$39 Cockpit Speaker Upgrade

[DutchRv]

Factory installed cockpit speakers (5 inch, 25 watt, Magnadyne AS505BG) sounded like crap.

Bought a pair of Sony XS-R1645 6.5 inch, 50 watt (RMS) at Walmart for $39. Easy install. Mounting width made to fit with a Dremel. Used same 4 screw holes. Don't worry about mounting depth in those cubbies.

Sounds AMAZING. Clear highs, plenty of mids and deep and clean lows. Best $39 spent ever.

Found that the (factory) left speaker was connected out of phase (positive-negative reversed) which contributed to crappy sound. Positive wire was actually mislabeled, so it appeared to be connected correctly...

[KansasFR3]

Looks great Dutch. Its amazing what they do to save a couple bucks. I know this isn't a top of the line RV, but for $2-300, they could upgrade quite a bit of the systems on the RV and really make the FR3 stand out.

[lickem66]

Ended up putting new 6.5's in our 28DS last night too. I went with Pioneer 6.5's, TS-676M, because our walmart was out of the sony's. They sound so much better than the stocks for sure.
BTW, we too had one of our stock cockpit speakers (pass side) hooked up backwards. DW always said her side was hard to hear when we were driving. I swapped the wires and it sounded better.. Then I replaced with the 6.5's anyway. I may do the outside ones too but probably with 5.25" ones to cut down on the amount of hole enlarging.. plus we don't crank the outside ones anyway.

[bmmarly]

Just took delivery of 30DS....completely agree the cockpit speakers are terrible. Thanks for posting about your Sony upgrade.....how much trimming with the dremel was required?

[Combatcoal]

just made the change today. the wires were marked wrong on both sides....unbelievable.
Anyway, use an Ohmmeter to get the wires figured out. While you're at it, add some wall insulation behind the speakers as this will really help with the sound. pack it in, not tightly. Finally, add the same amount on both sides if you can.

[lickem66]

As for trimming I only had to trim about 3/8ths or so off around existing hole.

[DutchRv]

Just brought down the bunk bed for the first time since install, and it is awfully close. No FR3 is the same, I can foresee some folks hitting the Sony grills when deploying the bunk.
As far as the outside speakers, of course qe don't crank those while parking, but when we tailgate at UM or Dolphins......

[Combatcoal]

just brought mine down too. the passenger side makes it, but barely as you can see from the picture. the driver side has plenty of space. Now, i suggest you dont cheat on the opening size with the dremel like i did on the passenger side. make the hole big enough, if you lose the existing mounting holes, no worries, there is plenty of room to drill new holes, which i ended up doing on the driver side.
Cheers.

[DutchRv]

Happy with the outside upgrade as well

[Bearister]

I purchased speakers as per ur recomendation and ready to install. How does one tell correct positive and negative. Also noticed pin sizes are different. How about the interior speakers / would similar replacement be applicable.

Bear

[DutchRv]

There is no way to measure positive/negative on speaker wires. Positive should be marked, but don't trust FR's installation. You could measure for continuity with a multimeter (Ohm) but far easier is to connect the speakers, don't fully screw them in yet, and connect bluetooth your phone to the stereo, and listen to the following youtube video: https://youtu.be/lsddq6yR0DY

After the left and right test, you will hear the phase test, which will determine if you connected polarity correct. ONLY CHANGE THE POLARITY ON 1 SPEAKER IF YOU ARE OUT OF PHASE! (doesn't matter which one)

PS the wires with the crimp connectors, just squeeze them with pliers to make a snug connection.

[Combatcoal]

ohmmeter (multimeter) if you have access to one is the easiest route.
Dutch, you pitching Bravo headphones?

[Landshark1]

Originally Posted by DutchRv

Factory installed cockpit speakers (5 inch, 25 watt, Magnadyne AS505BG) sounded like crap.



Bought a pair of Sony XS-R1645 6.5 inch, 50 watt (RMS) at Walmart for $39. Easy install. Mounting width made to fit with a Dremel. Used same 4 screw holes. Don't worry about mounting depth in those cubbies.



Sounds AMAZING. Clear highs, plenty of mids and deep and clean lows. Best $39 spent ever.



Found that the (factory) left speaker was connected out of phase (positive-negative reversed) which contributed to crappy sound. Positive wire was actually mislabeled, so it appeared to be connected correctly...

Thanks for the idea DutchRV.

I did the install, and they went in easy enough. Although I went with the Pioneer's. Any upgrade is an improvement compared to those stock speakers!

[kerber77]

Photos of our upgrades to speakers. Picked it up today from the guy who installed for us (had multiple other things needed wiring so had it all done in one place ) we replaced all factory speakers plus added 2 in bedroom and a mini sub in the cockpit/living area - the sub sits in a bracket but they left slack so we have the ability to move it closer to living for movies or it just tucks behind/beside drivers seat while traveling. The grill for living room they painted to match the ceiling - it sounds amazing!

[dagcodad]

I purchased the drill guide from Dremel, $10.95 at Amazon. Three sides, easy, last side, free hand, but okay! Bunk barely clears in driver side!!

[MOTRAIN]

Originally Posted by kerber77

Photos of our upgrades to speakers. Picked it up today from the guy who installed for us (had multiple other things needed wiring so had it all done in one place ) we replaced all factory speakers plus added 2 in bedroom and a mini sub in the cockpit/living area - the sub sits in a bracket but they left slack so we have the ability to move it closer to living for movies or it just tucks behind/beside drivers seat while traveling. The grill for living room they painted to match the ceiling - it sounds amazing! Attachment 117791Attachment 117792Attachment 117793Attachment 117794Attachment 117795

Looks great...

What size JL speakers did you use? 5.25” or 6.5”? I want to use the same ones.

Thanks
Brian