Speakers !

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Rado

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Sooner or later we like to change speakers.
Since it is a regular upgrade maybe a list of what works well would help !
Maybe a list of what you used will help the next person make a good choice !

I just installed 4 POLK DB652 Marine Grade Speakers in my car ! (Not the RAM :O )
IMO
Very well made and they come with mounting generic adapters for the speakers. I did not use them , Got a set of direct fit adapters ! SO I assume the same for the RAM
Got the Foam Cones to protect the speakers from moisture as water does slide down the glass into the doors !
Using OEM Low Powered Radio they sound very nice!
NOT heavy on BASS! Leans more on the treble side . So if you like a lot of Base these are lacking,
I like more treble as my hearing sucks lol
I would assume all would apply to the RAM as well with those speakers !
What brands do you like ?
 

OC455

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Rado

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OC455

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I like the price on them :) On my to do list now :) Thanks for link
I had those in my 1500 and they really did brighten up the front for the highs. They make a 3.5inch 2 ways that will work in the front. Just have to add in a resistor to get them to 8ohm for them to work well in the front.


Have to check the ohm rating on the speaker too.
 
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Rado

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The ohm rating is way overrated.
A dumb question, I am in no way audio savvy !
What do Ohms do for a speaker sound wise ?
If a speaker is rated 4 ohms and should be 8 ohms what happens with the sound ?

Thanks
 

Atcer2018

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A dumb question, I am in no way audio savvy !
What do Ohms do for a speaker sound wise ?
If a speaker is rated 4 ohms and should be 8 ohms what happens with the sound ?

Thanks
Ohms do nothing for the actual sound. It’s a rating of resistance. How resistant the voice coil of the speaker is to input (power). A lower ohm rating means the speaker is easier to drive/move than a speaker with a higher ohm rating. Lower ohms works out better in low power car audio application as the typical head unit is low power so 4 ohm speakers will be louder than 8 ohm speakers at the same power input or volume button setting. The dash speaker in our trucks is used to create the soundstage. It has a capacitor attached to it eliminating lower frequencies so it’s only reproducing high frequencies. This is done to create the soundstage as high frequencies are very directional whereas low frequencies not so much. High frequencies directed at your face and bouncing off the windshield can sound harsh, bright, shrill and annoying at higher volume. An 8 ohm speaker is used to cut down the output volume and reduce the “brightness” of the dash speaker.

The following is my humble opinion and many will disagree. The most important speaker in our six speaker system trucks are the front door speakers. It’s normal to want the best for our money but using multi speaker setups in the front doors hinders our sound systems. In the OEM setup Ram uses cheap full range speakers. The rear doors are unrestricted as the rear speaker are sound fillers. The front speakers use capacitors to cut low frequencies to the dash speakers and high frequencies to the front doors. This is an inexpensive passive crossover. It sets up the soundstage. If you sit in your truck, turn on the radio and close your eyes can you imagine where the cymbals are at on a concert stage? Can you detect where the singer is? Can you place the horn section? The high frequencies set up the stage imaging. This is what the dash speakers do. Now when we upgrade our speakers we buy 2 way, 3 way or more door speakers. Those fancy expensive speakers in the front door mess up the soundstage! By adding tweeters in the front doors we create two soundstages, one up around our face from the dash speakers and one down by our knees from the door speakers. When posters say some songs sound “muddy” and unclear it’s most likely from competing soundstages. Many people don’t mind this and some even like it. Unless folks are adding a digital signal processor (DSP) to correct for the competing soundstages it’s my opinion to stick with a basic speaker that is frequency capped in the front doors or go with a dedicated woofer or midwoofer. Of course active crossover systems work great too if the owner wants to invest that much money. The original designers of our truck audio system used the dash speakers to set the soundstage for a reason, adding multi-way speakers to the front doors without frequency restricting them or a DSP takes away from the sound quality in my opinion.
 
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Rado

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Ohms do nothing for the actual sound. It’s a rating of resistance. How resistant the voice coil of the speaker is to input (power). A lower ohm rating means the speaker is easier to drive/move than a speaker with a higher ohm rating. Lower ohms works out better in low power car audio application as the typical head unit is low power so 4 ohm speakers will be louder than 8 ohm speakers at the same power input or volume button setting. The dash speaker in our trucks is used to create the soundstage. It has a capacitor attached to it eliminating lower frequencies so it’s only reproducing high frequencies. This is done to create the soundstage as high frequencies are very directional whereas low frequencies not so much. High frequencies directed at your face and bouncing off the windshield can sound harsh, bright, shrill and annoying at higher volume. An 8 ohm speaker is used to cut down the output volume and reduce the “brightness” of the dash speaker.

The following is my humble opinion and many will disagree. The most important speaker in our six speaker system trucks are the front door speakers. It’s normal to want the best for our money but using multi speaker setups in the front doors hinders our sound systems. In the OEM setup Ram uses cheap full range speakers. The rear doors are unrestricted as the rear speaker are sound fillers. The front speakers use capacitors to cut low frequencies to the dash speakers and high frequencies to the front doors. This is an inexpensive passive crossover. It sets up the soundstage. If you sit in your truck, turn on the radio and close your eyes can you imagine where the cymbals are at on a concert stage? Can you detect where the singer is? Can you place the horn section? The high frequencies set up the stage imaging. This is what the dash speakers do. Now when we upgrade our speakers we buy 2 way, 3 way or more door speakers. Those fancy expensive speakers in the front door mess up the soundstage! By adding tweeters in the front doors we create two soundstages, one up around our face from the dash speakers and one down by our knees from the door speakers. When posters say some songs sound “muddy” and unclear it’s most likely from competing soundstages. Many people don’t mind this and some even like it. Unless folks are adding a digital signal processor (DSP) to correct for the competing soundstages it’s my opinion to stick with a basic speaker that is frequency capped in the front doors or go with a dedicated woofer or midwoofer. Of course active crossover systems work great too if the owner wants to invest that much money. The original designers of our truck audio system used the dash speakers to set the soundstage for a reason, adding multi-way speakers to the front doors without frequency restricting them or a DSP takes away from the sound quality in my opinion.
WOW GREAT write up Thank You ! I just did my car with 4 Polks 4 ohm if I remember !
Sounds good to me but not a a lot of bass!
That may be due to the foam cones ?
Plus my hearing sucks lol I hear different with my hearing aids in :)..
Thinking of doing the truck in the near future and may change the HU !

Thank you very much for your reply, Helps a lot
 

KoboldTaco

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WOW GREAT write up Thank You ! I just did my car with 4 Polks 4 ohm if I remember !
Sounds good to me but not a a lot of bass!
That may be due to the foam cones ?
Plus my hearing sucks lol I hear different with my hearing aids in :)..
Thinking of doing the truck in the near future and may change the HU !

Thank you very much for your reply, Helps a lot
If you put the foam door cups (Baffle) in before you mounted the speakers, cut a small hole in the foam cups so they can breathe. That will allow the speaker via the baffle (foam cup) to breathe and use the entire door as a speaker box. When I made that mistake once, I had to go back and I cut a 1 to 2 in hole in each.

Also, I lined the doors with a dynamat knockoff Called Killmat off Amazon. That prevented the newly upgraded speakers from rattling everything. I lined the doors and any exposed metal surface with it. It sound deadened the crap out of my car at the time. It was a 2017 Prius which at highway speeds was 74db of road noise. After it was 68 But the audio difference was the reason I did it.
 

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The ohm rating is way overrated.
Guessing you dont know what it does, because it does matter. Most people dont take it into account and wonder why the system doesnt sound good or why it gets hot. Those people are writing reviews of the products they buy lol.
 
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IDSandman

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Guessing you dont know what it does, because it does matter. Most people dont take it into account and wonder why the system doesnt sound good or why it gets hot. Those people are writing reviews of the products they buy lol.
I also found that as a bizarre reply. Wondering if he meant something else, man I hope he meant something else. Lol
 

cam101

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Everyone has a preference for speaker brands. The most important being your budget. Speaker brands I like Hertz, Image Dynamics, Pioneer, Inifinity, etc..
 

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A dumb question, I am in no way audio savvy !
What do Ohms do for a speaker sound wise ?
If a speaker is rated 4 ohms and should be 8 ohms what happens with the sound ?

Thanks
A 4 ohm speaker on an 8 ohm output will draw twice the power that it should. The amplifier will generate more heat which may affect sound quality at higher volumes. Might have distortion, etc.

The resistor keeps the load balanced.

Seems like I read somewhere that the dash speaker and door speaker are both on the same channel. Wired in series? Not totally sure, hopefully someone else will chime in on this.
 
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IDSandman

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Yes they are EdGs. Why I replaced mine with separates and ran new speaker wire to the dash from my amp making them their own chnnl.
 

EdGs

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Yes they are EdGs. Why I replaced mine with separates and ran new speaker wire to the dash from my amp making them their own chnnl.
Thanks for confirming that, @IDSandman.

So that means that the stock dash and front door speakers are 4 ohms each. Interesting.

I've been debating about replacements for my '15 at some point. Just have the stock 5.1 UConnect, nothing fancy.
 

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Any chance I have to buy Klipsch I jump on it. I was so impressed with their horn subs and overall audio quality when I was in my 20s setting up audio shows for the beach resort I worked at. We abused the crap out of these things and they were amazing.
 

IDSandman

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So that means that the stock dash and front door speakers are 4 ohms each. Interesting.

I've been debating about replacements for my '15 at some point. Just have the stock 5.1 UConnect, nothing fancy.
Dash 3.5’s are 8 ohm so you’ll need a 4ohm resistor.
 

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