Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire New speakers in my truck ... the good and the bad

I had to replace the door handle in my 98 chevy P/U and after I pulled the door panels off I started looking at the nasty old paper speakers. They were warped and I know the stereo doesn't sound as good as when the truck was new.

So ...

I did some online research, listened to a few speakers at Car Toys and ordered a set of JBL 6 1/2" components from Amazon. I figured $70.00 for new speakers and a few hours labor would be well worth it.

My oh my. The difference is amazing. My stereo has never sounded this good and the volume goes waaay up before distorting. I've been driving around with the volume cranked and a schit eating grin on my face.

The downside ... my tinnitus is flaring and my ears won't stop ringing.

Today I'm ordering a matching set of JBL 4"x6" component plate speakers for the rear.

My little daily driver only has AM

did this last summer from crutchfield

I have been thinking about a sound system upgrade for my truck.
I am not looking to "thump" just a decent radio with a CD slot and an Aux jack. A speaker upgrade would be nice.
Any suggestions that won't break the bank would be appreciated.
My truck is a '99 that I bought in 2000. The factory radio is a cassette player.

Ernie

Ernie,

check out www.crutchfield.com

Like fish I searched Amazon but found a better deal there

Crutchfield, +1000, definitely the way to go IMO. Done so many times.

The advantage to Crutchfield is that they're authorized dealers for most everything they sell and have full factory warranties, installation kits included in the price (over $100) and detailed install info. Sonic Electronix is another good online source. Both have very good online guides and advisers that you can call.

Amazon in some cases has cheaper prices but buyer beware because after thirty days, in most cases, there is no warranty. Also the install kits have to be purchased separately.

When it comes to stereos ... Kenwood, Alpine and Pioneer get rave reviews. It just a matter of finding the features you want and something that fits your budget. Look for speakers that will function well without an amp and that have high sensitivity ratings (over 90 db). I chose the JBL GTO series for just that reason and also bang for the buck. They have the same technology as the Infinity Reference series, both are made by Harmon Kardon and both have very good ratings. I can't say they're the best (you can always spend more for better sound) but I'm happy with my choice of speakers and they sound very good/excellent with just the factory CD/radio.

The best sounding speakers that I listened to were made by JL Audio but they also cost more.

I agree...for bang for the buck I have always been happy with JBL's. Wanting a little more higher end sound, then you look to Polk, Infinity, JL Audio...but you will pay for it.

You would be amazed at how good a ball game or talk radio is with a good sound system.

One thing I found out with speakers that's worthy of mentioning is there is a noticeable difference in sound quality between co-ax and component speakers. In each brand of speaker that I listened to where they offered a co-ax and an equivalent component set the components with a separate woofer, tweeter and cross-over sounded far better. I came to the conclusion that the cross-over was the key as it does a better job of separating the signals that are sent to the speakers. It's a worthy upgrade if you can install them in your vehicle without lots of mods.

One other thing I noticed is between the quality brands, in a similar price range, that there wasn't any one brand that stood out as being the best. They each differed in sound. Some were warm, others were cleaner, some had better highs or lows and they all sounded good ... just different. Speaker choice is very subjective. The bottom of the barrel crap was worth avoiding (anything sold at Walmart) but among similarly priced Alpine, Infinity, Polk, Focal and JL speakers they all were pretty darn good.

The next up step in price yielded better and truer sound quality but it goes along with "you get what you pay for". The other issue with higher end component speakers is they sounded best with an amplifier even at lower volumes. Some need more power to drive them properly. I really liked the better and more expensive JL's but they were more than I wanted to spend and I didn't want to buy an amp.

I ended up buying the JBLs sight unseen and unheard but it turned out to be a very good choice. I poured over reviews before making my decision and the one thing that stood out is all the different sizes and types of JBL GTO's scored four plus stars. After I got the speakers installed, just for the heck of it, I went to Best Buy and listened to everything they had including lower end Alpines. When I got back to my truck and turned on the CD player I got a big smile on my face. It sounded better than anything I just heard in the store.

I'm not an expert and I haven't looked into car stereo equipment for a long time so TIFIW.

BTW, in case you're wondering, I'm a paid spokesman for JBL ... not. I probably would have just as happy with another quality brand as any upgrade was better than what I had.

I got tired of my factory stereo in my f350 last year. Started with the plan to just do the door speakers. Ended up with JL Audio separates front and back, JL audio amp and JL Audio 10" slimline subwoofer. All of it controlled by a Pioneer in dash DVD, cd, Nav and Bluetooth head unit.

It will thump like a bastard if I let it but its adjusted to give deep clear crisp bass and only kick in when the volume is up.

Ended up into it for close to $2200 but every time I decide a song needs more volume it puts a smile on my face. Not to mention the surround sound like quality when using the DVD player.