Looking at upgrading the stock speakers in my 2015. Its an XLT, and I will replace the head unit in the future. Not looking for a whole system right now.

I am looking at the Kicker KS68, or the Infinity Reference 8602cfx.

I haven't seen any threads on just the speakers. Most seem to be going the way of subs and whole systems. Which might happen in the future. Just want something better than stock.

 

I had a set of Infinity's (whatever their top of the line was back then) in my truck at one time, and they were not better than stock. They were worse, in a couple of ways...

First, they didn't last, despite their cones being made of some kind of indestructible plastic like material. Where that material connected to the butyl or whatever it was surround failed. It was as if the speakers were not built to live in the hot environment of a dark colored truck. I contacted Infinity to inform them of the issues with their product, and they said tough luck, no warranty, go buy another set.

I didn't need to. I put a set of stock speakers back in, that were older than the Ininity's, and those stock speakers have not only endured the environment without mechanical or electrical failure, they also sound better with the stock head unit. Which leads to the second issue...

Stock speakers are impedance matched to the power of the stock head unit. For an aftermarket set of speakers to sound better, they might require more power, even at lower volumes, than the stock head unit can deliver distortion free.

While popping door speakers in and out might be the simplest, cheapest, and easiest thing to DO to one's audio system, that doesn't necessarily mean that the doing will yield an actual improvement. It might lead to a sense of self satisfaction that something has been done, and therefore it is better, and the mind can easily bend that way on something as subjective as sonic quality. But the doing can be the undoing of an already ideally matched system.

I'd consider waiting until you select the head unit you eventually wish to upgrade to, and then selecting speakers to match based on the power delivery and impedance specifications of the new head unit. And, there might very well be better sound per dollar invested with an amp and subwoofer, depending on what you listen to. Both of these points might help explain why there are so few threads on just replacing speakers alone. There might not be enough benefit in doing just that to make the effort and expense worthwhile, without also doing the other stuff.

I usually only listen to talk radio and the news... so when I say my speakers failed, you can be certain it wasn't from playing music too loudly.

 

The stock speakers on an XLT suck. Plain and simple.
Changing them out to any better-quality co-axial speakers will be a noticeable improvement.

The OP won't have audiophile sound by any means - but it's the least expensive way to get "improved" sound in our trucks.

Unfortunately - you still won't get any more bass, even with new speakers. The Ford head unit is designed to work within the limitations of the stock speakers and it rolls off the bass frequencies below ~100 Hz.

 

I'll stay away from Infinity. I've done this before with Polk and Sony, and good results from both. But it's been a while and haven't tried these speakers. They all have really good reviews.

I know this isn't going to magically make everything amazing. But in most cases, new speakers will provide a real improvement. I plan on going with a Double DIN screen next, most likely just DVD, not Nav, since I should be able to connect for nav. Plus, phones maps are always more up to date.
​​​​
​​​​​

 

I put in the Kenwood Excelon KFC-X683C in my 06, and put Dynamat on the doors. Massive improvement in sound over stock. I run a Kenwood head unit, no amp, but with the stock speakers it sounded anemic. Dynamat really helped the bass and made the truck quieter.

 

i know i know, old thread lol! anyhoo, its been a year, and id like to know if those Kenwood Excelons have stood the test of time.

or if anybod has anything more to say on matching aftermarket speakers with the stock head unit, that's what i'm doing right now lol