Could use some advice on VW Camper front upgrades. Thanks

[Belwri]

Hey, I’m pretty new to this stuff and looking for some advice. I have standard 4 speaker, dash(tweeters) and door(2way) setup for my camper (VW Transporter T5 2005). The only upgrade is a Sony XAV-601BT head unit.
I want to change the speakers and add my old sub and 1 amp.
I’m not very experienced though and have a few questions. I will probably go for a plug and play upgrade kit, so I don’t have to go down a loom and adapter rabbit hole. Here are the two kits I’m thinking about:

• https://www.skiptoncarradio.com/bla...it-vw-transporter-speaker-upgrade-13454-p.asp
• https://www.skiptoncarradio.com/aud...ay-vw-transporter-speaker-upgrade-13535-p.asp
• 
  
• Here are my questions:
• 
  
• The ‘Blam’ bundle includes 8” upgrade with collars which apparently still fit behind the door card. As I have no rear speakers getting the most power out of these door speakers makes sense, and so (to me) upgrading to max size is easiest way to do this. Am I wrong? Would the standard 6.5” ‘Audiofrog’ setup just sound a lot better? Or would you just direct me to different bundles over these?
• It’s meant to be a simple swap over, plug and play. Is this actually nonsense? Should I be changing the speaker wires for an upgrade like this? Any other changes (assuming I want to keep the head unit)?
• What sort of amp would people suggest for this setup? The sub I have from when I was younger (actually 20 years old) is still working well. It’s a really nice reference class Alpine 12”, boxed with the right dimensions. I’m assuming it would be a 4-channel amp, with two for the L/R and bridging two into the sub? Any recommendations?
• Is this head unit capable of running the changes above, including the sub and amp? I read the specs but they go down like hot banana… https://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/...a-players-xav-series/xav-601bt/specifications
• Any other tips or advice for this upgrade? I intend to install sound deadening sheets in both doors while I’m there.

Thanks a lot for reading, and for your time guys (n’gurls)
Chris

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[hispls 5,000+ posts]

I have had great results with Sony head unit lineup so you probably did fine there.

All things being equal bigger speakers are going to be louder than smaller ones so if you can get 8" mids up front that should be a solid upgrade over 6.5" and for 250# that seems a reasonable price.

Power is extremely cheap these days so I'd consider getting a dedicated class D sub amp and a nice 2 channel for the fronts unless mounting space is top concern then look for a 5 channel and just strap the front and rear channels to your fronts (or make some custom mounting for another set of components up front).

 

[Belwri]

Thanks for replies so far. So what's your opinion on the importance of changing VW standard speaker wires for better quality? Is this necessary part of the upgrade or pointless?

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

Thanks for replies so far. So what's your opinion on the importance of changing VW standard speaker wires for better quality? Is this necessary part of the upgrade or pointless?

I generally decide that based on the rest of the install and how easy or difficult it would be to run new wires from the amp to the speaker locations. It's not a bad idea, but I wouldn't go to any unusual trouble to do it. I've run some big amps through factory wires to get into doors and didn't notice any issues.