Amplified stock speakers vs. Non-amplified aftermarket speakers/components

[Golitan11]

I am talking about the normal front and rear stock speakers you get in a 15.000-20.000$ car (no brand). Thanks!

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[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

This is a really vague question. The speakers produce the sounds that we hear, but there's more to a factory or upgraded audio system than just the speakers that affects what we hear.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

i think you are asking for an opinion on those that have spent money on either new speakers or an external amp.

external amp on stock speakers outperforms a speaker swap simply because the biggest limitation of a stock system is the weak amplification. the stock speakers, while cheap, are well integrated and sealed to the vehicle. midrange clarity will suffer but overall sound quality improves with better amplification.

i've tried both over the years in several vehicles. a better amp wins almost every time. if the stock speakers are blown, nothing will help them. if the stock speakers are more than 15-20 years old - they **** no matter what.

 

[Nubster]

I don't know what the wattage of my stock headunit was but I just replaced it with a new Kenwood HU that is rated at 22 watts RMS. While not a huge amount of power, the improvement was in fact huge. That's with the stock 6x9 speakers in my 2012 Dodge Ram.

 

[T3mpest 10+ year member]

i think you are asking for an opinion on those that have spent money on either new speakers or an external amp.
external amp on stock speakers outperforms a speaker swap simply because the biggest limitation of a stock system is the weak amplification. the stock speakers, while cheap, are well integrated and sealed to the vehicle. midrange clarity will suffer but overall sound quality improves with better amplification.

i've tried both over the years in several vehicles. a better amp wins almost every time. if the stock speakers are blown, nothing will help them. if the stock speakers are more than 15-20 years old - they **** no matter what.

I've seen the same results. I was suprised how much extra output I got when I intalled my MS-8 to my factory bose. Gave the speakers a real 30 watts/channel and they are keeping up with substage much better than they ever would have off the HU. Cant' comment on SQ, since my MS-8 is doing A LOT of processing, but overall volume is much better than I would have expected out of stock and def more than most hu's will provide on aftermarket speakers.