Q. I just got a new truck, a 1996 Chevy Crew Cab Dually pickup. The truck still has all its factory components, which is comprised of the "premier" sound option with eight speakers. That is about the extent of what I know about what is currently in the truck, other than the fact that one of the speakers in the driver's side front door is blown, which is the main reason why I'm currently in the market for car audio components. In each of the two front doors, there is a small (approx. 1" diameter) tweeter that is directionally aimed up at the occupants, and in the lower portion of the door there is a larger round speaker.
This same round speaker is also in each of the lower portions of the rear doors, and on each side of the truck in the A-pillar mounted near the roof there is a 4" X 6" speaker. Now, the reason I don't give the size of the round speakers in the doors is because I simply don't know what size they are. I have measured the outside diameter of the grille of the speakers, which is approximately 5.5" in diameter. This would lead me to believe that the speakers are 5.25" diameter speakers. But, I've been told by at least one installer that the truck should be fitted with 6.5" diameter speakers. I find this very hard to believe given that the grilles would be so grossly undersized, and I really don't want to pull the speaker out of the door just to find out.
This leads me to my next problem, which is what certainly appears to be the lack of qualified car audio dealers in Rochester, NY. People either don't seem to know what they're talking about, or they simply just don't know. I want to talk to an expert, someone that knows what would be best for me and my truck given their YEARS of experience in the industry. The people that I've talked to don't seem to have years of collective experience, let alone any one of them.
I've been to the local large electronics retailers and I simply don't trust them to touch my truck, not to mention I'm not comfortable with their selection of components. But, I've also been to a few retailers that specialize in car audio, and I still wasn't all that impressed. So, this is why I'm writing to you. I'm hoping that you can give me some type of insight as to what I should do.
I did hear a set of Alpine SPR175A's that sounded pretty good, but these are 6.5" diameter speakers, and I have a hard time believing that with all the quality speaker manufacturers out there that this set from Alpine is the best for me and for my money. I'm an engineer, and looking at the specifications of these speakers they aren't all that impressive as far as sensitivity and frequency response, but I will admit that I have heard speakers with supposedly better specifications that didn't sound as good.
The problem I then have is that even if I wanted to try to go with a set of speakers from Audiobahn or Kove, I have nowhere to go to buy these speakers locally, let alone demo them. One of the local people that I spoke with also suggested that I replace my head unit, using the "garbage in, garbage out" analogy, which makes a lot of sense, and I have read this at a few Internet sites that I've visited as well. But, I don't want to replace components just for the sake of replacing components. If just replacing the front speakers is what I need to do, I'll do that, but if I need a new head unit, or an amp, I'll buy those too. But again, I'm not looking to replace everything in the truck.
I was shown a fine Alpine CDM-7861 receiver. But I again have to wonder if my $299 could be better spent on say a Pioneer Premier DEH-P520 that seems to have all the same features, same power (with MOSFETs, whatever those are,) and with more pre-outs (3 pair vs. 2) that are more powerful (4.8V vs. 2.0V).