Good afternoon,

Pain meds, not being able to sleep and the internet are going to get me into trouble. So could not sleep last night due to a tooth ache, waiting for insurance to approve the root canal. So I Google stereo speakers and was looking at the pictures and there were some interesting set up and people do some crazy things with their vehicles and why they need that many speakers I am not sure.

So I was so confused that I did a chat with one of the service reps at Crutchfields, besides letting me know that I don't need totally rewire the truck to round wire with screw in connectors to the speakers. I left a bit more confused.

Now I have switched out stereos in vehicles before but never the speakers, as far as I know the speakers in my 93 Dakota are factory original, fair sound but I would like a bit nicer without busting the bank. Now looking at my favorite place to shop as I don't have to visit a store, it shows up at the grocery store here in town and I just go pick it up, live on a busy street, 3 halfway/treatment houses on the block. So I can get from Amazon 2 pairs of speakers from between $35.00 and $105.00, my budget for this, $175 if I throw in a amplifier/subwoofer but still not sure I need/want one and not sure what it does and if it is worth it.

Now that I have rambled all over the place back to my original questions. For those that have replaced the speakers on the early Dodges particular an extended cab 93, what did you need in the way or harness and connectors? The rep at Crutchfields was saying I needed harnesses for the rear, but special slide one electrical connectors for the front as there is no set up there for anything.

This is what the connector he said I need, it was from Metra, I did not save the info but found one it looked like.



Any help that you all could provide that would help me figure out what I need to replace the speakers would be greatly appreciated. I am about to the point of just buying them and paying someone to do the work, but I have been told it is so simple.

 

In most vehicles, the speakers will have specific connectors, that just plug in, to make putting them together on the line quick and easy. Replacement speakers are likely to just have male spade terminals, which the connector in your pic there is designed to hook to. So, you cut off the original connector, crimp those fellers on, and plug in your new speakers. Done.

Of course, that means you are driving your new speakers with whatever amp resides in your current head unit. (or, the stock amplifier, if you have the infinity system..... it's say so right on the stock radio if you do. Or, pull a build sheet for your truck, and see what it says.)

Your new speakers may not put out the same volume of sound as the old speakers, for the save value of input power. If you really have to crank up the volume on the new speakers, to get it to the level you want to hear it at, you run into the danger of your amplifier simply not being able to drive the speakers properly, and you end up with 'clipping'. (power demands higher than what the amp can put out, so, that particular 'sound' is simply truncated. yeah, it sounds awful.) Another problem you run into, potentially, is the amp not delivering 'clean' sound, at the volume you want to listen to it at. The more power you push, the harder the amp has to work, and if the input signal isn't clean, then all that crap gets amplified too. Not to mention noise that the amp itself introduces.... especially when worked hard.

So, replace the speakers, and see how it sounds. If it still sounds crappy at the volume you want to listen to it at, add an amp. If your head unit doesn't have pre-amp outputs, then make sure you get an amp that can handle line-level inputs.

 

To add further, many mid to better than average speakers have two sizes of spade connectors to differentiate polarity. The set I installed in my 90 Dak were like that. Most speakers come with the proper size spade connector that you crimp onto your factory wiring. If they don't you can buy them from any radio install store in your area, or amazon or crutchfield if willing to wait. Lastly, the front speakers in my 90 were an uncommon size. The standard 5 1/4 and 6 1/2 rounds don't fit without modification...the stock fronts are 6" rounds which most stores don't carry.

 

Amazon gets me things in 2 days at the most, no extra charge. I am on a friends Prime Account, she is on my Microsoft Office account, we both save the cost of a subscription a year that way. I am lucky or cursed that there are 6 Amazon warehouses within 75 miles of me, so if I order over $35.00 by 1 PM in most cases I can get by 8 PM that day.

I have found a source for the connectors that Cructhfield wanted to sell me on E-Bay, I can get 4 of them shipped, checked Metra and their guide says that my truck uses the same harness front and back. I guess the thing to do is, pull one of the door panels, something I was wishing to hold off on until it was time to replace the speakers and see exactly what the connectors look like so I can make a decision.

If I understand what HeyYou meant about pre-amp outlets, my head unit besides the hook ups for the after market to factory wiring harness has a red and white, for want of a better term, "plug. I have looked at pictures mainly on Amazon of amplifiers and see talk of channels. If I understand correctly I need a channel for each speaker, or sub-woofer if I add one. Where I am getting confused is the talk of Watts. The rear speakers are 350 Watts and the front 250 Watts. Now what I am not sure is that per pair or each/ There is a huge difference between 600 Watts and 1200 Watts.

I guess I have more reading and research to do. Google here I come.

 

Evening,

So pulled the door panel, the rubber mountings around the speaker just crumbled, so I need to add that to my list of things to buy. I will pull the panel again in the morning, and take some pictures, did not even have my cell phone with me. There was a connector, it looked different than what Crutchfield says I need, more round that rectangle, I wall also pull one of the rear speakers tomorrow and the Metra catalog says that the 1993 Dakota uses the same harness front and rear.

Gave some more thought to the amplifier and there is that little box in the back behind the drivers seat, the passengers one holds the jack and tire tools.Not sure what it would need for cooling and such, in 11 years I have had 1 passenger only, my mother for the week she visited in Florida.

 

Those speaker watt numbers sound like peak or max numbers, which really aren't that useful. Look for the RMS watts, which is the manufacturers calculation for continuous power (watts) usage. That number will help you determine the power you want from your amp. Here's how Crutchfield says to figure it: Take 75% of the speakers RMS rating as the minimum RMS output per channel you want from an amp. The maximum RMS output you would want to see shouldn't exceed 150% of the speakers RMS rating. So if your speakers are 60 watts RMS, you would be good with an amp that produces anywhere from 45 to 90 watts RMS per channel.

A four channel amp is a good choicd for a basic setup in a truck. Many can be bridged, so you run 4 speakers (front and rear pairs), or you could run two front speakers and bridge the rear channels for a sub, or you could connect the front and rear speakers in parallel or in series (depending on what impedance the amp can handle) on the front channels and again, bridge the rear for a sub. Clear as mud, right?

 

Ragged,

I will do some more reading and math I saw the RMS notes on Crutchfiled and someplace else in my journey, Livewire maybe they have a bunch of articles on setting up a stereo system. I guess my biggest complaint is I have not stumble on something like I have found for my computer builds, that tells me every thing in the case draws this my power, so you need a power supply of XYZ amount. I guess if we are dealing with both watts and then RMS it would be kind of hard, as each set of speakers is going to be different.

I don't think I want a sub-woofer I am not looking for a boom boom boom, like the kids I curse when I am at a red light, just a nice sound when I am on the freeway over the road noise with the windows open. I do use both the front and rear speakers. I know there are a couple of shops in the area and a very good mobile installer in Sacramento where I go for my eye appointments, I might get everything and let him deal with it. Especially if I get the back up camera, I can go to the movie while things are done.

 

Crutchfield sent me the wrong connectors the first time I called and they replaced them with the correct ones. Maybe call them and have the person visually confirm the software has chosen the correct connector from stock to new speaker. Rubber mounts? I'll be looking for the pics as I do not recall that on mine and the rear speakers did not fit as easily as they should.

 

Remember I said I did a quick check at twilight in a parking lot, it appeared to be rubber, whatever it was was about 3/4" think and just crumbled. not sure what mounts were made of. Also not a car "guy" so it could be another material and I just called it rubber not knowing any better.

Got a migraine so I have not be out to work on it, I am hoping the meds kick in and I can get out sometime today. the other door, the lock does not work when I hit the button and I want to see what is up with that.

 

My 1988 has plastic mounts; OTOH, the rubber surrounds of the speakers may be failing.

And *ahem* That's not "car guy" stuff, that's "speaker" stuff. Read up on speaker surrounds sometimes.

RwP