What do you recommend for a budget speaker upgrade?

This is a great thread guys! I seldom click on audio threads anymore; it gets overwhelming. But I found myself hitting multi-quote a bunch of times... then saw someone below had already made each point. There's a lot of help here for anyone, like me, who's never installed before and has to learn from scratch. Thanks!

@blizz86 can you tell me what you put in, in place of the stock amp?

Nice to have specific examples; thanks!

 

Just keep in mind that most answers will be subjective because they are based on the individuals requirements and perception of sound. If you were some 20 year old who likes to rattle his windows with excessive bass my set up wouldn't work for you.

 

I'm not 20 and don't need ridiculous volume or bass BUT I sure appreciate hearing the notes, picking out individual instruments, and above all, no "noise". Is your hearing still good enough that you can speak to these?

Also, did you soundproof anything, and what are your thoughts about benefits of doing so (it's a whole lotta work and worth it for an entire custom installation, but with this plug-n-play, it'd seem like, with so much work... maybe we should go custom). What's your opinion, Hans?

 

Fwiw, in my 16 DC, of the volume is not maxed out on the BT device (my android) the sound from the head unit is awful. No bass and all treble.

With the source volume maxed out, it sounds decent for stock

 

I am 60, grew up in the 70's and like that type of music (no head banger stuff though) and Motown. I guess I still hear decent, enough anyways that I can really discern the higher frequencies and the clean bass the JBL upgrade provides. Believe it or not, I even downloaded a song somebody recommended to put the bass output to the test. It is Intergalactic by Beasty Boys, kind of a stupid song and not my kind of music but it really sounds good in my truck so I catch myself listening to it here and there (almost hate to admit that).

I didn't soundproof anything, I think a higher end system might benefit from doing so. One of my requirements was to have an easy and unobtrusive installation that can be accomplished in a few hours and without making a whole lot of guesses on my part to match stuff together that works. I am also not to sure about my ability to properly adjust a signal processor. Lastly, I have read several posts here where members have problems with hissing sounds and/or popping when turning on/off the radio with those types of set ups. I just wanted something simple that sounds decent. I would say it sounds just as good as the stock Alpine system I had in my Ram or the premium system I had in my last F-150 Platinum, not spectacular but very nice.

 

You’re welcome

 

What type of amp did you go with?

 

I went with a Rockford Fosgate 5 channel amp. The rx600 I have it all linked on my build page. Not super powerful but just enough for what I wanted and it does the job.

 

Installed a Pioneer 2,000 watt digital amp, door speakers, 2 10" subs, and 40 sq feet of matting to a 2017 DC Tundra couple months ago ( $700ish). Sounds a lot better and much louder. But can still tell it is a dirty signal from the Head Unit. SO, I just ordered a Alpine ILX-207 Head unit and a KAC-001 Accessory Controller ( $900ish) Will have a really good head unit and can control 8 12V switches from the screen. No more switches stuck all over the cab. So about $ 1600 dollars total to replace everything

 

I upgraded my 08 DC with a mix of old and new components. I bought new door speakers, components for the front (JBL GTO 690C, about $95) and coax (Image Dynamics, about $90) for the rear. I found some great buys on Craigslist for a Kenwood HU with Nav, a JL Audio 5 channel amp, and an 8" JL subwoofer. It is a great system with front and rear cameras and the entire system cost about $900. I was a bit worried about buying off of Craigslist but everything worked great and was in excellent condition.

 

I am doing something similar to this. But really just doing a mild upgrade. As compared to the stock I’m sure it would sound 10x’s better.


Pioneer DM-G9605 $200
Rockford Fosgate R2SD2 12” w/ shallow box $90
Infiniti 6500CS Primus 6.5 component speakers (front) $70
Infiniti 6500CS Primus 6.5 component speakers (rear) $70
Kilmet Sound dreading $60

Total: $490.00

Already have wires from previous system and upgraded headunit. All items on eBay or Amazon new and free shipping.

 

Thanks for the info. I like your setup...budget friendly and I'm sure it's a vast improvement to the stock system.
What harness and LOC did you go with? My stock system is the basic one (not
the premium sound system).
Cheers,

 

I notice some are using a output line converter and some are not,,,


using a 5 channel amp so I can ad a small box behind the back seat would I need one of these?? I have a

Pioneer GM-D9605
5-channel car amplifier — 75 watts RMS x 4 at 4 ohms + 600 watts RMS x 1 at 2 ohms

that I was planning on using without a line converter,

 

If the amp will accept speaker level inputs then you dont need a loc.

 

Thank You for the reply, Amp description says the following,

• preamp and speaker-level inputs

So I'm thinking that it will work?

I had a 2008 Tundra crewmax before the 2017 I have now and the 2008 sounded soooo much better,,, it sounds like I am back in the old 1969 vw beetle I had in high school with the current setup.

I've also been looking at the
Rockford Fosgate R600X5

Prime Series 5-channel car amplifier — 50 watts RMS x 4 at 4 ohms + 300 watts RMS x 1 at 2 ohms

it also says that it has preamp and speaker-level inputs. So it seems that it will work as well.
If the Rockford will be a better option I could purchase one but I already have a

Pioneer GM-D9605
5-channel car amplifier — 75 watts RMS x 4 at 4 ohms + 600 watts RMS x 1 at 2 ohms amp