5th Gen Stock Stereo Upgrade Options?

[LVLAaron]

@kirkelli - did you run speaker wire to the dash speakers? I can easily see that the drivers side will be no problem to access but the passenger side is pretty well hidden by the glove box and blower. You have any trouble here?

 

[kirkelli]

@kirkelli - did you run speaker wire to the dash speakers? I can easily see that the drivers side will be no problem to access but the passenger side is pretty well hidden by the glove box and blower. You have any trouble here?

Yes, very easy. remove dash speakers use a long plastic zip tie as a fish from top down.. route your wires under kick panels left and right. i ran mine to the rear behind second seat. There is also lots of space under a hidden panel in the center hump area. Ran my power cables for amps in this space.

 

[kirkelli]

@kirkelli - Thanks for the write up! I have focal 165's in the truck right now. An Audio Control D-6.1200 under the rear seat and a T harness from LLJ customs in the mail. I can't wait to hook it all up. I guess I need to find some of those load resistors. :/

Netaudio will fix you up with a load only harness. They will do almost anything. talk to them.. Great People. I think they even make a Harness specifically for Ram and the Audio Control unit.

 

[kirkelli]

Hi Folks,, Kirkelli again.. I forgot to mention the best part of my install with the VXi Amps and wanted to make sure some of you are aware of this. The VXi amps accept RCA and or Fiber Inputs and are switchable by a digital remote control accessory for these amps. When i installed the system i can used the RCA jacks and also ran the fiber cable to my center glove box. I have a Fiio DAC player that is switchable to a fiber output. All my music is burned via FLAC to my DAC player. When i run my music via the DAC, it complety bypasses the head unit and you can not believe the sound quality and purity with this very clean input. Don't get me wrong,, music sounds good going the the head unit as well but when im on a long trip and just want ot listen to so some nice clean jaming i use the fiber as input to the system.. Totally Awesome.. and i really cant say that enough time.

ii

 

[LVLAaron]

Netaudio will fix you up with a load only harness. They will do almost anything. talk to them.. Great People. I think they even make a Harness specifically for Ram and the Audio Control unit.

I already ordered one of these: https://lljcustoms.com/store?olsPage=products/oem-loop-harnesses

Wish I had known about the one you posted. I can integrate some resistors. No big deal. Wiring is my jam.

 

[Adriancp]

Hey guys, I’ve got a question that I haven’t seen addressed yet (forgive me if I skipped over it). 2019 Bighorn with base 6 speaker system. Getting ready to start complete stereo install, competition level system. Has anyone discovered if a PAC-Pro amp integration module be connected to the 8.4” base system if a service tech changes a “sale-code” to tell the unit it is an amplified system so that the CanBus data can be used? I couldn’t imagine Ram used a different wiring harness for all of the different trim levels and options.

Would love to hear your thoughts on this. Thanks

 

[kirkelli]

Hey guys, I’ve got a question that I haven’t seen addressed yet (forgive me if I skipped over it). 2019 Bighorn with base 6 speaker system. Getting ready to start complete stereo install, competition level system. Has anyone discovered if a PAC-Pro amp integration module be connected to the 8.4” base system if a service tech changes a “sale-code” to tell the unit it is an amplified system so that the CanBus data can be used? I couldn’t imagine Ram used a different wiring harness for all of the different trim levels and options.

Would love to hear your thoughts on this. Thanks

No need for the PAC-Pro if you want competition level and retain your factory head unit. Go with the JL Audio FIX 86. Run the 4 high levels from factory radio into the FIX 86. Thae FIX will sum everything and give you a flat output to drive your amps. I would go with an amplifier you can tune via computer.. You want need any special service tech flashes, everything you had factory will be retained. From my understanding, the 8.4 radio is the same with exceptions to optional NAV and sat radio. The differences are how the output of the radio feeds various factory amplifier options, i.e. Alpine, Harmon Cardon. etc. IMHO, the basic 6 ch system is the best versions to start a new Audio build. This way you don't have to worry about factory amps etc.. As a starting point, follow the PDF i attached in earlier post.. Make your own variation with your favorite amps, speaker etc. I can tell you the system i installed rocks. I couldn't be happier.

 

[Adriancp]

I actually have a Fix-86 in my garage right now. I guess I'm still just paranoid about wanting to get the cleanest signal possible. I appreciate your advice!

 

[kirkelli]

I actually have a Fix-86 in my garage right now. I guess I'm still just paranoid about wanting to get the cleanest signal possible. I appreciate your advice!

Don't be paranoid. I have an Alpine X209 w/JL Audio amp & Morel Speakers in my Jeep. The factory system in my Truck w/ the FIX 86 feeding my amps sound as good or better than the Alpine in my Jeep. In fact, you will get a cleaner output with FIX than using the PAK simply because the PAK would be doing an additional conversion. The factory radios with Amps are taking the high level out to feed factory amp. No different that the FIX 86. However if you use the PAK method you are then converting once again to LOW level RCA.. Defiantly go with a Tunable DSP amplifier such as Alpiine or JL Audio. This is the trick to getting good sounding output.

 

[jasonkessel]

So, I have been reading most of this thread but I'll admit I haven't had time to read all 32 pages. I do not have a 2019 RAM 1500 yet, but I will be buying one in September. I will admit, upgrading the audio system seems like a nightmare. I have a 32 year old Rockford Fosgate Power 300 MOSFET amp that I have had in every vehicle I've driven since 1991. I would REALLY love to keep using this awesome old school amp, but is that possible or even a good idea with the new RAM 1500? It's not even a digital amp (4-channel RCA connection) so there is no "app for tuning". Any advise you guys have would be great. Thanks.

 

[wildh24]

So, I have been reading most of this thread but I'll admit I haven't had time to read all 32 pages. I do not have a 2019 RAM 1500 yet, but I will be buying one in September. I will admit, upgrading the audio system seems like a nightmare. I have a 32 year old Rockford Fosgate Power 300 MOSFET amp that I have had in every vehicle I've driven since 1991. I would REALLY love to keep using this awesome old school amp, but is that possible or even a good idea with the new RAM 1500? It's not even a digital amp (4-channel RCA connection) so there is no "app for tuning". Any advise you guys have would be great. Thanks.

It's fine to add aftermarket amps, but like most modern vehicles you're going to need some sort of system integration module to retain all of the factory stuff. You can use the dsr1 or PAC Amppro. Are you just wanting to add a sub or overhaul the entire thing?

 

[kirkelli]

So, I have been reading most of this thread but I'll admit I haven't had time to read all 32 pages. I do not have a 2019 RAM 1500 yet, but I will be buying one in September. I will admit, upgrading the audio system seems like a nightmare. I have a 32 year old Rockford Fosgate Power 300 MOSFET amp that I have had in every vehicle I've driven since 1991. I would REALLY love to keep using this awesome old school amp, but is that possible or even a good idea with the new RAM 1500? It's not even a digital amp (4-channel RCA connection) so there is no "app for tuning". Any advise you guys have would be great. Thanks.

If you want to maintain all 6 ch’s In basic Ram config, your 4 ch amp will work. I would put a DSP in front of it as you will need to tweak tuning with factory radios. However, unless you plan to add a sub and speakers that require power, (bigger amps) I would leave in factory mode, maybe do a speaker swap. Otherwise, you.ll get knee high and end up doing a complete system. Could be a good thing, but your wallet is going to hurt.

 

[jasonkessel]

It's fine to add aftermarket amps, but like most modern vehicles you're going to need some sort of system integration module to retain all of the factory stuff. You can use the dsr1 or PAC Amppro. Are you just wanting to add a sub or overhaul the entire thing?

If you want to maintain all 6 ch’s In basic Ram config, your 4 ch amp will work. I would put a DSP in front of it as you will need to tweak tuning with factory radios. However, unless you plan to add a sub and speakers that require power, (bigger amps) I would leave in factory mode, maybe do a speaker swap. Otherwise, you.ll get knee high and end up doing a complete system. Could be a good thing, but your wallet is going to hurt.

I usually just add a subwoofer at first and run the factory speakers off the amp until they start to sound like crap. The amp has a crossover, so the factory speakers only run at 150hz and above. Factory speakers can usually handle it for a few years, then I replace them with something better. So to recap, I want to add my 300 watt amp and a subwoofer box to start. Speaking of subwoofer box, I am thinking about this option:

2019+ RAM CREW CAB 2-12'' VENTED SUB BOX v2

www.foxacoustics.com

If anyone has experience with this box or similar, let me know.

I guess after reading some of the earlier posts in this thread I got scared. It sounded like a lot of trial and error with volume fluctuation and motor whine. I also read people with iPhones have issues with the JL Fix 86 and similar products. I stream my music from the iPhone 90% of the time. I would hate to spend the money on something like this and be a beta tester. Fortunately, it will be a while before I even attempt anything like this. Bottom line I want to make the upgrade as simple as possible. Like the old days.

 

[wildh24]

^^^I think the cleanest and easiest solution is the PAC Amppro to get your sub signal. That would is as close to just an easy old school plug and play piece as you get. It adds a bit of cost but is about as simple as it comes and would really reduce the chances of noise.

 

[Whiskey_tango]

@YoAdrian does your ANC wiring harness match the diagram that @I Love Grits posted? I have the base 6 speaker setup and I’ve removed the ANC module. I’m looking at the two harnesses for input/output and trying to identify the speaker wires but the color scheme isn’t matching up. I unpinned the anc mics a while back by following one of the diagrams here, might have been yours, and all went smoothly. I just removed the first 4 pairs to the right of the power (red) wire, didn’t pay attention to the color scheme, and all has been good (no anc). But now that I am ready to wire this up and looking at the colors, it doesn’t match. What the heck. Am I missing something simple?

Here’s what my two harnesses look like.

So to disable the ANC you just pulled the ANC mic wires out of the plug?

 

[jasonkessel]

^^^I think the cleanest and easiest solution is the PAC Amppro to get your sub signal. That would is as close to just an easy old school plug and play piece as you get. It adds a bit of cost but is about as simple as it comes and would really reduce the chances of noise.

Hmmmmm.... maybe it's not as complicated as I originally thought. Maybe having such an old school amp works out in my favor. All I want to do is use the factory 8.4" head unit, then connect my old amp to drive the factory speakers and a sub box. I think maybe I got thrown off by the complexity and trial and error with the Fix-86 and the Rockford Fosgate and Audio Control solutions. Seems like a PAC AmpPro AP4-CH41 would do the trick. All the speaker connections are under the driver seat so that would actually be easier than past installs where I had to connect to the factory speakers from behind the dash (unless I ran all new wires).

 

[wildh24]

Hmmmmm.... maybe it's not as complicated as I originally thought. Maybe having such an old school amp works out in my favor. All I want to do is use the factory 8.4" head unit, then connect my old amp to drive the factory speakers and a sub box. I think maybe I got thrown off by the complexity and trial and error with the Fix-86 and the Rockford Fosgate and Audio Control solutions. Seems like a PAC AmpPro AP4-CH41 would do the trick. All the speaker connections are under the driver seat so that would actually be easier than past installs where I had to connect to the factory speakers from behind the dash (unless I ran all new wires).

What factory system do you have? I have the HK and just replaced the stock speakers. I thought about running new amps, but the shear number of channels needed was intimidating (and the factory amp with new speakers sounded plenty good), so I just use it for the sub channel.

 

[jasonkessel]

What factory system do you have? I have the HK and just replaced the stock speakers. I thought about running new amps, but the shear number of channels needed was intimidating (and the factory amp with new speakers sounded plenty good), so I just use it for the sub channel.

I don't have a Ram 1500 yet. I'm trading in my 2006 Ford F250 for a 2019/2020 Ram 1500 4x4 Hemi in September, so I am just trying to plan ahead for when I want to upgrade the audio. I'm not familiar with the factory systems in the RAM 1500 at all.

 

[wildh24]

I don't have a Ram 1500 yet. I'm trading in my 2006 Ford F250 for a 2019/2020 Ram 1500 4x4 Hemi in September, so I am just trying to plan ahead for when I want to upgrade the audio. I'm not familiar with the factory systems in the RAM 1500 at all.

Got ya. Well I will just say this. There's a lot of discussion on this forum, but I think in general if you have the Alpine or HK system, many people have been happy with just replacing the stock speakers and running them off of the factory amp. It's not going to get rear splitting loud, but the quality is pretty good.

The factory subs are lacking and tend to overblow the mid bass. Personally, I disconnected the factory sub and used a JL 10tw1. That in combination with replaced speakers (Infinity) had me very happy. I'm adding a second sub just because I'm dumb, but one would be sufficient.

If you're just doing that (and not building your own box) you could easily do it in an afternoon.

 

[jasonkessel]

Got ya. Well I will just say this. There's a lot of discussion on this forum, but I think in general if you have the Alpine or HK system, many people have been happy with just replacing the stock speakers and running them off of the factory amp. It's not going to get rear splitting loud, but the quality is pretty good.

The factory subs are lacking and tend to overblow the mid bass. Personally, I disconnected the factory sub and used a JL 10tw1. That in combination with replaced speakers (Infinity) had me very happy. I'm adding a second sub just because I'm dumb, but one would be sufficient.

If you're just doing that (and not building your own box) you could easily do it in an afternoon.

I seriously doubt either the HK or the Alpine system would come even close to satisfying the volume and rumble I prefer. I'm used to having a 12" sub for bass, so there's no way a factory sub would even come close to that. Not to mention I am trying to keep the legacy of my 32 year old Fosgate Power 300 amp alive and well.

I will be keeping an eye on these forums on a regular basis until the time comes. I'm hoping any kinks people have had will be ironed out by then...