2004 Non-Bose Speaker Replacements

Hi guys,

After buying my '04 Avy this past December I discovered that all of my speakers were dead except for the one in the driver's side door. Even on that one the bass sounds crackly. So I figured once it got warm I would replace them with new ones.

Let me just say up front, I am totally new to audio systems. A few days ago I didn't even know what a tweeter was!!   However, I have been researching a lot the past few days on here as well as other sites like crutchfield. I read through a bunch of old topics, but none of them quite answered my questions.

I am not looking to do anything fancy...if I can do a direct swap with upgraded speakers I will be happy. I am not looking to increase volume over the stock speakers either. However, I would rather not just replace the speakers with new GM parts because I feel that I can get something better with not much more $$.

My parents have a JBL system in their Toyota that sounds good, so I started there. I found these speakers that look nice, but I have some questions: http://www.jbl.com/car-speakers/GTO629.html?cgid=car-speakers#start=1

This is from JBL's website:

25 ? 180 watts suggested amplifier power range

JBL engineers designed the GTO 629 coaxial speaker to produce strong, clear sound from a head-unit or amplifier capable of delivering up to 180 watts of power. This makes the GTO 629 an ideal match to systems powered with head-unit or factory-amplifier power levels.

Click to expand...

This is great for me because I don't want to change the HU. However, I have not been able to find much info on the audio system in my truck. If I do not have Bose am I correct that I do not have a factory amp? How much power does the stock base-level HU put out? Is it between the recommended 25-180 watts?

Secondly, how many speakers does the non-Bose system have? As far as I can tell there is a 6.5" speaker in each of the four doors for a total of four speakers in the truck, is this correct?

Also, I think in the Bose system the tweeters are in the A-pillar. Does that mean that I do not have tweeters? If the speakers that I am looking at have integrated tweeters is that a problem?

I know I have a lot of questions, but any help would be much appreciated! I would like to have nice sound coming from the whole truck, but I am looking for as close to direct swap as possible. Thanks!

If it helps the non bose and the Bose use the same speakers in the doors.

I also have a 2004 Avy.  In my truck, there are tweeters in the front doors.  I would suggest that you get on Crutchfield's site, punch in the specs on your vehicle and let them tell you what will fit.  From what I've gathered so far, 6.5's will fit with an adapter.  6.75's will fit, but you have to drill new screw holes.

I have some installation specific questions of my own and will be starting my own thread.

As former car stereo installer, I can tell you that you are better off not having to deal with the Bose crap. When I decided I wanted an Avalanche, it was the worst part of my search, to find one without it. I wouldn't even look at one with it.

I bought a pretty standard Polk 6.5" component set from Crutchfield and traced the teeter mount on a piece of cheap lauan, popped a hole to flush the new tweeter in the center, then cut out the piece and painted it black.

As for the power question. I spent that entire "career" trying to explain this . Ignore "watts, wattage, power-handling..." these are useless and irrelevant. I have never personally seen a speaker blown from over powering it in my life. Nearly every blown speaker I've handled was from under-powering it. Though it doesn't matter, I bet the stock head doesn't put out more than 10 watts per channel (individual speaker output). When you try to listen to a speaker at a higher volume than the available power can create, it begins to move less controlled (this is where distortion comes from). That is the point where the sound gets distorted, rougher sounding, popping, scratchy... The voice coil stops moving as linear because of the lack of power to control its movement. It starts to get hotter from friction and eventually wear out. Bass compounds this even worse because the lower the frequency, the more power required to reproduce it accurately.
Back from my ranty lesson, the number you want and I usually look at is "sensitivity". That is the efficiency measurement of the speaker. The higher it is, the louder it will play on less power. You usually will never find an aftermarket speaker close to the efficiency of a normal factory speaker. The manufacturers do it to save money, it plays loud for less production cost. Thats why most people end up eventually getting an amplifier - but that's another lesson - LOL