HK System entirely 4ohms

[Rob1013692]

So I did a thing.. I upgraded most the speakers in the truck. I just couldn’t handle the front “sound stage” on the HK. Sometimes the highs were just so overwhelming it would hurt to listen to at times.

I looked at the roof speakers, and could not figure a way to exchange those without breaking the grills. So that is the only thing I didn’t do.

After pulling each speaker, I found out the entire system is 4ohms. 4 ohm dash, 4 ohm door, 4 ohm sail tweeters, and 4 ohm sub. I was expecting the impedance to be that of the alpine system and be 2ohm door, 8ohm dash, 2 ohm sub.

I had purchased 2- Kenwood KFC-XP6903C for the dash speakers, and 2 ohm door 6x9s. I ended up using the entire kit from Kenwood. I’ll be returning the 2ohm door speakers after check impedance of each speaker.

The Kenwoods sound fantastic with the HK system (amp). I actually need to turn the bass down. And the highs are clear without overbearing like that of the alpine upgrade. For the sub, I put an alpine s 8” w/ some poly fill.

It was kind of disheartening seeing the small coils and paper cones w/ foam surrounds. But then, it is oem audio. I am very pleased with how it all turned out. My wife could hear the truck thumping in the house when I fired it up. XM still sucks, but what can you do?

Harness adapters and sub came from Crutchfield. Speakers Amazon. Front speakers need 1/4” spacer.


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[Don-T]

I saw a post on 5th Gen Rams that shows how to remove the roof speakers. I doesn’t look like a big deal. You can pry off the plastic grill much the same way you get off the dash grills. I haven’t tried it yet but I likely will one of these days.

Did you replace the sail panel tweeters? If you did, what did you use? I have installed Kicker speakers in the dash. They helped a bit but I need more. My hearing is not want it used to be, I don’t hear the highs very well any more.

 

[Rob1013692]

I was thinking about the sails, but after installing the Kenwoods, it calmed down the mids and was able to hear the nuances in all the tweeters.

After playing with it last night. I’m thinking the sensitivity is less on the Kenwoods mids (84db/1w) with higher sensitivity on their 6x9s. Why I have more bass at say level 20 than before, but less harshness on the upper spectrum.

I saw on the 5th gen page also about the ceiling mids, but I had that plastic bending pretty good I thought was going to break. Might just leave them be. Only way I can get the Kenwoods is by getting the component set, so spending $220 just to get a mid, might pass on (if I match the system).


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[Rob1013692]

Some pics comparing the components.

 

[Don-T]

I was surprised at the factory speaker too. I tried to pop off the grills on the ceiling speakers. I had the same experience you did. I decided to leave it alone for the time being. I don’t want to damage the headliner.

 

[Russty__]

I think the factory (ordered upgrade) 17 speaker HK system BUMPS. I have the bass set to -1 and its still plenty powerful with good mids and highs.

 

[Rob1013692]

Using my metal panel popper, I was able to pop off the grills easily. The plastic one wasn’t cutting it. Now just waiting on the other mids to arrive so I can install them.


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[Don-T]

Using my metal panel popper, I was able to pop off the grills easily. The plastic one wasn’t cutting it. Now just waiting on the other mids to arrive so I can install them.


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Thanks for the update. Any chance you can post a picture of the metal tool as well as what the grill and speaker look like?

 

[Yeasty McFlaps]

So I did a thing.. I upgraded most the speakers in the truck. I just couldn’t handle the front “sound stage” on the HK. Sometimes the highs were just so overwhelming it would hurt to listen to at times.

I looked at the roof speakers, and could not figure a way to exchange those without breaking the grills. So that is the only thing I didn’t do.

After pulling each speaker, I found out the entire system is 4ohms. 4 ohm dash, 4 ohm door, 4 ohm sail tweeters, and 4 ohm sub. I was expecting the impedance to be that of the alpine system and be 2ohm door, 8ohm dash, 2 ohm sub.

I had purchased 2- Kenwood KFC-XP6903C for the dash speakers, and 2 ohm door 6x9s. I ended up using the entire kit from Kenwood. I’ll be returning the 2ohm door speakers after check impedance of each speaker.

The Kenwoods sound fantastic with the HK system (amp). I actually need to turn the bass down. And the highs are clear without overbearing like that of the alpine upgrade. For the sub, I put an alpine s 8” w/ some poly fill.

It was kind of disheartening seeing the small coils and paper cones w/ foam surrounds. But then, it is oem audio. I am very pleased with how it all turned out. My wife could hear the truck thumping in the house when I fired it up. XM still sucks, but what can you do?

Harness adapters and sub came from Crutchfield. Speakers Amazon. Front speakers need 1/4” spacer.


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Was this the 17 speaker system on the Laramie level 2?

 

[Rob1013692]

Yes it is. They classify the coaxial speakers as 2.


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[Rob1013692]

So I still wasn’t happy…go figure. Lol.

The sub I got was dual 4ohm voice coils. Even original sub/amp combo seemed sloppy (to me). I added an amp to it. Running about 250watts rms just to the sub and tweaked it. It’s a beautiful thing.

The whole truck is more “controlled” and balanced between frequencies. It’s fluid - if that makes sense.


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