can someone tell me what is a good upgrade speakers. i still want to keep my stock radio. just looking for better sound. if you know, please tell me the brand and model number. THANKS. ERIC

 

not sure, but if you go to www.Crutchfield.com, they have a chart that tells you what will fit. Too many choices out there. I've always had good luck with Sony, Pioneer, and or Aplines.

 

I put Pioneers in mine, but didn't make that much of a difference with the stock unit in dash Ended up changing dash unit to Pioneer (DEH-P4600MP)....much better now.

 

I put kenwood 6x9 three ways in the front doors, kenwood 6.5 inh two ways in the rear doors, helped with sizzle but shows the head units poor power output sadly.

 

I put Infinity's in mine from Circuit City. They sounded kinda weak in my '03 but sound like they're running off a small amp in the '05. Much better head unit in the '05. Very deep strong lows and crispy highs. What you're going to find is the front 6X9s won't fit in the hole. With the Infinity's I took the screen out of the speaker covers and used the frame upside down for a spacer. They fit great now! The Alpines have an even bigger basket behind the speaker. I wanted Alpines but Circuit City didn't have the 5.25" for the rear doors and I didn't want to mismatch them. Not at all unhappy with the Infinity's. You'll laugh at the stock speakers when you take them out. It's amazing they sound as good as they do.
mikmaze, might be worth it to double check your speaker's polarity. One speaker wired wrong will take them both down. It's easy to get one speaker or both speakers' polarity backward with the strange wire colors. It should at least sound way better than the stock speakers.

 

If your looking for best bang for the buck, I highly recommend the Polk Audio "db690" for the front and the "db650" for the rear. They have built in crossovers, so they are a snap to install. The x-overs result in excellent imaging & transparency. They have an efficiency rating of 93db, so the OEM head unit will have no problem driving them. If you like your music really LOUD, you can add an amp later. You can get them on ebay for 1/2 price shipped (front and rears for ~ $150.00!!!!)

I do agree, the '05 OEM head unit is far superior to the 03-04's. My stock junk speakers sound so much better than my '04s, I'm in no huge hurry to get the Polks installed, but those will most likely sound EVEN better! I'll be adding an MTX 404 amp this time!

 

Eric, I put 3 way 6x9" Pioneers in front and and 2 way 51/4"s(I think, same size as stock) in the rear. With the stock AM/FM/CD it made a world of differance in mine. My wife has an 05 Caravan with Infinity speakers (about $450 option) and they don't sound any better than mine.
I bought my Pioneers from crutchfield, they were about $79.00 per pair, I think.
Actually I first installer them in my 03 1500 and removed before I traded for the 04.5 2500.
The salesman at crutchfield recommended these pioneers if I didn't plan to upgrade to a high power receiver.
Good luck.

 

Don't know what happened, but the Infinity option in the Gen 2's for $400 sounded great and was worth money. The infinity option in the Gen 3's doesn't sound good at any price, IMO. My Polks blow away my sister-in-laws Ram 2500 QC Gen 3 Infinity pkg, at 600.00 less moola.

You do have to be careful with the 6x9's in the front. A lot of them will not fit. As mentioned, Crutchfield.com is a good referance for what will fit, then go to ebay

 

i don't understand why people waste their money on speakers that are not round.
6x9's suck.......period
do your self a favor, and buy some 6.5"
in either a componet set or 2 way,depending on your wallet size, and make a fibre board plate to mount the 6.5" in the doors. much better sound.

 

You are correct, most 6x9s do suck, but you obviously have not listened to the 6x9 Polks... I've had two sets of Infinity Kappa 6.5 components. Granted, they sound awesome, but the 6x9 Polks have better low end and the highs are smoother. The don't give quite the level of seperation. For the money, you can't go wrong...period.

6x9s are inherently limited sonically due to their oval shape, which is why most higher end companies don't make them. Round speakers are generally better, but you'd have to hear these. They sound better than most speakers costing up to $350.00 a pair. If you can actually hear the difference between like 6x9 and 6.5"'s, you must have one hell of an ear.

If I wanted to spend the time and 3x the money, I would use the Infinity Kappa 6.5" components front and back, then add the Infinity bass link under the rear seat. That might run about $400 if I shop around ebay. The killer is the 2 days install (for me). Start adding amps and such your > $1000. I guess it all depends on your personal priorities and cash flow.

 

Aloha,
Monkeylips....is it possible to install a power amp on an 04? Thanks in advance.
Surf out

 

Sure, just run your speaker wire from the head unit to the amp. If the amp only has RCA jacks, you'll need some "line level converters". Then run the wire to each speaker or back up to where the head unit connects to the harness.

You can get a male and female adapters for the harness and head unit so you don't have to cut any wires. I like Metra brand (copper). The male is a 70-6502 (harness side) & the female is 71-6502 (head unit side). Check ebay for those as well. If they aren't listed Lynette's car audio can get them for you. I paid $25 or $26 w/shipping.

If you want to drive all 4 speakers, you'll need a 4 channel amp. MTX Thunder 404 is a good one and you would not need line level converters with that one (has line level and RCA inputs for either). Check ebay for MTX Thunder 404.

 

Right on bruddah,
Thanks for the info! will look into the modifications.
Many mahalos,
Mike

 

No problem, glad I could help. Ride a big one for me! Wish I was there

 

thank for all the input, im going to order the polk speakers. thanks again. ERIC