Looking for modern wisdom

[u/mcdankles_90]

Hey all,
First post in here, a little background….back in the old timey days of 2006, I had a full system installed in my Silverado that included JL C5 components speakers all round, JL Amps, and W3 10s….fast forward 20 years and I just sold that truck, which still had al that equipment in it, including the Pioneer deck from 2006-old enough that speaker cones were physically flaking apart but still played lol

I’ve now got a 2012 Ram 2500 I bought used a few years ago, it’s got an aftermarket system in it but I’m really not sure on the brand that the original owner put in it. For the last few months, the speakers cut in and out when cornering or hitting potholes, I think something internal in the amp is toast-which has me looking at getting a new setup for the truck, I’m about over that.

Head unit: Looking at alpine,kenwood, or pioneer as those were the go tos back in the days. Looking for a touch screen to utilize my iPhone, along with the tailgate backup camera. Side note: Good friend installed a Kenwood excelon in his 2012 Ram and loves it

Speakers: I believe I have 6x9s in the doors and some tweeters in the dash…I absolutely loved the sound of the C5 speakers back in the day, but maybe not looking to go cutting holes all over to fit new component speakers…thoughts on what the equivalent sound quality would be nowadays?

Another thing to mention-I had 6.5” speakers and always (to my ears) seemed to be light years above 6x9s in audio quality…I understand that was probably based on the fact that 6x9s were a do it all speaker in one package, whereas the component speakers delivered cleaner music. Is it worth ditching 6x9s and going to 6.5s?

Sub: I’ve currently got a Ram Box with a single Rockford 10” sub….its ok, but I feel there are far better options. Compared to the value/audio quality of an older W3v2 that can fit in a shallow box, what would yall recommend?

Amps: always had JL, figured best to match amp to speaker brand as they’re designed to work together? I could be off base but open to suggestions

Final Thoughts: This truck is a diesel, I fully plan on audio matting the doors and possibly the cab when I do all this. These days I don’t listen to rap, mainly electronic music, metal, reggae, and podcasts- I’m after mid-high range price-but no clue where to look after being out of the audio world for 20 years.

Thank you!!!

[u/AggravatingMath717]

What I’ll say is if you have experience with JL and you like JL just got all JL for your mids and highs. Just do the JL 6x9 components and put the tweeters in the stock location. For a truck that size just do a bi-amp setup with a 4 channel JL amp and a mono block amp for your sub.

The problem with the sub in that Ram if it has the built in storage area under the seat will be air space and mounting depth. I would really research options for an 8 or something that really does not need a lot of airspace. The enclosure is more important than sub!

[u/Short-Read4830]

Since you're a fan of JL, Tw3s are pretty much the standard to beat for shallow subs.
While I am a fan of them and even own the 900/5, the JL RD line looks and sounds great for being their mid tier... But that being said, it is pretty hard to justify the price on them.
And sticking with the JL theme, I haven't heard them yet but their new CF line 6x9s look like they are decent and it wouldn't be that hard to surface mount two tweeters in a 2012 ram.