WhiteMamba
Junior Member
- Joined
- Apr 13, 2015
- Posts
- 26
- Reaction score
- 5
- Ram Year
- 2012
- Engine
- Hemi 5.7
This is my first official post about my truck and I had some issues researching Focal speakers and little to no information on the JL Audio Stealthbox for our Rams. Please feel free to leave comments on how I can improve my post so it can help as many people as possible. I had the Kicker CS 3.5s and 6x9s previously in my truck after I blew my speakers driving home from the dealership and had to compete with the rest of the family that all run Focal level speakers.
In the front doors and dash I installed the Focal K2 Power 165KR that are on sale at Crutchfield since they just rolled out their new K2's. With custom black baffles, the speakers fit perfect with about a quarter inch left before hitting the window when rolled down. In the dash, I placed the tweeters with matching black baffles to replace the 3.5s and keep the soundstage high and a factory appearance.
In the rear doors, I installed Focal Integration 6x9s for their easy install and a decent rear fill. For their price tag, I would have rather installed these instead of the Kickers because when they are amp'd, they sound ten times more clear although they do not create as much bass if you don't have a sub installed like I did at the time.
I installed wave breakers and double layered sound deadening on the front doors, single layer on the rear doors with no wave breakers, and did a small section around the tweeters to prevent any vibrations against the plastic dash. I also did a layer in the cargo bins that I would be setting the Stealthbox on top of. For those that do not know, our Rams have a thick foam layer under the carpet that helps reduced vibrations and road noise.
For the Stealthbox, I removed the covers to the cargo bins and the box fit like a glove. I bolted the box down to the frame of the seats where the bins were attached to help keep the box down and prevent easy theft. I ran the wires through the carpet underneath the box to give it a clean look when I lifted the seats. The box sits low and has bumpers and grills to prevent the seat from hitting the subs when people sit, but as my pictures will show, there is plenty of room to spare.
I hooked all of the speakers up to a Hertz HDP5 amp which slightly underpowers the speakers but after listening to setup, I'm glad I did not spend the extra $500 to get the best matched amp. If this amp ever fails me, then I might go get the better amp if I'm feeling my wallet is too thick... lol. I made a custom amp board that I wrapped in a color matching carpet to help keep that factory look and keep the function of the air vent under my drivers seat. I installed the amp there from a video on YouTube from Sonic Electronix and the easy access if I need to make adjustments. I put the bass knob by my shifter knob and cup holders since I keep my hand on the shifter like it's a manual and I'm not having to reach to change the intensity, which I mainly keep the boost on 0 since these subs shake everything in the cab including the steering wheel.
Finally, everything was ran too my old and reliable Kenwood DNN990HD that I have had for many years and in many trucks. I love the gauge features and all the extras that the iDatalink feature allows. I usually keep the volume at 31/35 when jamming on the highway and the headunit can go up to 33/35 before sending a slight distortion to the speakers depending on the song.
I hope the pictures, video I will tag, and information helps people during their research for speakers in their Ram. I will try my best to answer any and all questions on this thread about the sound and installation process. The video was taken on my iPhone so the bass does not come through very well but you can see how much it shakes the truck. The Focals do sound nice in the video though lol.
https://youtu.be/nksbi77cS90 (Link to Video)
In the front doors and dash I installed the Focal K2 Power 165KR that are on sale at Crutchfield since they just rolled out their new K2's. With custom black baffles, the speakers fit perfect with about a quarter inch left before hitting the window when rolled down. In the dash, I placed the tweeters with matching black baffles to replace the 3.5s and keep the soundstage high and a factory appearance.
In the rear doors, I installed Focal Integration 6x9s for their easy install and a decent rear fill. For their price tag, I would have rather installed these instead of the Kickers because when they are amp'd, they sound ten times more clear although they do not create as much bass if you don't have a sub installed like I did at the time.
I installed wave breakers and double layered sound deadening on the front doors, single layer on the rear doors with no wave breakers, and did a small section around the tweeters to prevent any vibrations against the plastic dash. I also did a layer in the cargo bins that I would be setting the Stealthbox on top of. For those that do not know, our Rams have a thick foam layer under the carpet that helps reduced vibrations and road noise.
For the Stealthbox, I removed the covers to the cargo bins and the box fit like a glove. I bolted the box down to the frame of the seats where the bins were attached to help keep the box down and prevent easy theft. I ran the wires through the carpet underneath the box to give it a clean look when I lifted the seats. The box sits low and has bumpers and grills to prevent the seat from hitting the subs when people sit, but as my pictures will show, there is plenty of room to spare.
I hooked all of the speakers up to a Hertz HDP5 amp which slightly underpowers the speakers but after listening to setup, I'm glad I did not spend the extra $500 to get the best matched amp. If this amp ever fails me, then I might go get the better amp if I'm feeling my wallet is too thick... lol. I made a custom amp board that I wrapped in a color matching carpet to help keep that factory look and keep the function of the air vent under my drivers seat. I installed the amp there from a video on YouTube from Sonic Electronix and the easy access if I need to make adjustments. I put the bass knob by my shifter knob and cup holders since I keep my hand on the shifter like it's a manual and I'm not having to reach to change the intensity, which I mainly keep the boost on 0 since these subs shake everything in the cab including the steering wheel.
Finally, everything was ran too my old and reliable Kenwood DNN990HD that I have had for many years and in many trucks. I love the gauge features and all the extras that the iDatalink feature allows. I usually keep the volume at 31/35 when jamming on the highway and the headunit can go up to 33/35 before sending a slight distortion to the speakers depending on the song.
I hope the pictures, video I will tag, and information helps people during their research for speakers in their Ram. I will try my best to answer any and all questions on this thread about the sound and installation process. The video was taken on my iPhone so the bass does not come through very well but you can see how much it shakes the truck. The Focals do sound nice in the video though lol.
https://youtu.be/nksbi77cS90 (Link to Video)
)) Speakers are different for everyone and since I listen to my music with the windows down about 90% of the time because Texas never has a winter, I enjoy having bright tweeters to overpower the wind in the cab while im doing 15 over lol.
