Dash speakers....what do you have?

[88Jimmy4x4]

I finally ordered a new dash pad, so I figured while swapping it out I might as well change the factory dash speakers. I looked on crutchfields website and they claim they are 3.5", however what about the center speaker?
I would like any suggestions for replacement speakers for the dash including model #'s.....curious as to what you have changed yours to.

[offroad84chevy]

i have kicker 3.5 that are pretty nice.

[cochino12]

I would recomend putting that money into speakers somewhere else. Those speakers are just too small for good sound. But thats just me

[Destructo]

They would be good for tweeters...

I don't like cutting holes in things, so the only options I see are dash, kick panel pods, or behind the seat.

And BTW, my 85 doesn't have a speaker in the middle. Just on the two sides. If you order through crutchfield I think you get the brackets to drop the speakers also so you don't have to modify anything.

[Jonboy]

I used 5 1/4 seperates in the center hole together, and put the tweeters in the outboard location. Put the crossovers behind the dash, and put some power to it. The sound wasn't too bad, and it was a lot better than the 3 1/2's would have ever done, IMO.

[1FaastC10]

3.5s in the dash, 4x10s in the cab corners. i was going to run 3.5s in the dash, 6x9s in the cab corners (facrot brackets flipped side for side) and a single 10. i quit caring about stereo when i realized i wouldnt be able to hear it anyways.

[1972C10]

I have blaupunkt 3.5 speakers with built in high. They were too tall i had to ditch the brackets But after that they worked great.

[88Jimmy4x4]

Originally Posted by cochino12

I would recomend putting that money into speakers somewhere else. Those speakers are just too small for good sound. But thats just me

Okay I can deal with that, so I guess the next step is the kick panel enclosures, any suggestions for these?

Just fyi, Im not trying to have the baddest system in town, I just want a nice decent setup for a daily driver without spending a fortune.

[cliffsta]

Im going for tweeters on the dash to add to my 6x9s in the door, and this Xmas im getting another set of 6x9s for the cab corners and an amp.

[cochino12]

Originally Posted by 88Jimmy4x4

Okay I can deal with that, so I guess the next step is the kick panel enclosures, any suggestions for these?

Just fyi, Im not trying to have the baddest system in town, I just want a nice decent setup for a daily driver without spending a fortune.

I agree 100% with the kick panels, I have them in both my trucks. Its worth the extra money to invest in the kick panels, the imaging is much better than you can place any speaker (easily) in these trucks. A 1/2 way decent 5-1/4" co-ax or component will sound far better than anything you will be able to put in the dash.

[Destructo]

So are you running kick panel pods and some speakers behind the seats?

What do you think about 4x10s behind the seats and two 5 1/4's in kick pods and 2 12's behind the seat, I imagine that would sound decent.

And does anyone know if any sound quality is to be gained by running new speaker wire to the speakers instead of the factory wiring?

I'm running a pretty high end head unit, so the head unit is capable, I just wondered if some new speaker wire oxygen free 14 gauge would sound better?

[Jonboy]

The system I had in my 87 was actually very inexpensive. I had 2 planet audio 10's in a prebuilt box behind the seat, 5 1/4 planet audio seperates in the dash, a 50x4 planet audio amp to run it all, and a Kenwood CD player. I always kept away from the cheaper stuff like planet audio, but it worked pretty well (until it all got stolen...). They guy that does our stereos and TV's at work got it for me, and I had about $500 in it all. It sounded excellent for the price, IMO. The only drawback was having the subs behind the seat. The only solace I had after it got stolen was the extra room to put the seat back.

[Destructo]

I'm concerned about my junk getting stolen, I just installed a 280 dollar head unit, i'll be removing the face plate and carrying it with me from now on. Before this unit I was running a Sony CA650X which was 200 bucks when I bought it a few years ago, I never removed the faceplate and nobody has bothered my stuff yet, I don't think anybody would ever make it out alive if they came to the house and where I work and go to school are pretty high traffic, so where I live is pretty low chance, but I better knock on some wood :p .

[cochino12]

Originally Posted by Destructo

So are you running kick panel pods and some speakers behind the seats?

What do you think about 4x10s behind the seats and two 5 1/4's in kick pods and 2 12's behind the seat, I imagine that would sound decent.

And does anyone know if any sound quality is to be gained by running new speaker wire to the speakers instead of the factory wiring?

I'm running a pretty high end head unit, so the head unit is capable, I just wondered if some new speaker wire oxygen free 14 gauge would sound better?

Currently I have kick panels and 6*9's in the doors of my truck, the k5 has kick panels and 2 sets of 6*9's in the rear and they both sound awesome. If it were me (and I am going to) I would build a panels for some 6*9's in the cab corners because its hard to find a good quality 4*10 for the price of a good 6*9. I wouldnt spend too much $$ on speaker wire if you are just running them off your head unit, just match the wire with the same size wire that comes out of your deck or maybe just a tad bigger, anything else is unnecessary unless you have real power pushing those speakers.

[Jonboy]

Mine never got touched in my driveway, but my wife was riding my ass about a small oil leak it had and made me put it in the street. The stereo got stolen the first night. It made me so mad I sold the truck.

[Destructo]

I figured there isn't going to be much difference, its only needs to be as good as the wire coming out of the head unit anyway, I got everything out of it and was thinking about just running some new wire right over the top of the tranny tunnel to behind the seat, thats where i'm running the amp wires, running the power wire down one side of it and the RCA down the other, don't want them too close to each other.

Oh yeah and I forgot to mention I already have 2 good 6x9s, but their in boxes and its hard to find a good way to mount them, I need to fabricate a bracket to hold them in the corners I guess, I tried modifing the orignal brackets but I had to cut a lot out of them to make the speakers fit and it didn't look good, I was thinking of making a wooden bracket and covering it in the grayish carpet like on the sub box.

[cochino12]

Originally Posted by Jonboy

Mine never got touched in my driveway, but my wife was riding my ass about a small oil leak it had and made me put it in the street. The stereo got stolen the first night. It made me so mad I sold the truck.

That sucks man, my blazer got broken into last week when I was at SEMA. They didnt get much though just some cd's and my sub. I guess now I can build the box that I was planning for this next summer early

[piecesparts]

I took out the speakers in the corners of my truck and put a high end tweeter setup in my center dash speaker position. There is now a pair of speakers that are installed at an angle for each one, so that they are aiming at the different sides of the cab. they have their own amp which allows for them to have right and left interface. These work to give a center image for the speakers that I had mounted on my doors. I have taken the door panels and put a 6" speaker and tweeter combination up at the top (close to where the electric window switches are) for a mid high and then installed 8" speakers in a pod on each door bottom, so that there was a mid bass. That is followed up by two Bazooka tubes firing into each other behind the seat for the bass. It works quite well and can hit 130 Db for a fair bass sound. All in All--there are ten speakers in my truck cab.

[cliffsta]

The thing y'all are forgeting has been mentioned; IMAGING. If you put like a couple 2" tweeters on either side of the dash, with a high pass filter run to them via the head unit or a external crossver, you will have much better imaging than anything on the floor. You want highs coming from in front of you, full range at the same level as you, and bass coming from behind.

[8t5Silverado]

I like my tinny-sounding stock stereo and crackly speakers...and the fact that I have to hit the dash when my stereo cuts out on a bump....

I did get some free 6x9's out of my brother-in-laws wrecked car, so I might have to add them somewhere. Can I just run wires off of the back speakers to these?

[cochino12]

Originally Posted by 8t5Silverado

I like my tinny-sounding stock stereo and crackly speakers...and the fact that I have to hit the dash when my stereo cuts out on a bump....

I did get some free 6x9's out of my brother-in-laws wrecked car, so I might have to add them somewhere. Can I just run wires off of the back speakers to these?

No, you can only run 1 speaker per channel. Unless you dont mind frying your radio, it actually would work but sooner or later you would burn the amp in your deck.

[88Jimmy4x4]

Originally Posted by 1972C10

I have blaupunkt 3.5 speakers with built in high. They were too tall i had to ditch the brackets But after that they worked great.

Could you be more specific as to what brackets you had to ditch?

I appreciate the pics, but some pics show brackets and others dont

I removed the dashpad today and whew....what a mess, those factory speakers are junk, I dunno how any sound was coming out of them. I still think I wanna replace them, heck the 3.5" speakers arent but like $30-$70 a pair. Oh and I didnt have a center speaker either....wtf?

[Slonaker]

http://207.44.196.117/vboard/showthread.php3?t=125398

This explains it pretty well. The speakers sit in a flimsy metal bracket, which he removed in the picture. He mounted them directly to the dash. The Crutchfield link shows a similar one that allows clearance for larger speakers.

Slonaker

[Destructo]

Originally Posted by 88Jimmy4x4

Could you be more specific as to what brackets you had to ditch?

I appreciate the pics, but some pics show brackets and others dont

I removed the dashpad today and whew....what a mess, those factory speakers are junk, I dunno how any sound was coming out of them. I still think I wanna replace them, heck the 3.5" speakers arent but like $30-$70 a pair. Oh and I didnt have a center speaker either....wtf?

My truck doesn't have a center speaker either, its an 85, just two 3.5s on either side. I still have the stock speakers in the dash and I didn't even connect them when I installed the deck because I knew they wouldn't work worth a crap, but the only thing I have right now is the two 6x9s behind the seat and 2 12" subs.

I really want some new dash speakers but lack the funds right now, I just bought a new Deck and sub box.

[88Jimmy4x4]

Originally Posted by Slonaker

http://207.44.196.117/vboard/showthread.php3?t=125398

This explains it pretty well. The speakers sit in a flimsy metal bracket, which he removed in the picture. He mounted them directly to the dash. The Crutchfield link shows a similar one that allows clearance for larger speakers.

Slonaker

Geez I feel stupid, that thread is only 2 weeks old....how did I miss that?

thanks for the link :p