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Pimp Your Factory Sound In 15 minutes

380K views 877 replies 200 participants last post by  beatle 
#1 · (Edited)
By removing the dash tweeters in the steps below as pictured and install the after market tweeters, you will improve the sound of your factory system, you may notice not only clearer more defined sound but also find the bass even better once you complete these installation. You may have to splice wires or cut the connector, in my situation I did not need to do that, I would use bullet or spade connectors if needed leaving males on the wires and females on the factory tweeter connector assuming you will want to save them to install them if later you decide to sell your truck. The same thing for the new tweeter crossover wires I would crimp a female connector to each wire and plug them the to the factory wiring. You can find these connectors on Ebay or at your local Home Depot or Lowe's.


Factory Wiring Color Code for the front speakers and tweeters

BLUE Front passenger door speaker (+) Right tweeter (+)
RED Front passenger door speaker (-) Right tweeter (-)

LT GREEN Driver’s door speaker (+) Left tweeter (+)
PURPLE Driver’s door speaker (-) Left tweeter (-)
 
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#4 · (Edited)
More pictures here, and on the one above shows the the size of tweeter that will fit on the cover. Pictured are the Hertz Tweeters that are part of the Hertz DSK165 component system. Some tweeters can be modified, by removing the grill, by removing the grill there will be less obstruction and more sound. Most components speaker systems come with a single crossover for both bass and highs. These Hertz Speakers have a separate crossover for the bass driver and and tweeter and since it was small I was able to install them in the dash. Most purchased separate tweeters will not have a crossover/box as big to prevent it from fitting in this area.
 

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#832 ·
I wouldn't recommend just stuffing the wires in and hoping they stay. You should really splice in the right connector properly. You are asking for intermittent cut outs, especially after the wires have time to oxidize. And open shorts in speaker lines has been known to burn out amplifier circuits.
 
#5 · (Edited)
The wire supplied by Hertz is about 18 or 20 gauge, thin enough to just snap it in the factory connector, I used tape to hold it felt secured enough inside each plug, I put tape to keep moisture out and secure it a bit more, if you feel you need to use spades, use them. The wire and the crossover small box (pictured) fits in the hole and I just put it in there as the picture shows.

I am sure almost any after market set of tweeters will be a huge improvement once installed, and most if bought separately will have a small enough crossover or capacitor to fit in that area. You may also use glue to bond the tweeter or some sort of double sided tape, I just used electrical tape and even it comes off the tweeter will not fall in the other whole where the wiring is. My advice is, use your judgement in your installation process.

Enjoy! I hope this info helped it is easy and simple. Ask questions here or PM me if you want to. :act035:
 

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#9 ·
Good observation!
I have not heard anything yet, maybe because the bundled extra wire works as a hook in the path to keep the small box from moving, and since it needs to go in the hole, it maybe hard to secure it inside the hole due to the extra space needed

I think it is hanging or sitting on the bottom, i just pushed it down in the hole, just make sure the insulated spade connectors are tight and secured.

The factory wiring is stiff and wrapped with tape, and it helps to keep the whole thing from moving.
 
#8 ·
I still have the parts waiting for install. By the way, if you have other tweeters and fit is a concern, you can order 2 more plastic Honda grills for about $5 online. Modify them as needed and still keep the stock one if you screw up or want to put it back.
 
#12 ·
I bought the hertz dieci dsk165 component speakers with separate tweeters and 6 1/2 bass drivers that I still need to install.

What made it possible was that each driver comes with its own small crossover, unlike most other brands or models. I think these tweeters can be purchased separately the model is DT16

http://www.hertzaudiovideo.com/
 
#14 ·
I have an extra set of tweeters sitting in a box right now that I never installed in any vehicle. They came as a free accessory when a buddy of mine purchased a set of speakers for his Dodge last spring. He didn't want them and just gave them to me. I'm not sure of the brand, but I do know the specs are likely MUCH better than what the stock tweeters have. They also have an inline passive crossover "box" like these Hertz's. I'm planning on getting a true component set sometime in the near future, but just putting in a new set of tweeters might be better in the interim. Thanks for the detailed instructions and pics, laserguy!
 
#18 ·
You know, I'm actually thinking of mounting some tweeters in or on the sail panels. I think I'll mainly be looking to do this when I replace the fronts with a component set, but I'm just trying to figure out a good way to mount them. I've seen that there really isn't enough room between the back of the panel and the door frame to flush mount them, and I think surface "stick on" mounting would look sort of dumb. What sort of options do I have other than maybe fiberglassing them into the stock sails?
 
#19 · (Edited)
Me too Ian, when I add a new HU, I will end up mounting them on the window sail or plastic triangle, because it is a lot of work to fish new wire or also remove the dash to tap into the factory wire just to mount them on the dash.

Most of the RL members with component speakers mount them on the top of the sail plastic triangle and just drill a hole to feed the wires and screw the back plate to hold it and do not look bad at all, just more noticable. usually better response but it can be too bright for some and like I mentioned before it depends on the brand.
 
#20 ·
If you use the window sails, many tweets come with screw on bezels.. the bezel is just a big plastic nut that holds the tweeter in place. Probably looks like factory fit after they are together. You just need a hole in the sail big enough for the body of the tweeter to go through. As lg said, many come with adapters for various types of mounting. You want it to look good, but make it easy on yourself too.
 
#21 ·
Ok, I think the top mount for them is the way I'll go. For now, I'm gonna give those excess tweeters I have now a shot in the factory locations. It will be worth the short amount of time to put them in for the few months or so of better highs.
 
#26 ·
#27 ·
2 issues with these:

1. The 8 ohm rating will decrease the sound levels
2. The factory grill cover plates will need modification

I would look for a set with 91 db of sensitivity or higher, and 4 to 2...? ohms if driven by the HU and make sure a passive xover is included and hooked with them.
 
#30 ·
Thanks for all the good info! This thread has inspired me to upgrade my speakers. I just purchased MTX TX1000's for $54.99 through Sonic Electronix (included free shipping). They were recently discontinued hence the low price.

Specs:
Part Number: TX1000
Tweeter: 25mm Soft Dome
Impedance: 4O
Frequency Response: 2.5kHz - 20kHz
RMS Power (Watts): 50
Peak Music Power (Watts): 100
Sensitivity (2.83V/1M): 90dB
Tweeter Mounting Depth: 1.0" (2.54 cm)
Tweeter Cut-out Diameter: 1.88" (4.76 cm)
Tweeter Mounting Options: Flush, Surface, Angle
Crossover: 1-Way, 18dB/6dB

I thought these were a great deal for the money!
 
#31 ·
Okay, this may be a bit OT for this thread, but has anyone measured the depth of the factory tweeter recess? I'm wondering whether there is enough depth for a mini-wideband driver like the Whisper or one of the 2" Tang Bands.
The B&G Neo 3 is another interesting idea - they can cross as low as 2k or so and I think would fit in the stock location, albeit with a fair bit of customization of the grille/cover.
 
#32 ·
Quite a bit a depth, you can pop them yourself very easily and take a measurement. Will easily accommodate 2" if you are talking depth, not tweeter diameter (which would mean a grille mod).
 
#34 ·
You could just add coaxials and leave the factory tweeters like most do, but for me since I am picky about sound I would just disconnect the factory ones or add the same brand of tweeters for the dash, assuming you want more sound.

For some this may not be the right setting since they may want a better stage by bringing it up instead of down to our legs.
 
#36 ·
You're going to get the best imaging from a component set with mid-bass driver in the door and the tweeters on the sail panels. The stock location for the tweeters is ok, but you lose a good bit of the sound stage by having the sound bounce off the windshield. A coaxial set in the doors is likely going to be better than stock as far as clarity, but you're not going to get the same effects in the sound stage. Some who have replaced the door speakers with coaxials and left the stock tweeters connected have reported there is little if any sound difference if they have the stock tweeters connected or not. They're soft silk dome tweeters (good quality), but they just simply aren't powerful at all.
 
#38 ·
^^^ Very good point.
 
#40 ·
Honestly RR, it is very hard (for me) to envision your hardware limitations without actually seeing them, but I can appreciate it.

I took off the protective metal domes of the TW-1s. They fit perfectly in the stock recesses of the factory grille that way. There is very soft and thin protective screen over the driver, an acoustically transparent dome. I used electrical tape to secure and seal the tweeters to the grill without pushing them in far enough to deform that screen.

The tweeters came with their own cross-over cap but I figured it is best to use what the factory mid bass are designed for which based on the cap value is a higher cutoff than the ones the tweeters came with. I will save the TW-1 crossovers for a more invovled future upgrade, just in case. I ordered new caps (same value but higher voltagae rating) to wire in instead of trying to salvage the tiny factory cap.

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=027-326

The TW-1s also came with a proctective circuit to keep from blowing out the tweeters. But these are designed for connecting the tweets directly to an amp. They are quite bulky, but would still have fit in the recesses.
I used the mounting post of the tweeters as a strain relief for the cable.
As soon as I get the caps I'll be ready to wire everything in.
 

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#42 ·
Honestly RR, it is very hard (for me) to envision your hardware limitations without actually seeing them, but I can appreciate it.

I took off the protective metal domes of the TW-1s. They fit perfectly in the stock recesses of the factory grille that way. There is very soft and thin protective screen over the driver, an acoustically transparent dome. I used electrical tape to secure and seal the tweeters to the grill without pushing them in far enough to deform that screen.
Hey Rollin,
for the benefit of the forum readers, can you provide the manufacturer of the tweeters you used and where you got them with approximate price so others can benefit from the better fit than I had?
Mine were supposed to be 1" tweeters but the casing for them was wider than the insert holes for the stock tweets which made for a real problem. I was not able to remove anything from the units to slim them down. :hol002:
 
#41 ·
I think the project is a good upgrade for sure, I hope my previous post does not stop anyone from attempting it, just check out the other models of tweeters that others have used and it will make the swap a lot easier. My tweeters and crossover definitely required a higher level of modification to make it work but the sound quality increase is definitely worth it.
On a separate note if anyone is on the fence about whether to make the change, take 2 minutes to pop out the factory tweeter vents and unhook the tweeters. Then listen to the sound without tweeters at all. Even with my upgraded door speakers replaced with quality Polk speakers, the sound quality is quite a bit "flatter" and the sound does not fill the cab of the Ridge as well as having even the stock tweeters in there. Now if you were to replace those stock tweeters with even $100 worth of quality tweeters the sound quality will increase many times. If I had known that the tweeters that I chose would have been such a hassle I might not have taken on the task, but the end result of the sound quality upgrade is worth it. Maybe the 3/4" sized tweeters available would have fit into the grill without more significant mods, also as I have stated before, consider the size of the crossover if it will fit in that space or need to be rewired to go under the dash. It is definitely worth installing a proper crossover to get the most out of the tweeters.
Rock on Ridgers!:act035:
 
#43 · (Edited)
if anyone is on the fence about whether to make the change, take 2 minutes to pop out the factory tweeter vents and unhook the tweeters. Then listen to the sound without tweeters at all. Now if you were to replace those stock tweeters with even $100 worth of quality tweeters the sound quality will increase many times.
That's exactly what I went through and couldn't beleive the difference when I put in aftermarket tweeters! The rest of the system is "acceptable" but the OEM tweeters just absolutely suck!

Try what ridgerunning said, and you won't beleive how bad the tweeters actually are until you do unplug them!!!!!!! :act060:


And as far as tweeters being bigger, just Dremel the plastic circle that holds the OEM tweeters down, and glue on any set of Tweeters, and all is well! It's really that easy!

And if that even concerns you, go buy another set of tweeter covers, and keep your factory tweeters in them!
 
#45 ·
Here is an option for a good cheap set, good luck, I know getting just the Diecis tweeters separate could be an issue unless you buy the complete set of speakers. But those will fit perform well, have great specs, and take 15 min to install if you want to save yourself some time and headache.

not sure if these will be similar and as easy to do as the Diecis

 
#125 ·
Here is an option for a good cheap set, good luck, I know getting just the Diecis tweeters separate could be an issue unless you buy the complete set of speakers. But those will fit perform well, have great specs, and take 15 min to install if you want to save yourself some time and headache.

not sure if these will be similar and as easy to do as the Diecis

http://www.amazon.com/Cadence-Acoustics-ZRS75T-1-Inch-Tweeter/dp/B003PJ6TCQ/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
Sorry, I was talking about these!
 
#46 ·
Those look real decent, lg. I wonder what the dia is of the element without the flange. might just fit the factory grille must be the 1" or that is just the tweeter element inside. What could possibly be 8" ?? It looks like 2.75 with the flange at the widest point.
Nice find!
 
#47 · (Edited)
I searched for extra tech info, looks like they will not give any issues like other units.


The new ZRS series is unmistakably Cadence. Professional studio grade quality means your system will deliver dynamic sound with natural transparency, unmatched impact and perfect imaging. The ZRS75T is a 4 ohm 100 Watt RMS Power 1-inch/25mm hybrid high efficiency composite dome tweeter with built-in diffuser and step up transformer coil for high power and extreme SPL. The frequency response of the ZRS75T is 5 kHz – 22 kHz and has a sensitivity of 97dB @ 1w/1m SPL. It has a mounting depth of 0.75-inch. It is a complete pair of tweeters with built-in 6dB crossovers, complete with flush, surface, and angle mounts. Product comes with a two (2) year repair/replace warranty, which covers factory defects. Should the product fail during the warranty period, simply call 800-477-2328 for a Return Authorization Number.


CADENCE ACOUSTICS ZRS75T 1-INCH 200 WATT PEAK HYBRID TWEETER FEATURE

Cadence ZRS75T 25mm 4 ohm Hybrid tweeter
Power Handling: 100W RMS/200W Peak
Frequency Response: 5 kHz ? 22 kHz
Sensitivity: 97dB @ 1w/1m
Mounting Depth: 0.75-inch
 
#48 ·
With audio equipment, like many other systems, they work best if all components are equal in quality. But any one improvement can still be better than no change at all. The tweeter is certainly as inexpenisve a change you can make for the better.
 
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