Need Advice on current system to upgrade amp or not?

[bigdcobia]

I have a 2013 Dodge ram with the 8.4 non alpine system. Not changing the head unit. My subs and amp are great all kicker. My questions are in regards to the rest of my system. I have 2 dash speakers and 4 door speakers currently hooked up to an old, old school punch 45. (the one with bass and treble knobs). I have the treble turned all the way down and the bass almost the same and once I get over about 40% volume the dash starts to distort. So is this due to my amp being underpowered? Should I upgrade my amp and if so what suggestions? I would be willing to spend what I could sell the Punch 45 for and maybe another $100. Any advice or help appreciated. I have my speakers listed below.

Amp - Old School punch 45

Speakers are all kicker.. Dash 41KSC354 3.5 -2 way and 4 doors are 40CS654 6.5 - 2 way

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[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

If its the stock head unit then its a dirty signal from the head unit being amplified and you are hearing all the distortion that a stock head unit has. Get a dsp or JL clean sweep to clean up the signal.

 

[jboy2015]

the dash speakers and the door speakers are tied in together, so what's happening is you're feeding the dash speakers while feeding the door speakers. Aftermarket dash speakers usually handle much less than an equivalent door speaker. I know because I have a Ram myself, and i encountered this issue earlier on. LMK, if you need more help.

Also, me and many others on here will recommend a ppi 900.4 if youre in the budget range

 

[cfox10 10+ year member]

I would strongly suggest going with a component set, passive crossover would probably help quite a bit here. Likely sending some very low midbass to those 3.5's and they aren't going to handle that well.

Do you have a HPF? What is it set at? I'm not familiar with that particular amp but I know many of those older fosgates didn't have crossovers built in.

 

[bigdcobia]

So Jboy what did you do with your dash/front door speakers? Thanks for the AMP info

 

[jboy2015]

So Jboy what did you do with your dash/front door speakers? Thanks for the AMP info

i ditched them and use components now. When you amp both the door and the dash speakers on the same channel, your gonna get wayyy more sound from the dash. to the point where you dont get much from the door speakers without blowing your dash speakers. Id advise you ditch them too and go with some good components. There are MANY in the budget range. Give us a budget and we can recommend some sets. what cab configuration do you have?

 

[bigdcobia]

Thanks jboy that is exactly what I am noticing the tweeters are very loud. I would say under $200 would be my budget. Thanks for any suggestions

 

[jboy2015]

[quote name='bigdcobia']Thanks jboy that is exactly what I am noticing the tweeters are very loud. I would say under $200 would be my budget. Thanks for any suggestions[/QUOTE]

do you intend to install a sub eventually? and what cab configuration do you have? you probably dont even need to run the rear speakers. There are a million choices for speakers honestly. @mylows10 is a rep for a lot of brands we like to use on here. Send him a PM. I think he has some CDTs for a good price, on deck. you should be able to get a good set with that budget. I'd recommend a set with soft dome tweeters since you seem to be anti bright. But defenitely get the ppi900.4 amp.

You really should change the HU eventually, its a great investment for your system. I was once set on keeping my stock HU too but since i;ve changed it i know it was worth it. Or you could go with Jeff's suggestion and get a DSP. You'll want to do one of these down the road if you start getting really into sounds.

 

[bigdcobia]

On the Subs I've got 12's Kicker comps with a 500watt kicker amp and a custom box under the rear seat in the crew cab. They sound great! The HU has the climate/navigation and all that so that is why I wasn't considering changing that. Not even sure if there is an aftermarket out there to match up? Sounds like the component system is the way to go or maybe a DSP would work with what I already have? was hoping maybe to stay with Kicker so I'll see what they have out there. Thanks for all the info!

 

[jboy2015]

On the Subs I've got 12's Kicker comps with a 500watt kicker amp and a custom box under the rear seat in the crew cab. They sound great! The HU has the climate/navigation and all that so that is why I wasn't considering changing that. Not even sure if there is an aftermarket out there to match up? Sounds like the component system is the way to go or maybe a DSP would work with what I already have? was hoping maybe to stay with Kicker so I'll see what they have out there. Thanks for all the info!

get components. trust me, i was already there lol. lots of subs out there other than JL and kicker my man, but first thing's first. Get that front stage situated with comps and a DSP. NP man Good luck!