Upgrade - Swapping out the Factory "Alpine" Speakers

[bamanerd]

Hey guys-- I've had my truck for a little over a month now, and I'm getting around to upgrading a few things. I ordered these Kicker 3.5" speakers to replace the washed-out "Alpine" speakers in the dash. I'm only replacing the corners at this point, but I may order a second pair, if I can't pick up someone else's spare within the next few weeks. If I do end up ordering a new pair for one speaker, I'll post my spare for sale on here.

I purchased these on Friday, and they arrived yesterday(Tuesday). I was able to pull mine out and slap the new ones in....all in less than an hour. I opted to splice the wires in for the new speakers with solder, rather than buying the $10 metra connector for each side, plus the 8 bucks shipping. A good solder joint beats a connector any day. I heat-shrink tubed the solder joints when finished to keep everything tight and tidy for years to come.

It sounds fantastic. A definite improvement over the factory Alpine setup. I'll probably soon be swapping out the 4 door speakers. With these new Kickers sitting in the windshield, you definitely need some two, or three-ways, in the doors to balance it out a little. I'm loving it, though. Super happy I spent the 40 bucks to get those Kickers here. I plan to swap out that sub behind the back seat, too. I've read there's a Pioneer 8" shallow mount that's supposed to run pretty well with the factory amp in the Alpine setup. If anyone has any experience with this, I'm all ears.

 

[Rob5589]

Nice. Definitely a popular mod. I replaced all three, much better overall.

 

[Rampat]

Have you had any issues with the rear roof speakers? I haven't played with it much but last weekend we went on a road trip and my wife sat in the back with the baby and said she couldn't hear much coming out of them at all.

 

[Rob5589]

No but I have it faded to the front about 25%, the way I like to listen to music.

 

[bamanerd]

Thanks dude.

I haven't yet swapped those, but I would definitely love to soon. I have noticed while sitting back there tinkering that those things put out zero sound.....It's pitiful. I have a page bookmarked on my other computer with a good write-up about this upgrade. He replaced those with some brand name 2.5" speakers. I'll find it and link it here asap.

 

[Damion]

Try turning the " surround sound " on in the audio settings, that should make the roof speakers active. Personally I have mine off.

 

[bamanerd]

I'll check that out. I'm pretty sure mine is on at the moment. I was in there not too long ago looking at things. I didn't hear a difference at all when switching back and forth.

 

[HeliPilot]

I'll check that out. I'm pretty sure mine is on at the moment. I was in there not too long ago looking at things. I didn't hear a difference at all when switching back and forth.

I have the HK, if I sit in the rear seat, my overhead speakers are load and clear. Not sure about the Surround sound making a difference, but mine is set to surround on.

 

[bamanerd]

I just checked. The surround sound makes zero difference. The headliner speakers are on, either way. They just have zero output. They're trash, and aren't even setup to perform their role. They don't even have a tweeter. They're just little paper 2.5" speakers. A nice set of 2.5"s with a silk tweeter should liven up the entire cab.

I went back and found the thread that I referred to in a previous post. This guy has some great info.

Alpine to JL Audio- Dash, Center and Headliner Speakers

www.ramforumz.com

@Heli-Pilot I had the HK setup in my WRX that I just traded for this RAM......it is AMAZING. I miss it. I've been into car audio for more than 20 years now, and it was the nicest factory setup that I've ever experienced.

 

[Rampat]

I almost always listen to SiriusXM so surround sound is not an option anyway. It grays out when on that input. I did adjust the fade/balance to all rear while we were driving and she could hear it fine when I did that but when I put it back to center she couldn't hear it anymore.

 

[bamanerd]

Weird.....I think my option is available when using Sirius. That's all I really listen to, also. It does say that it "may not be available in all modes," but I assumed that was over bluetooth or AM/FM.....because mine is on. I will absolutely double check this today though.

Good, I'm glad you got to at least hear them. They don't sound terrible......when you can hear them. You just can't hear them when it's faded from center frontward. It may actually be an error in the wiring. I read on one of these threads that the left(driver's) front door speaker incorrectly has the polarity swapped....from the factory. This causes a 180 degree phase shift, and could possibly cause what were experiencing. It can cause the speaker to not play quite as loudly. On a tiny, little 2.5" speaker I would assume that effect would be dramatically amplified (no pun intended xD). Who knows.....Just a thought. I'll try and look into it, if only to put my mind at rest.

 

[1AGOFAST]

Weird.....I think my option is available when using Sirius. That's all I really listen to, also. It does say that it "may not be available in all modes," but I assumed that was over bluetooth or AM/FM.....because mine is on. I will absolutely double check this today though.

Good, I'm glad you got to at least hear them. They don't sound terrible......when you can hear them. You just can't hear them when it's faded from center frontward. It may actually be an error in the wiring. I read on one of these threads that the left(driver's) front door speaker incorrectly has the polarity swapped....from the factory. This causes a 180 degree phase shift, and could possibly cause what were experiencing. It can cause the speaker to not play quite as loudly. On a tiny, little 2.5" speaker I would assume that effect would be dramatically amplified (no pun intended xD). Who knows.....Just a thought. I'll try and look into it, if only to put my mind at rest.

Curious where you heard that speaker was reverse wired???

 

[THFD334]

So… I don’t believe I have the alpine system. I know I don’t have a sub or amp. Will just replacing the factory speakers with kickers or better help the sound without having an amp to go with it??

 

[THFD334]

I should add, 2019 1500 Big Horn/Lonestar, Level 1 equipment package

 

[ramButz]

So… I don’t believe I have the alpine system. I know I don’t have a sub or amp. Will just replacing the factory speakers with kickers or better help the sound without having an amp to go with it??

those speakers are to be heard at there highest performance.the stock amp can play them ,but not at optimal performance.they are meant to protect the cheap paper speaker and bass sub.so they will starve off those speakers for protection.your after market are made for peak perfomance