Pioneer speaker upgrade

[GSchwizzy]

Seeing those speakers on Crutchfield for $29 a pair makes me want to order for the doors and cab corners since the connectors will come with them. I am unsure about the dash speakers, probably the Kicker CS series with the resistor soldered into the adapter to balance them out, I've heard they can be overbearing without adding the resistors.

I put the JBL GX302s in the dash (all 3 spots) and yes these can be a bit 'bright' at first, but I just used the fader to balance the F/R volumes. Just an idea...

 

[CopperheadHemi]

I put the JBL GX302s in the dash (all 3 spots) and yes these can be a bit 'bright' at first, but I just used the fader to balance the F/R volumes. Just an idea...

That just reminded me to ask, is there a harness hiding under that center grille for a speaker to plug into for those of us with the standard sound systems?!

 

[TomT]

https://www.ramforum.com/threads/10w-4ohm-resistor-mod-for-kicker-cs-3-5-in-dash.115737/

You could also just buy a 4 ohm speaker for the center and use 2 ohm versions in the corners.

 

[clay282]

I just turned down the treble and kicked the balance to the back 1 notch and it's fine. The new door and dash speakers all have mids and tweeters for high notes so even turned down, they're still crisp.

 

[78Staff]

To followup, the speakers arrived and are installed. Pioneer TS-A6966R's in the doors and Kicker KS's in the dash. Note these are not the "shallow" Pioneer 6x9's that Crutchfield recommends for our RAM's due to the front door, but the next series up. They are shallower than say the Kicker KS 6x9's but deeper than the specific shallow mount speaker Pioneer offers...if that makes sense. So they fit without spacers, but it's close.

Anyway, short version, they sound OK. Not an earth shattering difference, to be honest. Better, yes. Reality is I only spent about $100 for all six speakers so can't expect too much, but... well I'm on the fence. I actually installed the 6x9's first as the 3.5's were coming today, so I was able to hear the setup with stock dash speakers, and then again after installing the Kicker KS 3.5's. As most have noted, the Kickers can overwhelm the rest of the speakers due to being 4ohm instead of 8ohm, but a couple ticks to the rear on the Fader fixed that right up.

A side note, those front 3.5 forward screws are pesky. Having this - https://www.sears.com/craftsman-3-pc-socket-cap-set/p-00943303000P or something similar made it much easier to deal with.\

And, oddly enough, on the rear doors I was missing one torx screw/base on each door, in the same location on both. It didn't look like anyone had been in the doors before, but who knows. Just seemed odd that it missing from the same location on both doors. I'm sure I can find some replacements, but the whole setup is kinda rinky-dink, I may look to see if there is anything else that will work better.

I also put the tweeter and logo "up", which now that I am thinking about it might be a mistake, as this puts the wiring connectors on top, where they are more exposed to the elements should any water get past the windows seals, etc.

So, thinking I might should have gone with Kickers KS's all around, but at $70 vs $200+, I figured I would try the Pioneers first. I can always return them to Amazon, but I'll roll with them for a bit and see how they settle in. I just don't know that spending another $125 on KS 6x9's would make any difference, since I am keeping the RA4 head unit?

 

[PowrRam]

To followup, the speakers arrived and are installed. Pioneer TS-A6966R's in the doors and Kicker KS's in the dash. Note these are not the "shallow" Pioneer 6x9's that Crutchfield recommends for our RAM's due to the front door, but the next series up. They are shallower than say the Kicker KS 6x9's but deeper than the specific shallow mount speaker Pioneer offers...if that makes sense. So they fit without spacers, but it's close.

Anyway, short version, they sound OK. Not an earth shattering difference, to be honest. Better, yes. Reality is I only spent about $100 for all six speakers so can't expect too much, but... well I'm on the fence. I actually installed the 6x9's first as the 3.5's were coming today, so I was able to hear the setup with stock dash speakers, and then again after installing the Kicker KS 3.5's. As most have noted, the Kickers can overwhelm the rest of the speakers due to being 4ohm instead of 8ohm, but a couple ticks to the rear on the Fader fixed that right up.

I have those same Pioneer 6X9's in my stock 6 speaker system with the 8.4 screen. I agree that I was kind of underwhelmed when I first installed them. Better than stock, yeah. More bass, yeah. Like you, I guess I had higher expectations. But after a week or so it seems they "loosened up" or something as there was more bass and they seemed a to have more clarity. Play a couple of favorite songs and try to memorize the sound quality of the songs then replay them a week later. See if you notice any difference.

 

[clay282]

I have those same Pioneer 6X9's in my stock 6 speaker system with the 8.4 screen. I agree that I was kind of underwhelmed when I first installed them. Better than stock, yeah. More bass, yeah. Like you, I guess I had higher expectations. But after a week or so it seems they "loosened up" or something as there was more bass and they seemed a to have more clarity. Play a couple of favorite songs and try to memorize the sound quality of the songs then replay them a week later. See if you notice any difference.

I even noticed that with the cheaper ones I purchased. I thought maybe the heat loosened them up or something. I got the cheaper Pioneer's and they aren't the $200 Memphis Audio's I wanted, but for $50, they rock! The stereo sounds so much better than stock, I find myself listening to the music a lot louder.

 

[78Staff]

Actually yeah I'm going to cop to being the boy who called wolf - I had dinner and decided to drive around a bit and play with the settings, EQ, fader, etc and tried a few different sat channels, and overall they are definitely an improvement. I even found a hippidy hop channel to play some bass lol. Before I was stopping around 14-15 on the vol dial, but now i can run it up to 20 easily without any issue, and a bit more even. I think I've settled on 4 clicks back from center, and -2 on Treble, 0 to -2 on mids, and bass is level or plus one or two depending on the genre. I'm already rattling the panels a bit so no need to go further unless I mat the doors.

 

[CopperheadHemi]

I bit the bullet, I got two pairs of the $29 Pioneers and Kicker CS series for the dash corners. Should have the pioneers around the 25th.

 

[PowrRam]

I bit the bullet, I got two pairs of the $29 Pioneers and Kicker CS series for the dash corners. Should have the pioneers around the 25th.

Please let us know your thoughts during/after install.

 

[CopperheadHemi]

I finally got around to doing the install on my Kicker CS tweeters and the Pioneer 6x9 TS-G690 speakers. The door install was so simple, behind the cab was the same, only thing I hated about the tweeters was how short the stock pigtail is on the speaker, you need tiny hands to get in there so I had to use a screwdriver to release the connectors. I used a 4ohm 10w resistor soldered in-line on the speaker adapters for the tweeters. I didn’t realize how muddy the stock speakers were. I know these speakers aren’t the cream of the crop but they are way better than stock. The sound is so much clearer, and I am extremely happy, and especially for like $90 plus a little of my time to install them. Current EQ settings are B3 M1 and T2 with the fade/balance on center.This may change as they break in, but for now, I am a happy customer! My music tastes somewhat vary, my top two SXM presets are 24 and 7, so I get some variety and I’ll see how they do with my tastes in music. I recommend them as an upgrade, especially for those like me who can’t or don’t want to drop a *** of cash but want better than a muddy OE speaker. Oh, I’m using this with an 8.4 RA4 unit as well, I’m sure if I had stuck with my 5.0 unit, it would sound excellent too with these speakers.

 

[TomT]

Yeah, it’s amazing how much you gain by having an actual tweeter compared to the factory crap.

 

[Matts175]

I know this thread is old, but I found it during a search....

Anywho... There is nothing wrong with Pioneer. I had all Pioneer speakers in my old 2003 Quad Cab for over 10 years and they are still working like new to this day. So, I just ordered all new Pioneers for my new to me 2015.