Truck Speakers - Stock Stinks? Speaker Swap! - Trucktronics

  |   truck Speakers sony Speakers The following is not exactly a deep, dark secret. No offense, but when you buy an entry-level truck, it's going to come with some entry-level stock speakers. We're talking about the flimsy basket, wimpy paper cones, and scrawny little magnets. The technical term for this kind of thing in the restaurant business is weak sauce. If you don't believe me, test the evidence with your own ears. Put on some music you like and crank it up. Does it get nice and loud with a full, rich sound before it distorts, or is it tinny and gutless? Are you happy with how it sounds, or does it make you sad? If you're ready for something a little zestier, we've got an easy upgrade solution for you. Drop by your local mobile electronics store and have them yank off your door panels (carefully, of course - always ask for an MECP-certified installer). Then, four quick zips with the Makita to remove the screws, removal of the brass clips from the speaker leads, and you will be holding one of your stock speakers in the palm of your hand. Pretty lightweight, eh? You'll probably find that these are not exactly pillars of strength. In the immortal words of Gertrude Stein, "there is no there there." Meaning, it sounds like it's time for an upgrade. Like any fork in the road, there are a couple of ways you can go. The main issue is power handling. If your head unit is the stock radio that came with your truck, it probably puts out about 25-30 watts RMS per channel. If you've already upgraded to an aftermarket CD player it may be as much as 40 watts. Whatever your wattage is, that's your limit, so you probably won't want to be shopping for replacement speakers that handle 100 watts RMS per channel unless you are planning to add an amp since you will be under powering the speakers and they won't play as loud as you want. Also, make sure you are comparing apples to apples - either RMS to RMS or peak to peak. Look for speakers rated to handle around 50 watts or so and check the impedance. Many car audio speakers are rated at 4 ohms, but there are 3-ohm speakers out there as well. The cool thing about 3 ohms is with less resistance, they play louder. Check it out on the soundboard in the store because it might make a difference in your truck. Unless you already have component speakers with a separate woofer and tweeter, your easiest direct replacement will be coaxial speakers with the tweeter and woofer combined in a single speaker. Again, quickly attach the brass clips to the speaker leads, four quick zips with the Makita to replace the screws, and you can be enjoying a new wonderful world of sound in your truck for just the cost of a pair of new speakers. It's the easiest, fastest, and cheapest upgrade you can make. Feel free to use your old stock speakers as paperweights, unless of course there is any kind of breeze blowing, then you might want to try something a little bit heavier.