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2019 ram HK system complete system upgrade

Bacoviah

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wildh24

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Frontrowjoe20

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I am very new to doing sound systems on my own but was hoping you all could provide some input. I have a 2019 Laramie sport with the alpine system. System sounds decent but I listen to music with VERY low bass. Is there an easy way to swap the alpine sub for a 12" aftermarket ? I also was planning to build or buy an under the backseat box since I rarely use the backseat. Any help is appreciated
 

wildh24

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There are a quite a few solid threads on here about adding a sub.

It's not hard as long as you're comfortable doing a few electrical things and taking your time.

Check out the subwoofer thread. That one has quite a few good points and some box dimensions/ideas as well.

If you're thinking a 12", you'll definitely need to use all of the underseat area and you'll want to think about whether you want access to the bins, then build the box accordingly.

Some on here have tapped into various speaker level inputs to obtain signals. Others (me included) used a PAC Amppro to easily get a signal from the stock head unit.

Either way, read up, take notes, and come up with a plan.

Feel free to ask questions along the way. This forum is very helpful.
 

vinnie45acp

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For the HK 900 watt system, does anyone know how many watts are going to the 10” SVC sub, and is that sub a 2 or 4 ohm sub? Also can anyone tell me that has swapped out just the speakers two things, one could I get a 4” in to the area provided with little modifications in all the area that have 3.5” coax speakers, and last does anyone know how many amps are being allotted to each of the 3.5” and each of the 6x9’s
 

Bacoviah

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For the HK 900 watt system, does anyone know how many watts are going to the 10” SVC sub, and is that sub a 2 or 4 ohm sub? Also can anyone tell me that has swapped out just the speakers two things, one could I get a 4” in to the area provided with little modifications in all the area that have 3.5” coax speakers, and last does anyone know how many amps are being allotted to each of the 3.5” and each of the 6x9’s
No clue as far as watts per speaker.
No. 4” inch will not fit. I do not believe even with heavy mods......the dash are 3.5 maybe a hair bigger. The upper door only a tweet or really small mid will work with a few mods behind the door panel.
 
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wildh24

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I was just installing infinity reference 3.5s and 6x9s today. The 3.5s fit on the dash with very small modifications to the 3.5 mounting brackets.

The front doors are interesting. The factory 3.5s are molded into door skin. The infinity 3.5s did not fit. I was able to get them to work with a couple small spacers and a strategic screw. The 6x9s and 3.5s are filtered/crossed over somewhere. The simplest option here is component 6x9s. The factory 3.5s were wired opposite from the dash Speakers. It's possible they are out of phase for added depth. I don't know for sure... But they were opposite of the dash.

I fired it up to see how it sounded, and I like what I heard. There was a very slight reduction in volume but better clarity, range, and noticable bass improvement. All of these required me to adjust the factory EQ.

I ordered a set of component 6x9s and will replace the set up I have, move the infinity 3way 6x9s to the rear door, and mount the 3.5s in the rear head liner. I'm going to try use the factory crossover levels with the component 6x9s to avoid additional hardware and wiring. I think it'll work fine. If you listen to the factory front 6x9s and door 3.5s, the frequency range in reach sound pretty much like any component set I've heard.

I didn't grab voltages from the speaker locations to get at least an idea of how much power is being supplied, but I might when I go back after the project.
 

Adrianp89

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^^ I would cautious using factory xover points with your tweeter. If the factory is using 3.5s, they are playing well below what the tweeter can handle.
 

wildh24

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It actually sounds like they have them xovered much higher.. As all I'm hearing is what I'd typically hear on a standalone component Tweeter. Nonetheless, it'd be easy to run the high signal into the crossovers before going to the tweeters which is what I was leaning towards this morning after thinking about it.
 

Adrianp89

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It actually sounds like they have them xovered much higher.. As all I'm hearing is what I'd typically hear on a standalone component Tweeter. Nonetheless, it'd be easy to run the high signal into the crossovers before going to the tweeters which is what I was leaning towards this morning after thinking about it.

IIRC, have to bust out the old books, but I believe hooking a speaker up to a crossover without having all others hooked up messes with the slope or the xover point. Don't remember specifics honestly, but would just play it safe at first.
 

wildh24

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Quick update (maybe nobody cares but might be useful).

I went back at the front doors and found a few things. Initially I was hoping to use 6x9 components in the doors but found the crossover point on the factory speakers was at about 1350 hz. Too low for a 3/4" Tweeter. I installed a 3500 hz bass blocker just to see how it all sounded. There was too big of a gap in mids, so I stuck with the 3.5s in the doors and will just keep the tweeters for another project or sell them. The rear doors are also not full range. The cut off point is around 1500hz. I'd prefer they just ran full range in the rear door, but with the headlinder speaker it sounds plenty full.

So my set up is:

Dash - 3 x 3.5 Infinity Reference
Front Doors - Infinity Reference 6x9 Component Mid Bass and 3.5 for mid and high.
Rear Doors - Infinity Reference 3 way
Rear Headliner - Infinity Reference 3.5s
Sub - PAC Amppro (for sub signal), JL10tw1-2,
Alpine MDR-M500

I'm running all speakers off of the factory amp (with exception of the sub). There is a slight reduction in volume but it's still plenty loud for my tastes. There is also a noticeable improvement in quality with smoother, more detailed mids and highs. The bass from the 6x9s was vastly improved. The stock 6x9s were pretty weak (paper) and sloppy.

This summer I may rebuild the box and run 2 JL 10s and a pioneer amp. I'd like just a little more air movement on the lows than what the single 10 can provide. I've disconnect the factory sub. It's just not that good. The infinity 6x9s add a lot of mid bass and really make the kick drum bump in rock music.

A note on the Metra adapters. I had to reverse the pins on all adapters with exception of the front door 3.5s. My guess is that doors are reverse phase from the rest of the speakers. I double checked each stock speaker with a battery to ensure I had the positive terminals correctly identified and matched up the adapters. So I'm certain that it is the same as how it came from the factory.

I Damped the front doors, rear doors, rear wall, and dash 3.5 locations. Added additional stinger roadkill carpet pad under front footwell. Added a MLV barrier to the rear wall.

It's pretty quiet in the cab and it's fun to listen to music and pick up things I'd not heard before. RAM gave a nice platform to work with on this truck and with a little elbow grease it's really shining. Wife thinks I'm silly but oh well.
 
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wildh24

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Question on the DSR1 for those that have used it.

Are you able to maintain all of the factory wiring to the speakers and simply run the amp outputs into another harness that plus into the factory wiring harness that exits the factory amp?

To me that would be a very slick way to potentially add a bit more juice and DSP capability.

I could see running 2 x 4 channel amps to run all of dash, door, and headliner speakers. Then another mono to run the subs.

Dang it Adrian89p! Now you got me thinking.
 

Truckin

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I know JL is working on DT upgrades including a stealth sub, hopefully one option will be a totally hidden direct replacement for the factory sub...Maybe a JL friend (who just might own a 2019 Ram) will chime in :)
 

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