5th Gen Stock Stereo Upgrade Options?

[MayhemMOORE]

Does anyone know what this cable is for behind the rear seat sound deadning? It looks like the HK sub power and inputs. Mine is the 6 speaker system on the ram rebel. Im wondering i can tap my powered sub into there for high level inputs?

I believe that is for the e-torque system, as mine has it as well and I do not have e-torque for it to plug in to. Check out post #8 on the first page of this thread and you can see where it would plug in to the battery pack.

 

[BADCABLE]

I believe that is for the e-torque system, as mine has it as well and I do not have e-torque for it to plug in to. Check out post #8 on the first page of this thread and you can see where it would plug in to the battery pack.

Thank you, ill check out it out!

 

[dsn112]

Once the ANC is bypassed, Can I remove the entire unit and put it away in my garage? or does it have to stay under the drivers seat? I'd like to put a small powered sub under my drivers seat.

 

[All_Black_Lone_Star]

Once the ANC is bypassed, Can I remove the entire unit and put it away in my garage? or does it have to stay under the drivers seat? I'd like to put a small powered sub under my drivers seat.

You can remove it and store it away without any issues or codes popping up.

 

[Scram1500]

so I finished my install last night only after reading most of this thread and great info but have a few issues, the anc drone, disconnected mics so fixed, but my sound isn't great. I added the kickers to the dash and the treble is ear piercing, checked phase and are correct, then i put mtx 6.9 front a rear doors and they have less bass than the factory speakers. to the point is pretty much none even with the eq adjusted up.

How many ohms are the dash speakers? I installed 4 ohm 3.5" kickers (base 6 speaker) and it completely unbalanced the system. I added 4 ohm resistors to match the 8 ohm stock 3.5" speakers and it solved the problem. If you look close on the stock speaker it has a tiny resistor

 

[brian42]

How many ohms are the dash speakers? I installed 4 ohm 3.5" kickers (base 6 speaker) and it completely unbalanced the system. I added 4 ohm resistors to match the 8 ohm stock 3.5" speakers and it solved the problem. If you look close on the stock speaker it has a tiny resistor

8 ohms for the dash and 2 ohms for the doors.

 

[dsn112]

Original plan was under my seat, but since the giant seat has no room under it here will do.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[KNGSNK11]

How many ohms are the dash speakers? I installed 4 ohm 3.5" kickers (base 6 speaker) and it completely unbalanced the system. I added 4 ohm resistors to match the 8 ohm stock 3.5" speakers and it solved the problem. If you look close on the stock speaker it has a tiny resistor

Ive been searching these threads for days to find an answer on the last page haha.
I plan on using the kicker 3.5 dash speakers too.
I have some questions, got a pic of how you wired in the resistors and also where did you buy them from?
When you wire in a resistor are bass blockers necessary for the front dash speakers?

8 ohms for the dash and 2 ohms for the doors.

Are you talking about the base system? I thought I read the base is 8 ohms for the dash and 4 ohms for the doors.

 

[Sonnie]

I believe the base system is 8 ohms and the door and dash are wired in parallel to achieve a 4 ohm final load.

I just measured my dash speakers with the HK system and they are 4 ohms.

 

[Scram1500]

Ive been searching these threads for days to find an answer on the last page haha.
I plan on using the kicker 3.5 dash speakers too.
I have some questions, got a pic of how you wired in the resistors and also where did you buy them from?
When you wire in a resistor are bass blockers necessary for the front dash speakers?

I don't have a pic, but I wired it inline on the 72-7902 metra harness to keep my stock wiring intact. There is some confusion about the polarity being reversed on the audio wiring (ANC related maybe?) or the metra harness so I put the inline resistor on the same side as the stock speaker resistor, which was the black wire on the metra harness. I didn't use a bass blocker and there isn't any popping or distortion. I chose ceramic wire wound resistors from Amazon, the aluminum ones sounded like they might get too hot for under the dash. I stole the idea from the link below, note the pics have the resistor on the white wire. I don't really know if it matters though which side the resistor is on

How To: 4 Ohm Resistor Upgrade For Aftermarket Dash Speakers

Installation of Resistors on 4 ohm Dash Speakers This Modification Applies To Non-Alpine Dash Speakers The Setup I have a 2018 Ram 1500 with the stock 6 speaker stereo system and 8.4 Uconnect. I replaced the stock dash speakers with Polk DB351’s. These are 4 ohm speakers; the stock 3.5”...

www.ramforum.com

 

[Ellisstrong]

I believe the base system is 8 ohms and the door and dash are wired in parallel to achieve a 4 ohm final load.

I just measured my dash speakers with the HK system and they are 4 ohms.

So in theory would the 3 ohm infinity speakers be louder than the 4 ohm fatial ones?

 

[Sonnie]

It would seem so, in theory... lol.

I will let you know, because I have both on order... and plan to compare the two.

 

[Ellisstrong]

It would seem so, in theory... lol.

I will let you know, because I have both on order... and plan to compare the two.

Thank you!

 

[Sonnie]

But we now find out that is not the case... lol. So much for theory.

The Infinity measured 2.6 ohm and is 91dB, while the FaitalPRO measured 3.9 ohm and is 91db. Yet the FaitalPRO is 3-4dB louder... go figure.

 

[KNGSNK11]

I believe the base system is 8 ohms and the door and dash are wired in parallel to achieve a 4 ohm final load.

I just measured my dash speakers with the HK system and they are 4 ohms.

I'm not an audio expert by any means, so when you say wired in parallel does that mean each speaker is at 4 ohms?
Also since you seem to know a lot on this, what are some good replacement speakers that wont break the bank? I have the 6 speaker base system.

 

[Sonnie]

If you take two speakers that are 8 ohm each and wire the together from the amp, both speaker positive terminals together and both negative terminals together, they are considered wired in parallel. You could accomplish this is a couple of different ways... one speaker wire to the first speaker, then from that speaker run another speaker wire to the next speaker... or you could run two speaker wires from the pos/neg terminals on the amp to each speaker. Either way you are connecting the two speakers together. By doing this with two 8 ohm speakers we cut the resistance in half to 4 ohms. So the amp sees a 4 ohm load instead of an 8 ohm load. If you have two 4 ohm speakers wired in parallel you would have a final load of 2 ohm. However, if you wired them in series, you double the resistance, two 4 ohm speakers would make a final load of 8 ohms.



If you are running factory power, one of the best inexpensive replacement speakers that I have used in several trucks is the CDT speakers... https://www.cdtaudio.com/sep_components/subwoofers/cl69s.php

Before you replace speakers, consider treating the doors with dampening material... the outside skin which requires removal of the door panel and the inner door panel (videos on removal are on YouTube). Also add some closed cell foam between the door panel and the door to help eliminate rattles. This will typically enhance the factory speakers and in many cases make them acceptable, and/or better than some replacement speakers. I've seen it happen time and time again, someone replaces the door speakers and they lose the mid-bass because the replacement speakers are underpowered with the factory amp and/or not as sensitive as the factory speakers. Most guys don't bother to compare them by installing only one replacement speaker and then use the balance control to compare the two speakers. I suspect if they did, there would be more guys leaving their factory speakers connected and sending the replacements back.

 

[Ellisstrong]

If you take two speakers that are 8 ohm each and wire the together from the amp, both speaker positive terminals together and both negative terminals together, they are considered wired in parallel. You could accomplish this is a couple of different ways... one speaker wire to the first speaker, then from that speaker run another speaker wire to the next speaker... or you could run two speaker wires from the pos/neg terminals on the amp to each speaker. Either way you are connecting the two speakers together. By doing this with two 8 ohm speakers we cut the resistance in half to 4 ohms. So the amp sees a 4 ohm load instead of an 8 ohm load. If you have two 4 ohm speakers wired in parallel you would have a final load of 2 ohm. However, if you wired them in series, you double the resistance, two 4 ohm speakers would make a final load of 8 ohms.

View attachment 60378 View attachment 60379

If you are running factory power, one of the best inexpensive replacement speakers that I have used in several trucks is the CDT speakers... https://www.cdtaudio.com/sep_components/subwoofers/cl69s.php

Before you replace speakers, consider treating the doors with dampening material... the outside skin which requires removal of the door panel and the inner door panel (videos on removal are on YouTube). Also add some closed cell foam between the door panel and the door to help eliminate rattles. This will typically enhance the factory speakers and in many cases make them acceptable, and/or better than some replacement speakers. I've seen it happen time and time again, someone replaces the door speakers and they lose the mid-bass because the replacement speakers are underpowered with the factory amp and/or not as sensitive as the factory speakers. Most guys don't bother to compare them by installing only one replacement speaker and then use the balance control to compare the two speakers. I suspect if they did, there would be more guys leaving their factory speakers connected and sending the replacements back.

Did you replace your 6x9’s as well? I may get a pair of the faitalpro’s for my upper doors to see how they sound there

 

[brian42]

I believe the base system is 8 ohms and the door and dash are wired in parallel to achieve a 4 ohm final load.

I just measured my dash speakers with the HK system and they are 4 ohms.

The door speakers are 2 ohms (see post #146 on page 8 of this thread).

I've only paid attention to the 6 speaker base audio system as that's what I have. I'm not sure about the Alpine or HK setups so this is all for the 6 speaker base audio system.

How many ohms are the dash speakers? I installed 4 ohm 3.5" kickers (base 6 speaker) and it completely unbalanced the system. I added 4 ohm resistors to match the 8 ohm stock 3.5" speakers and it solved the problem. If you look close on the stock speaker it has a tiny resistor

The dash speakers are 8 ohms. I don't know if the dash speakers are 4 ohms with a 4 ohm resistor in line for a total of 8 ohms or just an 8 ohm speaker.

For only two resistances in parallel you can use the formula of product over the sum - (A*B)/(A+B).

With an 8 ohm dash speaker in parallel with a 2 ohm front door speaker results in a 1.6 ohms load (OEM setup).

With a 4 ohm dash speaker in parallel with a 2 ohm front door speaker results in a 1.3 ohms load.

While 0.3 ohms doesn't seem like much that is a 23 % change in the load (almost 1/4). With the lower load that's an increase in current to that load. Power = Current (squared) * Resistance. If you don't change the power being supplied then a decrease in resistance results in an increase in current to that load.

We are talking about very small numbers so let me put that into perspective : would you notice a difference if your HEMI had 486 Hp and 504 lb-ft of torque instead of 395 Hp and 410 lb-ft of torque?

That's a 23% increase in the engine output, the same amount of increase of current (decrease of load) you just did to the front speakers. Now throw in the fact that these speakers have different characteristics (db sensitivity, range, material, magnets, etc.) that have not been tested/matched to the other speakers in the system and it is easy to "unbalance" your system.

 

[Sonnie]

Did you replace your 6x9’s as well? I may get a pair of the faitalpro’s for my upper doors to see how they sound there

I have ordered the CDT CL-69S for the doors, with the out of phase Metra adapters. I am going to try them. If I can get them to work okay without messing with the ANC, I'll keep them in there. Otherwise I'll be fine with the factory speakers, as the mid-bass is already very good.

I don't hear much out of the upper door speakers, but figured I'd replace them just in case, but again, if it messes with the ANC, I'll leave the factory speakers connected.

 

[slicktop]

Need more advice. I thought all was good after putting all 6 speakers in, but now at around volume 16 to 19 I am getting static in the front door and dash speakers. Is this what people are resolving with switching the pins in the in the Metra harness, or is the mismatched polarity causing a different issue I have not experienced? Also, reinstalled the stock dash speaker and the static did not go away. Drove the truck a lot yesterday after just switching the door speakers and did not notice any static. Any help or advice would be appreciated. Also, how do you re-pin these stinkin' things? I should also mention, I installed the included inline capacitors on the dash speakers.

did you get this resolved? I have the same base 6 speaker system as you and as of right now I'm thoroughly confused as to which way to go on upgrades....