Speakers

[Craig S]

I bought an aftermarket stereo and i figured i should upgrade the speakers too. I can't find size of the OE speakers so i order the right ones

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[1987 GMC Jimmy]

Dash is 3.5" and corners are 4x10. Both of those sizes are pretty rotten. Since you're running an aftermarket stereo, you could probably just do the 3.5's in the dash corners, maybe mount a 4" under the dash instead of over it, and maybe also see about adapting a 6.5 in the middle speaker hole because that's a 6x9 opening, I believe. With the rears, you could easily adapt it to a 4 inch, but I don't know about 5 or 6.5. They also have the kick panel pods. I would never hack my door panels for speakers, but I would explore the other options and find what worked for me.

 

[chengny]

I bought an aftermarket stereo and i figured i should upgrade the speakers too. I can't find size of the OE speakers so i order the right ones

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The only (under dash) speakers that I was able to find - and that really fit properly are the OEM version and these:

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Unfortunately, Sony discontinued the XS-33 quite a while ago. But if you are persistent, you can catch them on ebay once in awhile.


While you can find plenty of 3 1/2" speakers - some even with the correct mounting brackets - the difference is with the height of the profile above the flange. If you look at your factory speakers, you'll see that the cone is almost flush with the mounting bracket and there is no (IDK much about speakers, tweeter maybe) sticking up in the center. These XS-33's have the same physical configuration as the OEM's:

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The problem with all the other speakers that fit in the hole is that they are all too tall for the dash pad to sit back down like its supposed to. If you can't find any XS-33's, you can try mounting an available 3 1/2' underneath the dash.

 

[87silveradok20]

I bought kicker 3 inch speakers and kicker 4x10s for my single cab and they fit and sound good.


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[MikeB]

In addition to upgraded dash corner speakers, you can add a center speaker like this one with two voice coils, and then drive it with the radio's rear outputs. My local stereo shop says it sounds pretty good. Not as good as 6x9s in boxes behind the doors, of course, but significantly better than OE.

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_068D412UK/RetroSound-D-412UK-Dash-Speaker.html

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Along with the 4x10 I'm also considering these:

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_206KSC3504/Kicker-44KSC3504.html

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[MikeB]

Just found these, but they're kind of pricey, even without speakers.

https://www.retromanufacturing.com/products/kick-panels-for-1973-85-chevrolet-truck

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[WFO]

On doors that have the pockets, I move the pockets down to the bottom of the doors, where the strip of carpet is, and mount plate type 2-way speakers where the pockets were. Then if I want to sell the truck, I put the pockets back where they were, covering the speaker holes.
It also sounds better than speakers mounted low.

 

[Craig 85]

I bought these for the rear cab corners of my truck. It lets you install 6x9's. In trucks with power windows I've installed 6" round speakers at the very front bottom of the door. In another truck without PW, I installed 6x9's in the front bottom of the doors.

http://www.73-87.com/Parts/7387SpeakerBrackets/73-87 Cab Corner Speaker Brackets.htm

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[SDJunkMan]

Those look great, is the silver to the right of the box part of it, or is it some type of soundproofing?

 

[Green79Scottsdale]

I bought these for the rear cab corners of my truck. It lets you install 6x9's.

How did these work out for you? Curious how they do firing into the seat. I have seen a couple of guys build boxes to fire 6x9's straight up behind the seat. They claim it sounds better than this mounting.

 

[Craig 85]

When I had these in my '79 they worked great. I personally don't like put the speakers behind the seat as it prevents the seat from moving all the way back. My truck also had 3-way 6x9's in the bottom of the front doors and a pair of tweeters under the center speaker in the dash. I got more bass from the door speakers than the pair mounted in the cab corners. It was a well rounded system that sounded good in the cab. I was going to mount a Retro Sound compact powered sub under the seat, but I sold the truck and bought my K30. I'll probably do the same set up in my K30.

The mounts come in raw metal which you see in the above photos (the area to the right is sound proofing). I added a couple more below for you. I did add sound insulation behind the speakers in the corners and painted my mounts with some bedliner to prevent any vibration noise. You can see the builder covered his in leather or vinyl.

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[SDJunkMan]

I personally don't like put the speakers behind the seat as it prevents the seat from moving all the way back

Thanks for the reply, I thought that was soundproofing to the right.

So could you move the seat back with these?

I don't like putting speakers flat behind the seat because I usually have tools, jumper cables, tow strap, and other assorted crap back there, and have trashed a few speakers over the years.

 

[Green79Scottsdale]

When I had these in my '79 they worked great. I personally don't like put the speakers behind the seat as it prevents the seat from moving all the way back. My truck also had 3-way 6x9's in the bottom of the front doors and a pair of tweeters under the center speaker in the dash. I got more bass from the door speakers than the pair mounted in the cab corners. It was a well rounded system that sounded good in the cab. I was going to mount a Retro Sound compact powered sub under the seat, but I sold the truck and bought my K30. I'll probably do the same set up in my K30.

So could you move the seat back with these?

I ask because I have been thinking about either buying these or building my own for a couple of years now. I only have the center mounted speaker in my '79, and thought these might be a good way to go. I personally am not cutting into my doors for speakers, but would do something in the corners. I am in no way an audio geek or anything, but a little more than my old 4x10 would be nice.

 

[CRM]

4 x 10's in the corner and 6 x 9's in the center

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[MikeB]

If I used behind-the-seat speakers, I wouldn't expect to hear much of anything but base frequencies. Perfect place for subwoofers, though.

On another note, it's been a long time since I was into car stereo systems, but I do remember there are pros and cons to different types of speaker enclosures. Some good info here: https://www.crutchfield.com/S-CjYNGufhH6I/learn/sealed-or-ported-subwoofer-enclosures.html