I just bought a 2014.5 Camry. I want to replace the factory speakers. One installer is suggesting Helix but I am concerned that they would be better with an external amp and not sound particularly good with the factory head unit. I don't want to go that route. Any suggestions for replacement speakers that would pair well with the factory head unit?

 

What stereo system do you have now, remote amp or built in?

Might ask at Crutchfield.com who also sells Helix.

My opinion is as long as the speakers are within the same rating as the stock (watts and ohms), a better speaker with sound better. If your wanting to drive them to the max, want mass bass, larger speakers, etc then an external can help or be a must.

Note to, Camry may have oval speakers which might limit replacement unless using an adapter plate.

 

It's the less than 10 watt stock system. I would like to put in some component speakers in the front which wouldn't be completely under powered and have at least some bass.

 

There are a few electrical devices that may help.

A line-out converter (LOC) taps into the speaker output wires of a radio having a built-in amp. The LOC reduces the wattage to allow signal input to a remote amp. This is used if someone wants to add more speakers such as a high wattage bass. In this system the stock radio still needs to drive speakers as it can be damaged if its output amp is not connected to a load.

There is another device (forget name) which will accept the full wattage of the amp and reduce this to a signal a remote amp could accept. This allows running all speakers off the remote amp. Like a dummy speaker load for the stock amp which also converters the higher wattage signal to something a remote amp can accept.

The best method is to replace the stock radio however car owners and audio shops have been using the above devices successfully for a long time.

And also consider adding more sound proofing to the car as this lowers road noise resulting in better audio.