Budget Audio Upgrade

MoonDogg · October 3, 2016

So I just got a 2016 Silverado (specs in sig.) and wanted to upgrade the audio and not bust the bank. So here is my list of parts prices links where I got it, and some pictures of the install.

Sundown Audio SA-2.75FR 2.75" speakers for the front dash. $69.99

2 Pair Kicker 40CS674 6.75" 2 way coaxial speakers for front and rear doors. $99.99

Metra 82-3005 Speaker adapter for front doors. $12.00

Scosche SAGMHR634B Spekaer adapter for rear door $10.99

Noico 50 mil Sound deadening material $36.90

uxcell Car Sound Deadener Application Rolling Wheel $6.25

So far I have $236.12 in the upgrade and I am very happy so far. My future upgrade will be a sub. Here are the components I planned to use.

Kicker 40CWRT101 CompRT 10" Sub $104.99

Kicker 43CXA3001 600 Watt amp $119.99

Kicker 43CXARC Bass Remote Control $20.98

Soudoffaudio Single Deep Sub Box Passenger Side in Cocoa Color $140

Which brings the Sub install to : $385.96 and a grand total of $622.08

That is a little more than the factor Bose upgrade but it is going to sound way better. IMHO

Here is pictures of the factory dash speakers.

Here is an up close picture of the back of the factory dash speaker.

Here is a side-by-side of the factory and the Sundown replacement speakers

Here is pictures of the Sundown speakers installed.

Here is a picture of the front door completely stripped.

Side-by-side of the factor front door speakers and the Kicker replacements.

Picture of the sound deadening material installed and then one of the speaker installed.

Here is a picture of the factory Rear door speaker installed.

Here is picture of the rear door stripped with some of the sound deadening installed.

Side-by-side of the factory rear door speaker and the kicker replacement.

Here is a picture of the rear speakers installed.

Silvern Sentry · October 3, 2016

great play by play pics!

can i ask what the sound deadening material does. I mean like i get the idea but why only in those soecific parts. generally do not know and curious.

MoonDogg · October 3, 2016

great play by play pics!

can i ask what the sound deadening material does. I mean like i get the idea but why only in those soecific parts. generally do not know and curious.

Its really more of a vibration dampener. It changes the resident frequency of the material its attached to. It cuts down on road noise and helps with speaker response. It "tightens" the sound. So that you don't have resident rattling from the lower frequencies. It does not have to cover every part of the door to do the job. It is a noticeable difference in the sound. You can hear the difference when you knock on the door or when you close it. It has a solid thud instead of a clank. I hope this explains it well enough.

JoeTrahnier · October 3, 2016

Will the kicker door speakers let you play your music a little louder with out it being all sorts of distorted?

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MoonDogg · October 3, 2016

Will the kicker door speakers let you play your music a little louder with out it being all sorts of distorted?

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Yes!! that is exactly what I was going for. You can put the volume at 100% without distortion on most songs. There is a few with deep bass that I had to go down a little. But that can be fixed with bass blockers once the Sub is installed. Or I could also lower the bass on the EQ and put the Music to 100% without distortion on all songs.

JoeTrahnier · October 3, 2016

Shoot. Looks like I found my next mod. Thanks man.

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JoeTrahnier · October 3, 2016

Would I need to run a separate amp for the door speakers?

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MoonDogg · October 3, 2016

Would I need to run a separate amp for the door speakers?

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You can but it's not absolutely needed. It's loud enough for me, but you could get it louder with an amp. That is why I went with the CS over the DS series. Because if I want later I could add an amp. If you want something that can handle a bigger amp go with the KS series.

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MNDaveC · October 3, 2016

Nice work... how did you get at the tweeters in the dash? where did you tap in the sub? Did you put a filter on the door speakers now that you have a sub?

I've swapped my door speakers, but I'd like to do the dash tweets and some kind of amp.. was thinking about a line-level amp for the door speakers.

MoonDogg · October 3, 2016

Nice work... how did you get at the tweeters in the dash? where did you tap in the sub? Did you put a filter on the door speakers now that you have a sub?

I've swapped my door speakers, but I'd like to do the dash tweets and some kind of amp.. was thinking about a line-level amp for the door speakers.

I have not installed the Sub yet.. (have not bought it yet) its a future upgrade...

To get to the dash speakers.. you have to take off both A-Pillar trim pieces. On the drivers side pry up on the top and then side the whole thing up.

Its hard to see in this picture but there is a black clip there.

And it attaches to the trim right here..

On the passenger side there is two 10mm bolts holding it on under the Oh-S#|+ handle. and then it pops right off... no clips..

Then you have to pry up on the entire piece across the front there is a bunch of clips that hold it on.. I used a plastic trim pry tool.

Don't forget to disconnected the light sensor as well.

Jeff5347 · October 3, 2016

So I just got a 2016 Silverado (specs in sig.) and wanted to upgrade the audio and not bust the bank. So here is my list of parts prices links where I got it, and some pictures of the install.

Sundown Audio SA-2.75FR 2.75" speakers for the front dash. $69.99

2 Pair Kicker 40CS674 6.75" 2 way coaxial speakers for front and rear doors. $99.99

Metra 82-3005 Speaker adapter for front doors. $12.00

Scosche SAGMHR634B Spekaer adapter for rear door $10.99

Noico 50 mil Sound deadening material $36.90

uxcell Car Sound Deadener Application Rolling Wheel $6.25

So far I have $236.12 in the upgrade and I am very happy so far. My future upgrade will be a sub. Here are the components I planned to use.

Kicker 40CWRT101 CompRT 10" Sub $104.99

Kicker 43CXA3001 600 Watt amp $119.99

Kicker 43CXARC Bass Remote Control $20.98

Soudoffaudio Single Deep Sub Box Passenger Side in Cocoa Color $140

Which brings the Sub install to : $385.96 and a grand total of $622.08

That is a little more than the factor Bose upgrade but it is going to sound way better. IMHO

Here is pictures of the factory dash speakers.

Here is an up close picture of the back of the factory dash speaker.

Here is a side-by-side of the factory and the Sundown replacement speakers

Here is pictures of the Sundown speakers installed.

Here is a picture of the front door completely stripped.

Side-by-side of the factor front door speakers and the Kicker replacements.

Picture of the sound deadening material installed and then one of the speaker installed.

Here is a picture of the factory Rear door speaker installed.

Here is picture of the rear door stripped with some of the sound deadening installed.

Side-by-side of the factory rear door speaker and the kicker replacement.

Here is a picture of the rear speakers installed.

Moondog, some advice. As far as I've ever read kicker is not that great of a brand. Not bottom of the barrel but for the price there are many more that will beat it. Look up Dayton audio or soundqubed, american bass ect for sub's. Also go on diyma forum and there are a bunch of subforums for sub's, speakers , amps, installs, ect. They are super knowledgeable and I would basically coppy your 1st post to that forum and get some advice there. They can steer you in a direction of budget install all the way to the skys the limit. Ibthink if you went Dayton audio on parts express or even a jbl gt5. I have the gt5. Its cheaper than the kicker and honestly it hammers. It van handle more than the advertised 250 rms. On diyma there is nothing but positive reviews for budget sub's on that one.

On you door pics bravo, ...everyone gets a good idea exactly what those inside panels look like. Sound like you are on your way to a nice setup. But try diyma. I wish I asked questions there before I bought.. Would a save me some cash from having to buy what I actually needed

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Jeff5347 · October 3, 2016

How do you like the sundown dash speakers. I have them on my couch waiting to be installed....curious on your plus and minuses on the speakers?

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Jeff5347 · October 3, 2016

Try these boxes to. They offer a little more volume.

http://subthump.com/Chevrolet-GMC-Custom-Subwoofer-Boxes/Silverado-And-Sierra-Crew-Cab-Custom-Subwoofer-Enclosures-by-Subthump/2014-Up-GM-Crew-Cab-Single-Downfire-Box.html

This one offered a bit more mounting depth and 1.1 cu ft volume. Really opens up the options for sub's and on the ford forums fox gets only high praises

http://www.foxacoustics.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=GM-CC-110-V-07

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MoonDogg · October 3, 2016

Moondog, some advice. As far as I've ever read kicker is not that great of a brand. Not bottom of the barrel but for the price there are many more that will beat it. Look up Dayton audio or soundqubed, american bass ect for sub's. Also go on diyma forum and there are a bunch of subforums for sub's, speakers , amps, installs, ect. They are super knowledgeable and I would basically coppy your 1st post to that forum and get some advice there. They can steer you in a direction of budget install all the way to the skys the limit. Ibthink if you went Dayton audio on parts express or even a jbl gt5. I have the gt5. Its cheaper than the kicker and honestly it hammers. It van handle more than the advertised 250 rms. On diyma there is nothing but positive reviews for budget sub's on that one.

On you door pics bravo, ...everyone gets a good idea exactly what those inside panels look like. Sound like you are on your way to a nice setup. But try diyma. I wish I asked questions there before I bought.. Would a save me some cash from having to buy what I actually needed

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Thanks. I will check that out... But to give you a little background. I use to own a car audio business. We did not sell Kicker because another local dealer did. But I have always had good experiences with Kicker. I have done systems from radio-shack specials to High end Orion setups. Although I have been out of the business for years I was just going with a budget brand that I knew was decent. I appreciate the suggestions and will check them out.

How do you like the sundown dash speakers. I have them on my couch waiting to be installed....curious on your plus and minuses on the speakers?

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I like them.. They are much clearer than the factories. The highs are a lot crisper as well.

Try these boxes to. They offer a little more volume.

http://subthump.com/Chevrolet-GMC-Custom-Subwoofer-Boxes/Silverado-And-Sierra-Crew-Cab-Custom-Subwoofer-Enclosures-by-Subthump/2014-Up-GM-Crew-Cab-Single-Downfire-Box.html

This one offered a bit more mounting depth and 1.1 cu ft volume. Really opens up the options for sub's and on the ford forums fox gets only high praises

http://www.foxacoustics.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=GM-CC-110-V-07

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I looked at the SubThump box as well.. the reason I was leaning towards the other is because they have the carpet that matches my truck. I did check to make sure that the box I choose has adequate space for the sub I was looking at. I will check out the Fox box as well. Thanks again for all your suggestions. (someone might think... he owned a car audio business why not make your own box... simple answer.. I was not the box builder )

Jeff5347 · October 3, 2016

Do you have the sa's running off an amp or the deck? If an amp what wattage are you hitting them with? I know the sa's are only 2.75 inch soooo...not much kick to them....but do you notice any extra kick from them?

I'm running pioneer comp sets in the front and I really can't put my finger on it...but I just don't feel the punch from them. 6.75 speakers and I know vs all the other brands I'm not on the upper scale but feel they lack a little. Maybe I need to do like you stated and fully deaden the door. I have them IB and foam ringed so the audio doesn't escape between the door and panel...looking forward to the build on your system .. Always curious on what ppl do to the same vehicle I have...

Oh on the sa's. Did you leave the cap on the sa or are you using a crossover for them?

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