Hi.  Just got a 2013 Outback 2.5i Premium.  Nice car, although I miss the way my old 2000 drives, and the cargo area seems a little smaller.

 

Anyway, the sound system isn't great.  I'm thinking of doing some upgrading.  A lot of people report improvements from the OEM subwoofer and tweeter kit.  Two questions:

 

- does my premium w/ moonroof pkg already have the tweeters?  It sounds like they are in there.  Haven't pried of the grill, yet, since the car is brand new and I've never owned a new car before, practically afraid to drive let alone tear it apart.  Anyway, the specs all refer to a '6-speaker premium audio system' that comes with the Premium trim.  From what I can tell, the ONLY difference in the audio system is two extra speakers.  Are these the tweeters?

 

- If I want to install the OEM subwoofer myself, Is the wiring harness for the subwoofer present?  Or will I need to run the wire myself?

 

Thanks

 

not sure this will help you... But i just recently changed out the stock speakers and head unit that were in my 03 forester for a set of 6.5" sony xplod 4 way speakers (front door) that i picked up at walmart for $30 dollars, and schoche 5.25" 3 way speakers (rear doors) and the sound quality improvement was dramatic! 

 

First thing i did was change the headunit to a double din pioneer that i picked up from best buy for $150.. that made a decent improvement in sound quality (but i was just looking for bluetooth connect ability) however i was still getting distortion at higher levels... So i changed all the speakers and that did the trick!! I can crank it almost all the way up and not get any distortion.. Dont spend a fortune on speakers any name brand aftermarket speaker is going to give a great improvement over the stock paper speakers. Head unit doesnt matter a whole lot. most newer head units are pretty good already... However aftermarket units allow you to tweak the sounds via EQ a little better.

 

I would start with aftermarket speakers if your stock radio already offers all the features you need.

Thanks, that is helpful.  I guess I should just get new speakers.  Sounds like you did this work yourself?  I'm also in NJ and I'm sure it will be expensive to get a pro shop to do it.

I have a 2012 Limited, and I, too, am not particularly pleased with the off air sound quality coming from the speakers. When I load and play a CD, the sound quality is dramatically improved and awesome. I'm starting to think that the radio stations I can pull in in my area, are not broadcasting in the best stereo quality available. Maybe you are experiencing the same thing.

 

The subwoofer is located in the rear of the wagon. Open the tailgate and look right. If you have the Harmon Kardon system, its installed in the
pocket on the right side near the tailgate. Good Luck!

2013 ob standard 6 speaker stereo system found a tip on utube . power the radio off, then press the 1 and 4 station pre set buttons at the same time and hold them pushed in. As they are depressed tap the tuner Knob two times and on the radio lcd it will read "through on" this apparently allows the radio full power this makes the Stereo sound much better. It seems they preset the radio defualt at sedan by following the above proceedure when holding the 1 and 2 buttons you will read sedan, and holding the 1 and3 buttons you will read wagon.