Speaker Choices 1995 Extended Cab

[77Concours]

Hey guys, I'm going to look at (and possibly buy) speakers tomorrow for my truck since my front driver blew out. I want to replace all speakers in the truck and I know there are 2 4x6's in the rear and 2 in the kick panels of the doors. I did notice above my power window and lock switches that there is something that looks like a speaker grill. Is it possible that there is another small speaker there as well? Also, are there any speakers in the dashboard itself? I'm not going to buy subs or an amp until spring.

What do you guys recommend speaker wise? I listen to mostly country, rap, and rock in that order. I want something with a ton of bass and be obnoxiously loud when I crank it. I know just replacing the speakers in the factory locations won't quite do the job until subs however my Type R Alpines in my Nova get really distorted in a song with a lot of bass, so distortion is a huge no no. Any help would be appreciated guys!

-Adam

EDIT: I run an Alpine 124-SXM head unit with XM tuner installed.

 

[Mean Green]

The small grills you notice on your door panel are actually the location of the factory tweeters. What kind of budget do you have for speakers Adam? For the absolute best performance, your going to want to look at a set of components for the front anyway! As far as brand, it really comes down to personal preference. A awesome performing speaker that is reasonable prices is the Kicker KS65.2 which is a component speaker. Kicker speakers have excellent bass, and the highs are superb! Now just keep in mind, there really isn't any mid speaker that will pump out bass like a sub woofer. For the back, your best bet would be a plate speaker. Which would be a 4" round with a external tweeter. I personally have a set of Kicker 5.25" speakers in custom door panel enclosures on my 94', and I can play LOUD with zero distortion. That is my opinion from my personal experience I've had with a TON of different set ups, it's pretty hard to find a speaker that will outperform a Kicker in the same price range. In all honesty it comes down to your price range and personal preference of brand. I like to keep my systems matched, as I do in my 94' with all Kicker components (Speakers, tweets, amp, sub woofer, etc). Another GOOD upgrade to do at the same time, is upgrade your speaker wire. Pick up some good quality 14-16 gauge speaker wire to replace the OEM wire at the same time, that alone makes for a good upgrade in sound quality and output!

 

[rightisray]

In the doors, there should be 6.5" speakers and the grilles on your arm rests are for tweeters. No speakers in the dashboards of 95+ trucks.
For your subwoofer issue, Type R's shouldn't be doing that. Have you checked your gain settings on your amp and is your box made to the correct specifications?
I'm a huge Alpine fan, so you know what my speaker choices are going to be...

 

[Chris.G.Jr.]

Sub'd for answers looking at replacing mine as well the driver ext cab speaker is blown, i heard its a ***** to take the plastic panels off to replace the rear speakers, not looking forward to that. as far as replacing the wire do you just trace it from the door all the way to the harness itself or what?

 

[77Concours]

The small grills you notice on your door panel are actually the location of the factory tweeters. What kind of budget do you have for speakers Adam? For the absolute best performance, your going to want to look at a set of components for the front anyway! As far as brand, it really comes down to personal preference. A awesome performing speaker that is reasonable prices is the Kicker KS65.2 which is a component speaker. Kicker speakers have excellent bass, and the highs are superb! Now just keep in mind, there really isn't any mid speaker that will pump out bass like a sub woofer. For the back, your best bet would be a plate speaker. Which would be a 4" round with a external tweeter. I personally have a set of Kicker 5.25" speakers in custom door panel enclosures on my 94', and I can play LOUD with zero distortion. That is my opinion from my personal experience I've had with a TON of different set ups, it's pretty hard to find a speaker that will outperform a Kicker in the same price range. In all honesty it comes down to your price range and personal preference of brand. I like to keep my systems matched, as I do in my 94' with all Kicker components (Speakers, tweets, amp, sub woofer, etc). Another GOOD upgrade to do at the same time, is upgrade your speaker wire. Pick up some good quality 14-16 gauge speaker wire to replace the OEM wire at the same time, that alone makes for a good upgrade in sound quality and output!

Baron,
My Alpine system in my Nova was about $900 after all said and done. I only had 1 10" subwoofer and I did the install with my dad which saved a lot of money. I'm real OCD when it comes to interior stuff. I like it all to look factory without any custom stuff done to speaker grills. I don't have a problem with it in other cars but mine I can't stand it (much like I can't stand drilling holes). I read good things on Crutchfield about Infinity 4x6's but also saw that the Kickers distorted. They're not ruled out because a local speaker shop is having a hell of a sale and that's where I'm b-lining right after class. I understand why you like to keep your systems matched, EVERYTHING was Alpine in my '77 but a gentleman my dad works with did competitions and he said he got the most performance by using different brands but after your input I'm torn on what to do, either way it will sound good in the end. I forgot to mention that I plan on getting 2 12" Kicker shallow subs for under the rear seat come amp/sub time.

In the doors, there should be 6.5" speakers and the grilles on your arm rests are for tweeters. No speakers in the dashboards of 95+ trucks.
For your subwoofer issue, Type R's shouldn't be doing that. Have you checked your gain settings on your amp and is your box made to the correct specifications?
I'm a huge Alpine fan, so you know what my speaker choices are going to be...

Thanks for the input, I haven't touched the gains which is probably the issue. The box isn't anything special. Not ported or anything, just a single 10" Type R with a chrome bar speaker grill. I dig my Alpines when it come to metal, and some country. Rap though, I listen to that the most when driving my Nova but it doesn't sound good, like you said gains will get played with once the car comes out of storage in the spring.

Sub'd for answers looking at replacing mine as well the driver ext cab speaker is blown, i heard its a ***** to take the plastic panels off to replace the rear speakers, not looking forward to that. as far as replacing the wire do you just trace it from the door all the way to the harness itself or what?

There's a write up here, but I'm having Best Buy do all the work. The guys at my local store are extremely nice and of course have patience when doing this. I'm no electrician plus if they break something, they're insured and can buy me the new parts.

 

[77Concours]

Good news, I got new speakers today! I stopped by a shop near my college and picked up a Kicker KS65.2 component system for the front, and Kicker KS64 4x6's in the rear. Total was like $264 after sale prices. It may have been a few bucks more but the customer service is top notch and the gentleman I talked to had 30 years plus of experience with Kicker. I now need to start searching for a box that can fit 2 12" shallow subs under the rear seat and an amplifier. For the amp I was looking at digital. Anyone have any experience or recommendations with these?

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[77Concours]

Double post......

 

[Mean Green]

You will not be disapointed with your choice Adam!! Those Kickers are going to sound fantastic in your truck, the KS series is a great product line! After you get those installed, it won't even sound like the same truck inside!

As for sub and amp, the first thing I always ask is what kind of Bass do you like? If you listen to mostly rock like I do, IMO a sealed enclosure is best fit. A sealed enclosure (depending on air volume) generally will yield cleaner bass and also have overall better sound quality. A good way to think of it is as follows; a smaller sealed enclosure will give you more of a punch bass, where as a ported enclosure is more of a rumble like thunder. Generally speaking. Also you may want to reconsider the dual 12" set up, as the enclosure will most likely have to stick out past the edge of the seat. A dual 10" will not need as big of an enclosure, and will most likely be better for the kind of music you listen to IMO.

I have a single Kicker 10" in a custom built up-firing sealed enclosure built to 1.0^3 of air volume, powered by a Kicker amp that is bridged. Granted my current sub and amp set up is not all that huge power wise, it absolutely pounds when you turn up the volume. I enjoy some classic 80's rock and modern rock as well as a ton of country. And also listen to a bit of "hip-hop", no matter what song is on the stereo the system performs wonderful. So it really comes down to what kind of bass you personally like. Do you just want loud rumbling bass? Or tight sound quality based bass?

 

[77Concours]

You will not be disapointed with your choice Adam!! Those Kickers are going to sound fantastic in your truck, the KS series is a great product line! After you get those installed, it won't even sound like the same truck inside!

As for sub and amp, the first thing I always ask is what kind of Bass do you like? If you listen to mostly rock like I do, IMO a sealed enclosure is best fit. A sealed enclosure (depending on air volume) generally will yield cleaner bass and also have overall better sound quality. A good way to think of it is as follows; a smaller sealed enclosure will give you more of a punch bass, where as a ported enclosure is more of a rumble like thunder. Generally speaking. Also you may want to reconsider the dual 12" set up, as the enclosure will most likely have to stick out past the edge of the seat. A dual 10" will not need as big of an enclosure, and will most likely be better for the kind of music you listen to IMO.

I have a single Kicker 10" in a custom built up-firing sealed enclosure built to 1.0^3 of air volume, powered by a Kicker amp that is bridged. Granted my current sub and amp set up is not all that huge power wise, it absolutely pounds when you turn up the volume. I enjoy some classic 80's rock and modern rock as well as a ton of country. And also listen to a bit of "hip-hop", no matter what song is on the stereo the system performs wonderful. So it really comes down to what kind of bass you personally like. Do you just want loud rumbling bass? Or tight sound quality based bass?

Baron,
I really want the bass you see flex trunks and sometimes glass. So I guess that's the rumbling bass. My Nova was more of the quality based because it had some thump but didn't rattle my trunk or license plate. I searched Google and found dual sub boxes for 10's and 12's. But they all fire downward, I feel like it wouldn't sound very good in a large open cab.

I found this (it is firing downward) http://www.hifisoundconnection.com/Shop/Control/Product/fp/vpid/9096874/vpcsid/15701065/SFV/30046 they have others and I think they have a better amp, (prices up to $540)

 

[Cablguy184]

That looks like a reallly cool enclosure / sub / amp combo ...
you'd be suprised as to what a downfire sub can do ... No hair tricks or 150 dbs on the meter, but really good sounding bass 4 sure ...