical cure by adding amps or changing headunit

 

The most important speakers are the dash speakers.
The door speakers are ok, but your ears are nowhere near your ankles.

It is true that the factory head unit messes with the frequency response to the speakers.
A DSP can fix this. I used a JBL MS-8.
However, I installed it after I replaced all the car speakers.

Getting decent, reasonable efficient dash speakers is the best bang for the buck.
They can be had for around $50. I used the pioneers and then the polks.

You should put some dampening material in the doors, just because they are so tinny and undamped.
It won't make crappy sound great, but it will help reduce rode noise and may add some clarity.

Don't forget that the dash speakers and front door speakers are driven from the same output of the amp.
This is less than ideal. You really want efficient speakers.

Most infinity speakers, including yours have 2 ohm impedance which may be nice to get more power from an aftermarket amp, but will severely load an OEM amp. In addition, most infinity 2 ohm speakers efficiency is specified at 2.82 volts, which is 2 watts rather than everyone else who uses 1 watt to specify efficiency. In addition, 2 ohm speakers require wires twice as thick as 4 ohm speakers for the same power loss.

I would toss the infinity speakers as long as you are using the OEM head unit. Whoever advised you to use them in your set up is clueless.
If you do run full range dash speakers, you might want to add 2 ohm resistors in series with them as well as the front door speakers to minimize the load on your amp.

 

Dash speakers won't do much for mid bass. The door speakers can do some good, but not a whole lot.
That is why I put in two 12" woofers in my trunk.

There is nothing inherently wrong with the Infinity speakers. I think 2 ohm speakers are silly because they need thick wires.
Also I suspect the OEM amp puts out roughly 5w RMS per channel. Since that is divided between the dash and front door that leaves your Infinity speakers with roughly 2.5w RMS each.
If you do get an amp, get one with lots of channels. You will want different channels for the dash speakers and the door speakers.
The rear door speakers are pretty useless.

The DSP was the largest difference. With it, and no subwoofer, I found a reasonable amount of mid-bass.
I got the MS-8 on sale for $400. Using just it and reasonably inexpensive speakers made quite a lot of difference.
It also cost about twice as much as all the speakers I put in.

If you really want, we could meet somewhere and you could hear my system; I am not so far away from you.
If you use reasonably efficient speakers, you don't need a really big amp. I am using 8x20w from my MS-8, and it is plenty loud for me.
I did run the wires for a subwoofer amp, but I decided I didn't need it.

See weasel.com: 2012 Toyota Plug in Prius Stereo for all the prius audio mods I made.

 

Take it or leave it, just another system. frodoz Stereo Upgrade | PriusChat

 

Since I have a PiP, the head unit has all kinds of tie-ins with the car. It shows energy usage over time and other junk.
It also has a 'car' button that does other car specific stuff. If not for that, I would have tossed the head unit a long time ago.
I am not sure about the power output of the OEM head unit, I took a wild guess. I really like the sony CDX-GT700HD because I listen to the radio a lot and it has the best radio ever. It also has a 17w RPS per channel, which is surely a whole lot more than the OEM radio.

I was thinking last night about your midbass issue. You know the door has a whole lot of holes in it, that probably are not helping the sound. In addition, it has two really big sheets of plastic that will flap around when you are playing lower frequencies. It would surely help if you did something to reduce the flapping of the plastic. I just covered them with dampening material. If necessary, it could be cut through to access the interior of the door. Others cover the plastic with wire mesh or sheet snd then cover that with dampening material. I think you would notice an improvement if you did that. Before doing that, you should dampen the ohter door skin, as it will be really difficult to do after covering up the plastic sheet....

As for dash speaker, I used the polk Audio DXi350.

 

Using coax or triax speakers in place of the front door woofers, with the dash sqwaker still hooked up is not helping. This is why I went with components and new wiring up front. Coax speakers are better for back door filler.

 

Some head units which have built in cross-over and time alignment capabilities rather than having to run an external unit. One highly regarded example is the Pioneer DEH-80PRS. Unfortunately, these are hard to find, especially in a double-din unit.

 

You need a decent budget to go active or even semi active. stay passive: it's easier and cheaper.

My suggestion is now to add a 10" sub and amp. Mask the missing midbass with sub bass and you'll probably be happy. it's the best bang for buck even if you're not a basshead. Forget buying new front speakers and amps until you've done this.