HK Speaker Upgrades Misinformation

[Ram&CheeseSandwich]

Hey everyone. I’ve been reading the forums for a bit now and took the advice of many of you guys and started swapping out speakers in my 2022 Laramie with the HK sound system. Like many of you I didn’t like the sound of it at all. Weak midbass, boomy sub, and highs that weren’t to my liking.

I didn’t want to get into aftermarket amps and all of that so I kept ir simple and swapped out factory speakers for the CDTs and Faital Pros. Dampened all of the doors and door cards along the way. Used the Metra 72-7902 adaptors for the highs and initially based on advice I saw in the forums used Metra 72-6514 adaptors for the midbass.

The highs sounded great, but the midbass was non-existent. I also noticed that the engine noise/drone of my truck was much louder. I had heard about this happening to guys that changed the polarity of the speakers from how they come from factory (reversed polarity) back to normal due to the truck’s ANC but based on the Metra’s I used it should have kept polarity the same as factory.

I finally decided to try the Metra 72-6515 adaptors that change the polarity back to normal and it was a complete game changer. Mids sound great now and the drone is gone. Ive only had the time to swap out the Metra’s on the rear mids so far but already a huuuge improvement.

So my question to you all is, why is everyone recommending to use the Metra 72-6514 adaptors and saying it sounded great for them with this upgrade when Im finding the complete opposite? Is it possible that my truck came wired incorrectly from the factory? I find that hard to believe, but I also find it hard to believe that others that used the 72-6514 adaptors didn’t notice the same issues I did. What gives?

 

[djevox]

Hey everyone. I’ve been reading the forums for a bit now and took the advice of many of you guys and started swapping out speakers in my 2022 Laramie with the HK sound system. Like many of you I didn’t like the sound of it at all. Weak midbass, boomy sub, and highs that weren’t to my liking.

I didn’t want to get into aftermarket amps and all of that so I kept ir simple and swapped out factory speakers for the CDTs and Faital Pros. Dampened all of the doors and door cards along the way. Used the Metra 72-7902 adaptors for the highs and initially based on advice I saw in the forums used Metra 72-6514 adaptors for the midbass.

The highs sounded great, but the midbass was non-existent. I also noticed that the engine noise/drone of my truck was much louder. I had heard about this happening to guys that changed the polarity of the speakers from how they come from factory (reversed polarity) back to normal due to the truck’s ANC but based on the Metra’s I used it should have kept polarity the same as factory.

I finally decided to try the Metra 72-6515 adaptors that change the polarity back to normal and it was a complete game changer. Mids sound great now and the drone is gone. Ive only had the time to swap out the Metra’s on the rear mids so far but already a huuuge improvement.

So my question to you all is, why is everyone recommending to use the Metra 72-6514 adaptors and saying it sounded great for them with this upgrade when Im finding the complete opposite? Is it possible that my truck came wired incorrectly from the factory? I find that hard to believe, but I also find it hard to believe that others that used the 72-6514 adaptors didn’t notice the same issues I did. What gives?

If the 72-6514 was causing boominess from anc, then swap pins in the connector. All the connector does is provide a convenient way to disconnect the wires. In the end, the wires either have the proper polarity or not.

 

[Ram&CheeseSandwich]

The 6515 effectively does the swapping for you. Which is why I was confused why everyone recommended the 6514 and many said they installed them plug & play and had no issues with ANC or sound quality. Some mentioned that when they changed the speakers back to normal polarity they had issues with ANC. I had the exact opposite experience.

Based on what I’m seeing everyone is recommending the wrong Metras or something different is going on with my truck than everyone else’s. Just wanted to try to clear this up for people looking to do this mod in the future.

 

[djevox]

The 6515 effectively does the swapping for you. Which is why I was confused why everyone recommended the 6514 and many said they installed them plug & play and had no issues with ANC or sound quality. Some mentioned that when they changed the speakers back to normal polarity they had issues with ANC. I had the exact opposite experience.

Based on what I’m seeing everyone is recommending the wrong Metras or something different is going on with my truck than everyone else’s. Just wanted to try to clear this up for people looking to do this mod in the future.

I see what you’re saying. This is the info metra is putting out to their wholesale clients, which is why you see things like what’s in the screenshot below. I think it will catch up eventually, just like how Mopar swears that the driver side Blindspot sensor heatsink is the same as the passenger side. Anybody who’s tried that conversion knows it’s wrong.

 

[Ram&CheeseSandwich]

I see what you’re saying. This is the info metra is putting out to their wholesale clients, which is why you see things like what’s in the screenshot below. I think it will catch up eventually, just like how Mopar swears that the driver side Blindspot sensor heatsink is the same as the passenger side. Anybody who’s tried that conversion knows it’s wrong.

View attachment 136165

Yep, you’re right. When I look up the 72-6515 on Crutchfield it says it doesn’t fit my vehicle but it clearly does.

I’ll report back when I swap out the Metra’s on my front doors as well to confirm those worked better too. Just wanted to get the proper information out there based on my experience. As of right now based on what I’m seeing, the correct part number for replacing the HK 6x9’s would be the Metra 72-6515, not the 6514.

 

[Ram&CheeseSandwich]

Swapped out the Metras on the front 6x9’s last night and the improvement continued. Truck is quieter now and audio sounds much better. Definitely the 72-6515’s are the way to go.

Now I’m just trying to decide whether or not to unplug the factory HK sub.

 

[Woolnerc]

Howdy guys, installed two kappa 10inch 450 rms subs under rear seat with a infinity kappa 1000 mono sub, signal is off a pac apsub-ch41.. all works, but now looking at speakers. I have the hk system.. do anyone know what ohm the speaks are? Will be run of the stock hk amp, and the anc is bypassed too. Ive read 3 and 4 ohms, not sure what's right

 

[HSKR R/T]

Swapped out the Metras on the front 6x9’s last night and the improvement continued. Truck is quieter now and audio sounds much better. Definitely the 72-6515’s are the way to go.

Now I’m just trying to decide whether or not to unplug the factory HK sub.

Maybe I will try swapping pins on my truck. I stalled the CDT speakers in front doors and felt the bass should be better, even though it still sounded better than stock. I have the Alpine system though

 

[Ram&CheeseSandwich]

Howdy guys, installed two kappa 10inch 450 rms subs under rear seat with a infinity kappa 1000 mono sub, signal is off a pac apsub-ch41.. all works, but now looking at speakers. I have the hk system.. do anyone know what ohm the speaks are? Will be run of the stock hk amp, and the anc is bypassed too. Ive read 3 and 4 ohms, not sure what's right

All of the speakers Ive swapped in are 4ohms

 

[Ram&CheeseSandwich]

Maybe I will try swapping pins on my truck. I stalled the CDT speakers in front doors and felt the bass should be better, even though it still sounded better than stock. I have the Alpine system though

Ive continued reading into this issue and found that many people have reported that the polarity to the factory speakers in these trucks is inconsistent and all over the place. Some have reported that only their rear mids were reverse polarity, some have said their dash speakers were. A recommendation was to test the polarity of all of your factory speakers before deciding which Metras to get. In hindsight I would have done this myself. In fact I’m not 100% sure all of my speakers are in correct polarity now but based on the sound I knew some weren’t before and they sound much much better now.

Give a try to testing your polarity and see what you can find. There are apps you can download that you can use to test it. Or you can use a AA battery.

 

[dieldrin]

I've got a 21 Laramie with the HK system as well.

I also replaced the factory 6x9 with CDTs and the dash speakers with Faital Pros, dampened the doors and used 72-7902 and 72-6514 adaptors,... I'm now having audio problems.

Note:
*The ANC was disconnected prior to changing the speakers - I was sometimes getting terrible sub drone while towing with my Ridge Grapplers*
*Another note I previously stuffed 1.5 queen size pillows worth of polyfil in the sub enclosure, tightened it up a lot and got rid of boomyness.

As far as the speakers are concerned...
First I did the dash with the FitalPros and 72-7902 connectors, sounded better than stock however the volume level decreased a bit but clarity increased, I was able to play with the EQ and get it sounding pretty damn good with the stock 6x9s in there.

After a week of using the system like this I found time to change out the 6x9s.
I checked the phase off all 4 with the new connectors attached.
I used a multimeter with the stereo on looking for positive DC voltage across the speaker wires with the stock speakers removed.
For reasons unknown the drivers side rear door measured out of phase so I switched the pins on the 72-6514 connector for that speaker.

Upon completion it just sounded off, the bass was very limited, it sounded so much better with the stock 6x9s, I kept it like this for a few days tinkering with the EQ and trying different music but was unable to remedy it so I switched the polarity back on the drivers side rear 6x9. It sounds better like this but the bass is very limited... "sometimes".... sigh
Some songs sound great and some sound terrible...
The Sirius channel "Chill" pounds and sounds great for that type of music.
Some beastie boys "intergalactic" no bass at all , if I swing the EQ bass up and down I get hardly no noticeable difference in the amount of bass.
Some heavy metal stuff has awesome punchy double bass, some songs the bass drum is non existent.
I tried playing a frequency sweep and it sounds like all frequencies are coming through at equal volume.

I know something is wrong but I'm not sure what to try next.
Could the sub be out of phase from the factory and cancelling some bass sometimes?
Is the DC voltage method reliable in determining phase? Should I take everything apart and use this method to test all speakers?
Any advice is appreciated.

One other anomaly I should mention is I can "feel" the bass more than I can "hear" the bass if that makes any sense...

 

[HSKR R/T]

I've got a 21 Laramie with the HK system as well.

I also replaced the factory 6x9 with CDTs and the dash speakers with Faital Pros, dampened the doors and used 72-7902 and 72-6514 adaptors,... I'm now having audio problems.

Note:
*The ANC was disconnected prior to changing the speakers - I was sometimes getting terrible sub drone while towing with my Ridge Grapplers*
*Another note I previously stuffed 1.5 queen size pillows worth of polyfil in the sub enclosure, tightened it up a lot and got rid of boomyness.

As far as the speakers are concerned...
First I did the dash with the FitalPros and 72-7902 connectors, sounded better than stock however the volume level decreased a bit but clarity increased, I was able to play with the EQ and get it sounding pretty damn good with the stock 6x9s in there.

After a week of using the system like this I found time to change out the 6x9s.
I checked the phase off all 4 with the new connectors attached.
I used a multimeter with the stereo on looking for positive DC voltage across the speaker wires with the stock speakers removed.
For reasons unknown the drivers side rear door measured out of phase so I switched the pins on the 72-6514 connector for that speaker.

Upon completion it just sounded off, the bass was very limited, it sounded so much better with the stock 6x9s, I kept it like this for a few days tinkering with the EQ and trying different music but was unable to remedy it so I switched the polarity back on the drivers side rear 6x9. It sounds better like this but the bass is very limited... "sometimes".... sigh
Some songs sound great and some sound terrible...
The Sirius channel "Chill" pounds and sounds great for that type of music.
Some beastie boys "intergalactic" no bass at all , if I swing the EQ bass up and down I get hardly no noticeable difference in the amount of bass.
Some heavy metal stuff has awesome punchy double bass, some songs the bass drum is non existent.
I tried playing a frequency sweep and it sounds like all frequencies are coming through at equal volume.

I know something is wrong but I'm not sure what to try next.
Could the sub be out of phase from the factory and cancelling some bass sometimes?
Is the DC voltage method reliable in determining phase? Should I take everything apart and use this method to test all speakers?
Any advice is appreciated.

One other anomaly I should mention is I can "feel" the bass more than I can "hear" the bass if that makes any sense...

Swap the polarity on the adapter har was for the door speakers. I just did mine on the front of the CDT speakers I installed. Thought it sounded good before, but had to turn volume up more to get bass. After swapping the polarity on the harness it sounds so much better. The front doors were cancelling out the sub until you turned volume up enough for sub to play over the door speakers.

 

[dieldrin]

Swap the polarity on the adapter har was for the door speakers. I just did mine on the front of the CDT speakers I installed. Thought it sounded good before, but had to turn volume up more to get bass. After swapping the polarity on the harness it sounds so much better. The front doors were cancelling out the sub until you turned volume up enough for sub to play over the door speakers.

This sounds like it could be what's happening with my bass canceling.
I wish it wasn't such a PITA to swap the polarity. Did you use connectors... I'm curious if your swap ultimately resulted in + to + or + to - polarity.
Amazon just delivered a polarity tester https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MQ55QHL
(I really don't trust the wiring at all, the cheap pop test android app shows my center dash out of polarity from the left and right dash)
I figured I'd test all the speakers and set them up the same way.

 

[dieldrin]

So I tried that little polarity tester from amazon and I got frustrated because I was getting inconsistent results, I'll try again if I can created a more controlled environment and disconnect other speakers while testing. anyway...

I've been strapped for time- busy with the kids but this stereo situation is driving me nuts, I decided to unplug the sub as a quick test to see if I could notice if its fighting with the 6x9s.
OMG THE SYSTEM CAME ALIVE!!!!, TONS of bass with the sub unplugged, (who whudda thought)... finally full range response, even really deep sub frequencies are quite powerful with the CDT 6x9s!!!

Before I started switching speakers I disconnected the sub for a few weeks but missed it and ultimately decided to plug it back in and try stuffing it which helped a lot, that all led me to this and now its unplugged again lol, I hate to have the sub and not use it especially thinking the system could have more untapped potential.
Can anyone provide feedback on getting the sub going and adding audio quality? It seems to me the the 6x9s are out of phase with the sub should I switch all 6x9 polarity or just the sub polarity.,,, perhaps I should leave well enough alone and get back to the honey do list....

Anyway, I just wanted to share, if anyone having similar issues try pulling the plug on that sub!

 

[HSKR R/T]

So I tried that little polarity tester from amazon and I got frustrated because I was getting inconsistent results, I'll try again if I can created a more controlled environment and disconnect other speakers while testing. anyway...

I've been strapped for time- busy with the kids but this stereo situation is driving me nuts, I decided to unplug the sub as a quick test to see if I could notice if its fighting with the 6x9s.
OMG THE SYSTEM CAME ALIVE!!!!, TONS of bass with the sub unplugged, (who whudda thought)... finally full range response, even really deep sub frequencies are quite powerful with the CDT 6x9s!!!

Before I started switching speakers I disconnected the sub for a few weeks but missed it and ultimately decided to plug it back in and try stuffing it which helped a lot, that all led me to this and now its unplugged again lol, I hate to have the sub and not use it especially thinking the system could have more untapped potential.
Can anyone provide feedback on getting the sub going and adding audio quality? It seems to me the the 6x9s are out of phase with the sub should I switch all 6x9 polarity or just the sub polarity.,,, perhaps I should leave well enough alone and get back to the honey do list....

Anyway, I just wanted to share, if anyone having similar issues try pulling the plug on that sub!

Switch polarity on the speakers. If your 6x9s are out of phase they may even be fighting the tweeters. It's easy to switch the pins on the adapter harness plug.

 

[Striker01]

I can confirm the 14 connectors were not right in my 22 with HK system. After installing the CDT 6x9s the ANC freaked out when driving and the bass was completely gone.

I checked the polarity on the factory speakers, all 4 doors were opposite polarity to what the factory speakers were with the 6514 adapters. I re-pinned the adapters to match factory polarity and it sounds so much better, I was even able to plug the ANC mic pins back in without any issues.