Uconnect upgrade?

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dlynch5412

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Is it necessary to upgrade the Uconnect 5.0 or replace the head unit period if i plan on installing new speakers as well as subs and amps underneath my back seats?
 

Cleave

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Is it necessary to upgrade the Uconnect 3.0 or replace the head unit period if i plan on installing new speakers as well as subs and amps underneath my back seats?

Is it necessary? No, you can use a line out connector to get the signal you need.

However, I would recommend that you replace it with something aftermarket if you want high quality sound. I don't know much about the Uconnect 3.0, but I don't think you lose much functionality by replacing it. The 5.0 and 8.4 are a different story, but if it's in your budget I'd replace the 3.0 with a quality aftermarket head unit.
 
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dlynch5412

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So I believe I have the 5.0 after checking. I have a 2014 ram express if that helps at all.
 
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dlynch5412

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And does anyone know how many RMS Watts the 5.0 can handle.
 

00R/T

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And does anyone know how many RMS Watts the 5.0 can handle.


Are you asking what the stock speakers can handle? Or how much the 5.0 radio puts out?
 

Cleave

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So I believe I have the 5.0 after checking. I have a 2014 ram express if that helps at all.

If you have a touchscreen, it is the 5.0. Non touch screen (with a blue background) is the 3.0.

And does anyone know how many RMS Watts the 5.0 can handle.

Are you asking what the stock speakers can handle? Or how much the 5.0 radio puts out?

As for how much it puts out - not much. Most (non-premium) factory systems only put out 5-10w rms per channel. As for what stock speakers can handle? Not much either. I haven't looked at these ones, but I wouldn't send more than 25w to each one. If you want to amp the door speakers, I would highly recommend replacing them with aftermarket.
 
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dlynch5412

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5.0 can put out?

So I definitely have the 5.0. I want to find out if I am replacing the speakers what the uconnect 5.0 can handle or if it's even worth upgrading the speakers without going aftermarket on the head unit.
 

Cleave

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So I definitely have the 5.0. I want to find out if I am replacing the speakers what the uconnect 5.0 can handle or if it's even worth upgrading the speakers without going aftermarket on the head unit.
I think you're a little bit confused about the speakers and the head unit. The 5.0 does not put out enough power to damage any speakers that are on the market. I haven't replaced the speakers in either of the two Rams that I've had but in general it's usually not worth it to replace the speakers unless you're swapping in an aftermarket head unit. Someone else may have had a different experience with the Ram and can chime in but that would be my opinion.

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dlynch5412

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So your saying it's not worth putting in new speakers unless I put in an after market HU. Because the stock HU wouldn't be able to power them? Was just hoping for a better sound without having to upgrade the head unit.
 

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So your saying it's not worth putting in new speakers unless I put in an after market HU. Because the stock HU wouldn't be able to power them? Was just hoping for a better sound without having to upgrade the head unit.



That's absolutely incorrect. The stock speakers are paper cone garbage. You will definitely see an improvement going to pretty much any aftermarket speaker. To get the most benefit from the aftermarket speakers, especially if you're using power hungry ones, you would want to add an amp as well to drive them.
 

Cleave

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So your saying it's not worth putting in new speakers unless I put in an after market HU. Because the stock HU wouldn't be able to power them? Was just hoping for a better sound without having to upgrade the head unit.
Yeah that has been my general experience with the last five or six vehicles that I've had. Factory HUs are generally very underpowered. Some of the research that I did actually show that some Factory HUs don't even output full range sound, they cut out frequencies that the cheap factory speakers can't reproduce. Then when you replace them with aftermarket speakers, they don't get fed a compete signal.

Again, this has just been my general experience. In the 14 Ram I just traded in, I had the 5.0 and I used a line-out connector to add an amp and sub. I kept all the factory speakers and the factory head unit and was pretty happy with the way that it sounded.

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Cleave

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That's absolutely incorrect. The stock speakers are paper cone garbage. You will definitely see an improvement going to pretty much any aftermarket speaker. To get the most benefit from the aftermarket speakers, especially if you're using power hungry ones, you would want to add an amp as well to drive them.
My experience has been different. Admittedly, I haven't replaced the Ram Factory speakers and kept the factory head unit, but I have done it in multiple vehicles before this. Every single time, I was disappointed with the result. Speakers usually don't like to be under underpowered, which is exactly what happens when you stick with a factory head unit. Amping them is an option, but to do that you would need a more expensive line out connector plus a pretty solid amp that can feed power to four channels. At that point, I think you would be better off to use your money to just replace the factory head unit.

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