2004 Tahoe new front speakers

[Thouse]

Hello all,

I am not very handy. However, I do think even I can manage to change the front door speakers in my Tahoe. Research shows they are 6 3/4"

Does the peak wattage matter? 180W? 220W? Is higher better?

Can someone recommend me a cheap but cheerful pair to buy?

Thanks

 

[adriver]

There are some 6 3/4" will work, so will some 5 1/4" but you should find better options with a 6 1/2". Peak range is when its at its peak output. That's not nearly as important as RMS. RMS is your continuous power: what its getting at normal, not trying to crank it up and blow out your speakers kind of levels. Wattage does not have anything to do with quality. Wattage is only about how loud it is, how many decibals you can make. However, most higher quality speakers are made to handle more watts because you can crank it up and they are still going to be clear. Your factory head unit is pusing about 12-18W RMS and about 40w peak. If you have an aftermarket head unit (that was less than or around $100), most are about 12-22watts RMS and maybe up to 50w Peak. Some roughly $200 head units will have about 40-60W RMS.. Anything more than this and you will need an amplifier. THERE IS NO WAY ANY HEAD UNIT is going to be pushing enough power to run 180W correctly. Its easier to blow speakers by underpowering them, then overpowering them.


First you need to figure out either what you want out of your entire system, or what your budget is.. If you put speakers that powerful up front you WILL NEED an amplifier to power them. If you put speakers that powerful up front, you will need to upgrade the rest or you will be turning your surround sound into a 2 speaker setup. Once you start adding amplifiers, you need to upgrade your vehicles electrical system too. You will need big 3 kit, a larger amplifier to keep your system charging up, you may need a larger or second battery depending on how and when you like to listen to your music. Any speaker that gets about 60w or more, should have new speaker wiring ran to it. If you don't already have an aftermarket head unit, you will need one.


I'm thinking mostly likely you need to bring it down a notch, and look for some speakers that are about 20-30W RMS. They will still sound good, you just won't be able to crank them up to max and make your ears bleed.


What is your system currently?
What is your budget/goals?

 

[Thouse]

System is a stock non bose system.

No on star either if that matters.

I want to keep it as cheap as possible. I used the fader to move the sound around and every speaker is working but the driver front. I would like to replace the front speakers without having to replace any wiring or head unit if possible?

Thanks for your input

Edit: I would like to spend as little as possible for front speakers without getting complete junk but would replace all factory speakers with oem like components if it was reasonable enough.

 

[adriver]

You can get better than OEM speakers for $40-50 a pair. I always recommend crutchfield because its easy to use, they have filters your specific vehicle and they have great support. You can always start there, and do a search to see if you can save a little somewhere else (usually amazon). A quick look showed me about 15 pairs that were $40-$50 with low wattage that will work well with a factory head unit, or if your budget will allow it, a new head unit. If you look on the website, the only ones I would avoid (under $50) are the Memphis because of the paper woofer.

If you want to do it as cheap as you can with something a little better, I would pick just one pair, (really, any pair will do better than OEM). Cheap speakers is just one of the sacrafices car companies make to bring the production cost down. Those who care, will go big, and that's all relative from there. Base level factory speakers are meant to be basic.

You can pick up a used head unit from the normal places for less than $50 that will give you more options, and a few more watts than the factory. If your budget allows it I would get a second matching pair for the rear doors. You can find some small speakers to replace the ones in the back, but it doesn't sound like that's priority.

Last, of course, depending on your budget, and time frame, black Friday is coming up. I would expect to save some then. On ebay you can find some decent package deals for a pair of speakers and a head unit for $100-$150, again sounds like it depends on your budget and what your goals are.

 

[Thouse]

@adriver

Thank you very much for your help.

 

[Z28TWITCH]

@adriver dude, what the hell are you on about? The guy CLEARLY is at the basic of basic level of automotive sound and you come in like a tornado with all over the place opinions. A for effort guy...but uhhh, no. hahaha
@Tyler Houseknecht hit your local walmart and pick up a pair of pioneer coaxes and be done with it. No reason to open a massive can of worms if you dont have to. As far as rear speakers...fade to front and forget the rear...how often do you drive from the back seat?

 

[adriver]

@adriver dude, what the hell are you on about? The guy CLEARLY is at the basic of basic level of automotive sound and you come in like a tornado with all over the place opinions. A for effort guy...but uhhh, no. hahaha
@Tyler Houseknecht hit your local walmart and pick up a pair of pioneer coaxes and be done with it. No reason to open a massive can of worms if you dont have to. As far as rear speakers...fade to front and forget the rear...how often do you drive from the back seat?

Trust me when I say, I did tone it WAY DOWN, to try to make it easy and help. I don't know the guys plans or budget, I tried to just give him enough information to give him a few options since he wasn't too specific about it, and where he should be looking next, if he chooses to.
How did I give him a tornado of opinions? I just tried to explain to him what he could improve on, AND TOLD HIM WHY.. ... That's the difference between me trying to give helpful information, and you giving your "just go to Walmart and pick up whatever they have" opinion.

 

[Thouse]

Update-

I went to Crutchfield and used the idiot proof car selector. I ordered a pair of Kenwood KFC-1666S that were said to fit my car. They also shipped it with conversion brackets (assuming they are smaller then OEM so they have an extra bracket) and some little wires. It will be here Friday. Crutchfield seems to ship quickly.

I only go the one pair $39.99. I have already watched a video on how to take the door cards off.

I think I will be ok.

Now on to getting a new "volume" nob as its worn white.

Tyler

 

[Tonyrodz]

Update-

I went to Crutchfield and used the idiot proof car selector. I ordered a pair of Kenwood KFC-1666S that were said to fit my car. They also shipped it with conversion brackets (assuming they are smaller then OEM so they have an extra bracket) and some little wires. It will be here Friday. Crutchfield seems to ship quickly.

I only go the one pair $39.99. I have already watched a video on how to take the door cards off.

I think I will be ok.

Now on to getting a new "volume" nob as its worn white.

Tyler

Amazon sells those overlays.

 

[Z28TWITCH]

@Tyler Houseknecht those will work just fine for you. Take your time and it'll come out fine. It's much easier than you think.

@adriver anytime you want to forget what you think you know, shoot me a message.