Hey does anybody know how to improve stock speakers on a 2002 ranger single cab? I want to hear some better sound quality from my truck at a low cost. The rear speakers do have a problem with the lower frequencies but are great with the higher ones. The ones in the door are all around good with both hi and low. I want to improve my all around sound but i would rather just get a little better bass in from behind. What should i do? is there a frequency converter that would work? I am trying to keep it under at most $50 but no work limit.

 

Short of replacing them or radio itself there isn't much you can do. You could add a dedicated equalizer but I don't think that, by itself, is worth the effort. The only other thing I can think of would be adding sound proofing to the truck itself; that won't improve what you have but would let you hear what you have better.

 

With that kind of budget there really isn't much you're going to be able to do.

To get the results you want, at a minimum you'll want to upgrade the speakers, head unit, or both. If you're willing to search for the sales and maybe wait a little while for them to pop up, you can get decent, but not great speakers for $50-75 a pair. I paid around $100 a pair for some Alpine speakers several years ago that sound pretty good and still work well all these years later. A decent head unit with a few good features will probably cost you $100-150.

Sound deadening will also help quite a bit, but it's also pricey and takes a good bit of work to do correctly if you're doing it yourself. It's simple to do, just takes awhile. It's not going to fit your budget either, though. You'll spend at least a few hundred dollars on the materials. I wouldn't do this until you've upgraded your components though. You won't notice much change with the stock audio system other than less road noise.

 

^^ What he said ^^

If you are strictly looking for lows, you can adjust the equalizer on your stock radio to eliminate all the bass, then buy a standalone subwoofer such as an infinity basslink. These run around $200 though. Just another option.

 

ok so it seams that i need to up my budget. i figured out that all of my sound quality is coming through the speakers in the door. no good sound comes out of the rear speakers

 

Unfortunately as many have said already, you are best off spending a few hundred dollars on a budget set up. That is exactly what I am doing.

Decent speakers (entry-to-mid level) will cost you from $50-150 depending how much you wanna spend.

Spend more money on the speakers for the front rather than the ones for the rear since you will be hearing the ones from the door without anywhere near as much obstruction.

Also consider getting a multichannel amp that can pump some more juice to your speakers for clearer sound ranges. There are a few really nice and very reasonably priced multichannel compact amps from clarion and kicker that fit very discretely under your dash or anywhere else you can mount them. An aftermarket head unit can also give your speakers slightly more wattage than the OE one too.

 

As far as headunits go, you don't have to spend a fortune for one, although do bear in mind that if your stereo is crap then so will your sound no matter how good your speakers are. That being said, a killer head unit won't make crap speakers sound good either.

Take your door panels off and take a look at your speakers. It may surprise you what you have. Turns out, my Ranger has pioneers in it and I didn't find out until recently. If you happen to have the same luck that will save you a good bit of money.

I would buy a head unit first, as well as the install supplies. I got my hands on a kenwood head unit for 90 dollars at Best Buy and it works fantastic for the money. A more expensive setup would ultimately be better but for a budget it's great bang for the buck.

My particular model has several equalizer settings, from a more basic standpoint to a 'pro' type equalizer, allowing you to fine tune each frequency from low to high. It also has a bass booster function to really vibrate your seats.

This is what I bought, specifically. Highly recommended.

 

If you're looking for bass you will need to add a sub. If you are trying to get low end out of a coaxial speaker, you are asking it to play below its mechanical limits causing it to distort. Which is the number one cause for speaker failure. As the old saying goes, you gotta pay to play. A decent radio, speakers in the front and a small 8" or 10" sub and you will be set.