3.5" dash speakers

[Graygoose]

Just make or buy spacers.. there is plenty of clearance on the door card isnt there?

Depends, RC has more depth than the CC or QC doors. The deep magnet on the KS takes some trimming to make them fit, where the Mopars are literally plug and play, same style plug even.

 

[Etroze86]

Thats interesting now I understand why you were fading back so much. Which system where you working with again? Alpine or base? It could be the amp unit that comes with the Alpine so there is that to look into if that is what you are dealing with. That is really interesting actually my base stereo didn't do this at all and not until I put dedicated super tweets up there did that happen. I had to EQ the tweets down a lot and by a lot I had to use majorty of the EQ scale that is on my headunit to do that. Also it could come down to reflection off the windshield and paired with trained ears could defiently exagerate the effect. Just idea's too look at I like to help more than hinder if at all is coming off as dismissing anything anyone has to say.

 

[Graygoose]

Truth be told...I'm getting a high freq level distortion out of my L dash speaker and this is what prompted me to replace the OEM...sadly, the new Kicker has only made it even more noticeable. By "high freq" I'm talking 12-14KHz+...the "SSS" sound of a person's voice or the trail of a symbol is horribly annoying at the moment.

Now that my fronts are even more pronounced, it's even worse.

I'm trying to decide if my head unit is screwed...and how I would prove this to Dodge. I should just hook a freq generator, put my RTA on it and measure the distortion produced at high freq. Something is off...

I'm an electrical engineer and system designer...heck, I even teach classes for our electrical apprenticeship. I've done pro audio for years and used to be into car audio big time before dropping it for home/pro level audio years ago. I'll get to the bottom of this eventually...I don't demand a perfect system by any means but something is screwed up on mine...

Sounds like HU or amp in the HU. If the front speakers had it, changed them and it's now more pronounced, I would lead to HU. The speakers ( as you know) are just reproducing what they are fed.

 

[Typetwelve]

Thats interesting now I understand why you were fading back so much. Which system where you working with again? Alpine or base? It could be the amp unit that comes with the Alpine so there is that to look into if that is what you are dealing with. That is really interesting actually my base stereo didn't do this at all and not until I put dedicated super tweets up there did that happen. I had to EQ the tweets down a lot and by a lot I had to use majorty of the EQ scale that is on my headunit to do that. Also it could come down to reflection off the windshield and paired with trained ears could defiently exagerate the effect. Just idea's too look at I like to help more than hinder if at all is coming off as dismissing anything anyone has to say.

It's a stock system with the 5.0 screen. If I had to describe the sound, it sounds like a blown tweeter. I know the stockers are a simple single driver and I've seen crap speakers right out of the factory so I wrote it off to that (especially figuring its only coming from the front R). When I replaced them on Friday and found it to get worse, it really bummed me out. The truck is brand new and has lots of warranty left, I'll tinker with it and try to isolate the issue so I can reproduce it 100% of the time. This is the only way I'll ever hope to get the dealership to deal with the issue.

Sounds like HU or amp in the HU. If the front speakers had it, changed them and it's now more pronounced, I would lead to HU. The speakers ( as you know) are just reproducing what they are fed.

Bingo...like I said, I was hoping the problem would follow the crappy stock driver...which sadly it didn't.

 

[Graygoose]

It's never easy, never

 

[BlownGP]

Sounds like HU or amp in the HU. If the front speakers had it, changed them and it's now more pronounced, I would lead to HU. The speakers ( as you know) are just reproducing what they are fed.

x2

I changed my dash speakers and rear 6x9s and made it sound better. Less muddy and more clearer.

Took out the REN for a Pioneer touchscreen. Made a world of difference.

 

[Jmhm17]

I got my KS35's last night and swapped them out and immediately experienced what dmullen was talking about. I now want to upgrade the 6x9's to see if it will blend better. I have had to fade back as well as its just too much out of the dash now.. Is there a way to kick the resistance back up with any inline filter? or will they sound like crap or over heat if thats done? I can deal with it, I think it sounds much better, but it makes everything else sound really muddy - there is no longer a balance

 

[dmullen]

I got my KS35's last night and swapped them out and immediately experienced what dmullen was talking about. I now want to upgrade the 6x9's to see if it will blend better. I have had to fade back as well as its just too much out of the dash now.. Is there a way to kick the resistance back up with any inline filter? or will they sound like crap or over heat if thats done? I can deal with it, I think it sounds much better, but it makes everything else sound really muddy - there is no longer a balance

I would wait till you upgrade the front 6x9's and see what difference that makes with the dash speakers. I'm doing that next. I plan to go with the 6x9's with the tweeters for the front doors hoping that the extra tweets will help center the soundstage a little better. This is going on the principle of tweets in the kick panels which I used in a previous install and worked great.

 

[Typetwelve]

I got my KS35's last night and swapped them out and immediately experienced what dmullen was talking about. I now want to upgrade the 6x9's to see if it will blend better. I have had to fade back as well as its just too much out of the dash now.. Is there a way to kick the resistance back up with any inline filter? or will they sound like crap or over heat if thats done? I can deal with it, I think it sounds much better, but it makes everything else sound really muddy - there is no longer a balance

The problem is...a speaker has a variable impedance and many get this one confused. If a speaker has a listed impedance of 4ohm...that's average, not static. A speaker will change with frequency and the resistance will change. Adding a static resistor inline is a no-go with a speaker for that reason. Speaker crossovers in setups will add resistance in a circuit but it's in a different fashion.

I'd have to look into it, I'm not sure if there is an inline impedance matching device for car audio or not...frankly, I can remember. I know for home audio there are vaolume controls that can take 2 8ohm speakers and send them out as one ch @ 8ohm so you can run a single mono amp...but that's a different thing than what were talking about.

 

[Jmhm17]

I would wait till you upgrade the front 6x9's and see what difference that makes with the dash speakers. I'm doing that next. I plan to go with the 6x9's with the tweeters for the front doors hoping that the extra tweets will help center the soundstage a little better. This is going on the principle of tweets in the kick panels which I used in a previous install and worked great.

I have a set of old (never used) Pioneer 3 way 6x9's I may try and stuff in the doors to see if it helps, but if im going to hack up the wiring I want a more permanent setup so I may have to rethink this one..

The problem is...a speaker has a variable impedance and many get this one confused. If a speaker has a listed impedance of 4ohm...that's average, not static. A speaker will change with frequency and the resistance will change. Adding a static resistor inline is a no-go with a speaker for that reason. Speaker crossovers in setups will add resistance in a circuit but it's in a different fashion.

I'd have to look into it, I'm not sure if there is an inline impedance matching device for car audio or not...frankly, I can remember. I know for home audio there are volume controls that can take 2 8ohm speakers and send them out as one ch @ 8ohm so you can run a single mono amp...but that's a different thing than what were talking about.

Thanks for the info, that cleared things up. Sounds like after upgrading the 3.5's you automatically get bit by the car stereo bug and are forced to keep on going... ugh..

Also.. anyone know if these will work with the 2014? It says 09-12, was there any change on the doors after these years? http://www.amazon.com/2011-2012-DOD...=8-1&keywords=mopar+kicker+6x9#productDetails

 

[dmullen]

Those are the plug-n-play Mopar Kicker replacements. They will fit in the front doors (or rear) of our 2014 Express with no problems. That's the 6x9's I was talking about in my last post.

 

[Jmhm17]

Im wondering if it will be too high as there are tweeters in the front plus the 3.5's. i wonder how it would balance out. I feel it would entirely wash out the rear speakers.

 

[Typetwelve]

Im wondering if it will be too high as there are tweeters in the front plus the 3.5's. i wonder how it would balance out. I feel it would entirely wash out the rear speakers.

The Kicker unit is a coaxial unit and the total impedance is 4ohm...so it is a total package.

taking my fade slightly to the rear (on a 5.0 head unit, when on the fade screen, just tap the down arrow twice) seems to balance everything out just fine. If you have it set to dead center or anything forwards of that, the dash speakers will drown out the rest...

And the crackle is now gone, I wonder if the Kickers had to break in a bit.

 

[Bob2013Ram1500]

New 3.5 Kickers up front

I just installed the Kicker 40CS354 up front and I heard music that I never heard before. I was using a USB flash drive for the last 5 months. I was listening to Joe Jackson, the Vaughn brothers (SRV and Jimmy), and Charlie Musselwhite. So there was a little bit of all kinds of music. A lot more separation and more bass which surprised me. It definitely sounds better. Pioneer TS-D6902R 6 x 9's in the back are next.

 

[Jmhm17]

The Kicker unit is a coaxial unit and the total impedance is 4ohm...so it is a total package.

I don't understand. So.. The 6x9's with the tweeters up front wont drown out the back speakers even tho there will be a lot of highs up front? From what I understand the ones I linked were for the rear, not the front as the part number for the fronts has no tweeter in the 6x9, and the 3.5 is just a tweeter and no driver.. I am trying to avoid buying the front kit with 3.5's as it will be redundant and its more money for the front package. I was just trying to buy one or 2 of the ones I linked.

 

[Typetwelve]

I don't understand. So.. The 6x9's with the tweeters up front wont drown out the back speakers even tho there will be a lot of highs up front? From what I understand the ones I linked were for the rear, not the front as the part number for the fronts has no tweeter in the 6x9, and the 3.5 is just a tweeter and no driver.. I am trying to avoid buying the front kit with 3.5's as it will be redundant and its more money for the front package. I was just trying to buy one or 2 of the ones I linked.

The reason why so many companies went with dash speakers in the first and the primary reason why a good amount of car companies now have a dash/door combo where the door has no tweeter is because in that low position door speakers get muffled when they are down there. The mid/low still travels well but the highs get lost. Adding a dash tweeter or, like the Kicker is, a coaxial 3"/1" tweeter combo up top cleans up the sound. Much of the mid/bass is still performed by the larger door speakers because the lower you go in freq, the less directional is becomes.

I found the mid/low in my stock speakers to be a bit muddy…but I can live with it. The high's however sucked. Replacing the stock 3" driver with a 3"/1" combo really cleaned things up.

also…I'm not sure 11-12 speakers will fit a '14 truck…you may want to check into that before buying a set.

 

[Jmhm17]

Hmm, 6x9 is a 6x9 and some one on that link posted up that they worked on a 2013, I do want more people to chime in on the topic however.

So, if I get the 6x9's with the tweeters built in and put them up front to accompany my new KS35's then the highs wont be "too much"?

 

[Typetwelve]

Hmm, 6x9 is a 6x9 and some one on that link posted up that they worked on a 2013, I do want more people to chime in on the topic however.

So, if I get the 6x9's with the tweeters built in and put them up front to accompany my new KS35's then the highs wont be "too much"?

No...I wouldn't use the term "too much"...possibly just "unnecessary".

Nothing is going to break, or suddenly sound like garbage. It just may be the case of you saying to yourself "well...that was a good amount of work for nothing..."

On a side note, this is why I dropped car audio. I got into high end (actually middle end lol) home audio because I could achieve levels of perfection I was always chasing in the car audio world but could never attain. 4 16x9 and a 3.5" coaxial speakers do not a hi-fi system make. I went ahead and replaced my in dash speakers because A.) they were easy to get to (something the door speakers are not) and B.) they were relatively cheap. And that's it.

 

[Jmhm17]

No...I wouldn't use the term "too much"...possibly just "unnecessary".

Nothing is going to break, or suddenly sound like garbage. It just may be the case of you saying to yourself "well...that was a good amount of work for nothing..."

On a side note, this is why I dropped car audio. I got into high end (actually middle end lol) home audio because I could achieve levels of perfection I was always chasing in the car audio world but could never attain. 4 16x9 and a 3.5" coaxial speakers do not a hi-fi system make. I went ahead and replaced my in dash speakers because A.) they were easy to get to (something the door speakers are not) and B.) they were relatively cheap. And that's it.

So.. your suggesting I not waste the money? Im wondering if it was worth spending the money.. Ill just save up for a Berliner then lol

 

[Typetwelve]

So.. your suggesting I not waste the money? Im wondering if it was worth spending the money.. Ill just save up for a Berliner then lol

Audio is a funny thing...and that is the primary reason why I moved from home audio to pro audio/sound reinforcement. Listening for a purpose vs listening for recreation are two different things. Its a sense and with any sense, its up to taste. One person my like steak, another chicken and another pork. None are "correct" really. Audio is the same way...

Me personally? I'd say your $$ is best spent elsewhere, but this is just my person opinion.

I'm focusing on new tires to replace the crappy stockers, tinting my front winds to match my rears, rubber floor mats...but again, this is personal opinion.