Opinion on Pioneer TS-G6930F (6x9) to upgrade factory 6-spk?

[SimmZ]

I am looking to improve the HORRIBLE sound of the factory 6 speakers of my 2019 RAM Classic. Compared to my preview Dodge Grand Caravan who sound pretty damn good with the factory base 4 speakers, the RAM 1500 have an horrible speaker distortion as soon as I hit like volume level 12, even with the bass set to -2 or -3. I have the 8.4c radio by the way.

I understand they are the entry level Pioneer, but I have a limited budget, but I can't live with the horrible sound of the factory speaker anymore.

My only goal is to have a clearer sound and a more enjoyable bass and much much less distortion at medium volume! Based on the lost of reviews on Amazon (US), several RAM 1500 owner reported that they are way better than factory.

The plan is to purchase two pairs of Pioneer TS-G6930F (6x9) and one pair of assorted TS-A878 (3.5 round). These speaker are more or less 45$ each pair (60$ in Canada), including the 3.5 that are also same price.

 

[PowrRam]

I am looking to improve the HORRIBLE sound of the factory 6 speakers of my 2019 RAM Classic. Compared to my preview Dodge Grand Caravan who sound pretty damn good with the factory base 4 speakers, the RAM 1500 have an horrible speaker distortion as soon as I hit like volume level 12, even with the bass set to -2 or -3. I have the 8.4c radio by the way.

That seems really bad. I would get distortion with my stock 6 way system, 8.4 Uconnect at about a volume setting of 20.




Those Pioneers will sound better than stock, that's for sure.


Looking at the specifications for the Pioneer TS-G6930F 6X9's I see:

sensitivity: 90 dB (higher number means it is more efficient, that is, will play louder for same amount of power applied to it.)
Frequency response: 32 Hz to 32 Khz, and at about 65 dB at 32 Hz

https://www.pioneer-car.eu/eur/support/manuals/54311

I know you are not looking to spend much money on this but you did mention bass response and clarity as being important to you, so maybe keep looking.

For comparison sake, here are the specs for the Pioneer TS-A6966's that I bought:
sensitivity: 92 dB
Frequency response: 38 Hz to 36 Khz, is at about 75 dB at 32 Hz

The TS-A6966 are more sensitive speakers so will play louder for same amount of power. Also, bass digs a little deeper on the low frequency end and will be cleaner. I think I paid $45 a pair for these on Amazon, but I see they are no longer available.

I'm sure you would be much happier with the TS-G6930F speakers than with the stock ones, but a little more research and maybe $15 more spent might get you even better speakers. Keep in mind you have a maximum mounting depth of 2 3/4" in the front doors.

As to the 3.5" speakers they should be fine. I'd definitely recommend the 4 ohm resistor modification. Makes a huge difference.

 

[SimmZ]

Thank you so much for these informations!! I just compared your TS-A6966 specifications with the 2019 A-Series on Pioneer website and they are much different since the 6x9 are now offered only in 4-way and 5-way speakers only and my main concern is knowing that the RAM doors have pretty limited mounting depth, these new A-Series look enormous!

Can you tell me more about the "4 Ohm mod" for the front 3.5 tweeter? I am not aware of that.

Thanks ago!!

 

[Graygoose]

I feel your pain, my 2019 Classic had horrible sound stage and midbass.
About anything you throw in the door will sound better. Just note if you replace dash with a 4 ohm driver, it will be much brighter..

I did a Kicker KSC3504 in dash, a Mopar midbass 6x9 in door and ran off a Kicker DSP KEY1804 4 channel amp. $199.95
Full time alignment, DSP with compression. No more distortion, and the stage is right in the center of my dash.
Retail, about $350 for complete front stage.

 

[SimmZ]

I feel your pain, my 2019 Classic had horrible sound stage and midbass.
About anything you throw in the door will sound better. Just note if you replace dash with a 4 ohm driver, it will be much brighter..

Not sure to understand, what's the deal with the factory dash 3.5 in speakers exactly? It's because the factory are 2 Ohm or?

 

[PowrRam]

Not sure to understand, what's the deal with the factory dash 3.5 in speakers exactly? It's because the factory are 2 Ohm or?

The factory 3.5" dash speakers in the 6 speaker system are 8 ohms. So if you replace them with 4 ohm aftermarket speakers they will show less resistance to the amplifier and play louder and dominate the sound of the system, especially since the sound output reflects and bounces off the windshield. The fix is to place a high wattage 4 ohm resistor in the wiring leading to the 4 ohm dash speaker, making the speaker effectively an 8 ohm speaker. I did a write up of the procedure here:

https://www.ramforum.com/threads/how-to-4-ohm-resistor-upgrade-for-aftermarket-dash-speakers.125742/

 

[Graygoose]

what @PowrRam stated, not many 8 ohm 3.5".

 

[PowrRam]

Thank you so much for these informations!! I just compared your TS-A6966 specifications with the 2019 A-Series on Pioneer website and they are much different since the 6x9 are now offered only in 4-way and 5-way speakers only and my main concern is knowing that the RAM doors have pretty limited mounting depth, these new A-Series look enormous!

I just did a quick search on Amazon and it looks like the TS-G6930F are one of the best options for the front doors of your truck, for easy drop-in installation ability.

Can you tell me more about the "4 Ohm mod" for the front 3.5 tweeter? I am not aware of that.

Thanks ago!!

See a post of mine, above.

 

[PowrRam]

I feel your pain, my 2019 Classic had horrible sound stage and midbass.
About anything you throw in the door will sound better. Just note if you replace dash with a 4 ohm driver, it will be much brighter..

I did a Kicker KSC3504 in dash, a Mopar midbass 6x9 in door and ran off a Kicker DSP KEY1804 4 channel amp. $199.95
Full time alignment, DSP with compression. No more distortion, and the stage is right in the center of my dash.
Retail, about $350 for complete front stage.

If wasn't leasing my truck I would definitely be all over that Kicker DSP KEY180.4 amplifier setup.

 

[SimmZ]

This is awesome guys!! Everything is crystal clear about the 3.5 speakers and everything else. Thank you very much!!

 

[Graygoose]

If wasn't leasing my truck I would definitely be all over that Kicker DSP KEY180.4 amplifier setup.

Its a game changer, we sell a ton of them, even in stock applications its a huge gain just in overall sound and staging.

 

[Graygoose]

This is awesome guys!! Everything is crystal clear about the 3.5 speakers and everything else. Thank you very much!!

Good luck, you cant really make it worse than factory

 

[SimmZ]

Good luck, you cant really make it worse than factory

Obviously... seriously I can't understand why the factory 6 speakers are sounding THAT bad, it's insane. In my former 2016 Dodge Grand Caravan, I kept the 4 factory speakers (6x9) and added a nice Pioneer NEX 7 inch radio with Apple CarPlay and the result were a very decent sound, an impressive bass response but a lack of high frequencies because it was a 4 speakers system with no tweeters. It was exactly the same thing with my 2010 Jeep Patriot I owned before the Caravan.

So can you imagine how disappointed (barely chocked) I was when I listed to the factory speaker in the RAM... I never expected something that bad from a Chrysler product, based on my own experience.

 

[Graygoose]

Yes, they built it like my knees have ears....great if I was passed out in the back floorboard...but hideous for a factory truck that list around $45k or up....

 

[gbark80]

I put those same Pioneers in the front doors and some kenwood KFC-691 in the back doors and it made a world of change. I haven't had time or motivation to change out the dash yet but it is planned. Just doing those I am able to go from 27 and getting distortion with the factory speakers up to about 36 or 37 depending on the music.

 

[kurek]

I don't have first hand with those speakers but I'm certain they will be an upgrade over the OE ones.

Two things I'd like to add to the conversation, first is that speakers don't generally create distortion due to high volume - more typically it's the output device (amplifier chip or its power supply) that reaches its limits and begins producing a distorted signal that the speaker just reproduces.

In that sense better quality speakers can't really eliminate that distortion but what they may be able to do is deliver the sound you want at a lower volume setting before the amplifier begins to distort.

The other thing I'd like to add is that you can help your speakers out by improving the conditions in which they operate - specifically by adding damping material inside your doors. There are tons of videos on youtube for this but to give you a quick summary you can make the inside of your cab quieter (all the time, even with the radio off) and also make the bass from your speakers louder and cleaner by adding a mass loading material to the inner door.

You don't need to coat the whole inside of the door, just 1 or 2 square feet on the inside of the outer door skin closest the speaker will do most of the work and also as much as you can cleanly and conveniently adhere to the door "carrier assembly" (the plastic panel sandwiched between the outer door and the inner upholstered panel) near the loudspeaker. This reduces some of the road noise from competing with your music, it reduces some of the reverb noise from your speaker that makes bass sound "muddy" and it increases the effective sensitivity of the speaker by adding mass to the surface on which it is mounted, which in turn improves the speaker's bass response. Clean the surfaces first with rubbing alcohol so there isn't any dust or contaminant that might prevent adhesion.

I like using Noico, it's priced way better than Dynamat and works very well, sticks permanently and doesn't smell like asphalt like the "peel and seal" stuff sold at home stores. About 20 dollars for 10 square feet of the 80mil stuff which is plenty for all four 6x9 speakers in your truck. There's not really a need for any by the dash speakers since they're mounted in the plastic dash and not really making bass.

 

[Graygoose]

Paper coned stock speakers can add distortion, depends really on "which" speaker. I've changed speakers out with just simple upgrades using the factory radio power and it made huge gains.
The Ram OM ones are horrible. Any bass they will pop and distort. Same settings with a better speaker, they can reproduce more clear and less audible distortion.
Its always the first upgrade, but I have also used the VSS Ram amp on stock speakers, and they sounded much better than stock. It gave them more power, a distortion compression, and time alignment.

 

[SimmZ]

The most major problem is not only the distortion with the factory speakers, it's more the "knocking" sound as soon as you have little bass in the music, it sounds like if someone is knocking on the door panel with his hand. It's horrible.