Stock Everything Audio - Best Budget Upgrades?

[jp28173]

I got a 2014 Express crew cab a little over a month ago and am less than impressed with the sound quality of the stereo system and speakers. My previous vehicle was a 2003 Tahoe Z71 that had a Bose factory system that sounds better than the one in the RAM. Its the Express model with the 5" touch screen head unit (hard/manual buttons and knobs), not the full size all touch unit like the Big Horn and above.

My question is what are the best budget upgrades for this setup? I don't really care about the head unit, sure a massive touch screen display would be nice but if I can get good sound out of what I have I'm just fine, don't need nav etc.

Would replacing the 6x9's in all 4 doors with some quality (budget quality, not talking top $) speakers help much or is it the source (head unit) that needs to be sending better signal to the speakers? I'm not looking for the best of the best, nor am I wanting to compete in sound competitions, I just want good clear sound that can be loud if needed without distortion and without losing quality. Amazon suggestions would be great. Right now if I turn the volume up much more than "20" which is just below half way, it doesn't get much louder at all and just distorts itself out by cutting out the bass/mids and just sounds like crap.

Also if I'm able to achieve better sound without spending a fortune does anyone have any suggestions to stop the all plastic door frames in the Express model from vibrating? It's not excessive but on bass-heavy songs you can clearly hear a buzzing type noise from the door panels (i.e. if I'm driving and press my knee up against it hard it stops).

 

[Gregdad]

I put these Pioneer speakers in my doors which really helped. A few days later I added new Kicker dash speakers and they improved the clarity more than I thought they could. I really like the sound now.
Not sure if I want or even need to add an amp or subs. I have 2 10” subs and 3 amps in my shed just in case I go back to my 20’s and decide I need them

 

[Gregdad]

I put the 4 ways in the back and the 3 ways in the front doors

 

[OC455]

Any premium brand replacement speaker is an upgrade in the base model 6 speaker trucks. You could replace the 5 inch with the 8.4 inch model or go aftermarket with everything you want.

My Bighorn, I just did a 3 way 6x9's in the rear doors, Pioneer 4 way 6x9's in the front doors and a 2 way 3.5 inch in the dash with the resistor mod. Sounded really good after that. I had the 8.4 inch touchscreen.

 

[dlromo]

I got a 2014 Express crew cab a little over a month ago and am less than impressed with the sound quality of the stereo system and speakers. My previous vehicle was a 2003 Tahoe Z71 that had a Bose factory system that sounds better than the one in the RAM. Its the Express model with the 5" touch screen head unit (hard/manual buttons and knobs), not the full size all touch unit like the Big Horn and above.

My question is what are the best budget upgrades for this setup? I don't really care about the head unit, sure a massive touch screen display would be nice but if I can get good sound out of what I have I'm just fine, don't need nav etc.

Would replacing the 6x9's in all 4 doors with some quality (budget quality, not talking top $) speakers help much or is it the source (head unit) that needs to be sending better signal to the speakers? I'm not looking for the best of the best, nor am I wanting to compete in sound competitions, I just want good clear sound that can be loud if needed without distortion and without losing quality. Amazon suggestions would be great. Right now if I turn the volume up much more than "20" which is just below half way, it doesn't get much louder at all and just distorts itself out by cutting out the bass/mids and just sounds like crap.

Also if I'm able to achieve better sound without spending a fortune does anyone have any suggestions to stop the all plastic door frames in the Express model from vibrating? It's not excessive but on bass-heavy songs you can clearly hear a buzzing type noise from the door panels (i.e. if I'm driving and press my knee up against it hard it stops).

Sounds just like my 20 Tradesman

 

[mtnrider]

Anyone's opinion is subjective but in my experience, unless you are going to drop some money and time I say leave it alone. I've tried several different speakers and ended up back with stock, they sounded the best for a stock system.
If you go aftermarket speakers you really need to amp them and a minimum.


.

 

[djcwardog]

+1 as just above. My truck had just 4 speakers - two doors, two behind the single bench seat. It came with none in the dash. Simply popping the dash covers off and inserting a pair of 3.5” Kicker-brand coax mid/tweeters woke it right up. I can’t believe I am writing this but it actually sounds pretty good for what it is! I bought the iDatalink kit to add an amp, etc. but in no hurry to do it.

 

[16Ram4x4]

Two weeks ago I replaced my rear door speakers with Kicker DSC6930 3 ways and it sounds a lot better. The front door speakers will be replaced with Kicker 46CSS692 component 2 way speakers with the front dash speakers being replaced with the tweeters.

 

[umbighouse]

Are all front door speakers 6x9 in 4th Gen 1500 Rams (basic audio system)?

 

[16Ram4x4]

Yes, they are 6x9

 

[umbighouse]

Kicker makes some 6x8 speakers too. Would these fit? Any bracket needed?

 

[88ROOK]

while new speakers may sound a little better, its not going to get any louder unless u have more power. and with more power would be better clarity to the new speakers.

 

[wallacemf]

Pioneer ts-g690, $50 per pair and bolt in, huge difference.

Pioneer TS-G690

G-Series 6"x9" 3-way car speakers

www.crutchfield.com

 

[Graygoose]

Kicker makes some 6x8 speakers too. Would these fit? Any bracket needed?

Id stick with the 6x9's.

 

[Salty Ram]

I'm just getting back into the audio upgrade chat again as I'm about ready to pull the trigger on new speakers and perhaps a different sub (I have the Alpine 9-Speaker system) and I thought the speakers (or at least the 6x9s) were 2-way speakers? If that's the case, why would we purchase 3-ways? I'm not being sarcastic at all but just wanting to make sure I'm tracking the right information as I'm looking for replacements. Maybe they are 3-way??

 

[JimmyH]

Pioneer ts-g690, $50 per pair and bolt in, huge difference.

Pioneer TS-G690

G-Series 6"x9" 3-way car speakers

www.crutchfield.com

I just picked up one pair of the TS-G690 6x9s and installed them in the front doors today. No mat or anything in the door panels. Kept the stock dash 8 ohm 3.5s. Played with the EQ on the Uconnect 5. Highs seem a lot clearer, which I like. Seems that there is less clean deep bass, but it is tighter maybe. If I lean my head towards the floorboard it sounds really good. Sitting up, the highs are nice, the bass not so much.

What do the TS-G690 speakers sound like in the two rear doors? They should have slightly more power going to them, as the power is not being shared with another set of speakers as with the front channels.

 

[JimmyH]

So I played with the EQ a bit more and sat in different positions in the truck. What I found was that with the Pioneer TS-G690 speakers in the front doors, all other speakers stock and balance/fade centered, the sound in the rear seats is AMAZING! Like BADASS AMAZING! Played a few songs in each genre and the highs are clear and the bass hits clean and hard. It truly sounded like there was a sub. So I’m curious why it does not sound as good in the front. Could this be because in the front seats I am too close to the new speakers to hear the bass? The angle from those speakers? Crappy acoustics of the truck? I’m pretty sure now that I get more bass from the new Pioneers. I wonder if I would get similar results in the front seat if I moved the Pioneers to the rear and stock to the front?

 

[Graygoose]

Probably factory eq setting for front door, made for midbass only, it relies on dash to do highs.

 

[JimmyH]

So I adjusted the fade a bit and sat in different seating positions. With the fade all the way to the front Pioneer 6x9s, sitting in the front seats the front door bass sound is just ok. Sitting in the back, you get a lot of deep bass from the front door speakers. With fade adjusted all the way to the rear factory 6x9s, sitting in the rear the sound is horrible. Sitting in the front, the sound is not good, but you do get a a tad bit of the bass. It seems that the deep bass you hear in the front seats comes from the rear door speakers and the deep bass you hear in the rear seats comes from the front door speakers. Must be a listening angle or distance thing. One thing is for sure, the Pioneer TS-G690 6x9s put out way more bass than the factory 6x9s. I’m going to try moving the Pioneers to the rear doors to confirm the bass shifts.

 

[POINTMAN380]

I replaced the door speakers with Infinity 6x9s and the dash speakers with infinity’s. Made a massive difference. I had initially planned to add a sub but it’s been a year and I’m very satisfied with where it is now. Very cheap and easy upgrade. Plug and play.