Stereo upgrade - Advice needed

I have a '16 DCSB w/o JBL and I want to do some 'minor' upgrades to my factory stereo. Here is what I want to do.

1) Keep the stock HU (I actually like the functionality of it and I don't want to pay $$$ to replace it)

2) Put a small sub behind the passenger side rear seat. I am thinking of either a 8" or maybe 10", but no bigger. I don't need 120 decibels in my cab, I just want good clean music.

3) For now I am going to keep my factory door speakers but would like to place an amp to give them more power. I will upgrade them at a later time.

I went to a local installer and he wanted to put an Alpine sub box w/ amp behind the seat. His total price was $500 for the sub, small amp (just for the sub) and installation. That seams a little pricey IMO.

Here are my thoughts:
I thought of building my own sub box that fits behind the seat. There was a custom box posted here that held a 8" sub that looked very clean. I like that and that is something that I can do. Again I don't need a ton of bass, just a clean sounding audio system. I was then going to put in a 5 channel amp for the door speakers and the sub. Is this a system that someone with minimal wiring knowledge can handle or should I let an installer take care of this? I just thought the $500 for just a sub was a little high.

 

Get a written estimate next time, so you know what the exact cost of parts and labor is.

If you go with a 5channel amp its going to be a bit more complicated and more expensive, than just adding a amp and sub. If you're going get new speakers get a 5ch amp, if you just want a little bass just add the sub.

 

I'm in the process of doing my 2016 and through it I've discovered they don't make it as easy as it was on the other generations. The space behind the seat is about the same, but they added two vents to the rear cab wall. These vents really get in the way, and some of the pre-fab sub boxes out there have not taken these into account. So if you are buying a pre-built box make sure it's for a 2016. Several I called gave me the "oh it's the same", but it's not.

On adding an amp to your stock speakers, you can but after getting mine out I'm not sure how long they would last. What's in there couldn't possibly handle anything more than about 20W or so. May work for a while but eventually you will need to upgrade. Good luck

 

I don't think $500 sounds too high. I kept my stock deck and stock speakers but added the Alpine power pack mini amp and a Kicker hideaway powered sub. It sounds really good now but I'd like to eventually replace my speakers. I salvaged both the amp and sub out of my prior vehicle and did the install myself so it was a nearly free upgrade using equipment I had on hand. If I were to buy the equipment new it would be around $300 for the powered sub and $125 for the mini amp. If I paid for a professional install it would easily push the cost above $500. If your happy with the quality of the equipment then $500 seems reasonable.

 

I added an aux cable to my stock 2007 head unit which splits off into an amp just for my 10 in sub that sits behind the passenger seat. I did the whole thing for about $100 granted I found a sub in some old speakers.. you can buy a amp and sub setup (kicker shallow box kit) for like $150 and as far as getting the input (not sure how the head unit is set up ) you probably could just use a line out rca converter. It may not be the "proffesional" setup but mine bumps pretty good in a reg cab and its all I wanted.