Hey all,
I need to replace the speakers in my '99 Quad Cab (premium sound equipped, meaning it has tweeters in the pillars). Only 2 speakers are putting out decent sound, so it sounds like complete crap.

I'm car audio challenged, meaning I know nothing about this stuff. I want clear sound with some decent bass. I certainly don't need enough bass to wake the neighbors and shake windows, just enough to make my country music sound good. What do y'all recommend? Money is an issue here, so the cheaper the better, but I still want a decent product. Will I need to get an amp?

I have a Pioneer DEH-P4000UB head unit and I absolutely HATE it. It's impossible to use when the truck is moving because of that stupid "multifunction ***". If you happen to hit a bump while pushing the *** you could end up resetting the presets or screwing up the clock.

So...I'm gonna get a new head unit also. Any suggestions? I would like to spend under $150 on the head unit itself. I plan on going to Best Buy tonight to talk to them and look at my options. Any help is appreciated, thanks.

 

Hands down, I have always loved Alpine head units. Even their less expensive units are really good, and have good sound quality. They are also very easy to use.

As far as speakers go, I have had pioneer, kicker, infinity speakers and I liked the infinity and kicker the best. I just ordered some sound ordinance speakers (not expensive) and Crutchfield says they sound comparable to a Polk speaker. Crutchfield has always been great to deal with everytime I have used them. They also send anything you would need to install what they sell you (harnesses, plates, instructions, etc.)

 

Okay.... Here I go.

Do you have a price range on what you want to spend?

My problem here is that there is going to be very few options out there that will sing on an AM deck. By sing I mean that the AM deck really doesn't put out enough power on its own to get the full benefits from the speakers. If you're just going for a mild build, I would look at the following links:

Deck: http://www.crutchfield.com/p_099CD12...0.html?tp=5684

I know that you said that you don't like the Pioneer you have, but I seriously encourage you to go back and try them again. From the many decks I've played with, I find Pioneers to be just about one of the highest quality brands out there that will also stand up to the abuse you'll put it through.

Speakers: http://signature.crutchfield.com/s_1...-9i.html?tp=95

You can make four of those work all the way around with some modification to the rear mounts. For the fronts, I don't think you have much to do, but I know of a few that have made adapter plates in both cases.

Polk is another good brand: http://www.crutchfield.com/p_107DB65...ures_and_specs


AMP: http://signature.crutchfield.com/s_0...00.html?tp=115


If you don't want to add in an amp, then look at these speakers:
Front: http://signature.crutchfield.com/s_5....html?tp=27919
Rear: http://signature.crutchfield.com/s_5....html?tp=27919

 

i have an older (4yrs old) pioneer head unit sirius capable with the in dash sirius unit. its decent but i dont really like it much, i dont even use sirius anymore so im looking to replace it. but i just put in new speakers, kicker DS6930 3way 6x9's up front and kicker DS5250 2way 5 1/4's in the back and theyre awesome, i definatly recommend them to anyone, and you can get them on ebay for around $50 a set new

 

CSX, as you can see, views and brands are going to vary quite a bit here. The best thing I can tell you to do is go listen to as many speakers as you can, and put in what sounds best to your ears..

Be careful with the audio guys at Best Buy. I know some are good, but there are quite a few out there that do not know what they are doing and they'll get you into a mess real quick fast and in a hurry. It happened to me on the first system I put in the truck. Didn't know very much about them at the time, and I just went with what they suggested. I got about a year out of it and everything started going to hell. The fosgates that they told me to get started blowing out the seals and I went through two amps in that time as well.

All I'm saying is, be careful, and if they suggest something that you're unsure about, come on back to here and we'll sort it out. I just don't trust the sales staff there.
(sorry Jason )

 

Thanks guys,

I forgot to mention that the head unit must be Ipod compatable, they might all come like that now, I don't know.

Laramie, I have nothing against Pioneer, I just think their multifunction *** is the crappiest design on earth (it compares with Dodges design of the plenum pan ) I would deffinatly buy Pioneer again, it seems to be well built.

Price range? Under 150 for the head unit, under 150 for the speakers? Is that even possible?

I'm really looking for a direct fit speaker. I don't want to have to cut/modify anything, I just don't have the time or the patience when it comes to this stuff. I want to just pop the door panels off, undo a couple of screws and pop the new ones in. What sizes should I be looking for when it comes to speakers? Are Pioneer speakers any good?

Alpine would be my other choice when it comes to head units, all my friends have those and they really like them. I just got the Pioneer last time because I thought it looked the best.

I think I might just go into Best Buy tonight and have them piece everything together for me. I know they'll probably bend me over on the price, but I don't know jack about audio.

Thanks again, this is a harder decision than I thought it would be.

 

Yeah, I'll be carefull at Best Buy. I know what to stay away from I think. Looks like the best brands they sell are Pioneer and Alpine?

 

the speakers i mentioned are direct fit, i had no problems putting them in, and if you want some bass and clear sound go with 2way or 3way speakers, i had some single channel pioneers and they were just plain aweful. ebay is the way to go if you want to keep that budget

 

Ok I settled on this head unit...

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Pioneer+...&skuId=9197184

It was on sale and it does everything I want, plus I think it lookes pretty good. Still not sure on what I need to do for speakers. This stuff is so confusing.

I was told that my LF door speaker wasn't getting signal, meaning the amp is shot, correct? So just replacing that speaker won't get me anything right? Do I just need to buy a new amp to replace the broken one? Can I replace the front speakers without replacing the rear ones?

 

Ok, you can replace speakers with out replacing those little amps. Just wire around them.

I personally wouldn't deal with just replacing the amp as they will pop again later down the road.

Yes, you can replace the fronts at one time or the rears at another time.