I have a 2003 Ford F150 Super Cab and want to upgrade the factory speakers with the following criterea:

a) to fit in place of factory speakers (2 fronts in doors, 2 rears in doors)
b) no visual mods (behind door panels ok but want to reinstall factory's)
c) good high's (comps?) and good bass (6x9's?) w/o sub
d) H/U = JVC KD-LHX550
e) no external amps (but would like to upgrade later and maybe add sub)

This is a company vehicle and I will most likely only have it for another year or so, so I do not want to mod it or go crazy with hardware at this point. However, I do spend a lot of hours driving and would like to up my enjoyment factor.

I noticed a big improvement just upgrading the h/u so I figure that just by upgrading the speakers I will move to the next level and then perhaps in my next vehicle, I will think about adding amps and a sub.

So, right now I am thinking comps (5" or 6" + tweeters) in the front and 2 or 3-way (6x9's) in the back. Without breaking the bank (or skimping) I need some advice on good SQ and "factory look" mounting in my truck.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Oh yeah, and my music tastes run from classical to jazz to hard rock (AC/DC with a healthy dose of Pink Floyd) and my input sources are FM (I know, I know), CD, SD Card, Mp3 player and Satellite Radio.

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I heard what you said! (thinking...I guess the music wasn't loud enough)

 

I think your truck uses 5.25" speakers ion the front and rear, so i would look into efficient, reasonably priced components and co-axials(for the rear). Since you're going to be using deck power, efficiency is a real plus. Alpine s-series components and co-ax's are a good deal, and sound great with deck power. If your deck can handle 2 ohm loads (not likely), then the Infinity Kappa's are great. As always you should go and listen for yourself, then decide.

 

That truck uses 5x7's, db drive has a component set that will fit right in there and they sound awesome.

 

And with a abs mounting adaptor a 6.5" or 6.75" woofer will go into the factory location. That is the road to good speakers.

 

I second the adaptor recommendation. If nothing else, going with a standard-sized round speaker will give you many more options. Though, if clearance allows, I would probably make my own adaptor rings out of MDF (that is sealed and painted to resist moisture in the door). I had to do this in my old car just to be able to mount any speaker, but really loved the results sonically and the better mechanical connection of the speaker to the door. I would not do abs again, unless the adaptor would be very complicated.

 

Thanks for the advice. Since posting this I have done a lot more reading and searching on the web. Due to the fact that I will most likely only have this vehicle for another year, I am leaning towards the more stock 5" x 7" suggestion.

@ selective sound

In particular, I have read a lot of good reviews on the Polk db series so I am leaning in this direction. Although I haven't priced them out yet I think the MSRP on the comp set may be a little more than I want to spend. I am thinking perhaps 4 of the db570 2-ways instead.

Do you know if the same speaker fits in both the front and back doors?

Thanks again.

 

Same size speaker fits the front and the back. Eclipse also makes a real nice 5x7" and if you are after a real performer a pointsource 5x7" (basically a component at 2/3 the price. I use abs due to the moisture in the door and of course, being black I do not need to paint it. For me and all the vehicles I do as a dealer, I have a template for making my own on a router table....mind you that has now changed to a program file on a CNC machine....

 

I've had 8" subs in the front doors.. lots of room in there.

duel 6" in the doors right now.

Rear are good for amps and not much else seen 10's mounted in the rear doors.




theres room for a center too if your really crazy

 

Wow, what a tricked out ride Icon. Awesome. A little more than what I am looking on spending though.

Question: I stumbled upon Crutchfield's site and used their "does it fit" system to check on the Polk db570's. It shows that they fit the front doors only. No mention of the rear doors???

Does anyone know if this is correct. Is it possible that the tweeter sticks out too far and interfers with the rear door panel grill?

 

serious ride ICON!!