Hey all, looking to replace the stock radio and 4 speakers in the F150. They sound pretty bad and I'd like to be able to hook up my phone to play music. Looking to do it for $200 or less. Brands I'm looking at include; Kenwood, Pioneer, Sony, Dual, JVC, and Clarion. Which would you guys recommend? Thanks!
Best brand of aftermarket stereo/speakers?
- Thread starter renegade_987
- Start date
- Status
Look at Crutchfield.com and Parts Express. There's no magic to this stuff, bigger magnets and better quality voice coils and cones make the difference, as well as MORE POWER.
Infinity/Kenwood speakers are quite good.
The headunit/Radio Control Unit's in most Ford's are pretty good stock, It's just the speakers that let it down.
I would put the money towards the speakers vs stretching it across buying both.
Crutchfield offers instruction's and wiring connectors for free when you order from them, I'd suggest them.
The headunit/Radio Control Unit's in most Ford's are pretty good stock, It's just the speakers that let it down.
I would put the money towards the speakers vs stretching it across buying both.
Crutchfield offers instruction's and wiring connectors for free when you order from them, I'd suggest them.
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2010
- Messages
- 1,663
I have always been a fan of Boston Acoustic. I won 2nd place in a sound competition with their speakers. Very good sound quality.
Jeff
Jeff
Originally Posted By: HerrStig
There's no magic to this stuff, bigger magnets and better quality voice coils and cones make the difference, as well as MORE POWER.
More power? Did you mean the ability to handle more power. It's the amp that generates power, not the speaker.
As for low end aftermarket brands, I've had good luck with Pioneer Elite. Infinity, Polk, Alpine also make decent stuff.
There's no magic to this stuff, bigger magnets and better quality voice coils and cones make the difference, as well as MORE POWER.
More power? Did you mean the ability to handle more power. It's the amp that generates power, not the speaker.
As for low end aftermarket brands, I've had good luck with Pioneer Elite. Infinity, Polk, Alpine also make decent stuff.
There are so many good brands.
Talk to people, read a lot, and go from there.
Also, some people hear things differently so ultimately in the end its largely subjective anyway.
I would not hesitate to buy from many brands...
Talk to people, read a lot, and go from there.
Also, some people hear things differently so ultimately in the end its largely subjective anyway.
I would not hesitate to buy from many brands...
With speakers it is best to audition them in a store like Best Buy or maybe a good independent car audio store. You have to pick the speaker that sounds best to you that is also within your budget. Take a flash drive or CD loaded with music you like and listen carefully to each brand of speaker. Make sure the speakers are only being driven by a head unit comparable to what you might purchase. If the display uses an amplifier the speaker will not sound the same in your truck as it does on the store display board. If a speaker sounds good in the store, chances are it will sound good in your truck. For head units, you need to shop features. Most name brands nowadays are very good, but they all have their different features, functions, benefits and methods of control. For me the main thing with a head unit is how safe is it to operate while I am driving. I also look at the online reviews to see if there are problems reading the display in sunlight. Then comes USB/Ipod control capability.
Many units nowadays have Blue Tooth and app controls that can sync with your smart phone. You just have to read up and do some research on what you want in a head unit. Crutchfield and Sonic Electronix are both great sites to get good deals and read customer reviews on car audio. They may even throw in the installation parts for free, depending on how much you spend. You may find a good deal online on a deck and 4 new speakers for $200.00. Crutchfield usually has free shipping. I have ordered a lot from Crutchfield and am very satisfied with their prices and customer service, and have ordered only twice from Sonic, they were very good too. Both sites have pretty much the same pricing, and Best Buy now price matches Crutchfield on the same item.
It amazes me how far the price of good car audio has come down. Car audio was very expensive back in the day when the best head units were made in Japan and the best speakers and amplifiers were made here in the USA. A good deck and 4 speakers would run you at least $500.00, possibly even more with installation labor and parts.
Many units nowadays have Blue Tooth and app controls that can sync with your smart phone. You just have to read up and do some research on what you want in a head unit. Crutchfield and Sonic Electronix are both great sites to get good deals and read customer reviews on car audio. They may even throw in the installation parts for free, depending on how much you spend. You may find a good deal online on a deck and 4 new speakers for $200.00. Crutchfield usually has free shipping. I have ordered a lot from Crutchfield and am very satisfied with their prices and customer service, and have ordered only twice from Sonic, they were very good too. Both sites have pretty much the same pricing, and Best Buy now price matches Crutchfield on the same item.
It amazes me how far the price of good car audio has come down. Car audio was very expensive back in the day when the best head units were made in Japan and the best speakers and amplifiers were made here in the USA. A good deck and 4 speakers would run you at least $500.00, possibly even more with installation labor and parts.
Originally Posted By: renegade_987
Hey all, looking to replace the stock radio and 4 speakers in the F150. They sound pretty bad and I'd like to be able to hook up my phone to play music. Looking to do it for $200 or less. Brands I'm looking at include; Kenwood, Pioneer, Sony, Dual, JVC, and Clarion. Which would you guys recommend? Thanks!
You are not going to uupgrade the head unit and speakers, and have any kind of quality, for $200 or less. Just not happening. Go to Crutchfield and use their "What Fits My Vehicle" section and then read the reviews on the head units and speakers that comne up as fitting.
Hey all, looking to replace the stock radio and 4 speakers in the F150. They sound pretty bad and I'd like to be able to hook up my phone to play music. Looking to do it for $200 or less. Brands I'm looking at include; Kenwood, Pioneer, Sony, Dual, JVC, and Clarion. Which would you guys recommend? Thanks!
You are not going to uupgrade the head unit and speakers, and have any kind of quality, for $200 or less. Just not happening. Go to Crutchfield and use their "What Fits My Vehicle" section and then read the reviews on the head units and speakers that comne up as fitting.
Originally Posted By: NHHEMI
Originally Posted By: renegade_987
Hey all, looking to replace the stock radio and 4 speakers in the F150. They sound pretty bad and I'd like to be able to hook up my phone to play music. Looking to do it for $200 or less. Brands I'm looking at include; Kenwood, Pioneer, Sony, Dual, JVC, and Clarion. Which would you guys recommend? Thanks!
You are not going to uupgrade the head unit and speakers, and have any kind of quality, for $200 or less. Just not happening. Go to Crutchfield and use their "What Fits My Vehicle" section and then read the reviews on the head units and speakers that comne up as fitting.
Sorry NHHEMI but I disagree...Just a quick check on the Crutchfield site shows they have 6 or 8 Sony, JVC and Pioneer CD/MP3 decks from $69.00 to $89.00, all of which will do a good job and have quality sound. I don't know the exact size of speakers in OP's F150 but if they are 6x8's like every other F150 I have seen then Crutchfield has Pioneer, Sony and MTX 6x8's starting at only $39.95 per pair, and any one of those speakers would likely sound good in OP's truck. Crutchfield also has free shipping so OP could effectively buy a good system for right at or less than his $200.00 budget.
Crutchfield has some good choices for decks at the $99.00 price point too, they have a few JVC, Kenwood and Pioneer decks that will interface with Iphones and Android phones, but I really don't know much about that capability. I personally do not have a smart phone and never will own one because I really have no use for that or Blue Tooth either. OP could call Crutchfield though, they have very good reps on the phone who can help him get the right deck that will do what he wants and also help him with buying speakers as well. Crutchfield may also send OP free installation hardware and radio, free speaker wire connectors to take the guess work out of connecting everything, and they also send a free master sheet to help OP with the installation and their technical support is excellent if OP needs help over the phone.
I did not check the Sonic Electronix site but their prices will be similar. I think Sonic sends free installation parts too but I may be wrong on that. One advantage with Sonic is they have a bigger selection in a wider price range than Crutchfield.
Originally Posted By: renegade_987
Hey all, looking to replace the stock radio and 4 speakers in the F150. They sound pretty bad and I'd like to be able to hook up my phone to play music. Looking to do it for $200 or less. Brands I'm looking at include; Kenwood, Pioneer, Sony, Dual, JVC, and Clarion. Which would you guys recommend? Thanks!
You are not going to uupgrade the head unit and speakers, and have any kind of quality, for $200 or less. Just not happening. Go to Crutchfield and use their "What Fits My Vehicle" section and then read the reviews on the head units and speakers that comne up as fitting.
Sorry NHHEMI but I disagree...Just a quick check on the Crutchfield site shows they have 6 or 8 Sony, JVC and Pioneer CD/MP3 decks from $69.00 to $89.00, all of which will do a good job and have quality sound. I don't know the exact size of speakers in OP's F150 but if they are 6x8's like every other F150 I have seen then Crutchfield has Pioneer, Sony and MTX 6x8's starting at only $39.95 per pair, and any one of those speakers would likely sound good in OP's truck. Crutchfield also has free shipping so OP could effectively buy a good system for right at or less than his $200.00 budget.
Crutchfield has some good choices for decks at the $99.00 price point too, they have a few JVC, Kenwood and Pioneer decks that will interface with Iphones and Android phones, but I really don't know much about that capability. I personally do not have a smart phone and never will own one because I really have no use for that or Blue Tooth either. OP could call Crutchfield though, they have very good reps on the phone who can help him get the right deck that will do what he wants and also help him with buying speakers as well. Crutchfield may also send OP free installation hardware and radio, free speaker wire connectors to take the guess work out of connecting everything, and they also send a free master sheet to help OP with the installation and their technical support is excellent if OP needs help over the phone.
I did not check the Sonic Electronix site but their prices will be similar. I think Sonic sends free installation parts too but I may be wrong on that. One advantage with Sonic is they have a bigger selection in a wider price range than Crutchfield.
Originally Posted By: HerrStig
Look at Crutchfield.com and Parts Express. There's no magic to this stuff, bigger magnets and better quality voice coils and cones make the difference, as well as MORE POWER.
Bigger magnet means absolutely nothing. If we're talking subwoofers, motor strength is important, specifically the linearity of it over the full range of excursion - also not related to magnet size in any way whatsoever. Agree with the rest though
I've purchased many thousands of dollars in audio gear over the past decade and a half. Sonic has great prices, often better than Crotchfield. Crutchfield has to sell at MSRP. Never been a big fan of them. One thing to keep in mind, that I don't think has been mentioned here - 95% of aftermarket speakers are going to have worse bass response than your factory speakers. It's the trade-off for higher quality, crisper high frequencies, not to mention the fact the factory speakers were acoustically engineered for the enclosure sizes (inside of the door, for example) for the given application.
Look at Crutchfield.com and Parts Express. There's no magic to this stuff, bigger magnets and better quality voice coils and cones make the difference, as well as MORE POWER.
Bigger magnet means absolutely nothing. If we're talking subwoofers, motor strength is important, specifically the linearity of it over the full range of excursion - also not related to magnet size in any way whatsoever. Agree with the rest though
I've purchased many thousands of dollars in audio gear over the past decade and a half. Sonic has great prices, often better than Crotchfield. Crutchfield has to sell at MSRP. Never been a big fan of them. One thing to keep in mind, that I don't think has been mentioned here - 95% of aftermarket speakers are going to have worse bass response than your factory speakers. It's the trade-off for higher quality, crisper high frequencies, not to mention the fact the factory speakers were acoustically engineered for the enclosure sizes (inside of the door, for example) for the given application.
Last edited:
Just my opinion, but on a dollar for dollar basis, Polk is the best speaker.
There are better sounding speakers. No argument there. But for the price, I have not been able to do better than Polk
When the factory front speakers blew in my PT Cruiser, I used a set of Polk GXR6es that I had left over from a Civic I used to own. Obsolete old Polks. They have got to be 13 years old now and still produce accurate sound. Solid highs, clear mids, and acceptable bass from a 6.5 through the 6 disc factory Chrysler deck.
I had Memphis Car Audio component speakers in my Mazda - still have the tweeters and crossovers. The cone tore away from the frame on the passenger front door speaker. Poor glueing from the factory/overexcursion on my part-
anyway, Polk db57s replaced them. Can't really tell the difference and haven't taken the door panels back off in years now
There are better sounding speakers. No argument there. But for the price, I have not been able to do better than Polk
When the factory front speakers blew in my PT Cruiser, I used a set of Polk GXR6es that I had left over from a Civic I used to own. Obsolete old Polks. They have got to be 13 years old now and still produce accurate sound. Solid highs, clear mids, and acceptable bass from a 6.5 through the 6 disc factory Chrysler deck.
I had Memphis Car Audio component speakers in my Mazda - still have the tweeters and crossovers. The cone tore away from the frame on the passenger front door speaker. Poor glueing from the factory/overexcursion on my part-
Focal used to be the 'esoteric' grade aftermarket speaker (albeit WAY out of your price range for even their bottom models).
I don't know if they still are considered such.
MOST on here would despise/revile them for being a French company though, and would NEVER buy their products, no matter how phenomenal.
I don't know if they still are considered such.
MOST on here would despise/revile them for being a French company though, and would NEVER buy their products, no matter how phenomenal.
You don't need super-expensive esoteric speakers to get great sound. Focal is what it is I guess but I personally would never pay their price. My ears cannot tell any difference. I like Kicker speakers. Alpine makes a very nice sounding speaker too, and Polk sounds good but I found them to be a bit bass-heavy. When I was at Best Buy auditioning new speakers for my truck I thought both the Alpine and Polk 6 1/2's needed a bit brighter tweeter but they are both very good brands. I thought the Kickers sounded best and I saved a lot of money when I bought them at Crutchfield. Crutchfield had my Kicker KS60's on sale for $75.00/pair, I used a $20.00 Cructhfield online coupon code and 2 pairs only cost me $130.00 with free shipping...Excellent deal but I have not seen the $20.00 Crutchfield coupon lately. There are other Crutchfield codes out there though, on retailmenot.com. Sonic may have some codes there too.
Originally Posted By: Jimmy9190
Originally Posted By: NHHEMI
Originally Posted By: renegade_987
Hey all, looking to replace the stock radio and 4 speakers in the F150. They sound pretty bad and I'd like to be able to hook up my phone to play music. Looking to do it for $200 or less. Brands I'm looking at include; Kenwood, Pioneer, Sony, Dual, JVC, and Clarion. Which would you guys recommend? Thanks!
You are not going to uupgrade the head unit and speakers, and have any kind of quality, for $200 or less. Just not happening. Go to Crutchfield and use their "What Fits My Vehicle" section and then read the reviews on the head units and speakers that comne up as fitting.
Sorry NHHEMI but I disagree...Just a quick check on the Crutchfield site shows they have 6 or 8 Sony, JVC and Pioneer CD/MP3 decks from $69.00 to $89.00, all of which will do a good job and have quality sound. I don't know the exact size of speakers in OP's F150 but if they are 6x8's like every other F150 I have seen then Crutchfield has Pioneer, Sony and MTX 6x8's starting at only $39.95 per pair, and any one of those speakers would likely sound good in OP's truck. Crutchfield also has free shipping so OP could effectively buy a good system for right at or less than his $200.00 budget.
Crutchfield has some good choices for decks at the $99.00 price point too, they have a few JVC, Kenwood and Pioneer decks that will interface with Iphones and Android phones, but I really don't know much about that capability. I personally do not have a smart phone and never will own one because I really have no use for that or Blue Tooth either. OP could call Crutchfield though, they have very good reps on the phone who can help him get the right deck that will do what he wants and also help him with buying speakers as well. Crutchfield may also send OP free installation hardware and radio, free speaker wire connectors to take the guess work out of connecting everything, and they also send a free master sheet to help OP with the installation and their technical support is excellent if OP needs help over the phone.
I did not check the Sonic Electronix site but their prices will be similar. I think Sonic sends free installation parts too but I may be wrong on that. One advantage with Sonic is they have a bigger selection in a wider price range than Crutchfield.
Disagree all you want. That is your right. A $70 head unit is not what I would consider quality however. You and I clearly have a different view of what quality is.
Originally Posted By: NHHEMI
Originally Posted By: renegade_987
Hey all, looking to replace the stock radio and 4 speakers in the F150. They sound pretty bad and I'd like to be able to hook up my phone to play music. Looking to do it for $200 or less. Brands I'm looking at include; Kenwood, Pioneer, Sony, Dual, JVC, and Clarion. Which would you guys recommend? Thanks!
You are not going to uupgrade the head unit and speakers, and have any kind of quality, for $200 or less. Just not happening. Go to Crutchfield and use their "What Fits My Vehicle" section and then read the reviews on the head units and speakers that comne up as fitting.
Sorry NHHEMI but I disagree...Just a quick check on the Crutchfield site shows they have 6 or 8 Sony, JVC and Pioneer CD/MP3 decks from $69.00 to $89.00, all of which will do a good job and have quality sound. I don't know the exact size of speakers in OP's F150 but if they are 6x8's like every other F150 I have seen then Crutchfield has Pioneer, Sony and MTX 6x8's starting at only $39.95 per pair, and any one of those speakers would likely sound good in OP's truck. Crutchfield also has free shipping so OP could effectively buy a good system for right at or less than his $200.00 budget.
Crutchfield has some good choices for decks at the $99.00 price point too, they have a few JVC, Kenwood and Pioneer decks that will interface with Iphones and Android phones, but I really don't know much about that capability. I personally do not have a smart phone and never will own one because I really have no use for that or Blue Tooth either. OP could call Crutchfield though, they have very good reps on the phone who can help him get the right deck that will do what he wants and also help him with buying speakers as well. Crutchfield may also send OP free installation hardware and radio, free speaker wire connectors to take the guess work out of connecting everything, and they also send a free master sheet to help OP with the installation and their technical support is excellent if OP needs help over the phone.
I did not check the Sonic Electronix site but their prices will be similar. I think Sonic sends free installation parts too but I may be wrong on that. One advantage with Sonic is they have a bigger selection in a wider price range than Crutchfield.
Disagree all you want. That is your right. A $70 head unit is not what I would consider quality however. You and I clearly have a different view of what quality is.
All of what I consider 'consumer grade' (under $150) head units now are of average quality. All have the same basic specs, and it's just a different level of features. Low-voltage pre-outs, no dedicated subwoofer control, average s/n ratios, etc. Will it work - probably. Is it going to sound worth a [censored] - probably. Is it going to sound good controlling a decent SQ setup - not really. OTOH< price isn't all that matters. I've DIY'd front component sets for under $100 with active processing (built into my head unit) with very, very good results. My 328ti is running 5" $5/each Peerless mids in stock kickpanel locations with $20/each TangBand ceramic chambered tweeters in fiberlgass molded a-pillars that I built. Mids are getting 90 watts rms/each from a 4 channel Cadence amp, and tweeters are ran directly off the HU. All processing interally to my HU. Sounds fantastic for a cheap daily driver setup.
Last edited:
A quality deck can definitely be had for less than $100.00. I bought my Kenwood KDC-X395 deck from Crutchfield. Regular price was $139.95, they had it on sale for $119.00, I used the $20.00 coupon and got it for $99.95 with free shipping. It is an excellent deck with 4 volt preouts, front/rear/sub preouts, USB inputs, Ipod control, mid/bass/treble controls plus 7 built-in equalizer curves, and one thing I like about it is it has a lot of adjustments for tone Q, tone control center frequencies and it also has more gain on the tone controls, +/- 8db rather than the 6 or 7db found on most decks. The X395 even has settings to get the optimum sound from different size speakers. It has great tone settings but I also use an Autotek 7007 processor to tweak the sound even further, but that is mostly due to problems with my hearing. The X395 is discontinued now but it is an excellent quality deck, and so is its replacement, the KDC-X397. I personally do not need all the bells and whistles, Smart phone and App control features, but I do look for quality sound. For me, the simpler a deck is to operate while driving, the better I like it. I think Kenwood is one of the better quality decks for the money. Alpine is good too but as always, Alpine costs more.
When I was into high fidelity car stereos in the 80s I truly enjoyed my music played through MB Quart, Focal, Kicker, and Kenwood components. Had it in an XJ Cherokee.
Not sure if that would fit your $200 budget but craigslist might be worth a shot.
Not sure if that would fit your $200 budget but craigslist might be worth a shot.
- Status
Similar threads
