Another speaker question????

[CooperJohn]

Sorry to be a pest but I have one more stereo question for the experts. I have a 2008 Ram with the Infinity system with 7 speakers, single disk cd player with the amplifier behind the glove box. Does anyone know the impedence of the current stock speakers(2 ohms? 4ohms? 8 ohms?) and has anyone replaced the speakers with aftermarket units? If so, how did the stock infinity system sound with better speakers and what did you use? My understanding of the system is that the 3 dash speakers are highs only, the front doors are woofers or lows only and the rear doors are a combination of midrange and highs but this information may be incorrect. Any and all responses are appreciated! Thanks!

 

[ABorgardt]

The speakers should be 4 ohm... If you have access to a meter the best bet is to test them. I personally wouldnt change the speakers alone. If your gonna change it i would change it all. The sound systems that come from the factory are designed to work in conjunction with everything it is compiled of. just my opinion. good luck.

 

[JEstes]

You're pretty much correct about your high/mid/low info. The stock system doesn't really have a low woofer though. The 6X9's in the front doors do a decent job of it, but they're really for mid-lows and mids. The system really needs a subwoofer to have good low frequency response.

Like ABorgardt said, the stock speakers are 4 ohm. Standard car audio is 4 ohm, whereas most home audio is 8 ohm impedance. 2 ohm impedance speakers are typically for dual voice coil subwoofers that has been wired in parallel to one amp channel.

He's also dead on about go all or nothing. I don't know exactly what the Infinity amplifier is rated for, but it's a safe bet that it's not that big. If it were a really big amp, the speakers wouldn't be paper woofers. The reason this comes into play is that if you plan on putting some really nice speakers in the doors, you'll probably be wasting your money because the stock amp can't drive them adequately without distorting. Plus, the stock amp will only send mids to the doors. You'll still need a set of 4 inch speakers to go in the dash.

On my truck, I did a complete rewire/replacement complete with a sub in the center console. It wasn't really that hard, so if you're interested I can tell you exactly what I did.

 

[RMarkey]

I've heard people replace the rear doors with better ones and it improves the overall sound. Even if you were planning on doing all of them, I'd start with the rears, then dash, then fronts. Then I'd put in a small sub somewhere to boost that low end with a separate sub. I did just the amp/sub and it's great, it's actually more than I need with the little 10" square kicker.

 

[ENafziger]

If you want to maintain use of the factory head unit and still have great sound, check into the JL Audio Cleansweep. I went with this approach, and it sounds great.

I also used two sets of the Infinity Perfect 6. 5" component speakers, and a JL Audio 12W6 sub. Good amps make all the difference as well. In addition, I added a digital signal processor for imaging and staging, equalizing, etc.

In short, you're going to have to bypass the factory amp to have a decent sounding system... at least in my opinion.

--Eric

 

[CooperJohn]

Added a sub and amp

Thanks for the ideas. I installed an MTX 2-way amp and Kicker Solo-Baric Subwoofer that I had from a previous vehicle. I spliced the amp into the front door speakers and used the speaker level inputs on the amp. The amp is bridged at 280 watts RMS and turns on without a remote wire. I was scepticle about using the speaker level inputs instead of the pre-amp inputs but it sounds great. I may try upgrading the door speakers later on but I'm happy with the sound for now. Best part of the deal is I didn't spend a dime and I was able to use some old stuff taking up space in the garage!

 

[JEstes]

Awesome! I have never been able to leave the stock sound system in a vehicle... . I'm one of those guys who wants the band to sound like they're on the hood.