Audio upgrade to a 2014 Ram 1500 Big Horn - looking for some install advice.

I have the stock 8.4" non Alpine system in my Ram. I'm starting the process of researching upgrades. Due to several factors, my first move will be to just replace the speakers. I've only researched briefly thus far, but finding the actual equipment doesn't seem to be that difficult. It will come down to brand choice, and if I can use anything coming out of my 300 just taken off the road. I already stumbled on depth specs for doors as an example. It's what I can do labor-wise to save a few bucks, though I'm nervous.

It appears that taking the doors off isn't that big of an issue. I looks likes four screws and a handle screw which I have yet to look at. I ordered on Amazon trim remover tools (really cheap), because that's the mistake I've always made when DIY'ing upgrades in the past. It's the speakers/tweeters on the dash that freak me out as I have never done dash work in a car. I cannot imagine taking off the dash myself. I've never heard of easy access to speakers in the dash so I am assuming the same level of difficulty with the Ram.

My plan is to keep the OEM head unit. I have a JL Audio Clean Sweep and Summing Unit in the 300 I am taking out. I have a couple of JL Audio Amps, a 500/5 coming out of the 300 (it's pretty big), and a smaller one out of a PT Cruiser (I forget the model but it drove 4 speakers and a sub in the PT). JL Audio has a nice single stealth sub to occupy underneath the smaller rear bench (although pricey), so that leaves me with underneath the larger rear bench and front passenger seat for the Clean Sweep, Summing Unit, and an amp. I also have a Monster Digicap I'd like to keep. I fear that to due install limitations I may need to get an amp that has a cooling fan due to tight install spaces.

Any advice and guidance would be appreciated. Just realize I am fearful installing an entire system myself as the wiring is complex, and coupled with the tweeters in the dash that scares me away of most DIY. I can't picture myself tearing the Ram apart and putting it back together. I used to have Tweeter Etc do my work until they went out of business. I would come into the shop and see the car in pieces and it always petrified me. I'm older now (57) and have lost some brain cells so my fear it would be a Humpty Dumpty experience if I tried it alone.

I've never done my own installs but, from reading other people's posts, I'd suggest buying some of the plastic clips for the door. Every report mentions breaking a couple of them while taking them out.

As far as your amps, they can easily be mounted on the rear wall of the cab. I have three mounted there along with a processor, crossovers and power distribution. I'm adding another amp shortly as well.

I have the same year, trim level and HU. Dash is easy, the grill pops right off to be able to replace the speakers. You can do it in 10 minutes if using existing wiring.

to be honest, I think the Ram is pretty easy to do installs in. Like Trout mentioned, the dash speaker grills will simply pop off ( I used a 90* screw driver due to tight clearances)
I also agree Ttubbiola, buy some replacement door panel clips/fasteners. They're plastic from the factory, and pretty much become useless after removing them once or twice due to stripping. I would mount all amps on the back wall behind rear seat like suggested. Make a simple amp rack from a piece of MDF/similar and the amps will be protected (for the most part) from the elements, and offer a level of security too. I wouldn't worry too much about the amps over heating. As long as you run them properly and don't push them too hard, they should stay comfortable and perform properly. I'd ditch the cap in my opinion...you don't need it and that will ease installation a bit for you. Lots of DIY members here to help you along the way. I think you'll find that once you tear into the truck, it's pretty straight forward and easy to do....plus these trucks are pretty popular for aftermarket car audio so there will be many, many installs on the internet. Best of luck.....these trucks can sound really good when done properly

Ttubbiola said:

I've never done my own installs but, from reading other people's posts, I'd suggest buying some of the plastic clips for the door. Every report mentions breaking a couple of them while taking them out.

As far as your amps, they can easily be mounted on the rear wall of the cab. I have three mounted there along with a processor, crossovers and power distribution. I'm adding another amp shortly as well.

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I have a crew cab, and the rear seats are flush against the rear wall, and immovable. I see no space to mount there. All I can see is removing the jack under the passenger seat, and the two storage bays under the rear seats for an amp and the clean sweep/summing unit.

troutspinner said:

I have the same year, trim level and HU. Dash is easy, the grill pops right off to be able to replace the speakers. You can do it in 10 minutes if using existing wiring.

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In the stock system, are the fronts components (woofers in doors and tweeters in dash), or are they both just full range speakers?

metalmancpa said:

I have a crew cab, and the rear seats are flush against the rear wall, and immovable. I see no space to mount there. All I can see is removing the jack under the passenger seat, and the two storage bays under the rear seats for an amp and the clean sweep/summing unit.



In the stock system, are the fronts components (woofers in doors and tweeters in dash), or are they both just full range speakers?

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I believe dash is full range, and doors are midbass only...from the factory

you'll have to remove rear seats to access wall. There's plenty of room back there for amps, I had four mounted back there. Space increases more towards the floor

autokraftgt said:

I believe dash is full range, and doors are midbass only...from the factory

you'll have to remove rear seats to access wall. There's plenty of room back there for amps, I had four mounted back there. Space increases more towards the floor

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So that would probably be the best place for the equipment. In such tight space though would overheating be a problem? Would that require a cooling fan for the amp like I imagine?

Ultimately money could be an issue. I know I am just not capable of installing the JL Audio clean sweep, summing unit, and amp, and doing all replacement wiring. I would have to pay an installer for that.

My "cheapest" option is to just replace the speakers. Looking on Crutchfield here's what I've found. Since I am partial to JL Audio, I was thinking C2-350x for the dash, and the front door speakers with C2-525x (5.25", 2.5" depth). If the rear doors have same depth issue would do 525x's also. If not I might just go 6x9's, Infinity REF-9623ix. I know components would be best in front, but not comfortable with finding a place for and installing the crossover and tweeters.

The big decision for me is full-on amping upgrade or just speakers. It will come down to dollars. Sounds like I can replace the speakers myself, but when all said and done, I have no idea how much an improvement an unamped upgrade will provide.

EDIT - after a chat with Crutchfield, this was their speaker-only upgrade recommendations:
Infinity Reference REF-9622IX for rear doors
Infinity Reference REF-5022cfx for front doors
Infinity Reference REF-3022cfx for dash

Trick for the rear seat (Google should have plenty of how-to posts/videos) is to flip the hooks on the wall so that when you lift the seat halfway you can then fold the seat backs forward.

I posted this in someone elses speaker thread, but this is what I am thinking to do -

I have a 2014 Ram 1500 Crew with the 8.4" non Alpine also. After some in depth researching, I am close to upgrading.

I will probably be going the Infinity route with the Infinity Reference series:
REF-9622IX 6x9's for the rear
REF-5022cfx 5-1/4's for the front
REF-3022cfx for the dash

The fronts have no depth issue. Based on the speaker configuration, since I believe the stock crossover passes mids to the doors, full range won't be as pronounced and the dash ones will be the controlling speaker, smaller ones won't hurt the sound.

The biggest decision for me is a sub. JL Audio has a stealthbox, but that would require an amp which would require upgrading the vehicles speaker wiring which I don't want to do. Kicker has two amped options - a power SubStage woofer which would draw it's own power while the speakers draw from the OEM head unit, or the Powerstage which amps all the speakers. I am leaning towards the Powerstage. The whole thing would cost around $1,600 of which $1,250 is the Powerstage. The SubStage is $699. The sub would go under the rear drivers side seat.

Powerstage


Rear


Front


Dash


My gut tells me if I just do the speakers, although I know the sound will be much better than the stock speakers, the increased quality of the speakers will cause loos of volume due to more power required to drive the better speakers, and I'll be pining for a sub. My one concern is distortion, as I'm not sure if the head unit has enough RMS coupled with an an amp upgrade without an EQ/Processor to cause distortion.

You shouldn't need panel pop off tools. The doors are held on by a screw behind the handle and a bunch of torx bits around the perimeter. It helps to hold the base or wedge a small screwdriver between the head and base while turning. Then it's just a matter of lifting up over the door lock. If course pry the sail panels off and switches first. Might even be one more screw under the switch. It's been a while. I'd suggest some dynamat at least behind the speakers if not the whole back of the door panel.

Oh the pain of research. As I dig deeper, I have a few issues with my previous post. I don't think 5.25's will cut it. The front is the most important piece of the sound stage. The question then becomes components or not. I may rethink and build the system in stages. But if I start with just components in the front and 6x9's in the back (no need for expensive rears), I fear the stock head unit is too under powered to stop at that point and wait for the next piece. I also feel the kicker sub is overpriced for the quality of the sub itself. I think a custom box with a sub (unamped) would be cheaper, but then comes the amp.

Ugh. I hate this part of the upgrade process. I wish someone would just drop $2,000 on my doorstep so I can get on with it.

metalmancpa said:

Oh the pain of research. As I dig deeper, I have a few issues with my previous post. I don't think 5.25's will cut it. The front is the most important piece of the sound stage. The question then becomes components or not. I may rethink and build the system in stages. But if I start with just components in the front and 6x9's in the back (no need for expensive rears), I fear the stock head unit is too under powered to stop at that point and wait for the next piece. I also feel the kicker sub is overpriced for the quality of the sub itself. I think a custom box with a sub (unamped) would be cheaper, but then comes the amp.

Ugh. I hate this part of the upgrade process. I wish someone would just drop $2,000 on my doorstep so I can get on with it.

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In your situation, I would recommend buying a good set of 6 1/2" components for up front. You can pick up a cheap 2 channel amp on Craigslist to get them going until your budget allows for further expansion. You'll get a really nice increase just doing that. When you figure out the rest, you can resell that amp and probably get your money back.

troutspinner said:

In your situation, I would recommend buying a good set of 6 1/2" components for up front. You can pick up a cheap 2 channel amp on Craigslist to get them going until your budget allows for further expansion. You'll get a really nice increase just doing that. When you figure out the rest, you can resell that amp and probably get your money back.

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I am assuming the stock head units amp has a crossover pushing highs to the dash and mids/lows to the doors. Is that correct? I ask because when I first looked at Crutchfield for speaker upgrades, it was full range for dash and doors.

I am struggling through the research with so many varying price points to consider. I had never heard of Hertz before someone mentioned them, but they researched out to be of very good quality. I assume they have shallow depth for the front doors, the only fitment speaker location issue I can think of.

The quick and dirty and least satisfying solution would be to just replace the speakers, no sub. But thinking that the OEM head unit has a crossover where highs go to the dash and mids to the doors, I could only do full range replacements without amping.

I could replace the fronts and dash with components and get a small amp to power them, but am afraid without cleaning up the signal (EQ or my Clean Sweep) that it would distort at high levels.

I could add either the amped SubStage or PowerStage from Kicker to get the sub, but I think they are over priced for the quality received.

Or just go all out with my 500/5 amp, Clean Sweep/Summing Unit, custom sub and new speakers all around. My question would be, I've had the 500/5 amp for a long time, and it is a beast. I am guessing it could still fit, but would using an older amp for a "new" install be wise?

metalmancpa said:

Oh the pain of research. As I dig deeper, I have a few issues with my previous post. I don't think 5.25's will cut it. The front is the most important piece of the sound stage. The question then becomes components or not. I may rethink and build the system in stages. But if I start with just components in the front and 6x9's in the back (no need for expensive rears), I fear the stock head unit is too under powered to stop at that point and wait for the next piece. I also feel the kicker sub is overpriced for the quality of the sub itself. I think a custom box with a sub (unamped) would be cheaper, but then comes the amp.

Ugh. I hate this part of the upgrade process. I wish someone would just drop $2,000 on my doorstep so I can get on with it.

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I absolutely LOVE my powerstage kit.

Graygoose said:

I absolutely LOVE my powerstage kit.

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Please expand (would love 1st hand experience comments).

What is your equipment setup with the PowerStage?

Stock speakers, stock 8.4 radio.

Now its not mind shattering, but for me more than perfect. The sub loosens up and plays much deeper as time goes on.
Plug and play, no splicing, retains factory warranty, etc..

i was going to say that the powerstage is designed to use the stock speakers so if you went that route don't spend money on upgrading the doors and dash speakers.

Graygoose said:

Stock speakers, stock 8.4 radio.

Now its not mind shattering, but for me more than perfect. The sub loosens up and plays much deeper as time goes on.
Plug and play, no splicing, retains factory warranty, etc..

Click to expand...

quietpeen said:

i was going to say that the powerstage is designed to use the stock speakers so if you went that route don't spend money on upgrading the doors and dash speakers.

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I did not know that. So SubStage would mean upgrading speakers would be OK to get better sound?

metalmancpa said:

I did not know that. So SubStage would mean upgrading speakers would be OK to get better sound?

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graygoose can answer that for sure. I thought i read it wouldn't be beneficial to swap out the stock speakers with the soundstage system.