What am I missing? (Speaker upgrade question)

[Jukeslywalka]

I replaced my kick panel with Kicker CS 6.5"s. After getting the first fitted and mounted into the passenger side, I turned on the stereo to test it out. To my surprise, the Kickers were considerably more quiet than the factory speakers. The Kickers sounded extremely underwhelming and had barely any bass at all. I ended up throwing the factory 6.5" back in and buttoning everything back up. I am just wondering if maybe I did something wrong.

A little about my setup:
Replaced factory dash 4" with Pioneer TS-G400.
Added "Audiopipe 14 UF Bass Noise Blockers" to the dash 4" speakers.

I used an OEM wiring harness for both the 4"s and the 6.5"s
Dash speaker wiring harness
Kick panel wiring harness

The setup sounds great with the Pioneer 4"s, high pass filter and factory 6.5"s. I expected it to sound even better adding the Kickers but instead it sounds as if the kick panel is pulling the power away from the dash and it is all around quieter, flatter and much less bass. I know this is a lower budget setup than some are running and I don't expect perfection, but I definitely expected the Kickers to sound better than they do. Someone help!

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[djn3400]

I replaced my kick panel with Kicker CS 6.5"s. After getting the first fitted and mounted into the passenger side, I turned on the stereo to test it out. To my surprise, the Kickers were considerably more quiet than the factory speakers. The Kickers sounded extremely underwhelming and had barely any bass at all. I ended up throwing the factory 6.5" back in and buttoning everything back up. I am just wondering if maybe I did something wrong.

A little about my setup:
Replaced factory dash 4" with Pioneer TS-G400.
Added "Audiopipe 14 UF Bass Noise Blockers" to the dash 4" speakers.

I used an OEM wiring harness for both the 4"s and the 6.5"s
Dash speaker wiring harness
Kick panel wiring harness

The setup sounds great with the Pioneer 4"s, high pass filter and factory 6.5"s. I expected it to sound even better adding the Kickers but instead it sounds as if the kick panel is pulling the power away from the dash and it is all around quieter, flatter and much less bass. I know this is a lower budget setup than some are running and I don't expect perfection, but I definitely expected the Kickers to sound better than they do. Someone help!

I replaced the dash and kick panels with Polk 4” and 6.5’s and noticed the same thing. Dash speakers are loud and clear. Kick panel speakers are very quiet with no bass. My theory is that the 6.5 Polks need more power to mover the larger magnet. I’m planning on a kicker key 200.4 to see if that helps.

 

[da_jokker]

Yeah I'm far from a audio guru. But the RMS (?) Rating is basically what a speaker needs to work. So when you take out a cheap factory speaker that maybe only needs 15 watts and you replace it with one that has a super high RMS rating, there's just not enough power.

That's different than the max output. Your best sound is going to come from a quality speaker but with an RMS rating that matches the normal output of your head unit.

 

[Contact]

Maybe add a subwoofer. I replaced all mine with Kickers as well as add a sub and all sounds good.

 

[Blackcat]

I put Kicker CS 6.5's in my F150 and noticed the same thing, which was surprising because I put a set of them in my previous F150 and they sounded great. I ended up putting some Powerbass 6.5's in and they sounded much better. Fair warning, I'm no expert at these things.

 

[rancid53]

Maybe add a subwoofer. I replaced all mine with Kickers as well as add a sub and all sounds good.

What SUB did you add? Did you DIY or have it installed professionally?

 

[WuNgUn]

I replaced my kick panel with Kicker CS 6.5"s. After getting the first fitted and mounted into the passenger side, I turned on the stereo to test it out. To my surprise, the Kickers were considerably more quiet than the factory speakers. The Kickers sounded extremely underwhelming and had barely any bass at all. I ended up throwing the factory 6.5" back in and buttoning everything back up. I am just wondering if maybe I did something wrong.

A little about my setup:
Replaced factory dash 4" with Pioneer TS-G400.
Added "Audiopipe 14 UF Bass Noise Blockers" to the dash 4" speakers.

I used an OEM wiring harness for both the 4"s and the 6.5"s
Dash speaker wiring harness
Kick panel wiring harness

The setup sounds great with the Pioneer 4"s, high pass filter and factory 6.5"s. I expected it to sound even better adding the Kickers but instead it sounds as if the kick panel is pulling the power away from the dash and it is all around quieter, flatter and much less bass. I know this is a lower budget setup than some are running and I don't expect perfection, but I definitely expected the Kickers to sound better than they do. Someone help!

What's the Ohm's of the factory 6.5's?
They're in parallel with the dash drivers... I wonder if they are low Ohm's to keep the head unit happy...?
Also, what's the sensitivity spec on your Kickers?

 

[palley6]

The Infinity BassLink Mini is a freaking perfect solution. I put one in after doing the exact same install as OP (replaced Infinity kick speakers because of this exact problem) and with the BassLink its tremendous. Super small footprint as well, can be hidden in a lot of places.

 

[unfortunate]

Are you able to get speakers with a higher sensitivity rating? I’m no audio expert but it sounds like you might need a higher rating than what you have without going with an amp.

 

[djn3400]

My Polk 6.5’s are 92db sensitivity. It’s one of the reasons I went that route.

 

[Jukeslywalka]

The Kicker 6.5" has sensitivity

Are you able to get speakers with a higher sensitivity rating? I’m no audio expert but it sounds like you might need a higher rating than what you have without going with an amp.

The Kicker CS speakers have a 90 dB sensitivity rating. I'm not completely sure if that is high enough or not?

 

[unfortunate]

The Kicker 6.5" has sensitivity


The Kicker CS speakers have a 90 dB sensitivity rating. I'm not completely sure if that is high enough or not?

@djn3400 answer might be the key answer if he can confirm the sound and volume is better than factory not worst?

 

[cmcbronco]

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_953MJP6/Memphis-Audio-MJP6.html

A few people have suggested these for the kick panels. 100db sensitivity. I’m thinking I’ll probably try these but I still haven’t decided on 4” yet. My plan is to remove the interior trim (2 door) and build a custom box with a shallow mount sub behind it. As long as there’s room. Think it would be a slick setup without losing cargo Space.

 

[Contact]

What SUB did you add? Did you DIY or have it installed professionally?

Kicker HS8. I had it installed. I was having leather seats installed and they do speakers and such. Plus I had just injured my rotator cuff. It was like $150 for the sub and the two kick panel speakers.

 

[rancid53]

Kicker HS8. I had it installed. I was having leather seats installed and they do speakers and such. Plus I had just injured my rotator cuff. It was like $150 for the sub and the two kick panel speakers.

Wow that seems very reasonable! I’ve got the LUX B&O system but that sub seems like a great add. Any clue on if it’s water resistant?

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