upgrade just speakers

[RevvdMedia]

3.5" for those that have it. I don't plan to do anything with it. I will either run it as is for fill, or disconnect it.

I disconnected my center speaker. I don't feel as if I lost anything.

Sponsored

 

[B.Crowder]

So speaking as someone who has zero car audio experience how hard is it to replace the stock speakers? Are they a simple matter of removing the old set, mounting the new ones and plugging a couple connections together? I'm looking to do the front and rear 6.5's with the JBL GTO 638 when I get the car. Also would a Pioneer TS-SW2002D2 8-inch Shallow-Mount Subwoofer be a good replacement for the stock woofer and same question about installation. I consider myself pretty tech savvy but audio systems are pretty unknown territory for me.

I just installed a pair of JBL 629s in the rear deck along with a JBL powered subwoofer. I've worked a little with wiring, but I am probably closer to noob than competent. I have to say, if I had to make the same decision again wrt to the rear speakers, I personally would probably skip it. The improvement is what I would term as slight. A bit more brightness and clarity, but no bass improvement. Also a bit more volume. (And as a bonus, it was easier to install the new LED bulb for the trunk with the rear shelf off.) Maybe my ears just can't pick the benefits of the new speakers.

But, there were a lot of negatives. I was wary of pulling apart my brand new car; that "snap" sound when the clips release is scary. I think that I put everything back together properly, but I'm sure the car is not as tight as it was before. Cutting wires (that wire shroud material must have been weaved out of Superman's hair), soldering, wrapping/heat shrinking were all a fair amount of work. I think I would go with butt splices or Scotch locks(?) the next time. Of course, this includes the work for the sub, but I think the sub adds more than the rear speakers do.

The worst was working in such a confined space. I'm fairly tall at 6'2", but also old (ie. inflexible) and the work was torture, especially the back speaker bolts. Also, I should have done this before I tinted the back window; it got scratched a few times in spite of me being careful. Well, live and learn. The sense of accomplish sort of made up for the sweat and cursing though.

I did go the route of reusing the old speaker mounts even though I had the ring adapters. I didn't like all the space the adapters left between it and the speaker cutout, even though the old mounts also left some space. Plus, I got to keep the stock wiring harness intact. Umm, not that I would ever put stock speakers back in... :shrug:

Sorry if it seems like I'm ranting. Just wanted to add my 2 cents for anyone who is inexperienced at this sort of thing.

 

[davekro]

Sorry if it seems like I'm ranting. Just wanted to add my 2 cents for anyone who is inexperienced at this sort of thing.

I appreciate you sharing your real world process because I am tall and old too (even though I do not have back speakers next to the window I still relate to your story. Especially...
"The sense of accomplish sort of made up for the sweat and cursing though."
I do love it when a project goes smoothly, but I tend to run into 'bumps', so I relate to appreciating the job done well, in spite of the cursed bumps.
It's not about the end, it's the journey... no wait... ;)

 

[Stang16]

I'd love to replace the speakers when I eventually get my GT but I'd be really worried about disassembling the door panels and the rear deck. I wouldn't want to take a chance on having unwanted rattles afterwards.

 

[Ugly John]

My 2009 Pontiac G6 actually came with a pretty nice sounding stereo - waaaaay better then in the Mustang. It even had good bass completely stock!

But, the speakers only lasted about 2 years before blowing, so I replaced them. The improvement in sound quality was about nil. IIRC, I actually lost some bass.

But then I had a 4 channel (50 watt per) amp installed, and the difference was night and day.

The only problem is that the speakers were $200, and then the amp was another $400 installed. The shop did a real nice job, but I'm not sure if I trust anyone to know enough about how to get the 2015 Mustang apart and back together again properly. And, the shop I used before was out in Pensacola when I was TDY for 3 months.

I'd hate to spend $600+ to have them goof my car up. (Plus I'd rather use the money for Steeda progressive springs!)

 

[Buhbuhj]

edit: fixed wording

I have a set of 3ohm JBLs I'd like to use if I can. Do we know if the stock Shaker pro amp will be fine with these? I don't want to it to burn out if I can help it.

 

[Buhbuhj]

Turns out my rear speakers say 2ohm on them anyway so there should be no issue.

 

[NewSVO]

I installed the rear JBL GTO638 and wow the difference is night and day, and the way to test that is by simply making the choice on the screen drive vs all-seats. The car sounds like it has a speaker in the middle and it's filling the whole room. It sounds amazing and install was easy but I made it difficult on myself lol because I'm clueless most of the time.

I will tackle the fronts at another time(PPI P65c3) then I will be adding a 10 inch ported subwoofer to finish it all.

 

[Ultimateone]

How did they fit into the rear deck, did they come with adapters to fit correctly in the deck?

 

[Buhbuhj]

All JBLs usually come with adapter rings. My gx602s dropped right in with no issues.

 

[NewSVO]

How did they fit into the rear deck, did they come with adapters to fit correctly in the deck?

They fit 100% correctly back there, they come with a mount for it. Sadly I was way out of it and there are zero instructions so I was quite clueless the whole time but if you know what you're doing it shouldn't take more than 45 mins-1 hour

 

[BigEasyGT]

So I have image dynamics ctx65cs components for the front and polk db651's for the rear out of my previous car. I'm going to tackle the install in the next few weeks and see if I can figure out the easiest way to mount the tweeters. I also have a rockford t400.4 to power the speakers, but I haven't decided if I'm up to installing that in my brand new car yet.

 

[Redcruzer]

I installed the rear JBL GTO638 and wow the difference is night and day, and the way to test that is by simply making the choice on the screen drive vs all-seats. The car sounds like it has a speaker in the middle and it's filling the whole room. It sounds amazing and install was easy but I made it difficult on myself lol because I'm clueless most of the time.

I will tackle the fronts at another time(PPI P65c3) then I will be adding a 10 inch ported subwoofer to finish it all.

Shout out to NewSVO. I installed the 638s in my Shaker Pro convertable and got the same results. Much better volume. Way more fill and mid range. Tons more bass, had to set the bass much lower. For seventy bucks and a few hours work these JBL's were well worth it. I guess I now have a fourteen speaker system!

Chris

 

[RemoteSenses]

Has anyone tried these? http://www.stage3motorsports.com/KS...-6-5-Door-Speaker-Upgrade-Kit-Base-Audio.html

I saw someone about 8 pages ago mentioned them but no responses to that comment. I don't know shit when it comes to car audio systems and either way I'm going to have to take the car somewhere. I basically just don't want to get pushed into something overpriced and not worth it.

I'm not really concerned with bass and more concerned with just having some more clarity. The system is weak anyway, but I don't mind having to turn it up, I just don't want it to sound like complete ass at 3/4 volume...

 

[ktp1598]

Do the factory front speakers have the crossovers on them or is the signal altered at the amplifier? I'd like to change my front 6.5's to the GTO's. I'll probably leave the factory mids and tweets alone.

Sponsored