Newbie Audio Upgrade Help

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Tims RT

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Hello everyone, My first time posting to any forums.
I recently bought my first truck in a long time, 2012 RAM 1500 R/T RCSB and so far I love this Truck!!
It has the Alpine Premium sound 7 speaker system with a RBZ 430 My Gig H/U, and it sounds good but could be better. I've been reading these forums for days and most I see are for CC, Quad, or RCSB with base systems.
So far I think I understand that mine has 2ohm speakers with no full signal going to any one set of speakers, with an amp under the dash and no Sub.
What's the best route to go for say a budget in the $500 range? Any advise is appreciated
 

rotwiler

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Mines a 13, but front speakers should be same or similar. If you are going to add amp later, then there's many options. If using the stock alpine amp and want best bang for the $, get infinity 3022s 3ohm up front in each corner of dash. Need to tap into them unless you buy connectors from crutchfields or get speakers there since they provide the harness. I did those infinity 3022 and in center the jbl gx302 2.3 ohm, to even out sound. Both brands run 49.99 on amazon a pair. That will be biggest bang for buck and sounds excellent. Then go from there. May make you happy just doing that, if not, sound deaden doors and will increase bass response. I am not too informed on freq of door and speakers back behind seat in the single cabs(mines quad) , but if full range a nice infinity or jbl at 2 ohm would work great. No reason to get any better unless adding amp later, those will sound great and handle the alpine amp perfect.
 
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Witch

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PAC AP4-CH21 AmpPro = $ 249.95

Alpine KTP445U and amp wire kit bundle = $ 157.44

Infinity REF3022 = $ 49.90

Infinity REF9622IX = $ 69.95

Total = $ 527.24

you will also need some 47 mf caps for the dash speakers , probably around 8 or 9 bucks

A little over, mabe PB & J for luch a few days this week......... lol
It would rid you of the factory amp :cheers:

And give you a sub out and a sub knob for a later upgrade if bass does not satisfy


https://www.crutchfield.com/p_541AP...MIh9v51pa32gIVkgOGCh2jYw6KEAYYASABEgLOPfD_BwE

https://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_60631_Alpine-KTP-445U.html

https://www.amazon.com/Infinity-REF...3606614&sr=8-3&keywords=infinity+speakers+3.5

https://www.amazon.com/Infinity-REF...3606688&sr=8-3&keywords=infinity+speakers+6x9
 
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adrianp89

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I have a Alpine KTP445U I could let go for much less than that. Also it doesn't need a wire kit.

Also that AmpPro is only for 13+, he needs AP4-CH21, staying within your recommendation I would ditch the 3.5s and move to a 6x9 component set and run the 445u bridged off of it.
 

Witch

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Sorry about that, thanks for seeing that , fixed post and link
 
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Tims RT

Tims RT

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Thanks rotwiler, I've heard the infinity and jbl are good. I did replace the front corner speakers with JL c2-350's and unhooked the center, it defiantly made a difference but doesn't seem as loud maybe because they're 4 ohms?? The fronts sound good and the doors have decent bass just sounds muddy tho.
 
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Tims RT

Tims RT

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PAC AP4-CH21 AmpPro = $ 249.95

Alpine KTP445U and amp wire kit bundle = $ 157.44

Infinity REF3022 = $ 49.90

Infinity REF9622IX = $ 69.95

Total = $ 527.24

you will also need some 47 mf caps for the dash speakers , probably around 8 or 9 bucks

A little over, mabe PB & J for luch a few days this week......... lol
It would rid you of the factory amp :cheers:

And give you a sub out and a sub knob for a later upgrade if bass does not satisfy


https://www.crutchfield.com/p_541AP...MIh9v51pa32gIVkgOGCh2jYw6KEAYYASABEgLOPfD_BwE

https://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_60631_Alpine-KTP-445U.html

https://www.amazon.com/Infinity-REF...3606614&sr=8-3&keywords=infinity+speakers+3.5

https://www.amazon.com/Infinity-REF...3606688&sr=8-3&keywords=infinity+speakers+6x9

This sounds like it may be exactly what I'm looking for, Thnx Witch. If I go with components like adrianp89 suggested, does it matter whether they are 2 or 4 ohm speakers? with this set up would adding something like the kicker hide-a-way sub down the road be a problem?
 

Witch

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It won't matter with that Amp, The Infinities are what I have and cab vouch for them, but there are a lot of choices
As far as a sub the Kicker hideaway would not be my choice, you will have Sub out with the Amp Pro
So you can get a small Mono amp and sub box for under rear seat
 
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Tims RT

Tims RT

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It won't matter with that Amp, The Infinities are what I have and cab vouch for them, but there are a lot of choices
As far as a sub the Kicker hideaway would not be my choice, you will have Sub out with the Amp Pro
So you can get a small Mono amp and sub box for under rear seat
I don't have a rear seat that's why I was looking at something like the kicker sub, so it would fit under the front seat and not lose any storage behind the front seats
 
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Tims RT

Tims RT

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It won't matter with that Amp, The Infinities are what I have and cab vouch for them, but there are a lot of choices
As far as a sub the Kicker hideaway would not be my choice, you will have Sub out with the Amp Pro
So you can get a small Mono amp and sub box for under rear seat

I think I'm going to go with the setup you suggested. Will I have to run new wires from the Alpine amp to the speakers? or tap the wires before or after the factory amp?
 

Witch

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If you are going with the AmpPro that would tie in behind the radio and before the factory amp with the provided T harness

you will need to get RCA'a to the amppro from the amp, then run speaker wires or tie onto existing speaker wires

This can give you some insight

 

TomT

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I think I'm going to go with the setup you suggested. Will I have to run new wires from the Alpine amp to the speakers? or tap the wires before or after the factory amp?

If you plan to keep the truck for a while, and might possibly go bigger on the amp in the future, it would be worth running new speaker wires to each speaker now while you have the truck apart. The stock wires will be fine for the listed Alpine amp (45w x 4) but, if you later on decide to go bigger, larger wires would be wise.

Are you doing any sound deadening? That will make whatever system you get seem louder and cleaner by knocking down the outside road noise. It really does make a huge difference.
 
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Tims RT

Tims RT

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Yes I thought I would do some sound deadening while I had the door panels off probably not the floor or roof.
If I run new wire from the Alpine KTP445U to speakers and since the Amp Pro is tied in before the factory amp, do I lose the unconnect phone or door chimes
 

adrianp89

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I honestly see no reason to run new wiring. Unless you plan to eventually go to 150-200watts to EACH door, don't even bother. The science simply isn't there, and the logic is different from power wire.

I feel the AmpPro is overkill for this, but will yield great results with a clean signal. You will retain the uConnect, door chimes, and all other factory features.

I would unplug the output of the factory amplifier and run 9-wire to the KTP-445U. Quick, easy, and don't have to run wires through molex plugs and across the car for no reason.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/metra-...=1&gclid=COndserow9oCFYzMswod40AFGQ&gclsrc=ds
 

adrianp89

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I don't have a rear seat that's why I was looking at something like the kicker sub, so it would fit under the front seat and not lose any storage behind the front seats

I am a big fan of the Kicker Hideaway, it's not earth shattering but will fill in the bottom end for you.
 
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Tims RT

Tims RT

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So here's the plan so far ( I haven't purchased anything yet)
Factory H/U
Amp Pro 4 AP4-CH21
Alpine KTP 445U amp
Speaker Connection Harness APH-CH01 (PAC Audio)
New 3.5's for the dash and 6x9 in the doors or Component set

Opinions? Any Major downsides to this set up?
 

BWL

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That amp is so small I don't think you'd see much if any real upside vs just changing the speakers and running the factory alpine amp to power them and you'd have to turn the rear down since it would overpower the front with that set up. If I was working in your budget I'd change the speakers on the corners, but forget about the centre get some decent coax for the rear since I believe they get full range signal and see how you like it and save the rest for something else down the road if you want to upgrade down the road. Keep your eyes open as occasionally members sell off their old systems with quality parts for a good bit cheaper than it would cost you otherwise. Might be able to grab an 8 channel amp to run 6 channel to your dash, door and rear speakers and run a mono channel to a small subwoofer down the road and a Pac unit to get the signal for everything.
 
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adrianp89

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That amp is so small I don't think you'd see much if any real upside vs just changing the speakers and running the factory alpine amp to power them and you'd have to turn the rear down since it would overpower the front with that set up. If I was working in your budget I'd change the speakers on the corners, but forget about the centre get some decent coax for the rear since I believe they get full range signal and see how you like it and save the rest for something else down the road if you want to upgrade down the road. Keep your eyes open as occasionally members sell off their old systems with quality parts for a good bit cheaper than it would cost you otherwise. Might be able to grab an 8 channel amp to run 6 channel to your dash, door and rear speakers and run a mono channel to a small subwoofer down the road and a Pac unit to get the signal for everything.

I disagree. A component set bridged of the 445u would be a huge difference. Remember this is a single cab and not a crew... even more reason not to do rear speakers (if it's even an option for those trucks). Rear speakers in single cab trucks (and jeeps) are absolutely the worst thing you can do for sound.

To the op: Stick with a component set. Essentailly going with 6x9 and 3.5s you will have speakers playing over each other (playing same frequencies). It will be much too bright, especially in that cab. A component set will let the mids focus on mid-bass/range and the tweeters focus on the highs. going this route you can also bridge the 445u and get more power to speakers, instead of splitting it up.

Here are some good options, if you want to spend more there are more options as well.

https://www.crutchfield.com/S-sB7jwQOybs2/p_109CL9600C/JBL-Club-9600C.html
https://www.crutchfield.com/S-EgTG2Jh4bKO/p_13699046/JL-Audio-C1-690.html
 
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BWL

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For the extra 10 bucks I'd rather go alpine MRV300 and 2 ohm door and dash speakers so you can tune things a bit better and get 75X4rms. Seems like more bang for the buck since with the Pac you don't need the speaker level inputs.
 

adrianp89

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For the extra 10 bucks I'd rather go alpine MRV300 and 2 ohm door and dash speakers so you can tune things a bit better and get 75X4rms. Seems like more bang for the buck since with the Pac you don't need the speaker level inputs.

You also have to take into consideration, you then need to buy an amp kit, run speaker wire to the back of the cab and longer RCAs. Also need to find a place to mount it, and of course a lot involved install. We stopped selling traditional 4 channels because the difference is barley noticeable, at least in the entry levels. The amount of work involved does not justify the extra cost or small bump in power.
 
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