New door speakers for the Silverado? Want to replace the door speakers in mine.....

[Meghan54]

The stereo in the truck is sad, at best. While the stereo is the "enhanced" setup, the door speakers are awful. They are the 6 3/4"(?) mid-woof with a separate tweeter above.

The truck in question is a 2003 Silverado reg. cab, HU is the step below the Bose stuff...has CD and cassette. Door speakers are as listed above and it also has some 4x6's in the rear pillars.

So, I'm looking to replace them with something a bit more substantial and better sounding. Yes, I understand the head unit isn't audiophile material, either, but unless I can be absolutely assured that changing it out won't screw up all the other electronics in the truck---and I've been reading some horror stories of messed up computers, losing steering wheel controls despite the HU being "compatible", and the fact I'd have to cut the metal support out from behind the dash (that's what I've been told, anyway), I think the HU is going to stay for now.

I do have a set of Polk db651s speakers, intended for the boat but can be re-purposed to use in the truck without a problem. They're the slim fit speakers, but that shouldn't be a major problem at all.

But I'm open to suggestions, including a component setup, but with that I'd almost for sure have to upgrade the HU as most component speaker setups need much more power than a simple pair of coax speakers. And I'm really not looking to move into audiophile level sound in the truck.....it's a truck, after all, and I my audiophile jones is being satisfied by my home equipment.

Suggestions?




Second, new car parts make me smile. FedEx and UPS just delivered a few new ones, and I've been waiting for the yellow ones with great anticipation:

Alas, these are about the last I've got to replace. So, my Christmas in October is about to end.

 

[Dead3ye]

Extended or Quad cab? What year?

 

[Jimzz]

Can you take pictures of the pads (the face and the letters written on them?)

I wanted to try those pads but have not had a chance yet. Like to see the ratings and face.

 

[Meghan54]

Extended or Quad cab? What year?

2003 regular cab Silverado. Has the aforementioned speakers in the doors, 4x6's (?) in the rear pillars, behind the seats. They're junk too, but not anxious to replace them yet as they really don't add too much.

 

[Meghan54]

Can you take pictures of the pads (the face and the letters written on them?)

I wanted to try those pads but have not had a chance yet. Like to see the ratings and face.

Sure, I'll try (I'm sure you know the pads are semi-mets and not ceramics...not exactly "smooth", and I'm very sure they're not as quiet, dust worse, nor as rotor friendly as ceramics):

Face:

Face closeup:

Only writing on the pad:

 

[Jimzz]

^

Awesome, thank you.

Write back after you install. Seems weird they have a EE rating but the material looks well ground.

 

[Meghan54]

Just to follow up on your request, Jimzz....won't be happening, at least with that set of pads and truck. While I was "playing" with the pads last night, more getting everything ready to install them today, I noticed a very small hairline crack in one of the pads.

So, they're being returned and replaced with a set of Hawk LTS pads instead. Sorry.

 

[hanoverphist]

The stereo in the truck is sad, at best. While the stereo is the "enhanced" setup, the door speakers are awful. They are the 6 3/4"(?) mid-woof with a separate tweeter above.

as far as speakers, you could do a lot with a middle of the road pioneer speaker. the fronts are 6.5" and the rears are 4x6. the fronts you could go as large as you want, theres at least 4" of depth to play with. personally, id get a good set of components (separate tweeters) and rock on. i have memphis components in my truck, and pioneers in my car. both sound great, but the memphis are clearly the winners. HU's are similar pioneers.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

slap the spare pair of polks you have in there. Might be enough of an upgrade and your only cost is time.

Otherwise as hanover suggested pioneer, kenwood, etc. full range is also easy and cheap.

 

[Meghan54]

Appreciate the suggestions!

Couple of quick questions...efficiency is fairly important, I'd think, since I'm going to attempt to retain the stock HU. From what I've read, component setups aren't the most friendly to drive with low output. Are the Memphis better at this?

I've used mid-line Pioneers before in older times. Had fairly good success, surprisingly decent sound, but their longevity had been spotty at best. Have they gotten any better over the years?

Any opinions on Boston Acoustics? I know they've essentially quit the mobile market, but I've found a few new sets of 6.5" speakers still around. Crutchfield, when asked, says none of the BA's fit except one specific 5 1/4" speaker. The mounting depths of the 6.5" BA's are around 2 1/4" or so.....is there something about the power window mechanism I'm missing?

The Polks, while nice, were bought for the boat and I really hate to have to repurchase the same kit over....I'll never get the same price on them as what I paid for the set I got, which is why I didn't mind putting them into the boat in the first place. Not that I'm cheap, just want the best bang-for-buck in SQ I can get for the truck. But, after all, it still is a truck and not the Lexus.


*Sigh* Off to read and look some more.

Thanks again!

 

[phucheneh]

Unfortunately, you're kind of in a grey area where you're not going to get a lot of solid information. With regards to the stereo.

Even a 'casual audiophile' (I know, oxymoron, but you get my intent) is going to want to go components with a separate amplifier. You can do this for at little at 150-200 bucks, possibly less. Just a high-value $100 set of speakers and the smallest of 2ch amps will make a world of difference.

Not a lot of great opinions out there on coaxes to run on HU power. No, I would not try components. The crossovers and tweeters will probably eat most of the ~15w per channel that you have available. The mids will be really underpowered and just not able to reproduce your lower frequencies. Not subwoofer low, but just 'midbass' low. There will be no punch in a kick drum or a fat bass guitar groove.

Efficiency is, as you've stated, going to be of the highest priority- and it just doesn't get discussed much. And it's also not a very consistent thing. I've installed a set of $50 Pioneer 6.5's and had them 'thump,' for lack of a better term, on HU power. I've installed other sets, same brand, same price point...even a similar RMS rating and a magnet of similar heft...and had them be completely gutless. Could not muster up any bottom end at all.

With coaxes/HU power, you're going to end up in a game of chance, IMO.

 

[Meghan54]

I know I should be doing the Full Monty and just bite the bullet and replace the HU, but it's such a pain in the ass to do it, not to mention being overly pricey.

A decent HU replacement would run $200. I'm OK with that, but then the extra expenses crop up....the two wiring harnesses I'd have to buy to retain the steering wheel controls (~$90) and the door chimes/rest of the electronics controlled through the stock HU, and there are more than a couple, unfortunately....(~$100). So I'd be looking at almost $400 just to put in a decent aftermarket HU into the truck.

Oh, and then I'd probably end up having to cut out the steel support for the stock radio, another bit of niceness I'd really rather not do.

Then the amp(s) and speakers. Heck, I'd be approaching $1000 when it's all said and done, and I'd have spent 1/8 of what I spent on the entire truck for a stereo system. Just don't want to go down that road. I spent more than enough on my home audio setups.

C'est la vie.

I'd even consider an amp that'd have speaker level inputs, but quality amps just don't usually have them.

 

[ballmode]

What do you think of those Polks? I have a 6.5" pair of them in my WRX and they are very crisp and clear but do not produce ANY bass at all compared to my Infinity Kappas

 

[Bacstar]

I had the same problem when adding amps and new speakers to my car. I couldn't change out the head unit due to all the crap it controls in the car, but my installer recommended I get this:

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_136441DSP/JL-Audio-CL441dsp-CleanSweep.html#overview-tab

Didn't have the money at the time, but I still had the amps and speakers installed. The system sounded pretty good, but could be better. One of my amps is going into protection mode all the time, so I have a warranty replacement on order. I also ended up ordering Alpine's version of the Cleansweep and will see how it goes.

 

[Meghan54]

What do you think of those Polks? I have a 6.5" pair of them in my WRX and they are very crisp and clear but do not produce ANY bass at all compared to my Infinity Kappas

And that's about how I'd sum them up. Granted, they're in a less than optimal install being in the boat, and being powered by an ultra cheap Jensen marine radio that's almost as old as the boat, which is a 2000 model, but no bass, great mid- and upper end. And thinking back, I've tried Polks in other vehicles over the years, and every time I've taken them back.

The last time was doing speakers in my old Chrysler LeBaron turbo, '86 model, and the Polks were again less than satisfying. They got replaced with some Alpine S speakers that I scarfed at Best Buy when BB was discontinuing carrying the Alpine brand and deeply discounting them.

The Alpine speakers were a bit of an improvement over the Polks, at least in the lower end. Again, both were being driven by a stock Chrysler HU.


I just went back out an relistened to the Polks. Think they'll stay right where they are and I'll keep looking. Maybe try the BA's I've found.

Dunno.

 

[phucheneh]

There are cheaper alternatives to cleansweap. Having software control with tons of options is nice, but they're functionally the same as lineout converters, which are cheap. Could hit that $200 with a decent 2ch amp, a lineout converter, and a comp set. $200 and you go all the way, and never deal with your front speakers again. You'll then be free to add dat bass in the back, employing similar methods (amp and subwoofers).

Here's a pretty spiffy amp. Lots of control, good power output.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Xa175-2-CAD...OOFER-SPEAKERS-AMPLIFIER-ORANGE-/130682268521

There's speakers:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cadence-CWM...2?pt=Car_Speakers&hash=item51ae583a06&vxp=mtr

Just grab some line converters for cheap, and you're all set,

 

[Meghan54]

Well, playing around with buying sets of these:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...=ATVPDKIKX0DER (door)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...=ATVPDKIKX0DER (rear pillar)


--OR--

Sets of these:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...=ATVPDKIKX0DER (door)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...=ATVPDKIKX0DER (rear pillar)


Only looking at the JBL's because they are biased towards the bottom while Infinity is more biased towards the treble side of things. And as my hearing is age and sound exposure compromised (spend most of your youth going to rock concerts and playing with combat engineers who love to blow stuff up.....), an extremely detailed high end is really going to be lost. That and the truck is just going to suck a lot of that detailed treble up.

That's also why I looked at the Kappa line and sorta eliminated it. Have read too many comments that the Kappa line, while nice and accurate through the top end, compromised the bottom for that. Some even claim the sound is overly bright, brittle, etc.


And phucheneh, I appreciate the links, but I'm not buying anything off ebay if I can help it. Instead, Amazon with Prime....vastly easier to return the stuff if it sounds like crap. Cannot imagine many ebay sellers will allow me to return anything after I've mounted the speakers like Amazon will.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

A line level amp isn't too bad. I've used them before with decent results. Especially considering the costs and complexity of swapping some head units. If you are considering installing the infiniti reference your going to want more wattage to properly push them. Make sure you put some extra sound deadening in the doors. Cheap and easy way to do this is poly pillow stuffing. Or, if you've got a spouse, just sacrifice that throw pillow your always having to move before you sit down on the couch. She'll notice pretty quick and you can just sit there with a sheepish look on your face and act like you farted.

 

[Meghan54]

Actually, my wife quilts and I have access to yards upon yards of quilt batting, but I've been down that road before with another vehicle and it just doesn't work as well as something like Dynamat. But that's just so darned expensive.

May go back and try batting again. Can't be worse than doing nothing.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

Actually, my wife quilts and I have access to yards upon yards of quilt batting, but I've been down that road before with another vehicle and it just doesn't work as well as something like Dynamat. But that's just so darned expensive.

May go back and try batting again. Can't be worse than doing nothing.

Yep, dynamat is definately the gold standard. Disassembling a door to properly install it is such a PITA though.