Replacement speakers with thump… and other questions

After doing a bunch of reading here, a plan is starting to come together for my non-JBL 2021 quad-cab. I’m going to buy and install:

• replacement speakers all around
• Kicker Key 200.4 under one of the front seats
• a TT harness (or something else/better?)
• speedwire to get to the Key and back
• sound deadening material for the four doors

My questions:

Since I’m not (currently) going for a subwoofer, are there replacement door speakers that are a little better at producing their own “thump”? I understand many replacement speaker options assume you’ll also have a sub and, therefore, don’t produce much low-range on their own … but surely there are options out there for those of us who don’t have a sub?

As far as the harness goes, which one (as of this writing) is recommended? I’m a tad confused about all the options out there; there are two offered by TT, and I can’t quite discern which one is right for me. Then I’ve come to think there are one or more others, offered by other companies, that are also good?

Finally, there seem to be a few sound deadening options; is there one that’s recommended the most?

Personally, I’m more concerned about quality than I am price, if that adjusts any advice you may have.

Thank you for your time!

 

The key can be installed behind the head unit

 

been there, done that. and i went way into the weeds for it as well...

so the biggest problem with any single speaker is distortion. we have 1" tweeters because most 5-8" speakers start distorting trying to shake their massive cones above 2khz. but those same 5-8" speakers lack the physical excursion needed to replicate the tones below 100hz many times as well.

many guys that install larger 8" door speakers end up installing midranges, because the 8" cone even starts struggling getting up to 800hz, but plays better down low, even to 50hz.

there's no ideal speaker, any option is a compromise in another category.

something i've found to better manage that distortion though is to seek out speakers with "shorting rings" in their motors. very simply, they reduce other types of distortion, and allow the speakers to play a little lower and harder, without compromising the top end. the disadvantage is that no car audio speaker advertises this feature, if any have it at all. so one ends up scrolling through parts-express, and madisound to find home audio drivers that can be forced to work.

the other aspect, and something that you'll need to setup within that kicker amp, is to be sure to maintain a high pass crossover-- even a 50hz high pass will help to reduce driving the speakers to distortion and make it easier to play loud, even if you're missing some of the low-end bump.



but as they say "there's no replacement for displacement" if you want your seatback shaking, you can't do it with just a 8" full range...

*though bass shakers do exist, have been mounted to seatbacks in the past, and are not technically subs, but would require just as much work to set up as a sub...

 

This is some good info, @soundman98, thank you.

On the amount of bass I’m looking for, it’s not a ton; just something a little nicer than the factory speakers.

 

6x9 components should give you some good midbass. Look on Crutchfield and see what fits. Kicker makes a KS series 6x9 component set that should sound pretty good.

 

I've got a follow-up question: if I buy a set of components and they come with a passive crossover, how is it utilized? I think there isn't a factory crossover (right?) that gets swapped with the new one; as far as I know, I'd just replace the door speakers and the dash speaker. Then, what, just toss the crossover that came with them?

 

No factory crossovers. The speakers will have some sort of capacitor on them to block certain frequencies. If you get a set with a passive crossover then I would get the tweeter wiring adapter from taco tunes. It allows you to utilize the dash wiring and run wires from that down to the kick panel where you can put the passive crossover. For the door speaker you would only need the wiring in the door if you do it this way.

Crutchfield has a tweeter wiring adapter, but I think you have to cut two of the wires and run it down to the crossover.

Forgot to add; definitely use the crossover

 

simple answer: the passive crossover would be used, and can be installed with minor modification under the tweeters.


extended: the factory tweeters in these trucks are wired through the tweeter through a 4-pin connector. disconnect the tweeters, and the door speakers die. by jumpering off those connectors, you'd be able to accept the head units signal to go into the passive crossovers, as well as interrupt and re-route the door speakers output of that connector through the passive crossover. in an entirely plug-n-play method that would be 100% reversible.

here's taco tunes closeup of the tweeter connector(others make the harness adapter as well that would work):



in that pic, pins 3+4 are positive, 1+2 are negative, one pair is output to the door speaker, the other is the input from the head unit. it'd just be a matter of figuring out which is which and connecting the harness adapter wiring to the appropriate terminals on the passive crossover. and then locating the passive crossover somewhere underneath the tweeters, and securing it so it doesn't rattle.

 

Aha, thank you @soundman98!