Replacement Speakers....It's Time!

[Turbo Kidd]

My speakers in the front doors are cooked..... I would like to upgrade my speakers, but I don't need the best. I want my Stereo to remain stock, except for the speakers I need to replace. Anyone have some suggestions? Any help and / or advice would be most appreciated!



Thanks!

 

[JEstes]

First of all, how much are you wanting to spend? If you're trying to leave the factory setup and keep it under say, $100, then here's some that you might want to look into:



Sony GT6935A 6"x9" 3-way car speakers at Crutchfield.com



Sony XS-V690HP 6"x9" 3-way car speakers at Crutchfield.com



Sony GT1625A 6-1/2" 2-way car speakers For 6-1/2" and 6-3/4" openings at Crutchfield.com



Infinity Reference 6022si 6-1/2" shallow 2-way car speakers For 6-1/2" and 6-3/4" openings at Crutchfield.com



Boston Acoustics S65RC 6-1/2" 2-way car speakers at Crutchfield.com



Just a couple of notes: I know the last one is over $100, but if you shop around you might be able to find them cheaper. If you go with the 6 1/2 inch speakers, you will need an adaptor to make them fit into the speaker cutouts in the door. The door speakers are 6X9's from the factory. They are a little more pricey than other companies, but Crutchfield will include these adaptors for free. Also, the Boston Acoustics are very good speakers. If it were my money, I would go with them over any others. I've got a set of their SL60's in my truck and LOVE them!!!

 

[NUKEMAN]

Do you have the factory Infinity stereo? If you do, keep in mind that the door speakers (front only) are basically mid-woofers. All upper frequencies are sent to the tweeters next to the A-pillars on the dash by the factory amp. I had a set of Boston 6x9" 3 ways that were new in the box and decided to install them in my front doors. There was absolutely no difference in sound. If you replace them, go for a quality mid bass 6" like a Boston or MB Quart.

 

[Turbo Kidd]

Thanks for the replies..... Stupid me, I should have stated what system my truck has. It is so easy to assume everyone here knows what I / we are talking about.



Yes, I have the factory Infinity system that came in my Laramie. Factory sound is cool with me... . I would rather spend my money on the motor HEE HEE. I just want good quality replacement speakers for the factory ones that have gone bad three times in 80,000 miles. I don't mind spending a few extra bucks if it will make a difference in quality.



more feedback is welcome and appreciated.



Thanks!

 

[Matt S]

When I was looking at this I had 2 techs tell me that I couldn't replace the speakers in my Infinity system. Something about how Dodge wires them up that would require new wiring throughout the entire truck. Are these speakers designed to get around that?

 

[phloop]

This is what I am doing myself. I just picked up a set of MB Quart 6 1/2" QSD612 2-way components on sale off the net. A bit more spendy at $290 but I am more after quality. I will be plassing the mid/woofer in the door and the tweeter in the dash like stock. From what I have read, these are some pretty sweet speakers.

 

[NUKEMAN]

When I was looking at this I had 2 techs tell me that I couldn't replace the speakers in my Infinity system. Something about how Dodge wires them up that would require new wiring throughout the entire truck. Are these speakers designed to get around that?

You don't need to re-wire the truck, unless you plan on bypassing the factory amp and allow all frequencies to all speakers.



Be careful how high end you go, it can be money wasted. When I installed my Bostons in my doors there was no difference between them and stock. I doubt the Infinity setup delivers the amount/type of power a set of MB Quarts or high end Bostons really need to sound like they should. I would look for a lower end Boston 6".

 

[Matt S]

That's great that I wouldn't have to rewire the speakers. Are there recommended speakers to go in certain spots or are any of the choices above acceptable in any position?

 

[phloop]

What nukeman said is true about the power of the amp. I happen to have a small pile of Soundstream amps and other stuff waiting to go in as soon as I find a way to integrate the stock radio into an after market set-up which is why I went the the MB Quart QSD speakers. Might not be the best sounding thing for a while but the end result will be nice.

 

[JEstes]

That's great that I wouldn't have to rewire the speakers. Are there recommended speakers to go in certain spots or are any of the choices above acceptable in any position?

The ones I posted above will only work in the doors. The doors are 6X9's, and the dash speakers are some Infinity thing. They're about as big around as a coke can. If your tweeters aren't blown, I'd just leave them unless you plan to do a front rewire like I did..... They can be a little harsh since the sound is bouncing off the windshield though.



Like Nukeman said, high-end speakers are completely worthless if you aren't willing to do a rewire. Stock speaker wires just aren't big enough and the stock amp can't push enough power to make expensive speakers sound good. You can actually blow a set of speakers really quickly if you don't push enough power to them. It happens all the time... Guy puts $300 set of speakers in place of his stockers, turns the volume up a little, and a few weeks later one of the speakers is buzzing... . When you take a speaker that is designed for up to 150 watts RMS, for example, and you run it on a 45 watt RMS amp, the speakers won't do well. My Boston's are getting nearly double the wattage they are designed for(bridged the amp), and they sound better than they did when they were running at their rated power. They've been running like this for nearly a year now. I know not all speakers will handle that kind of power increase, but my point is that too little power is far worse than too much, within reason of course.

 

[Turbo Kidd]

Thanks for all the information guys... ... However, now I am more confussed. Is the Infinity system in our trucks that complicated? I just want quality replacement front door speakers for the stock system..... I want the system to sound stock with more speaker reliability. Any more info?



Thanks Again!

 

[NUKEMAN]

The Infinity system is not by any means complicated. Just remember that it uses an external amp/crossover that is behind your dash and seperate from your head unit. If all you are after is roughly the same sound quality as your OEM's put out (before they went TU) then practically any 6" round or 6x9" of decent quality will do. Keep in mind that only the low end and mid frequencies are sent to those doors. I would recommend some low end Bostons or something of like quality like these:



Boston Acoustics SX65 6-3/4" 2-way speakers at Crutchfield.com



They are a 2 way speaker, and you probably won't hear the tweeters in them very much because they won't receive the upper frequencies thanks to your OEM crossover which sends the upper frequencies to your dash speakers, but they will sound good and be reliable.

 

[betterthanstock]

Thanks for all the information guys... ... However, now I am more confussed. Is the Infinity system in our trucks that complicated? I just want quality replacement front door speakers for the stock system..... I want the system to sound stock with more speaker reliability. Any more info?



Thanks Again!

Kenwood KFC-6949s Dirt cheap, and high tech materials, loud sounding, so you don't fry the stock amp, and no needless tweeters. I replaced my stock (not infinity) speakers, and the way they sounded made me replace the rear speakers, and I added two infinity tweeters under the dash. Sounds incomparably better than the factory paper cone junk.

 

[bighornram]

When I was looking at this I had 2 techs tell me that I couldn't replace the speakers in my Infinity system. Something about how Dodge wires them up that would require new wiring throughout the entire truck. Are these speakers designed to get around that?

I put a Pioneer head unit, Boston's in the front doors and MBQuart in the rear doors using the original wiring. Works fine.

 

[Turbo Kidd]

Well it has been about 7 months since i replaced the front speakers in my 2003 Laramie (Infinity system).



QUESTION #2... . I want to replace the rears now. What would be some good options? Again, my stereo is the stock Infinity System and I plan on leaving it stock. I just want to upgrade the speakers. I would be happy with the stock sound or better, however, reliable speakers are a must. The stock speakers suck, they always go bad.....

 

[Turbo Kidd]

Well it has been about 7 months since i replaced the front speakers in my 2003 Laramie (Infinity system).



QUESTION #2... . I want to replace the rears now. What would be some good options? Again, my stereo is the stock Infinity System and I plan on leaving it stock. I just want to upgrade the speakers. I would be happy with the stock sound or better, however, reliable speakers are a must. The stock speakers suck, they always go bad.....

Friendly Bump... . Any help and / or suggestions will be most appreciated!

 

[Tomscreek]

Turbo Kid, what speakers did you end up using? My drivers side front door speaker needs replacement (works sometimes but mostly not). I just want a replacement, no upgrade. Did they wire to the existing ok?

 

[Turbo Kidd]

Turbo Kid, what speakers did you end up using? My drivers side front door speaker needs replacement (works sometimes but mostly not). I just want a replacement, no upgrade. Did they wire to the existing ok?

I bousht these . Sony XS-V690HP 6"x9" 3-way car speakers at Crutchfield.com required an adapter for the wiring, which was no big deal... . Very easy to install. Both doors took me a total of about 1/2 hr.



Good Luck!