Upgraded door speakers pushed by aftermarket HU

I have a 2014 CrewMax with JBL and just acquired the new Kenwood DMX 10” floating screen head unit (not installed yet) and have heard that the sound improvement in the door speakers is noticeable due to the fact that the built in amp in the HU is much better than the stock amp. I’m going to eventually do the whole system from Tech12Volts with 2 10” subs, 5 channel amp, door speakers, and sound deadening. Probably 6 months out from that.

My question is this. In the meantime if I want to go ahead and purchase the upgraded door speakers (likely Hertz or Image Dynamics from JRT) will I hear a significant improvement in sound over the stock speakers? I know the stock speakers aren’t great but I have heard many people say that the main reason for the sound improvement after installing a new head unit is that the stock JBL speakers are now receiving the amount of power that they can actually handle and that it sounds pretty good. I would think that even though the new HU has a better built-in amp that it still wouldn’t be as sufficient as being pushed by a legit 5-channel amp. Also would there be any hassle with changing wiring if I do it this way (switching the door speakers from being powered by the HU to being powered by a new 5-CH amp).

And the end, the question is, is it worth doing the door speakers now or should I just wait until I do the rest of the system? I don’t know much about this stuff and any feedback would be appreciated.

 

I would wait; unless you do the amplifier too you won't hear much of an improvement. Many will say that you have to replace the head unit too. I replaced all speakers and amplifier and kept stock head unit and am very pleased with the sound actually.

 

I’d try it. Get the speakers that you want and then see what it sounds like. If you don’t like what you hear, go for the 5 channel amp. There is nothing wrong with putting your system together in pieces. Easier on the budget. All of the work is easy to do so it’s not that bad.