5th Gen Stock Stereo Upgrade Options?

[ksn240]

I tried to update my front door speakers today. I removed the plastic piece by the door handle and there was a bolt behind the plastic panel. Others have mentioned a large Phillips screw. I was unable to get the bolt off, granted I don't have many tools, but then I noticed I also don't have the T20 bolts visible around the door either. I'm new to self install for car audio and I'm sure I'm overlooking something. Can anyone assist? Is there a 2019 speaker upgrade video anyone can direct me to? I have the base 6 speaker system and was able to replace my dash speakers, no problem.

There are no bolts around the door. There will be one underneath the cover by the door handle, and two more covered by a panel further down. Just three screws total. After that pry the door panel off starting from the bottom outside corner.

Edit - Just realized you are doing the fronts, my experience is for the rear, though I would imagine it would be identical.

 

[Billet1500 4x4]

I tried to update my front door speakers today. I removed the plastic piece by the door handle and there was a bolt behind the plastic panel. Others have mentioned a large Phillips screw. I was unable to get the bolt off, granted I don't have many tools, but then I noticed I also don't have the T20 bolts visible around the door either. I'm new to self install for car audio and I'm sure I'm overlooking something. Can anyone assist? Is there a 2019 speaker upgrade video anyone can direct me to? I have the base 6 speaker system and was able to replace my dash speakers, no problem.

3 bolts to remove panel are 10mm screws holding the speaker are 6mm

Here's a walk trhough I made for the front door

 

[Hackmunch]

Ok guys I installed my ultimax 10" sub box today. I wired the d2 sub to two of the 3 sub channels and used the 3rd channel to run the factory sub. I found out that the sub channels are ran out of phase with the rears just like the front door speakers. No anc issues at all. That factory alpine amp makes some power on the sub channels. I'm going to roll with factory amp on the subs for now till I decide what sub amp I want to use.

 

[FCArep]

3 bolts to remove panel are 10mm screws holding the speaker are 6mm

Here's a walk trhough I made for the front door

Thank you! This helps a ton! Do I need to remove the one behind the door handle panel? If so, what does it take to remove it?

 

[Billet1500 4x4]

Thank you! This helps a ton! Do I need to remove the one behind the door handle panel? If so, what does it take to remove it?

Yes. You need a 10mm socket

 

[YoAdrian]

3 bolts to remove panel are 10mm screws holding the speaker are 6mm

Here's a walk trhough I made for the front door

That tutorial is awesome! Why do you include step 11 though? (the upper trim panel around the window). I see that’s an annotated Ram guide.

@FCArep my photos are not great but I wrote up my experiences removing thise door panels back here, maybe reading my old post will help. The door handle cable is tricky to get loose, have needle nose pliers ready ideally. Good luck, the door panels can be scary and you do need a few tools, but it is do-able.

 

[Leadbedr]

That's what I'm trying to figure out. So many options.

DSR1 - $320(with AC4 harness), seems easiest but it has some bad reviews
AMP PRO - $350, also easy, but you have to keep original amp, IDK if this is good or bad
LC7i - $162, have to tap into speaker wires, has adjustable output to help amp gain
LCQ1 - $212, have to tap into speaker wires, has some EQ features
LC2i - $85, have to tap into speaker wires, cheapest option, only 2 outputs I think.

This is my biggest challenge, figuring out what to use before I hit the buy button. Once it's done, I don't want to see it again.

If I were to use an amp with line out on it, do I just connect any speaker wires to it? Do it just need the signal from the radio?

 

[Ryas]

I know little to nothing, but consider this. There is an amp, and it's integral to the noise cancellation system in the truck. Mine was making weird humming sounds and turns out there's a bulletin for that issue, which the solution is replacing the amp.

I have a base model 5.7L w/e-torque with the same ANC/Amplifier device. Does anyone know if you can pull speaker signal input and output from this device?

 

[Redline96]

I have a base model 5.7L w/e-torque with the same ANC/Amplifier device. Does anyone know if you can pull speaker signal input and output from this device?

Yes, the white plug has the speaker inputs from radio. the black plug has the speaker outputs to the doors and dash. They are speaker level inputs if that helps.

the base stand alone ANC unit is not an amp and does not control any functions of the radio that I have noticed. Is it a DSP of some sort?, I don't know... if it is it sounds better without it.

I bypassed the speaker in/outs going to the ANC unit.(see my previous post about pac audio connectors I used) and wired them directly together under the driver seat (straight from radio to speakers) and everything still works without ANC hooked up. cleaner sounding too with less system noise and possibly a little more volume level too. Atleast in my opinion. after changing out all factory speakers I can now play it at max volume level with very little to no distortion which I couldn't do before.

I did not remove the Canbus wires from the connectors though.. I think that has something to do with the control of the active vibration units on the frame. still learning myself so please correct me if i'm wrong.

 

[Ryas]

Yes, the white plug has the speaker inputs from radio. the black plug has the speaker outputs to the doors and dash. They are speaker level inputs if that helps.

the base stand alone ANC unit is not an amp and does not control any functions of the radio that I have noticed. Is it a DSP of some sort?, I don't know... if it is it sounds better without it.

I bypassed the speaker in/outs going to the ANC unit.(see my previous post about pac audio connectors I used) and wired them directly together under the driver seat (straight from radio to speakers) and everything still works without ANC hooked up. cleaner sounding too with less system noise and possibly a little more volume level too. Atleast in my opinion. after changing out all factory speakers I can now play it at max volume level with very little to no distortion which I couldn't do before.

I did not remove the Canbus wires from the connectors though.. I think that has something to do with the control of the active vibration units on the frame. still learning myself so please correct me if i'm wrong.

Thanks Redline96. That’s helpful. Do you have any pics of how you wired the speaker ins/out directly together?

 

[Redline96]

I don't at the moment but ill try to get one posted. its still in a temp stage for testing till I put the DSP/Amp in.

 

[EStein]

It’s plenty loud, and I like loud. I havent maxed volume out because it would be to much. Unless I’m listening to FM. That brings up a question I had. My radio reception sucks. Half the local stations I listen to are now barely coming in and very quite. So I turn volume up and forget and then switch stations and BLAM its super loud. This is before and after speaker swaps. Anybody else have issues?

Sorry i digressed, Yes the 6x9’s are In all 4 doors.
Honestly while waiting for the tint guys to finish I ended up buying the speakers, and since they had the door panels off anyway I had them do the installation. They didn’t have anything to say about fitment issues.
I do have the JL C2 3.5”s on the way so I’m excited to see how that sounds. The dash speakers are not keeping up with the 6x9’s and I think it will round it out nicely after.

Hey so you had no issue with the 6x9s in the front doors? Crutchfield tells me they won’t fit and I should go with 5 1/4...also do you still have your stock front dash speaker? Is it 8 ohms? Again Crutchfield says it should be 2.7?

I wonder if there are different “stock” 6 speaker systems? I think I may dig into mine today before I order....

I’ve got the basic Bighorn. 5.5 inch screen w u connect..

 

[ksn240]

Hey so you had no issue with the 6x9s in the front doors? Crutchfield tells me they won’t fit and I should go with 5 1/4...also do you still have your stock front dash speaker? Is it 8 ohms? Again Crutchfield says it should be 2.7?

I wonder if there are different “stock” 6 speaker systems? I think I may dig into mine today before I order....

I’ve got the basic Bighorn. 5.5 inch screen w u connect..

All stock systems should be the same. Any 6x9s should fit as long as they are not too deep. I put JBL GX963s in mine with the Alpine system. The only issue I had was the mounting holes for the speakers didn't all line up. I could only get two of them in. I just drilled into the speaker frames a little to widen the holes up.

 

[EStein]

All stock systems should be the same. Any 6x9s should fit as long as they are not too deep. I put JBL GX963s in mine with the Alpine system. The only issue I had was the mounting holes for the speakers didn't all line up. I could only get two of them in. I just drilled into the speaker frames a little to widen the holes up.

Did you use the JBL 3.5 (gx302) in the dash as well....Crutchfield told me the JBL wouldn’t fit in the Dash but they look pretty much the same size on the website. They recommended the infinity but I’d rather stick with JBL all around and the GX963 6x9s are on sale right now for $69.99.

 

[ksn240]

Did you use the JBL in the dash as well....Crutchfield told me the JBL wouldn’t fit in the Dash but they look pretty much the same size on the website. They recommended the infinity but I’d rather stick with JBL all around and the GX963 6x9s are on sale right now for $69.99.

Yes, I put JBL GX302s in the dash. They fit fine, but you will have to snip the ends of the mounting tabs just a little to get them to sit flush. They sound way better than the stock speakers. I'm about to put them in my headliner as well.

 

[EStein]

Yes, I put JBL GX302s in the dash. They fit fine, but you will have to snip the ends of the mounting tabs just a little to get them to sit flush. They sound way better than the stock speakers. I'm about to put them in my headliner as well.

Thanks!

 

[EStein]

I hope I’m not beating this to death! Just trying to get my Christmas list right! So due to conflicting information from this forum and Crutchfield, I decided to dig into my truck today and find out exactly what I have before I order speakers. Crutchfield was positive that I had 5 1/4 inch speakers in my front doors and 6 x 9‘s in the rear. Well...... it’s 6x9 all the way around. Funny I usually have a lot of confidence in those tech guys but I got three different answers from three different people in the last day and a half. I think they just don’t have the information on the 2019 yet. The one surprise/confirmation that I did have was the 8 ohm 3 1/2 speaker in the dash. The one tech guy that knew about the dash speaker said it was 2 ohms. The last lady at Crutchfield I talked to said they didn’t even show a dash speaker. Then she said she wouldn’t recommend replacing an 8ohm with a 4 ohm speaker. Hmm.

Here are some pics...

Basic 6 speaker system. 8.4” Level 2

Dash


Front Door



Rear door



I think I’ll probably go with the JBL GX963 6x9s and the JBL Club 3020 3.5 for the dash. Does anyone see a problem going from an 8ohm dash speaker to a 3ohm?

Thanks

 

[EStein]

So I finally picked up my truck and the first thing I bought for it was a pair of speakers - JL Audio C2-350x 3.5” mids for the dash, plus some 300Hz bass blockers. I felt the base system dash speakers were quite subdued and sounded more like quiet tweeters than real midrange drivers. The door speaker volume dominates causing the sound to be oriented down low in the truck. I loved the smooth balanced sound of the JLs in my (good) local stereo shop, so we’ll see how they sound in the truck. The JL C2s cannot handle much load, so I’ll have to control myself with the potentially dirty stock amp output at high volumes.

The stock/base speakers are indeed 8ohm, one-way paper drivers with a high pass cap. Unknown sensitivity, but quiet. Interesting note regarding terminal polarity: just figured out the stock crossover capacitor is installed on the negative speaker terminal as verified by a battery test, but the wire leading to that terminal is the violet wire (positive). Since the new harnesses map the yellow wire (-) to white and then to the large (+) connector, I may be running them out of phase but if they’re ALL out of phase together then hey whatev...
View attachment 6598 View attachment 6599
The JLs are: 4ohm two-ways with a 3.5” mid + .75” silk tweeter (sensitivity only 86 dB @2.83V). Crutchfield says it won’t fit, but... with some very minor trimming of the tabs it will drop in... I still need to check the fitment of the trim cover/tweeter... UPDATE: the tweeter appears about 2mm too high, will let you all know when/how I sort it out. See below, easy fix.
View attachment 6596
Unfortunately my review of the sound will have to wait until my Metra 72-7902 harnesses arrive... note these harnesses are for the Ram’s dash only, and are smaller than the typical door harnesses (Metra 72-6514).
View attachment 6600 View attachment 6601

UPDATE 2:
Sounds great (with eq adjustments)! So... first I wired in bass blockers to the Metra 72-7902 connectors; snapped in perfectly. White correctly maps to the positive terminal, and the existing connectors fit onto the JLs.
View attachment 7099
I trimmed the speaker tabs w sheet metal scissors easy peasy. The tweeter crown interference was minimal, I just shaved off a little bit of the plastic ridges off the inside of the trim piece with my dremel. The plastic got fuzzy/melty so I had to fuss with sanding and trimming the fuzz off. Now plenty of room for the tweeter.
View attachment 7098 View attachment 7097 View attachment 7096
Sound quality: After the JL Audio C2 install the dash speakers are definitely louder relative to the doors... perhaps a tiny bit too loud, but when I faded a notch to the rear it seemed to sound better, took the edge off. The treble/mids are absolutely more clear up front, especially for vocals. Voices sound much more natural. I bumped the midrange EQ settings +4 and treble +2 to get it sounding best for my ears - YMMV. (Initially my iPhone had EQ settings on so that resulted in weird settings until I changed it to flat.)

All in all I am very happy with the upgrade, for $100-ish bucks and a bit of trimming I now honestly like the sound... not that I’m done upgrading. The 6x9s are next (linked here) , after I check out JL C2 fitment issues.

Hey just to confirm before I order today... for the wiring adapters... the dash uses Metra 72-7902 and the doors are 72-6514? (Crutchfield says doors are 71-050)

Thanks

 

[ksn240]

Hey just to confirm before I order today... for the wiring adapters... the dash uses Metra 72-7902 and the doors are 72-6514? (Crutchfield says doors are 71-050)

Thanks

That is correct for the dash speakers. The ones Crutchfield sent me I THINK was 71-050 for the doors and they did work. Not home to verify at the moment but I remember questioning it as it was different that what @YoAdrian had posted.

 

[EStein]

That is correct for the dash speakers. The ones Crutchfield sent me I THINK was 71-050 for the doors and they did work. Not home to verify at the moment but I remember questioning it as it was different that what @YoAdrian had posted.

Great thanks!