2003 speaker upgrade questions

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

Egress

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 29, 2014
Posts
328
Reaction score
118
Location
Norfolk, Virginia
Ram Year
03 1500 Quad Cab 4x4 SLT
Engine
Stock 235hp 4.7L/287 V-8
I am not very smart when it comes to audio, I've always taken my vehicles to a shop and have them talk me into buying a lot of **** I don't really need. I just want to get better sound and have everything fit. Not sure if it matter but I listen to mainly metal and trance music (I know, what a combo).

To my understanding, my front doors have factory 6x9's, rears are 5 1/4, and dash are 3 1/2's. I plan to replace everything this week, would just like to understand things a bit better before I attempt to purchase. hoping to make better and more informed decisions.

How much modification do I have to do in order to get 6 1/2's into the rear doors?

Do slim speakers sound as good as "normal" sized speakers?

I do not plan to run amps, how do I know my head unit has enough power to make the new speakers sound decent?

Are speaker baffles needed? Do they make things sound better or are they just meant to protect?

Do I need bass-blockers on the dash speakers?

most speakers that I see have built in tweeters on them, when and why would I add more to the stereo?

Do I need to get component speakers?

and finally, if I get different brands, will they sound any different than getting all speakers in the same brand?
 

justin13703

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 15, 2014
Posts
1,174
Reaction score
394
Location
MD
Ram Year
2008
Engine
Hemi 5.7
Getting 6.5s into the back doors will be hard to do. The metal in the door is pretty thick and would be hard to cut an opening for a 6.5 in it. Plus then the speaker probably wouldn't sit flush because of bumps and waves in the metal. Just stick with 5 1/4's here.

Slim speakers usually have a lower power rating but since you're staying with a stock radio it won't matter.

Your stock radio will work with aftermarket speakers, but you won't see a huge difference because the stock radio will still be doing all the sound processing, which was designed for the cheapo stock speakers. So upgrading your speakers will help, but they will still be limited by the sound quality that the stock radio can produce.

Speaker baffles aren't needed. They are made to increase bass response by making the speaker be in an enclosed box instead of a door panel with holes in it everywhere. Since you won't be amping them they're unnecessary.

Most good 3.5 speakers will have bass blockers on them if they're needed or will come with them. Personally I replaced my 3.5s in the dash with tweeters.

Adding tweeters is a matter of preference. You definitely don't want to go overboard with them because it can make the music sound overly high pitched and sharp.

Component speakers are another one that is a matter of preference but since you will be using the stock radio this would be a waste of money for you. Component speakers are pretty high end and can usually handle upwards of 100 watts rms. Your factory radio puts out less than 10.

Different brand speakers will sound different so it's best to stay with the same brand and model if possible, for example infinity kappas and infinity references will still even produce different sound.
 
Last edited:

Seraphim38

Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2015
Posts
32
Reaction score
7
Ram Year
2007
Engine
5.7 gas
Justin provided a good, rounded view.

3.5 inch dash speakers work ok for front fill / sound stage, but they won't usually take more than 20 watts a piece and definitely will need high pass filters (bass blockers).

Getting a good quality set of door speakers is a good start. On a budget, Morel Maximo 5 1/4" coaxial speakers are a solid value at about $100. They are thirsty though, and don't shine without an external amplifier (even 30w per channel is sufficiently better than a stock head unit).

You can have a 2,000 dollar head unit and if you hook it up to crappy door speakers, it will sound crappy. You can hook up a 200 dollar head unit to 600 door speakers and have it sound stellar. The challenge to the uninitiated is in fact, spending money where it matters most, and usually that is in speakers. But if they are not powered properly, they won't operate optimally.

To answer your component speaker question; "component speakers" in car audio are speaker sets that utilize passive crossover networks to ensure that bass doesn't go to the tweeter, and high frequencies don't go to the woofer (maybe or maybe not, but that is a conversation for the advanced. Since I work in one of the largest audio companies in the world, this is something I can speak to as an expert, but there is little value in discussing the details unless someone wants me to explain).

In practice, usually component speakers offer less distortion and a slight volume advantage over traditional car audio coaxial speakers that do not contain any frequency filters for the various drivers. There are many companies that actually use the same drivers in both their coax and component sets; the only difference is the inclusion of the crossover network, or not.

And yes, each manufacturer's products will offer different tone. Even products within a brand, at different pricing tiers, may have significantly different tone. That is often because brands commonly choose relatively off the shelf drivers so that they don't have to consume engineering time for lower price-point products. In general, it would be good for you to put the same speakers in the front and rear doors. Most of the Coaxial speakers that are around 100 bucks should sound decent, but the lack of power from the stock head unit is not going to help you too much.
 

justin13703

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 15, 2014
Posts
1,174
Reaction score
394
Location
MD
Ram Year
2008
Engine
Hemi 5.7
Something you may also want to look into is one of the Alpine Power Packs. Its a 4 channel amp about half the size of a brick, usually small enough to fit behind the radio in the dash. Relatively cheap to buy, doesn't need any kind of wiring kit because it gets all its power from the radio wiring, saving you money there, and puts out I believe 45 or 50 watts rms per channel. Not a huge amount of power but plenty to wake your speakers up when you consider the factory radio puts out around 10 watts rms or below per channel. And it can be used with a factory radio.

Personally if it were me, and I wanted it to sound good on a budget, I'd get a mid range single din (nothing too cheap, but not over the top either), put one of those Power Packs in there, and then whichever speakers you want to go with. Everyone has their own preference but personally I don't like kicker and kenwood speakers. Alpine, Infinity, and Polk Audio are 3 good ones that are sold at most car audio places, and usually not over the top in the price department.
 
OP
OP
Egress

Egress

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 29, 2014
Posts
328
Reaction score
118
Location
Norfolk, Virginia
Ram Year
03 1500 Quad Cab 4x4 SLT
Engine
Stock 235hp 4.7L/287 V-8
Thanks for the advice, I am not running a factory head though. The head that I do have is aftermarket and is a 50x4. So even if my stereo is running 22 watts RMS/50 peak x 4 channels I should still look into buying the smaller amp? I am guessing because that would take the strain directly off of the head unit?
 
Last edited:

justin13703

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 15, 2014
Posts
1,174
Reaction score
394
Location
MD
Ram Year
2008
Engine
Hemi 5.7
Thanks for the advice, I am not running a factory head though. The head that I do have is aftermarket and is a 50x4. So even if my stereo is running 22 watts RMS/50 peak x 4 channels I should still look into buying the smaller amp? I am guessing because that would take the strain directly off of the head unit?

The power pack is 45 watts rms per channel so it will more than double the power of the radio you have now. Don't pay attention to peak numbers, they mean nothing. Ive personally heard about 10 of those power packs installed in different setups and its impressive how good they sound.

What radio do you have?
 
Top