Ram44maR

I was trying to put the finishing touches on a big mod project when I discovered that the 6x9 speaker in the driver's side front door is dead.

As the signature shows, I've got a '98.5 SLT Laramie Quad, which came with the Chrysler/Infinity sound system [which I assume means amplified component speakers]. I'm no car stereo expert, so bear with me:

As my truck has tweeters in the A-pillars, I assume this means that my front speaker setup is the same as the "component speaker systems" you see advertised on sites like Crutchfield.com??

If so, I would like some ideas from those who've been here. That is, I'd like to get some tech info [brand & model #] on replacing the components in my truck. Although I don't rule it out in the future, I'm looking for a good stereo/CD player that DOESN'T require an external amplifier or a subwoofer enclosure.

In short, I've been told that you can't buy aftermarket replacement speakers that are compatible with our factory Infinity receiver/CD players. Therefore, I ASSUME that means a new receiver/CD player AND new speakers??

Please let me know if I'm misunderstanding anything. I'd especially like to know if there's a good component speaker system out there that fit nicely into the interior WITHOUT the need for any major modifications to the interior. Fitting the new tweeters into my factory A-pillars--for example--would be nice.

I'd also like to know if anyone has seen a receiver/CD player that fills the factory receiver dash hole?? If not, are there any good looking adapters out there??

Sorry about the length, but there's really no way to provide details on this issue without doing some writing.

Any and all posts would be greatly appreciated,
Bill

jfpointer

I'll just go in order answering what I know.
1. They are somewhat like some of those component speakers, but only the lower-end ones. The main difference lies in the crossover network used to split the sounds between the mids and tweeters.

2. Pretty much anything is possible, but yes, it is much easier to replace both the head unit and the speakers.

3. I had the non-Infinity system on my '02, so I can't really say much about fitting aftermarket tweeters in the pillars other than check the measurements and see if they'll fit. My tweeters are mounted in the door panels where the Infinity tweeters used to be mounted in pre-'98 trucks. I just drilled a hole with a 2" hole saw and glued them in with black RTV.

4. Pioneer makes a couple of units that are supposed to fit the large DIN and a half hole. I'm using a mount that fills the hole with my Clarion ProAudio receiver and an EQ; it also comes with a blank plate that can go where the EQ is to provide a spot for switches, etc. Here's a link to a pic; although it's in my old Ram and doesn't show my current gear, it gives the idea of how it looks: http://www.jimpointeronline.homestea...stereorack.jpg

AggiePhil

This is a pretty long answer that really needs to be even longer. But basically, the Infinity system makes it HARDER to upgrade later than the bare bones stock system. That's why I'm glad I have the basic system. But that's neither here nor there...

You're gonna want a new stereo (AKA. head unit/deck/receiver) and all new speakers. The Infinity system (not to be confused with the Infinity BRAND of speakers) speakers are amplified at the speakers themselves and it's all pretty retarded. Anyway, I'd honestly recommend you getting a mid-range set of 6x9 coaxial speakers, which means that the tweeter is mounted in the middle of the midrange speaker. This is because the factory Infinity tweeter is much smaller than your aftermarket tweeters and you'll have to modify the A pillar covers to accomodate a larger speaker and considering what you're looking to wind up with, I don't think it'd be worth it for you.

As far as the head unit goes, anything will work. Pretty much all stereos now are the smaller size that require a $10 plastic trim ring, which is no big deal at all. BUT, if you must have something fill that entire hole, there are several options, including THIS ONE and THIS ONE.

Other than that, as long as you don't get one of the very rare super high-end stereos that don't have an internal amp, you won't need an amp and you won't need subwoofers. Of course, it'd sound much better with all that stuff, but you don't sound too terribly picky to me. Hope this helped some.

Ram44maR

Thanks so much for the info, STAT!

Here's where I'm at now:

I started looking at speakers at the normal venues like Best Buy and Circuit City. During my demos, one brand seemed to "jump out" at me and, funny enough, it was Infinity.

Initially, my thinking was that I'd try to make use of my factory receiver/cd player; however, that changed in short order. My decision changed once I replaced and tested the one dead speaker [I replaced it with a 6000cs component speaker and tweeter]. Don't get me wrong, it did work, but, after all the work I put into troubleshooting the friggin thing, I simply DON'T want to go through the interior removal/replacement process again.

In short, the sound I was getting using my factory receiver convinced me to start researching something new. Consequently, I started researching head units and settled on Sony's offerings equipped with the DSO circuitry. I never thought I'd go this way, but this DSO gizmo sounds pretty darn good! [especially through the 6000cs components Circuit City had on display]. I haven't decided on a model number yet, but I will by tomorrow.

I forgot to mention that I also bought a pair of 6002i two-ways for the rear doors, so, considering your advice, I guess I'm headed down the right road anyway.

Unfortunately, all has not been peachy. Right now, I'm trying to figure out a way to reliably reinstall my front door panel. When I removed it, it simply "popped" off. However, after removing [and effectively destroying] a couple of the plastic retainers, I'm in a bit of a bind.

You see, Dodge wants $3.00 per retainer [and they only have 3 on hand]. Regardless, the thought of supporting this kind of gouging is highly motivating. That is, it motivates me to look for alternatives.

In fact, on Saturday, my wife and I drove to every Autozone, Advance and NAPA we could find. During our trek, we bought every likely retainer we could get our hands on. Unfortunately, NONE of them will work! The holes in the door are just too big for the clips we found.

Tomorrow, I'll get on the phone and start calling any body shop suppliers I can find in the book.

Your response reads as if you've got some experience with this kind of thing. If you have any thoughts on this, I'd be very grateful to read them.

Thanks again for the outstanding reply,
Bill

Rauschbo

Good move on selecting the Sony, I've been brand-loyal thru 4 vehicles now, never had a problem....and put a DSO equipped head unit in my truck last summer. I had the Infinity system, so I had to run my own wiring, both for the head unit and the speakers.....I'm still using the factory Infinity's (wired around the amplifiers on the speakers) - problem is (other than still having the truck in the body shop after an accident!) fitting Infinity 635i's (6X9's) in the front doors, looks like I'll need to remove some metal (no clearance behind the factory fitted location).

Door clips - suggest you take one with you when you visit the parts stores / body shops, they should be able to match 'em up for you....

Ram44maR

Thanks for the reply, Rauschbo!

As the reply above yours reads, I installed Infinity 6000cs component speakers in my door. It may not seem like it, but it wasn't that hard to do. The hardest part was figuring out how to reinstall the door panel itself, but it reads as if you've already got experience with that.

Back to the woofers themselves...my two cents is that you should seriously consider installing component speakers. The 6 1/2" woofers you get with this system are MUCH easier to install than cutting clearance for the 6x9s, and they sound much better. As written above, I ran demos of these speakers with the Sony DSO receivers and they sound pretty darn nice.

In fact, I've got a new pair of 6000cs component speakers sitting in my living room right now. I bought them to install in the rear of my truck, but decided on the Infinity 6002i two-ways for the rear doors instead. Read some of the threads on component speakers versus regular 6x9s and get back with me if you're interested. Also, if you need help with any of the install, I'd be happy to "share my notes."

Thanks again,
Bill

Captain

I have the same problem with the stupid infinity setup. my pass door speaker dosent work. I was considering an alpine head unit but wasnt sure what speakers to get. When you get it all hooked up and working let me know how it sounds compaired to the stock setup. I'd be really interested in knowing

Ram44maR

Captain,

Keep an eye on this thread; I'll keep posting to it until I'm done.

As I wrote above, I'm currently looking for a good deal on a Sony DSO-equipped head unit. Once I get one, and any adapters I need for the install, I'll finish the stereo upgrade project.

To be honest, the hardest part has been getting around the Dodge door panel retainers [which are effectively destroyed during removal--even with the proper tool]. The dealers in my area are gouging folks for over $3.00 per retainer, and each [front] door panel requires 13. In short, I refuse to support this kind of thing.

Considering the fact that you can buy retainers all over the place, you might wonder why this has been difficult. Well...every aftermarket retainer I've tried has been too small in diameter. I've even tried the body shop suppliers in our area, to no avail.

Here's how I did it:

I found retainers made by Body-Tite at all the Discount Auto Parts stores in our area [Part #45475]. It's most common to find them in packages containing 3, and they're the closest I've found to the diameter of the factory retainer. Although they're the closest, they're still too small, so I had to come up with a way to effectively DECREASE the ID of the retainer holes in the door frames.

Now this may seem simple, but you have to remember that the retainers work on the "Chinese handcuff" principle. That is, once they're fitted into the door, they greatly resist being pulled back the opposite direction. For this to work, the thickness of the media they're inserted into--sheet metal in this case--cannot be too great. This being true, you're greatly limited as far as plugging and re-drilling the holes go.

I used a product called Dynamat [Best Buy] for mounting the 6000cs 6 1/2 woofer into the 6x9 hole in the driver's door. As this stuff comes in rolls that are about 3/32" thick, it's just about the right thickness. As it's also about the stickiest stuff I've ever come across, I cut it into small rectangles [1 1/2" x 2"] and pressed them over each hole. From there, I used a panel retainer to punch a starter hole into each "patch."

The sticky property of these patches seems to hold the aftermarket retainers pretty well. I guess time will be the ultimate test. So far, I haven't heard any type of vibration in the door panel.

Have a great one,
Bill

Mike D

JL makes a componet set with 3/4" tweeters that fit right in the stock pillar mounts. I'm using the JL VR 6.5 componets. Sound really clear. When looking at a head units, check to see how many volts the pre-out are putting out, makes a difference if your adding any amps. Remember a crossover will use about 1/3 of you deck power to run your componets. It will be easy to destort a set of speakers with a lack of power. Just some things to concider.

Dynamat works great.. You can buy bulk packs on the net for around $125 enough to do you whole truck.

Ram44maR

Thanks, Mike!

I've narrowed my choices down to two head units at this point. Both of them have (3) 4-volt outputs for external amplifiers.


I'm not sure I understand what you're writing here. Please clarify this in technical detail for me.


Yes, it does seem to be great for working with anything metal. I guess that's why it sticks to the aluminum substrate on the one side so well. Can you give me the name of the site you saw the large roll on. I'd like to have it in case I ever start a sound deadening project in the back of my mind.

Thanks again,
Bill

Mike D

Bill, That's a tough one, technical terms. If you pop open a crossover you will see a copper winding and well it's easier to show you. http://www.jlaudio.com/evolution/ima...d/Xover_OH.jpg I always heard 1/3 power loss as a rule of thumb.

Some of the online car audio stores will have dynamate bulk pack for $125. If I remember right it was Sounddomain or try here http://www.cardiscountstereos.com/ca...duct+%23=10155
or try ebay.

I run an Eclipse deck with an 8volt pre-out. Zapco amps are good amps, I suggest these because they use a balanced signal and if you have a lower pre-amp output coming from your deck. Zapco's line transmitters will help a great deal. Check out their site www.zapco.com

Ram44maR

Thanks again, Mike.

I saw the inductors you're writing about when I installed my Infinity 6000cs crossovers [the cover must be removed for install].

What I was asking about in this case was: what do you recommend to combat this phenomenon [the 1/3 power loss]?? Are you thinking that I should consider new wiring??

As you probably read above, I'm searching for a Sony DSO head unit with (3) 4-Volt preamp outputs. This receiver will be directly connected to my Infinity 6000cs components in the front doors, and directly connected to a pair of Infinity 6002i two-ways in the rear doors.

I was thinking that I'd use the factory wiring harness for the speaker connections. Do you see a problem with this??

Have a great one,
Bill

dodgeram

factory harness works fine to run your speakers if you are running them off deck power .............


the power ratings on head units is very optimistic peak ratings .......most make a true 20 watts rms per channel wich is enough to power a set of components, but most do performer a lot better when you feed em some more power.

as for your sound deadening needs check out this site http://www.b-quiet.com/

I bought a shop roll of brown bread from them ......

Ram44maR

Thanks, dodgeram.

I went to the site you posted, and the "Dynamat-like" stuff looks pretty interesting.

I only have experience with Dynamat, and I've been very impressed with how easy it is to work with. Does the Brown Bread stick and shape just as well?? What surfaces did you coat with it?? Also, how much did your job require??

I was thinking that I'd get more than enough in case I ever get to the back wall or, perhaps, under the factory hood liner.

Thanks for the reply,
Bill

Mike D

Hi Bill, I was just relaying some information. The pre-out voltage won't come into play until you buy an amp. Using the stock wire harness is no problem at all. I guess I was getting ahead of your plans. A head unit and speaker upgrade is great start, if you where planning on going further which usually happens I was just trying to put some FYI out there for planning and performance reasons.

The reason I metioned the 1/3 power loss was because if the HU puts out say 22 watts rms per channel and the crossover took approx. 7.26 watts away your speakers you wouldn't be running near what the speaker needed. Depending on the crossover points ect. each speaker (tweeter/woofer) might see around 7.5 watts (ea.)? Most componets set ask for around 60-120 watt rms power. Having enough headroom for the bass notes is important to prevent distortion. Low to moderate volume on an efficient speaker won't be a problem.

Rear speakers should be used for rear fill sound only in my opinion, better sound stage up front. Depending on which features your HU has i.e. (time alignment) you can manipulate how the sound reaches your ears.