Stock Speakers, Replace....

Triki_Dick · January 29, 2008

I want to replace my speakers only. Not the head unit but let me ask you some stupid questions.

Number one, who makes the stock speakers, and on the quality range, cheap, med or high.

If I was to go out and get some Alpine 'S' Class (I think it's S) am I just putting too much money into speakers and the head unit will perform just as good with some pioneer speakers.

It's like having a Ford Escort and putting some awsome tires on it and expecting it to go faster. At the end of the day, it may corner better but your driving an Escort. Am I making sense.

Help please.

bmx_02 · January 29, 2008

haha i like the metaphore....

from my experience in general the speakers are only as good as the headunit, but putting in some pioneers will sound a million times better than the stock speakers but if you start goin more expensive you might notice a little difference but you wont get the bang for your buck unless you upgrade the head unit to something aftermarket

SoCalChris · January 29, 2008

The stock speakers are below cheap. Putting in high end speakers with the stock stereo won't do much, I'd stick with a low to medium end speakers if you're going to stick with the stock headunit.

I swapped my AM/FM work truck head unit for a 6 CD in dash stock headunit, and put in a pair of $50 Pioneer speakers in the rear, and a similar priced set of Blaupunkt speakers in the door. It sounds 1000x better than the stock speakers did.

Swapping the speakers, you will lose quite a bit of bass though. I wound up adding a powered Kenwood sub behind my seat. I'm sure a lot of guys would complain about it, but it works perfect for what I listen to, and all of the speakers and sub set me back less than $225.

conrad1995 · January 29, 2008

To reiterate what BMX & SoCalChris said,

Don't go high end. If you use components they need more power than you will give them from a stock head unit.

A good 3-way or coaxial will sound better with an amp, but won't require as much as the component sets would.

Last but not least, never rule out a sub, even if you aren't a thumper, a correct install with amp & sub that has cross-overs set correctly can make even those cheap stock speakers sound decent!

slimjim2525 · January 29, 2008

Is it possible to replace the stock head unit and still be able to use my steering wheel radio controls and still have XM as well? My stock speakers crack with any kind of bass, but I won't change the head unit unless I can still use steering wheel controls and have XM. Alsp what about onstar and the in car phone, will they still work with a diff. head unit?

Triki_Dick · January 29, 2008

Thats the thing, I can get two pairs of Pioneer speakers for $100 out the door or a pair of Alpine's for $100.

I USE my radio, When I'm outside, it's playing with the two back doors open. Not loud (Unless I have too much Pinot Grigio and start the whole, "I love this song crap").

The second problem is I use the area under my back seat. At one time it'll have 2 shotguns and a rifle under there. Or fifty extra coats. Put it this way, my back seat isnt' always for passengers, it's for crap too. So, where am I gonna put a sub (even thought I want one).

Want want want, my wife hates it when I do this!

Oh, and Slim, yes you can. Just about all nice head units, you can get a adapter and this will switch that stuff on. Including the ding ding ding!

big_heineken · January 29, 2008

Will putting better speakers improve the sound in the rear speakers of a crew cab? The rear speakers in my truck do almost nothing. Is that normal?

j.roffel · January 29, 2008

Alpine type S arn't anything special really, alpines low end is just like anyone elses low end IMO, I have two Alpine Type S Plates in my truck but thats just because they were the only plates I could get locally. I have type R's in the front and they sound nice. I was running them with the stock HU and they sounded decent, but once I put in my Panasonic the quality increased 3-fold.

What I'm getting at with all my rambling is unless you plan on upgrading your HU sometime in the future you could go with pretty much any brand name aftermarket speaker and have a noticable increase in quality. Keep in mind how many watts your stock headunit can output and finding an aftermarket speaker in that range will be your best bet.

As for the sub, I somehow managed to get 12" MTX in a ported box behind the seat in my Regular Cab that fills out the bottom end nicely, so I'm thinking you could probably find room for an 8 or 10" sub somewhere in your crewcab

conrad1995 · January 29, 2008

I USE my radio, When I'm outside, it's playing with the two back doors open. Not loud (Unless I have too much Pinot Grigio and start the whole, "I love this song crap").

The second problem is I use the area under my back seat. At one time it'll have 2 shotguns and a rifle under there. Or fifty extra coats. Put it this way, my back seat isnt' always for passengers, it's for crap too. So, where am I gonna put a sub (even thought I want one).

Want want want, my wife hates it when I do this!

Oh, and Slim, yes you can. Just about all nice head units, you can get a adapter and this will switch that stuff on. Including the ding ding ding!

TOO much Pinot? That's Blasphemy!

Don't carry 3 guns at a time, but I know I could fit them on the "hump" in the floor behind mine sub box. Not sure how your floor pan is laid out. I only got a single so it worked out.

As for the speakers, either would probably be OK... If you were looking to upgrade down the road, I'd go with the Alpines now. If you just want to improve the sound go with the pioneers. They will be a HUGE improvement!

TFA · January 29, 2008

What is the wattage of the stock am/fm/cd player? I have the extended cab with the speakers in the back if that matters.

willysts · January 29, 2008

What make head units better is the power they put out20-40-50-60-75-100 w per channel or allow you to hook up to vs stock 4-8-10-20-25 w per channel. All head units have a frequency response of 20hz-20,000hz or very near that and YOU can't tell the difference. Aftermarket makes it easy for you to hook up all sorts of amp,crossovers,eq,subs and any number or combo...THAT is the advantage of an after market head unit and not much else.

That being said, start with speakers, add an amp and sub and go on from there, make the head unit the LAST thing that you change and you may never get around to it because it won't be necessary.

bmx_02 · January 29, 2008

To add to the subwoofer conversation, subs will do you wonders even if your not a thumper they add depth and really help the sound quality, currently in my truck i got pioneer head unit and 2 10" subs, but im still running the factory door speakers, what im getting at is by adding a pionner (or other) head unit and maybe a sub you can even make the stock speakers sound pretty darn good... but not as good as aftermarket... i ended up blowing my stocks so time to get aftermarket

Triki_Dick · January 29, 2008

Ok, so whats the details of the Stock speakers?

Amp Ohm's range etc etc.

jason02 · January 30, 2008

A co-worker has this in his truck, they set him back alittle over $100

General Features:

5-1/4" Aramid Fiber Composite Cone Woofer
Butyl Rubber Surround for Smoother Response
Glass-Imide / Voice Coil Bobbin
VCCS™ (Voice Coil Cooling System) with Aluminum Dust Cap
Conex Damper
Projected Pole Yoke
1" Polyester Fiber Soft Dome Tweeter with Magnetic Fluid and Neodymium Magnet
Surface (Angled) or Flush Swirl Mounting
Outboard Crossover Network Included with -12dB/Oct. HPF and -12dB/Oct. LPF, Tweeter Protection Circuit and Tweeter level adjustment (0, -3dB)
Aluminum Die-Cast Full-Depth Basket for Rich Bass Response
Gold-Plated Binding Posts

Specifications:

180 Watts Max. Music Power (40 Watts Nominal)
Frequency Response: 35HZ - 32kHz
Sensitivity (Efficiency): 90dB (1W/1m)
4ohm Rated

alaska511 · January 31, 2008

A co-worker has this in his truck, they set him back alittle over $100
General Features:

5-1/4" Aramid Fiber Composite Cone Woofer

Butyl Rubber Surround for Smoother Response

Glass-Imide / Voice Coil Bobbin

VCCS™ (Voice Coil Cooling System) with Aluminum Dust Cap

Conex Damper

Projected Pole Yoke

1" Polyester Fiber Soft Dome Tweeter with Magnetic Fluid and Neodymium Magnet

Surface (Angled) or Flush Swirl Mounting

Outboard Crossover Network Included with -12dB/Oct. HPF and -12dB/Oct. LPF, Tweeter Protection Circuit and Tweeter level adjustment (0, -3dB)

Aluminum Die-Cast Full-Depth Basket for Rich Bass Response

Gold-Plated Binding Posts

Specifications:

180 Watts Max. Music Power (40 Watts Nominal)

Frequency Response: 35HZ - 32kHz

Sensitivity (Efficiency): 90dB (1W/1m)

4ohm Rated