Changed Dash Speakers To Kickers...WOW!

[Edwards]

I just replaced my dash speakers with the Infinities from Crutchfield. They sound fantastic...HOWEVER. Now I have an ANC issue when the RPMs are held at about 1900. I unplug the new speakers and the ANC issue goes away so I know it is the new speakers. Put the stock ones back in for now. Anyone else have this issue? I saw Patsy1099 did and just disconnected the ANC. Is there a TSB or should I try another set of speakers? Don't really want to loose my ANC.

Do a search on this. There is another thread that went into detail and there are lots of questions on the polarity Ram used at each speaker. Several have had to unpin the Metra adapters to reverse the polarity to make the ANC behave again. From what I've read, that should solve your issue. You could also test the +/- of your factory speakers to see if they acutally line up to what the Metra adapters are using. You have at least one that is out of phase from what the ANC expects.

 

[Edwards]

Got the Infinity 3032's installed in the dash corners. They are definitely better than the stock HK speakers (crisper, better imaging) but I honestly can't say it's an amazing difference like others who've upgraded the Alpine or basic systems. I assume that's due to the "better" HK standard speakers. I was also surprised what they looked like as I've not seen a picture of one posted yet. Here is what the stock HK dash corners look like:


For one thing the magnet is far smaller than the Alpine speakers. Overall I'd say do it if you want better sound but just don't expect a huge difference due to the two way speaker that's standard.

 

[Rob5589]

Give em a little break-in time and I'd bet they get a little better and smoother. That and your usual go-to tunes will likely sound "woken up," if that makes sense.

When I swapped the "Alpines" it was an immediate improvement and I expect them to get better.

 

[Edwards]

Give em a little break-in time and I'd bet they get a little better and smoother. That and your usual go-to tunes will likely sound "woken up," if that makes sense.

When I swapped the "Alpines" it was an immediate improvement and I expect them to get better.

Thanks. They definitely sound better and I have no regrets. If they get even better then that's just the cherry on top.

 

[Vic]

I pulled the factory speakers, used the battery check to find the + side...

Help a dumbass out. How exactly do you do this? And when you find the positive, how do you know which wire then to solder to it?

 

[Rob5589]

Help a dumbass out. How exactly do you do this? And when you find the positive, how do you know which wire then to solder to it?

A battery, 9v or a AA. I tape a wire to the + and - sides then touch the wires to the speaker. Place the negative wire on one side then the positive on the other. If the driver moves forward, that is your positive. If it moves backwards, that is your negative. After that it is as simple as seeing which direction the plugs fits. There are YT videos on it if you want to see what you are looking for.

 

[Wedgeajt]

A battery, 9v or a AA. I tape a wire to the + and - sides then touch the wires to the speaker. Place the negative wire on one side then the positive on the other. If the driver moves forward, that is your positive. If it moves backwards, that is your negative. After that it is as simple as seeing which direction the plugs fits. There are YT videos on it if you want to see what you are looking for.

Doesnt that just give the polarity of that speaker and not the wires coming from the amp? Or do we just infer from the speaker what the actual wiring is?

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

[Wedgeajt]

Do a search on this. There is another thread that went into detail and there are lots of questions on the polarity Ram used at each speaker. Several have had to unpin the Metra adapters to reverse the polarity to make the ANC behave again. From what I've read, that should solve your issue. You could also test the +/- of your factory speakers to see if they acutally line up to what the Metra adapters are using. You have at least one that is out of phase from what the ANC expects.

Thanks...will look into a polarity issue this weekend and post results. What I have read about people having ANC issues is when they try to add an amp and sub, not just swapping dash speakers. But I may have missed those posts. So...much...to read.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

[greatone99]

Got the Infinity 3032's installed in the dash corners. They are definitely better than the stock HK speakers (crisper, better imaging) but I honestly can't say it's an amazing difference like others who've upgraded the Alpine or basic systems. I assume that's due to the "better" HK standard speakers. I was also surprised what they looked like as I've not seen a picture of one posted yet. Here is what the stock HK dash corners look like:
View attachment 31250

For one thing the magnet is far smaller than the Alpine speakers. Overall I'd say do it if you want better sound but just don't expect a huge difference due to the two way speaker that's standard.

same with me I did the infinity's ,I have the 19 harmon Kardon setup ,better ,but not night and day better, but now I can actually use my equalizer , before I had mid at minus 2-3 and treble at minus 1-2 ,now its on 0 for mid ,treble at 4

 

[Rob5589]

Doesn't that just give the polarity of that speaker and not the wires coming from the amp? Or do we just infer from the speaker what the actual wiring is?

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

True, I wanted to keep everything the way it was and not change the polarity as some have done.

 

[Edwards]

Thanks...will look into a polarity issue this weekend and post results. What I have read about people having ANC issues is when they try to add an amp and sub, not just swapping dash speakers. But I may have missed those posts. So...much...to read.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

I'd swap polarity and install one new speaker, then test drive. ANC issues tell you that you need to go back to original polarity and the other speaker was your problem. If no ANC issues put the other speaker in with your original polarity and test drive. No ANC issues and you know it was the first one. If any ANC issues with #2, swap polarity on that speaker. Then you should be good.

 

[JohnJohn301]

I dropped a pair of Kicker KSC3504 in the dash corners. Should come as no surprise but they are a huge improvement over the cheesy stock speakers. Really "wakes up" the sound. I'll work through all six before I'm done but doing the front corners only confirms that doing this is an easy, cheap upgrade that is well worth doing.

 

[rrbhokies]

I dropped a pair of Kicker KSC3504 in the dash corners. Should come as no surprise but they are a huge improvement over the cheesy stock speakers. Really "wakes up" the sound. I'll work through all six before I'm done but doing the front corners only confirms that doing this is an easy, cheap upgrade that is well worth doing.
View attachment 31283 View attachment 31283

How would these compare to what I have in my Harmon Kardon 19 speaker setup? Would these be an upgrade to what's there?

 

[RAMSTER@]

Just added the Kicker 44KSC3504 to the front corners - impressive! What a huge difference. Crutchfield included the connectors for free. Had to adjust the fade to the rear a bit to compensate. Backed off the bass and treble with the EQ. Best $40 spent on the truck thus far. Will be replacing the others as I go. Clarity is way way way better. Play Blake Shelton's new song on it before and then after. Unbelievable difference.

 

[sergetexan]

Do all RAM’s come with ANC and if not how do you if you have it or not? I have the Alpine speakers and am interested in this upgrade for the front two at least not sure about the rest or do I need all three to make it worth the while. Thanks

 

[JohnJohn301]

How would these compare to what I have in my Harmon Kardon 19 speaker setup? Would these be an upgrade to what's there?

Sorry - if you are looking for a technical comparison of different speakers, I'm not your guy. I'm sure there are some folks around this thread who could probably help - or drop in to Crutchfield and open a live chat with a tech and I'm sure they will be glad to help you.
Cheers!

 

[rrbhokies]

Sorry - if you are looking for a technical comparison of different speakers, I'm not your guy. I'm sure there are some folks around this thread who could probably help - or drop in to Crutchfield and open a live chat with a tech and I'm sure they will be glad to help you.
Cheers!

I guess I'm wondering is if everyone is replacing the stock speakers, the alpine speakers, or the Harmon Kardon speakers with these kickers. I have the HK 19 Speaker System and think it sounds very good, but if people are replacing those speakers with kickers and noticing a difference, then I'm all in for $40. Anything inexpensive like that to make a good thing better!

 

[Edwards]

I guess I'm wondering is if everyone is replacing the stock speakers, the alpine speakers, or the Harmon Kardon speakers with these kickers. I have the HK 19 Speaker System and think it sounds very good, but if people are replacing those speakers with kickers and noticing a difference, then I'm all in for $40. Anything inexpensive like that to make a good thing better!

I don't think you'd be happy replacing the dash HK speakers with the $40 Kickers. I suspect you'll be thinking, "what's the difference?" I replaced my HK dash speakers with the Infinity 3032's at $90/pair and they do sound better than the stock HK speakers, but it's not a "WOW, that's amazing" difference. Higher highs, better imaging, better "presence". I'm planning on replacing the center speaker with another one.

 

[Patsy1099]

Do all RAM’s come with ANC and if not how do you if you have it or not? I have the Alpine speakers and am interested in this upgrade for the front two at least not sure about the rest or do I need all three to make it worth the while. Thanks

All the hemis do

 

[Wedgeajt]

I'd swap polarity and install one new speaker, then test drive. ANC issues tell you that you need to go back to original polarity and the other speaker was your problem. If no ANC issues put the other speaker in with your original polarity and test drive. No ANC issues and you know it was the first one. If any ANC issues with #2, swap polarity on that speaker. Then you should be good.

Replaced one of the factory dash speakers and swapped the polarity in it. No ANC issues so far. This seems to have worked. Now will work on the other dash speaker. Thanks for the help!