5th Gen Stock Stereo Upgrade Options?

[WRH]

I installed a Cerwin Vega amplified sub. Sounds great.... Until you drive the truck. The ANC is causing the sub to put out all kinds of crazy noise. I used speaker level inputs to the sub from the b-pillar. I just figured out this afternoon what was causing it. I even went and ran heavier wire for the power and redid the ground wire thinking it was interference. I don't want to take everything out. That's why I'm hoping that if I relocated my wire taps to the input harness I'll get the signal without the noise produced by the ANC.

You are correct. Remove the ANC and tap the incoming radio inputs. That should fix your issue.

 

[eh4860]

You are correct. Remove the ANC and tap the incoming radio inputs. That should fix your issue.

I'm not changing the stock speakers so I'll still need the ANC to power the speakers. Were you just saying to remove the input for the purpose of tapping into the wires and then plugging the harness back in?

 

[WRH]

The radio sends out an amplified signal when you have the base six speaker system. The ANC is more of a DSP than an amplifier. If the ANC is causing problems, one way to fix the issue is to remove it. How did you tap in your sub? You could also try tapping before the ANC, and route everything else through the ANC.

 

[troutspinner]

Just curious, what does the cab sound like without the ANC? No radio or anything on. Is it really that much noisier? This is not the first vehicle I’ve had a noise cancelling system in and I’ve always thought they were kind of gimmicky.

 

[eh4860]

The radio sends out an amplified signal when you have the base six speaker system. The ANC is more of a DSP than an amplifier. If the ANC is causing problems, one way to fix the issue is to remove it. How did you tap in your sub? You could also try tapping before the ANC, and route everything else through the ANC.

I removed the cover from the b-pillar and tapped into the wires before they went into the rear door so at that point it's after the ANC. If I were to remove the ANC I would have to figure out how to get the speaker signals from the harness going into it to the harness coming out of it. The part number for the ANC is referred to as an amplifier on the Mopar site. 68312240ae is the part number.

 

[eh4860]

Just curious, what does the cab sound like without the ANC? No radio or anything on. Is it really that much noisier? This is not the first vehicle I’ve had a noise cancelling system in and I’ve always thought they were kind of gimmicky.

I drove it a little bit with it unplugged. I could hear the exhaust a little bit more. Not so much from the engine. I don't mind hearing the Hemi.

 

[eh4860]

Since you have the 5.7 with the standalone active noise cancellation, you'll have this wiring instead.

I have the setup for this wiring. I'm trying to avoid the noise of the ANC coming through an amplified subwoofer that I've installed. The sub has speaker level inputs and I've tapped into the rear wires in the b-pillar not knowing about the ANC at the time. I'm hoping to tap into the input wires coming from the head unit to the ANC to avoid the noise. That should give me a clean signal to the sub, but will the sub then mess with the microphones for the ANC? My other thought would be to clip the wires for the microphones going into the ANC... but would that kill the microphone for calls and Android Auto?

 

[James Cole]

Hello Guys... So there is no way to get a flat unprocessed signal out of this trucks?

I have Harman Kardon by the way.

 

[YoAdrian]

My other thought would be to clip the wires for the microphones going into the ANC... but would that kill the microphone for calls and Android Auto?

Are the ANC microphones isolated on the same harness? UPDATE: Not on a separate harness, must remove each pin carefully as that same harness carries audio signal. If so you can test this without cutting... I’m pretty sure those four ANC mikes are independent of the handsfree system. @WRH your handsfree still functions normally without the ANC right?

 

[YoAdrian]

Hello Guys... So there is no way to get a flat unprocessed signal out of this trucks?

I have Harman Kardon by the way.

The stock stereo system is currently a voyage of discovery - I’m an optimist, so I don’t think I would say “no way” to get a flat signal yet... but it appears to not be a trivial task that’s for sure. I am following what I hope is an easy upgrade path (speaker swap) which does not involve upgrading the signal.

Each optioned stereo is different too and we don’t know exactly which parts differ and which parts (eg the radio) are common, so the answer for one might not be the answer for all. More research and modification pioneers like @WRH are required.

 

[eh4860]

Are the ANC microphones isolated on the same harness? If so you can test this without cutting... I’m pretty sure those four ANC mikes are independent of the handsfree system. @WRH your handsfree still functions normally without the ANC right?

I'm going to unplug the incoming harness from the ANC. Then I'll make a call using Bluetooth to my home phone. I won't be able to hear the call through the speakers, but if the microphones are not shared I should still be able to hear myself on the home phone.

 

[eh4860]

I'm going to unplug the incoming harness from the ANC. Then I'll make a call using Bluetooth to my home phone. I won't be able to hear the call through the speakers, but if the microphones are not shared I should still be able to hear myself on the home phone.

Fully unplugged the ANC and made a call through Bluetooth. Think I may just clip the wires.

 

[YoAdrian]

I'm going to unplug the incoming harness from the ANC. Then I'll make a call using Bluetooth to my home phone. I won't be able to hear the call through the speakers, but if the microphones are not shared I should still be able to hear myself on the home phone.

UPDATE: So hands free phone worked ok with the ANC harness unplugged? Which harness was it? (pictures good).
UConnect works in mysterious ways... maybe it would work that way? Worth trying, though might it cut off handsfree if the system detects a missing speaker system? Dunno. Maybe try only isolating out the ANC microphones if possible by a single harness.

 

[eh4860]

Update. I followed the wiring diagram for the 6 speaker system with ANC. 8 wires for the mics. BEWARE: there are two wires in the harness that are the same brn/gry. One is for something else. I mistakenly clipped both. I had to splice a piece of wire back into the wrong one. The brn/gry wire you want to clip is next to the OG/DB wire. I can still make calls. No more strange noises through the sub. I did not mess with the wires for the ANC buffered crank sensor. All the wires are on the white harness. Good luck.

 

[YoAdrian]

Update. I followed the wiring diagram for the 6 speaker system with ANC. 8 wires for the mics. BEWARE: there are two wires in the harness that are the same brn/gry. One is for something else. I mistakenly clipped both. I had to splice a piece of wire back into the wrong one. The brn/gry wire you want to clip is next to the OG/DB wire. I can still make calls. No more strange noises through the sub. I did not mess with the wires for the ANC buffered crank sensor. All the wires are on the white harness. Good luck.

You mean these two, did I get this right?

 

[eh4860]

You mean these two, did I get this right?
View attachment 6361

Yes that would be correct.

 

[WRH]

I unplugged and removed the ANC completely. I then just tapped the front/rear speaker wires directly from the radio and routed them into my DSR1. Everything works fine and just like before (bluetooth, Navigation, chimes, alerts, etc.). I have no extra noise from subs from the noise cancellation, but I also don't have the noise cancellation. It's not a big deal. My music is usually loud enough I wouldn't hear that anyways....

You may be able to use a DSP between the radio rear speaker signal and the ANC. Split the signal and send the low pass to the sub and full band to the ANC (don't change anything else). That might work to keep the ANC with an upgraded system. I don't think it would be worth it though.. and may not even work.

 

[YoAdrian]

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...

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.

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).


UPDATE 2:
Sounds great (with eq adjustments)! So... first I wired in bass blockers to the Metra 72-7902 connectors; snapped in perfectly. The existing connectors fit onto the JLs.

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.

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.

 

[Hackmunch]

What audio package do you have . My alpine package were 2 ohm and the output was crossed over electronic

 

[Bacoviah]

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. Out:
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 cover over the tweeter and will update this post after checking later this morning. In:
View attachment 6596 View attachment 6597

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

Thanks for the pics and details!!!!! Curious to hear your thoughts after replacing those speakers with the factory amp.