Disclaimer: *** I do not nor does anyone I know work for any of the companies mentioned below. Nor do I own any stock in them, etc... Just passing on something that worked well for me.***

After spending a cool $38K for my '03 EB Expy with audiophile stereo and factory DVD, I found myself a little disappointed with the sound of the music. The bass was really pretty nice, but the mids and highs were muted and annoying - especially since my wife and I are both music nuts.

I have always heard that factory speakers leave something to be desired - as do factory tuners, amps, cd's, etc... But I like the integration of the factory stereo to the buttons on the steering wheel and to the DVD system. I decided the head unit was staying, but new speakers couldn't hurt.

So I called Crutchfield (www.crutchfield.com) and talked to one of their car stereo guys. Not being very knowledgable in brands of speakers these days, I asked him for a recommendation. The first words out of his mouth were Polk Audio. He recommended two pair of Polk db570's for the front and rear doors. He also sold me a tool to pry up the panels without breaking the fasteners.

$100 for the first pair, $50 for the second pair (buy one, get the second for 50% off), $9 for the pry tool, $11 for shipping. Total: $170 delivered to my door in two days.

The Crutchfield kit came with free detailed instructions customized with pictures for the '03 Expedition. The were dead-on. Told me exactly where every fastener was and in which order to remove things. Crutchfield also included free adapters to connect the factory wiring harnesses to the new speakers without cutting, stripping or soldering any wires. IMPRESSIVE! (I might have saved a little money by shopping around for the Polks, but those free instructions and adapters were worth at least as much as the speakers to me...)

I'm no professional, but I did install a few car stereos in my younger days. This whole thing took me about 1:45. The first door taking about 45 minutes. The second took 30 minutes. The third and fourth taking about 15 each. It was really easy! Surprisingly so actually.

When I take on a stereo project, I usually expect to end up making a trip to Radio Shack, the dealership, or to a professional installer when I realize that something's missing or broken, but this was a lay-up. All I needed were: a philips screwdriver, a T-20 Torx driver, a 7mm nutdriver, needle-nosed pliars, the pry tool, and a roll of electrical tape (to hold the wires close to the speaker so they don't hang in the way of the window glass.)

The sound is really nice! I don't want to exaggerate or overstate it, but the improvement was more than worth the time and $170. Now the highs and mids are smooth and crystal clear to match the full lows from the factory subwoofer. DVD's are incredible! Turn on the DSP 'hall echo' setting and put in an action movie. Wow...

Not surprising, the factory speakers in the back doors were flimsy pieces of paper with whizzer cones for tweeters. The front speakers were, however, nicer two-way units with real, separate tweeters. They were also in enclosed plastic boxes. Much nicer than expected from the factory, but still no match for the clarity of the Polks.

I'm sure there are other speakers that would sound just as good or better than the Polks, but i haven't tried them so I can't say. If you want to try this yourself, just make sure the replacements are the right size - including depth and how far the tweeter protrudes. The Polks fit with only minor adjustments made with pliars and 3" of electrical tape.

If anyone wants the gory details, reply with your email address and I'll let you know a few tricks I learned.

Andy

 

how about giving us the play-by-play on how to remove the door panels.

thanks!

 

*Disclaimer - Do this at your own risk. I am not a professional installer, nor do I play one on TV. I have done this exactly one time myself. This information is totally worthless. In other words, you're on your own!*

That said, it's pretty simple really. First *carefully* pry up the panel at the front of the armrests where the switches are. Carefully, because the first one I pulled, I got overzealous and pulled the switches out of the panel. What you want to do is pry the panel up and pull the connectors off the switches. You have to press little 'buttons' on the connectors to get them loose.

Next pull the inside door handle open and pry the trim panel around it off starting at the rear. Should come right off...

Then pry the ~1" x 6" oval panel behind/under the armrest off. You will see two Torx T-20 screws, remove them.

Then go to the top rear edge of the door (inside the frame when door is closed) and remove a single philips screw.

Then go to the bottom of the door and remove the two 7mm screws with a nutdriver.

On the front doors, you will need to pry up the area just inside the rearview mirror. Start at the top and it pops right out.

Lastly, slide the entire panel "up" about 1" and you will be holding the whole thing in your hands.

Speakers are held in by four 7mm screws.

To put it back on, reverse. One piece of advice on the front doors is to open the window before reinstalling. This will allow you to reach through and position the door lock button to go into the hole on the panel. Back doors, it doesn't seem to matter.

You can tighten the T-20's prett tight. Be careful with the philips screw and the 7mm screws as they go into plastic backings that could strip pretty easily. Snug should suffice.

Good luck!

 

Thanks, Andy-Expy03! I would have understood if you didn't want to share that info since you did pay for it when you purchased your speakers but this is what's great with this forum. Initial investment that people make in time and resources shared so that others can benefit. Your info will definitely help me in the future since I'm planning on upgrading mine, too. For now, I'm planning on installing an overhead monitor, DVD, tuner system and I hope to do it myself so I'm trying to gather info on that, also. But even if I end up having it done professionally, I will post what I know so I can help somebody else save some $$$. Again, thanks much!

 

If any of you live in Northern Va, I have 2 pair of Kenwood Speakers that I will sell and install for you! ( I don't remember the model #'s, but they are 5x7/6x8 Blue poly cone - RMS 80w and peak 200)!!! I took them out of my Son's car after he messed up big time and I decided to sell it.... They cost me $180 for both pairs.... I'll install them for $120 (speakers and time).... All you will need to do is stop by any Best Buy or Circuit City and get the Speaker adaptor wires....

It will take about 2 hours to complete ....

 

Andy, you sold me. I went to Crutchfield and ordered the same setup tonite. We also are very disappointed with the sound quality from the standard 6 disc head unit in our 2003 XLT especially as related to the AM/FM sound quality.

My concern is whether the nonaudiophile indash 6 disk head unit will have adequate power for these speakers as the Audiophile setup in the EB has higher output according to the information I have seen.

 

Lalla, don't be too concerned about the power. Most listening is done at levels under five watts RMS (average power). Main differences ahould be at the highest volumes - if at all. I noticed that the sensitivity of the Polks is roughly the same as the factory speakers. Meaning the volume should be about the same as you have now - only with better quality sound...

Maybe even more so with the XLT's premium system vs. the audiophile. Not sure if the factory speakers in it have separate tweeters in the fronts like the audiophiles. If not, you're in for a HUGE change.

Hope you like yours as much as I do mine. The Expy is my wife's daily driver and I "borrowed" it today to get its oil changed. Dang that stereo sounds good now... Definitely on par with the factory Bose, 7-amplifier system in my Benz.

Let us know how your experience goes.

 

Oh, some tricks I learned in installing the Polk db570's....

They came with plastic trim spacers taped on the top of them (2 small pieces of scotch tape is all that held them in place for packing/shipping). Take these and put them on the back side of the speaker and tape them in place. This makes the speaker stick out a little further and the mounting screws the came from the factory will work. This is pretty important for a good fit, took me about fifteen minutes to figure out.

Also, there are two extra mounting-hole "ears" on the speaker that are in the way when you try to set it into the door. You'll see what I mean. Just bend the tabs up, out of the way with pliars. Ninety degree bend towards the car's interior will suffice.

Another thing I found was that the wiring adapters hung in the way of the glass window and would make a clack when the window was rolled down. Just use some good duct or electrical tape to secure the plastic plugs to the metal back of the speaker so it's out of the way of the window track. Use plenty of tape so they don't rattle or vibrate. Also don't let the wires or the tape touch the speaker cone, or you'll get a buzzing sound when the stereo's on.

I never used any of the screws or mounting hardware that came with the Polks. Didn't need them... Just my $.02 - good luck!

 

All,
I had the same experience with my 2000 EB expy.
This has a factory Mach system. I replaced the factory speakers with Kenwood in the front and Alpine's in the back. However, I had additional isues in that I wanted to incorperate an Alpine power amp for the speakers along with an Alpine EQ. and still using the factory sub and power amp and head unit.
The speakers were purchased from Crutchfield,
they supplied directions on how to install the speakers. In addition, I aslo installed Dynamats behind each speaker for sound dampening.
This system ROCKS!!
If anybody need wiring info on how this was
done or info that Crutchfield sent me, I can
scan the Crutchfield docs in and E-Mail them to
you. let me know.

KingSwing

 

Man this is a great post! I just bought an 03 Expy and this was the first place I came. Besides getting freaked out about all the A/C problems I wanted to hear what other owners thought of their SUV. I have the Nav system in my Expy and I also can't stand my audio! The sound is very muddy in the mids and highs and there's more than just lows comming from the 8" sub! I have a 99 Lexus GS300 with the Nakamichi sound and am spoiled rotten.

I was wondering if a Crossover is necessary for this setup? I plan on upgrading my speakers but am also concerned about getting good separation in sound. Has anyone replace their sub?

 

Well the speakers were waiting for me on the front porch when I arrived home from work today but I had to wait until the wife arrived home from work with the Expy to begin the install. The Polk speakers, tools, cables, and instructions had all arrived just as ordered. I immediately got all tools gathered and speakers/ adapter cables assembled then waited for the wife to arrive. With the helpful instructions Andy had provided and the installation instructions from Crutchfield I had them installed about an hour and a half later.

I expected there to be an improvement but I was amazed at just how much better the system sounded now. I would definitely recommend the Polk's but other major brands would sound just as well. I was amazed at just how clear the audio was even at the higher volumes. On a scale from 1 to 10 I give the difficulty of this installation a 3.

Thanks Andy for your assistance!

 

It's amazing what this thread has started. I ordered mine from Crutchfield and expect them in on Monday. I took it one step futher and bought another sub woofer too <b>(Kenwood KFC-W2005 8" 4-ohm Comp)</b> since I wasn't all that impressed with the low range from the factory installed P.O.S. I should have them installed by Monday eve.

 

Biggus, let us know how the subwoofer installation goes. I've heard you have to take a lot of panels off to get to it. Also let us know about the quality of the factory woofer and the difference the Kenwood makes. Which 5x7's did you get?

 

No problemo, I'll even take pictures and post them on my website. I got the same 5x7s that we all got db570s!

 

dking69.. Can you email me the installation instructions.. My email address is kaositivity(No Email Addresses In Posts!).... Does that include instructions for rear tailgate speakers??