hey everyone, i have a 2006 f250 xlt and im looking to get a better sound out of the stereo. the question is however is will it make that much of a differance from the stock speakers. i would be looking at replacing the 4 door speakers but also adding a sub behind the seat

 

I replaced the speakers in my 2005 with Kenwood speakers.. The mid and high end sound 1000% better, but now there is no bass at all, most aftermarket speakers are not designed for bass, they are designed for mids and highs. I am not looking for house shaking bass, so I did add a 8" slim subwoofer under the drivers seat, I love the how it all sounds now

 

I went with a Kenwood deck, Kenwood 500w mono amp, and 2 10" kenwood subs. I plan on upgrading my doors and adding a 4 channel amp down the road, but for now my bass hits clean and hard, and the doors only distort when I have it turned up fairly loud. I drive about 25k a year in my truck, and I am a music lover, so good tunes are important to me. Rap sounds so much better, pantera just sounds downright evil, and country really stirs my soul now that I have decent bass!

 

Depends on what your definition of "better" is!

It is not as easy as it used to be to get great improvements in sound QUALITY (accuracy in reproducing the original recording), as the better factory systems are equalized to the acoustics of the cab.
Yes, it is very easy to make it LOUDER (that's good enough for most folks!), but to make it more acoustically accurate? That is tougher. But can be done and soooo worth it.

But with some effort, you can get louder and MUCH better sound.
1) A well designed subwoofer is an easy improvement that will help 99% of the time.
2) Better quality speakers, amps, and sources can be a huge improvement in both volume and accuracy, but only if well installed and if properly matched or equalized for cab acoustics.

If you have lots of $$$, take it to a high end audio shop.
If you have lots of time and smarts, d-i-y. Start with an audio test CD that plays specific frequencies and an inexpensive dB meter. You can get both for under $100. Then start tweaking to get all frequencies as close to the same level as possible.
In my truck, I was able to get all frequencies to within 6 dB (with a couple narrow band spikes higher than that) just using the parametric eq's in the head unit, the crossovers and eq functions on the amplifiers, and tweaking the passive crossovers for the mid and high freq speakers. It was a couple weeks of tweaking a couple hours per day... and lots of experiments.
6 dB is still quite a bit of variation, but more accurate than 99% of vehicles - and accurate enough for my ears to be quite happy! Getting to 3 dB would be awesome, but would take a LOT more money and tweaking.

 

if all frequency are at the same DB wouldn't that make the sound "flat".. I am not very a/v smart, but that is just what comes to mind when hearing everything is the same DB..

 

I kept my factory head unit & just changed the factory speakers ... went with Kenwood Excelon KFC-X683C 6X8's. For a little more bass ... I added a Kenwood KSC-SW10 Powered Enclosed Subwoofer inside the center console. It fits nicely with no major mods needed.

This set-up works well for me & matches the sound of a factory premium audio system in other vehicles (to my ears anyway).

See this thread for more info ...
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-speakers.html

 

I replaced my 06's head unit with a pioneer and that made a ton of difference.

I might have thought about the speakers but traded it off. The 2012 speakers really stink.
Just put kicker Q2's in and a new kenwood deck and 10" sub behind the back seat. Can't wait to pick it up tomorrow.

 

I just installed a pioneer dvd head unit in my 03 cc. It is awesome! If you add a good head unit and some decent subs behind seat you can turn on high pass filter to take lows out of factory door speakers and they actually sound really good. I have been a dj for 24 yrs and love audio equipment. I had same setup in my last truck and same results, take the lows out of factory speakers and you will be amazed the sound quality you will receive out of them. I have a crossfire amp and 2 10" pioneer premier shallow subs and pioneer avh-2400bh.

 

Stock speakers suck. It's worth replacing them, even if you go with cheap aftermarket ones. I mostly listen to talk radio and sports stations, but the difference in sound is noticeable.

 

I would start with head unit and amp and subs then if you dont like door speakers change them last. I am not saying they're the best but when you take lows out and add power from better head unit they sound pretty good. I wouldnt take the time to replace anything with "cheap" equipment thats a waste of time..but then i wouldnt build a home surround sound system to watch jerry springer either.

 

Lots of opinions here, start with a head unit and replacing the stock speakers. If that's not enough for you then go ahead with an amp & subs, lots of options on that.