5th Gen Stock Stereo Upgrade Options?

[Hackmunch]

dsr1 is where its at. for these trucks its cake. completely plug and play and the rockford tune app is cake. guys dont waste ur money on the pac unit unless you are just adding a sub. the dsr1 is the same price and does so much more and you dont even have to remove the radio.

 

[vinnie45acp]

Right up front I'll mention, although I was initially having intermittent ANC problems before I changed speakers, the ANC problem has gotten worse after replacing my 6x9s. Now the ANC is generating loud droning noise in conjunction with specific RPMs (eg 1500, 2500). After test driving it is persistent and unacceptable, so I have deactivated the ANC system using this procedure. I will do without the ANC system until I can have it tested by service. UPDATED 5/31/19: Ram service has a TSB to fix the ANC, worked for my system, now I have upgraded speakers AND no hum/drone.

My JL Audio 6x9s arrived and are now installed.

Install: Overall the install was easy after I figured out the door panels (previous post). The speakers themselves fit fine (see wire harness caution next), and I could fit the bushing/spacers on top of the speaker too (these protect the tweeter). I had to tuck/wrap the cable harnesses carefully to the sides of the speaker because if you don't they will hang down in front of the window mechanism... had a scare when testing window movement, my left speaker went out. Turns out the window had snagged the connector and yanked it off. After opening the door panel up, reconnecting the harness, and tucking it to the side everything seems to fit fine.

Sound: The sound is quite good (according to my ears) for a base system upgrade. I'm only a mild audiophile, so YMMV of course. The volume balance between the dash JL 3.5s and the door JL 6x9s is spot-on perfect! I've been experimenting with equalizer and balance settings... so far I find a perfectly centered balance setting works great. I have set the bass and midrange at +4 and the treble at +2 or +3... sounds nice although it depends on the music type I'm listening to. I like bass and vocals, and usually prefer rounding off the treble. I think the JLs have a nice gentle tweeter which is what drew me to them. Not excessively bright.

My bottom line: If you want to do a speaker swap the JL C2 line is a good one to go with for sound quality, as long as you don't mind trimming the 3.5" speaker a bit, being careful with the 6x9 wire harness routing, and if you are ready to potentially DISABLE the ANC system. For me the sound quality was easily worth the hassle, I am a much happier listener now that those 6 flat lifeless stock speakers are gone.

Do you know what TSB number that is that fixes the ANC issue?

 

[YoAdrian]

Do you know what TSB number that is that fixes the ANC issue?

Sorry, can’t remember but it’s posted a couple places on the site.
Update: yep, it‘s in the TSB section of the site page 2.

 

[392DCGC]

I started out adding a Rockford P300-8P under the rear passenger seat which just barely fits. I tapped the stock subwoofer wires as a high level input for the sub, then disconnected the factory sub. Did not work so well... even at minimum gain, the sub was too loud. The factory HK amplifier also ruins the subwoofer by peaking around 70 Hz... enter the PAC AmpPRO. Now running it with RCA and a flat signal. Much better!

Today I installed Infinity 3022 in the dash and rear headliner. Great improvement in sound quality and much less harsh high notes, but still excellent bright treble. Something to note, they are less sensitive than the factory speakers - before I'd run around 19 on the volume, now I'm around 25. This is strange since the Infinities are rated highly for their sensitivity, and are 3 ohm vs factory 4 ohms.

I haven't tackled the doors yet. Since I'm now running the volume higher, the factory 6x9s are now pushing some okay bass... still not great though. I am considering leaving the factory 3.5s in the doors... reason being, the signal to the doors is lower than the dash. Before, I could never tell the door 3.5s were even working without putting my ears up to them. Now, they put out about the same volume as the less sensitive Infinities in the dash, which has widened the soundstage. The Infinities are higher quality though, so it may come down to a slightly smaller soundstage if I replace them, or questionable effects on audio quality since I'm currently mixing the factory 3.5s and the Infinities up front.

Anyone planning on replacing the Limited HK rear headliner speakers may be in for a surprise. The Infinity 3022/3032 will not fit the stock screw holes (at least in my case). Had to drill new holes. The speaker grille is also a PITA to remove! Had to use a hefty wide plastic pry tool using the aggressively curved side. Took a lot of force to break the metal clips free, but they eventually gave way.

An additional word of advice, I recommend buying a roll of thin felt tape on Amazon. This is what I have. Used it numerous times as it's great for resolving any rattles. I wrapped my AMPPRO and all speaker harness connections with felt to prevent any rattling.
J.V. Converting FELT-06/BLK125 JVCC FELT-06 Polyester Felt Tape: 1" x 75 ft, black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B013H8QDQG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_vuWBbDfgSWjSO

 

[vinnie45acp]

So I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on my system to replace the speakers in my HK system, and I need some help finalizing. I have read and read this and several other Threads at least twice and still don't think I have it all figured out, but can't wait for the perfect solution, need to start somewhere, but I do need some vital questions answered first.

So a ton of you have done speaker change outs of the HK system of the dash , door, and headliner, with the same and mix match Ohm values, however has anyone with the HK system changed out all there speakers, all the 3.5"s and 6x9's to all 2 ohm speakers? If so would there be any issues with me doing so? and would there also be any issues with me changing out the 3.5's to 4 ohms and the 6x9's to the 2 ohms? Right now this is what's in the Cart and ready to be purchased, 2 sets of CDT 6x9 HD-690CFS for all four doors lowers, and 4 sets (cause I can't buy them individually to make 7) of CDT HD-2 Hybrid 2"Mid/Tweeter combo's with appropriate brackets to replace the 3-Dash, 2 Headliner, and 2 Front upper door, 3.5" speakers. I will see what all that does and then see what I need to do about the SUB situation, but for now that is phase 1.

Second question is I have read and read about the polarity situation which I plan to check each individual speaker, but which Metra Harness am I supposed to use, which has the least amount of issues and seems to be easiest to work with or is the right one, the 72-6514 or the 71-050?

any and all help is eagerly accepted.
Thanks V

 

[392DCGC]

I would personally not mismatch speakers or impedances. Might be asking for a headache if you get substantially differing volume levels. The 71-050 adapter is the correct polarity and does not need the pins swapped, the 6514 adapter would need the polarity reversed.

 

[mch]

So I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on my system to replace the speakers in my HK system, and I need some help finalizing. I have read and read this and several other Threads at least twice and still don't think I have it all figured out, but can't wait for the perfect solution, need to start somewhere, but I do need some vital questions answered first.

So a ton of you have done speaker change outs of the HK system of the dash , door, and headliner, with the same and mix match Ohm values, however has anyone with the HK system changed out all there speakers, all the 3.5"s and 6x9's to all 2 ohm speakers? If so would there be any issues with me doing so? and would there also be any issues with me changing out the 3.5's to 4 ohms and the 6x9's to the 2 ohms? Right now this is what's in the Cart and ready to be purchased, 2 sets of CDT 6x9 HD-690CFS for all four doors lowers, and 4 sets (cause I can't buy them individually to make 7) of CDT HD-2 Hybrid 2"Mid/Tweeter combo's with appropriate brackets to replace the 3-Dash, 2 Headliner, and 2 Front upper door, 3.5" speakers. I will see what all that does and then see what I need to do about the SUB situation, but for now that is phase 1.

Second question is I have read and read about the polarity situation which I plan to check each individual speaker, but which Metra Harness am I supposed to use, which has the least amount of issues and seems to be easiest to work with or is the right one, the 72-6514 or the 71-050?

any and all help is eagerly accepted.
Thanks V

So I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on my system to replace the speakers in my HK system, and I need some help finalizing. I have read and read this and several other Threads at least twice and still don't think I have it all figured out, but can't wait for the perfect solution, need to start somewhere, but I do need some vital questions answered first.

So a ton of you have done speaker change outs of the HK system of the dash , door, and headliner, with the same and mix match Ohm values, however has anyone with the HK system changed out all there speakers, all the 3.5"s and 6x9's to all 2 ohm speakers? If so would there be any issues with me doing so? and would there also be any issues with me changing out the 3.5's to 4 ohms and the 6x9's to the 2 ohms? Right now this is what's in the Cart and ready to be purchased, 2 sets of CDT 6x9 HD-690CFS for all four doors lowers, and 4 sets (cause I can't buy them individually to make 7) of CDT HD-2 Hybrid 2"Mid/Tweeter combo's with appropriate brackets to replace the 3-Dash, 2 Headliner, and 2 Front upper door, 3.5" speakers. I will see what all that does and then see what I need to do about the SUB situation, but for now that is phase 1.

Second question is I have read and read about the polarity situation which I plan to check each individual speaker, but which Metra Harness am I supposed to use, which has the least amount of issues and seems to be easiest to work with or is the right one, the 72-6514 or the 71-050?

any and all help is eagerly accepted.
Thanks V

I did 2 ohm speakers for the doors and 4ohm in the dash with my Alpine system. I didn't notice any loudness issues. I ran into minor fitment issues with the window device on the front doors with the CDT CL69SUB, but I'm guessing those slim speakers would not be an issue. I'm planning on swapping the front 6x9s out for a set of 5.25 coax's in the future. I bought my amps and sub-woofers, but waiting for the weather to cool down before install everything.

 

[vinnie45acp]

So, check this out, according to the wire diagram posted by I love grits on page 2 of this thread, the jbls were wired correctly + to +. When I tested the factory speaker per the diagram the negative wire was connected to positive input of the voice coil. Either the wire diagram posted is incorrect or the factory rear door speakers are purposely out of phase from the factory, according to the wire diagram I have the jbls now wired out of phase by switching the wires on the Metra harness but they physically match the way the factory speakers were wired. Secondly the dash speakers were out of phase according to the diagram as well as my physical testing of the voice coil so repinned all 3 Metra harnesses for the dash.

The weather took a turn so it's unlikely I'll get a chance to do the front doors until Monday. The first time I did it I just made sure everything matched the diagram and didn't actually test the coil, so now I'm not sure what I'll find. But I'm hopeful a JBL swap will be successful on my second attempt with improved sound and no ANC issues.

As of right now I got gx302s in the dash phase matched, gx963s in the rear door phase matched. Stock front doors, stock sub, stock 3.5 in the rear headliner. Tested in park with rpms held at 2500 and driving on Interstate 5 without any ANC issues.

Conclusions thus far

The sound out of the JBLs is amazing once matched and dialed in. If you have done the swap and not verified phase, you're possibly missing the true potential of the JBLs in the Alpine system. This holds true for both the dash and doors, the front sound stage comes a live once the dash is in phase with the front doors. They were a improvement over factory even out of phase.

Secondly, After driving 400 miles on interstate 5 without ANC, I'm not willing to sacrifice it for a speaker swap so I'm really happy the ANC issue was phase related and not an issue with the use of after market speakers. The ANC significantly quiets the cab down at speeds of 60 mph +. Onve everything is finished I'll likely start a separate thread with walk through geared specifically for swapping the factory speakers with details for removing panels and grills, checking polarity and phasing to help any future Ram owners.
Sorry for the long post, Happy Thanksgiving everybody.

What Metra adapters did you use the 6514's or the 71-050?

 

[vinnie45acp]

Well after a 450 mile road test with the polarity all put in order the ANC worked flawlessly. As long as your ANC is working like its supposed to with all the factory speakers in place swapping to aftermarkets shouldn't cause issues as long as you check the polarity on the factory speakers and make sure the replacements match. It sounds like @YoAdrian may have had phase issues straight from the factory that were causing ANC issues, if thats the case I'm guessing a little more troubleshooting will have to take place to get the phase set correctly and see if that remedies the ANC issues. I know he found some stuff out of phase but not matched pairs out of phase which is a little different from what others are finding.

So I'm getting ready to do my whole HK system every speaker, So am I understanding this whole thread correctly when it pertains to polarity and ANC issues? So I should check the polarity of the stock speakers and whatever they are regardless if the are backwards or correct, that is exactly how I should hook up the specific replacement speaker Exactly how that Stock speaker is set up? to keep the ANC running correctly? and somehow the system will interpret it put out the correct sound as well keep the ANC running correctly from the DSP/ANC 6 mics in the ****pit of my HK system. So the only repining I should have to do is on the stock speakers I find to have reversed polarity, correct, all the rest I leave alone and hook straight and everything should be good to go?

 

[Billet1500 4x4]

So I'm getting ready to do my whole HK system every speaker, So am I understanding this whole thread correctly when it pertains to polarity and ANC issues? So I should check the polarity of the stock speakers and whatever they are regardless if the are backwards or correct, that is exactly how I should hook up the specific replacement speaker Exactly how that Stock speaker is set up? to keep the ANC running correctly? and somehow the system will interpret it put out the correct sound as well keep the ANC running correctly from the DSP/ANC 6 mics in the ****pit of my HK system. So the only repining I should have to do is on the stock speakers I find to have reversed polarity, correct, all the rest I leave alone and hook straight and everything should be good to go?

Correct, The alpine and I'm assuming the HK as well are not single ended mean the negative line on the speaker does not go to ground it's a live load with opposit amplitude to the signal coming down the positive line. Basically a bridge tie load so you cannot verify polarity on the wires themselves without a scope. The easiest way to do it is to verify polarity of the speaker itself using a 9V and make sure whatever wire is going to the negative terminal on the stock speaker goes to the negative terminal on the replacement speaker. ANC issues will be directly caused by the door 6x9 polarity, the other speakers are not used for noise cancellation at least for the Alpine.

 

[Billet1500 4x4]

What Metra adapters did you use the 6514's or the 71-050?

72-7902 for the dash and 72-6514 for the doors.

 

[vinnie45acp]

72-7902 for the dash and 72-6514 for the doors.

Did you have the HK system? if so did you use 72-7902 for all three speakers, cause I was told for the HK system is was for only the Center dash and the two 3.5 upper front doors. So since I only needed three I ordered 4.

 

[Billet1500 4x4]

Did you have the HK system? if so did you use 72-7902 for all three speakers, cause I was told for the HK system is was for only the Center dash and the two 3.5 upper front doors. So since I only needed three I ordered 4.

I have the Alpine, So I'm not sure about the connections for the HK. @wildh24 would be your resident expert on the HK, I think he replaced all the speakers in his truck.

 

[vinnie45acp]

I have the Alpine, So I'm not sure about the connections for the HK. @wildh24 would be your resident expert on the HK, I think he replaced all the speakers in his truck.

I agree, that is who I just contacted for his take on that info, thanks so much for your help!

 

[Walski]

dsr1 is where its at. for these trucks its cake. completely plug and play and the rockford tune app is cake. guys dont waste ur money on the pac unit unless you are just adding a sub. the dsr1 is the same price and does so much more and you dont even have to remove the radio.

What harness do you use for 6 speaker no amp no anc

 

[vinnie45acp]

Are the HK speakers 2 ohm or 4 ohm? this is a very important question that I feel most of us need answered that have that system in our trucks, for the system to run right for the specific ohm speakers we choose, please advice, I have a order on hold and am going with either 4 ohm or 2 ohm with the info provided.

 

[7LParker]

I have spent the last 2 days trying to grasp the amount of information available in this thread and still need a little more guidance (should have done that before buying everything). I have the 6 speaker base w/ANC setup and ended up grabbing Kicker 44KSC3504 3.5 4ohm 88db for the dash first, and then picked up Rockford P1692 & P1694 6X9 4 ohm 91 db for the fronts and rears after the fact. I also grabbed the Kicker Key 180.4 amp with DSP in an attempt to simply boost the factory radio signal. Anyone have any experience or thoughts about the Kicker amp? I've only come across one other post suggesting it, but not much since then. Should the amp be installed before or after the ANC signal or should the ANC be bypassed completely? Based on everyones advice, I'm thinking I may need to deactivate or bypass the ANC. I'm also unsure how to tap into the front/dash speaker circuit with them in parallel. Looking at the schematic posted earlier it appears the front doors tap off and route through the ANC while the dash wires run straight to the speakers, bypassing the ANC altogether (am I reading that wrong?). Not planning on installing a sub at the moment, but possible down the line depending how this setup turns out. Aircraft electrician for over 20 years and audio electrical still confuses me, I'm jealous of @Billet1500 4x4 & @YoAdrian understanding. Any advice or guidance is greatly appreciated.

 

[Patsy1099]

I have spent the last 2 days trying to grasp the amount of information available in this thread and still need a little more guidance (should have done that before buying everything). I have the 6 speaker base w/ANC setup and ended up grabbing Kicker 44KSC3504 3.5 4ohm 88db for the dash first, and then picked up Rockford P1692 & P1694 6X9 4 ohm 91 db for the fronts and rears after the fact. I also grabbed the Kicker Key 180.4 amp with DSP in an attempt to simply boost the factory radio signal. Anyone have any experience or thoughts about the Kicker amp? I've only come across one other post suggesting it, but not much since then. Should the amp be installed before or after the ANC signal or should the ANC be bypassed completely? Based on everyones advice, I'm thinking I may need to deactivate or bypass the ANC. I'm also unsure how to tap into the front/dash speaker circuit with them in parallel. Looking at the schematic posted earlier it appears the front doors tap off and route through the ANC while the dash wires run straight to the speakers, bypassing the ANC altogether (am I reading that wrong?). Not planning on installing a sub at the moment, but possible down the line depending how this setup turns out. Aircraft electrician for over 20 years and audio electrical still confuses me, I'm jealous of @Billet1500 4x4 & @YoAdrian understanding. Any advice or guidance is greatly appreciated.

I think you will be fine. My only comment would be that you might have issues with the dash kickers only being 81db. In addition to trying to keep the ohms around 3ish, it’s good to have the dB around 90ish, otherwise you might lose volume.

Regarding your amp and wiring question. You don’t have to worry about wiring in parallel or grabbing wires up front. All the wires you need are under the driver’s seat where the anc module is. You would grab/tap the “outs” from the head unit (large white harness going into the anc) for your amp input and then tap the speaker “inputs” (small harness plug going into your anc) for the amp output to the speakers. Whether you bypass the anc is your choice. If you do you can opt to either unpin the mic wires from the anc or purchase a bypass harness which simply leaves out those wires. If you pay attention to the polarity as you change the speakers and put them back in the same phase you removed them, you might be ok leaving the anc. I had issues, couldn’t and didn’t want to be bothered, disconnected my anc and don’t miss it.

This harness will make life easier so you don’t have to tap all the wires (like me).

https://www.crutchfield.com/S-Wjp3g...C-APH-CH01-AmpPro-Harness.html?omnews=2795447

If you use that harness (instead of the plain bypass harness), you can snip/unpin the anc mic wires if you choose and easily go back to stock by removing this harness (as opposed to doing it in the original harness).


I’m assuming you have the metra wiring harnesses (adapters) that you will need to connect your speakers. If you got your speakers from Crutchfield they were included, if not you will need those since the new speakers need them.

 

[YoAdrian]

@7LParker As usual I concur with @Patsy1099 ’s post, except you said the Kickers would be 88db not 81db, so they might be ok. I’ll leverage an old post format to predict how much volume those speakers you chose should generate. As a reminder I find my JL C2 volumes to be well balanced so I will use them as a (subjective) baseline; note I did not install amps or DSPs so this is just for a simple speaker swap.

First the 3.5” dash speaks: Need to make sure the quoted sensitivity ratings are all at the same power setting... drat! Kicker only gives 1W sensitivity, 88db. To compare we’ll have to adjust the others from the 2.83W spec I had originally checked.
- JL C2 3.5s = 4 ohm w/ 83 dB at 1W 86 dB (at 2.83 W)
- Infinity 3032s = 3 ohm w/ 88 dB at 1W (estimated from spec) 91 dB (at 2.83 W)

Not only lower impedance but also higher sensitivity. Therefore I would estimate the Infinity speakers to be about “two volume clicks” (~6 dB) louder than my 3.5s​

- @7LParker your Kicker 44KSC3504 = 4ohm 88db at 1W

Like the Infinitys 3032s, your dash Kickers would be louder than my JLs, but maybe by only “1.5 volume clicks” due to the higher impedance​

Next the 6x9s, as spec’d at 2.83W:
- JL C2s = 4 ohm 96 dB
- Infinity REF-9633 = 3 ohm 93 dB
- Infinity Kappa 93ix = 2.5 ohm 96 dB

I would expect the Infinity 9633 volume to be close to the PowerBass and JLs. Also higher impedance is nicer for your amp.​

I would expect the Kappa 93ix to be louder than all the other 6x9 options we discussed by “a notch”, so they actually might balance better with the louder Infinity 3.5s if you are sold on those... but at a higher price.​

- Rockford P1692 = 4 ohm 94 dB Fronts
- Rockford P1694 = 4 ohm 93 dB (estimated from 1W spec) Rears

In both cases I would predict the Rockford 6x9s to be “1 click” quieter than my JL 6x9s​

Conclusion: The numbers would predict that by combining the louder dash speaks with quieter doors it MAY result in overly loud dash/quiet doors. Two caveats though: 1) sound is subjective and you may actually prefer a louder dash than I do and 2) if you install an amp and/or DSP you can easily balance all six signals to your liking.

Hope that helps!

 

[7LParker]

Thank you @YoAdrian and @Patsy1099,

Regarding your amp and wiring question. You don’t have to worry about wiring in parallel or grabbing wires up front. All the wires you need are under the driver’s seat where the anc module is. You would grab/tap the “outs” from the head unit (large white harness going into the anc) for your amp input and then tap the speaker “inputs” (small harness plug going into your anc) for the amp output to the speakers.

So the dash speaker do route through the ANC? I only ask this because the schematic @I Love Grits shared does not indicate they do. Guess I can disconnect a dash speaker, ground it out and check for continuity from the output harness of the ANC (both connections easy to access). My concern is how the DSP in the KICKER will react when I run the setup if the dash speakers output can't be adjusted by the unit. Instructions state to disconnect any speaker not being processed.