Speakers-best bang for the buck

[astrand1]

I've only tried the 0 EQ setting since that gets a flat signal out to all speakers.

Note that if you do this, I recommend changing the chimes to Dash output (or they will be super loud through speakers), and also changing the center dash speaker output to "tweeter only". Happy tinkering.

Yeah that’s what I’ve done. I j

Check the adapters carefully. I have front doors only (and the pillar tweeter), however one tweeter adapter came damaged. I went to PowerBass directly because the package looked OEM sealed, and I was confident it wasn't the retailer's fault. Powerbass blew me off including telling me they did not offer this adapter by itself and that I could just cut the wires and use different aftermarket connectors, so I just returned the kit for another.

injist checked my box. I did not get these. I’ve got everything else. The hardware was on the back of the magnet but these little things are missing. Now I’ve got to try to get them.

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[MDPE]

Yeah that’s what I’ve done. I j

injist checked my box. I did not get these. I’ve got everything else. The hardware was on the back of the magnet but these little things are missing. Now I’ve got to try to get them.

Good luck! I wasn't impressed with the Powerbass customer service, maybe your luck will be better. Alternatively, you could cut and add your own butt connectors, I just did not want to do that.

 

[Graygoose2021]

thank you
you seem to have knowledge with the systems
i have 21 super crew 12" screen base non B&O 7 speaker
recommend thoughts if possible
going to upgrade to :
Kicker 47KSS6904. ( how do crossover get wired in?)
Kicker 47KSC6704
kicker power sub 11HS8 ( wiring into front speakers)
sound deadening all doors

possible added kicker 200.4 later ?
just looking for basic upgrade

sorry, was traveling

The crossover will be in the door or attached to the interior panel itself. In to crossover, then to mid/tweeter.

Yes you could add a Key2004 later.

 

[schn4x4]

thanks

 

[Kev's Ruby Ranch]

sorry, was traveling

The crossover will be in the door or attached to the interior panel itself. In to crossover, then to mid/tweeter.

I'm over thinking it now. I have the 18 speaker unleashed. Doing the Kicker 47KSS6904 also. Just speakers for now. The front doors will use the Kicker crossover, I need to run wire up to the A-pillar? Then leave the factory harness unhooked?

I was thinking just 6x9 with low pass on the Kicker crossover. Nothing hooked up the high pass on kicker crossover. Use the Kicker tweeter in the A-pillar, stock wire harness hookup.
Is this correct for the 18 unleahed?

Thanks Kevin

 

[STX_guy2023]

I'm actually gonna put the JBL club 6x9's in my 23 STX and 6.5 in the rear doors according to Crutchfield it says they won't fit but after Porpoise Hork fitted them to his truck I now feel safe doing mine Thanks Bro.

 

[dmac]

So I took @Porpoise Hork 's advice and ordered some Kicker DS 6x9 and 6.5 sets for front and rear. Also got some door block off plates and dynamat noise insulation ready. No amp planned for now since Im not going for volume.

Ill keep you guys updated once they come in and get installed.

 

[astrand1]

Good luck! I wasn't impressed with the Powerbass customer service, maybe your luck will be better. Alternatively, you could cut and add your own butt connectors, I just did not want to do that.

So update. I was an idiot. I did have these adapters after all. But I ordered new a pillars for the base B&O so that the tweeters were firing into the cabin rather than onto the windshield and I was surprised that they came with new tweeters. So I decided to just leave those in for now. I put in all the other speakers along with sound deadening material and what a difference in sound. I’m quite happy.

 

[Mosey]

what is the ohm resistance of the tweeters? are they 4 or 8 ? Thanks

the door speakers are 4 ohm and the tweeters and center are 8 ohm.

 

[amschind]

There are 6 components to good audio. You CAN go way beyond them in price and performance, but in a vehicle you're not gonna notice. In no particular order:
1) Good speakers; all you need is reinforced plastic cones and wattage matched to your source
2) Decent Source; we are practically limited here to the stock receiver outputs, but in general they are good enough to not be a limiting factor. This was an issue with analog broadcast radio and tapes, but with digital everything it's essentially taken care of without intervention.
3) Enough Power; you need enough power to drive your speakers, and the stock amp's 14w RMS won't cut it. 5 channel digital amps are cheap, and I love my Rockford 5x750W. It can't annoy the neighbors and send old folks and small children fleeing, but I'm at an age where I want quality over hearing impairment.
4) Split Channel Speakers; you need tweeters and subs. A 2 way or component setup is fine for the woofers and tweeters. The core idea here is match the speaker with what its designed to do well: a 1" tweeter CAN produce at 50 Hz sound, but it won't do it well. This leads to....
5) Filters; You are likely to be power limited. Lower frequencies require more power. Therefore, to make the best use of your separate speakers AND limited power, you need to 1) have high and low pass filters so that the sub gets low frequency, the woofers and tweeters get mids and highs (the tweeters and woofers generally handle that themselves). Further, go on youtube and listen to 10-100 Hz pure sounds. You may be surprised at what you cannot hear. Take that information and set the high pass filter on your subwoofer channel so that you are not using limited wattage on sounds that YOUR ears do not detect. It's easier to test yourself than to look up and the cost is only time, so there's no reason not to do this; it is the cheapest way to "increase" the power of your amp's sub channel. Bear in mind that a decent amp will have this option built in, so it's not a separate piece (though it can be if you want to splash out more $). When I first tried to do this on the cheap, my thought was to use Crutchfield bass blockers on the factory head unit outputs to the woofers. For whatever reason, they were effective from 1Hz-20kHz, so that's not really an option.
6 Soundproofing; probably the most difficult, potentially the most expensive, and maybe the best upgrade. Costs money, time AND weight. All car audio systems have a white noise soundtrack played over them called "Road noise". A $10k system that sets off car alarms and constitutes "probable cause" on its own maybe doesn't care, but if you're listening to music at sane volumes while the vehicle is moving, road noise is a big deal. There is no such thing as too much Dynamat.

 

[STX_guy2023]

Ok so I installed those 6x9s JBL club in the front doors and 6.5 in the rear using the 2020 model adapters and connectors from Crutchfield, and they fit flawlessly. talk about sound upgrade, these babys sound loud and hit pretty hard for a factory head unit with no subs. these trucks have individual little amps on each front door, so I was thinking if they made little stereo amps that could feed from the wiring that would be awesome to increase performance. even on the 6 speaker like mine they have these baby amps.

 

[SnareDrum]

So update. I was an idiot. I did have these adapters after all. But I ordered new a pillars for the base B&O so that the tweeters were firing into the cabin rather than onto the windshield and I was surprised that they came with new tweeters. So I decided to just leave those in for now. I put in all the other speakers along with sound deadening material and what a difference in sound. I’m quite happy.

That’s awesome, obviously I’m sure the quality is better. Any noticeable difference in volume?

 

[astrand1]

Well that’s a great question. Yes much louder! But the unknown is that I swapped my ACM for one out of a 22 raptor because I wanted HD radio. So not sure what really made the difference but it’s very noticeable.

 

[Blue22]

Ok so I installed those 6x9s JBL club in the front doors and 6.5 in the rear using the 2020 model adapters and connectors from Crutchfield, and they fit flawlessly. talk about sound upgrade, these babys sound loud and hit pretty hard for a factory head unit with no subs. these trucks have individual little amps on each front door, so I was thinking if they made little stereo amps that could feed from the wiring that would be awesome to increase performance. even on the 6 speaker like mine they have these baby amps.

Can you list the speaker model numbers and the adapters you used? Did you replace the center speaker or the tweeters? I plan on just upgrading the speakers and leaving the rest OEM for now.

 

[STX_guy2023]

Can you list the speaker model numbers and the adapters you used? Did you replace the center speaker or the tweeters? I plan on just upgrading the speakers and leaving the rest OEM for now.

JBL club 9632 6x9's, JBL 620f 6.5's for rear, metra 72-5602 wire connectors, metra 72-5606 6x9 adapters, and 72-5605 6.5 adapters for the rears. also note you may need a hack saw to shorten the screws that come with the 6x9 speakers or use your own, because they give you these 2 inch screws for the covers that you don't need. what I did was put those metal clips on the back side of the screws and tighten them down, then I cut off the extra with a metal cutting saw. as for tweeters I left them alone, and I don't have the center speaker, mine is just the 6 speaker system not the B&O. so you may want to use different speakers, because I think your factory system uses 8 ohm speakers and the JBL's are 3-4 Ohm ratings and may kill the OEM amp.

 

[SnareDrum]

Well that’s a great question. Yes much louder! But the unknown is that I swapped my ACM for one out of a 22 raptor because I wanted HD radio. So not sure what really made the difference but it’s very noticeable.

That’s good to hear, I wonder what other differences there are. I think I’m going to go the same route as you. I ordered the sounds good stereo bass roll off solution and I’m going to install the aftermarket sub. I’ll have to order the door block off plates and upgrade the speakers to see what that gets me. I might have missed it, but did you upgrade the tweeters and if you did how did you wire them up? Gf the factory head unit like stock or use the crossovers from the door speakers to the tweeters

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