Twonky
Junior Member
i just got a 2017 Ram 2500 Bighorn. Like many others I found the Alpine system to be lacking in clarity and overall tonal quality. I searched long and hard for ideas on improving the sound and my results ranged from leave it as is its great to spend $$$$$$ to make it better. Considering the complexity of how the new systems integrate and the fact I already spent $$$$$$$ on buying the truck some basic but sensible upgrades were in order. My goal was to keep the 8.4 head unit as my platform and only upgrade the dash front and rear door speakers. My choice for the dash are the JBL Club 3020 3.5 inch coaxial speakers. I only replaced the two outer speakers and left the center as stock. I checked the polarity of the stock speakers and then unsoldered the stock connectors and soldered them onto the JBL replacements. Total time for installing both speakers about 30 minutes. I then set the equalizer to flat and fired the system up to see if there was a difference. What a pleasant surprise the highs were crisp the mids were now defined and you could tell there was separation from the door speakers. Overall there was still that boom sound from the lower frequencies and muddy bass but an overall improvement.
Now onto the front doors and rear doors. You will find out that the front door speakers are not full range. They only produce the lower mid range and some bass frequencies. The stock Alpine speakers are not as bad as some may say. Poly cone with rubber surround and decent sized magnets. I just did not find them to be crisp sounding with a sharp tone but muddy and lifeless. Since they only reproduce limited frequencies I could not see spending $$$ for two or three way speakers. Since I am staying with the sock head unit and amp I settled on a pair of CT Sounds Bio 6x9 two way speakers 4 ohm. These are reasonably priced with poly cones, silk tweeter and decent magnets. They also fit in the stock location with no mods or interference. I peeled off the stock damping material and reused it on the new Speakers and tested for improvements. Again there was an improvement in crisp sound and just a little bit of tweeter input. Now even at level 32 on the volume there was no breakup in the sound quality. Just remember we are still using the sock power. I used DKMUS speaker adapters for both the front and back door speakers to avoid any cutting of the stock wiring harness. I again tested speaker polarity on the stock speakers to make sure the adapters were correct. As others may have discovered. The polarity of the adapters were backwards. I swapped the white and black wires in the connectors to correct polarity. For the rear door speakers that are full range I chose Infinity Primus PR9603is speakers. These have been out for awhile but they have great specs, fit with no mods and are 3 ohm. I again tested polarity and adjusted the connectors as necessary. With all the speakers installed I tested for sound improvements. My starting point was flat eq levels, 20 volume level, center fade and surround sound. I found that after listening to various music styles rock, jazz, funk, country I could change the eq level to +2 bass, +4 mid and -4 treble for what sounded good to my ears. The highs were crisp, midrange was clear and reasonable bass from all speakers. I found I could move the soundstage toward the rear withou losing any sound quality. Even the subwoofer seemed less boomy than before.
To sum it all up I am very pleased with this upgrade. My total cost was less than $150.00 and about two hours of time. It is mow a joy to drive around with the tunes ringing out. I may upgrade the sub in the future to a higher quality 2 ohm dual coil unit to see if things get even better. Front and rear speakers are 3ohm and front doors are 4 ohm. I don't notice door rattle at higher volumes, was able to retain all stock functions and it is loud almost too loud at full volume unless you are driving with the windows down. If you are looking to upgrade for a reasonable price give this idea a try. Choose the speakers that fit your taste if you prefer others besides what I chose. Take your time and verify your connections. I think you will be pleased. Good luck and happy trucking
Now onto the front doors and rear doors. You will find out that the front door speakers are not full range. They only produce the lower mid range and some bass frequencies. The stock Alpine speakers are not as bad as some may say. Poly cone with rubber surround and decent sized magnets. I just did not find them to be crisp sounding with a sharp tone but muddy and lifeless. Since they only reproduce limited frequencies I could not see spending $$$ for two or three way speakers. Since I am staying with the sock head unit and amp I settled on a pair of CT Sounds Bio 6x9 two way speakers 4 ohm. These are reasonably priced with poly cones, silk tweeter and decent magnets. They also fit in the stock location with no mods or interference. I peeled off the stock damping material and reused it on the new Speakers and tested for improvements. Again there was an improvement in crisp sound and just a little bit of tweeter input. Now even at level 32 on the volume there was no breakup in the sound quality. Just remember we are still using the sock power. I used DKMUS speaker adapters for both the front and back door speakers to avoid any cutting of the stock wiring harness. I again tested speaker polarity on the stock speakers to make sure the adapters were correct. As others may have discovered. The polarity of the adapters were backwards. I swapped the white and black wires in the connectors to correct polarity. For the rear door speakers that are full range I chose Infinity Primus PR9603is speakers. These have been out for awhile but they have great specs, fit with no mods and are 3 ohm. I again tested polarity and adjusted the connectors as necessary. With all the speakers installed I tested for sound improvements. My starting point was flat eq levels, 20 volume level, center fade and surround sound. I found that after listening to various music styles rock, jazz, funk, country I could change the eq level to +2 bass, +4 mid and -4 treble for what sounded good to my ears. The highs were crisp, midrange was clear and reasonable bass from all speakers. I found I could move the soundstage toward the rear withou losing any sound quality. Even the subwoofer seemed less boomy than before.
To sum it all up I am very pleased with this upgrade. My total cost was less than $150.00 and about two hours of time. It is mow a joy to drive around with the tunes ringing out. I may upgrade the sub in the future to a higher quality 2 ohm dual coil unit to see if things get even better. Front and rear speakers are 3ohm and front doors are 4 ohm. I don't notice door rattle at higher volumes, was able to retain all stock functions and it is loud almost too loud at full volume unless you are driving with the windows down. If you are looking to upgrade for a reasonable price give this idea a try. Choose the speakers that fit your taste if you prefer others besides what I chose. Take your time and verify your connections. I think you will be pleased. Good luck and happy trucking
