Radio/Speaker upgrade - pictures

[Jack B]

Asw we all know the viper oem radio (97) has an anemic tuner and does nothing to dress up the interior. The speakers are also inadequete. I wanted to upgrade the sound and secondly get something that also looked good.

After a little research I selected the Sony Xplode speakers in the front. The sound was a huge improvement and the speakers were silver with exposed red cones. They look is very contemporary.

I picked a new Pioneer tuner. It contains a single CD player, it also has MP3 capability and is set up for Satellite radio. The screen graphics are amazing. The front face drops down and exposes another screen. The look is very simialr to the Sony speakers. When you combine the speakers and radio with the MGW accessories the interior look is drastically improved.

If you want to keep the oem amps, any upgrade must have the pre-outs like the Pioneer unit. Because of the difference in connectors and and a lack of space behind the viper radio it is a very difficult. You must take off the lower dash covering on the the drivers side and try to pull the mass of connections behind the radio to the left so that the radio will seat. To get clearance for the drop down screen I also had to shim the radio out 5/8".

 

[jimandela]

The door speakers look great!
Nice choice, the matching red!!!
sweet!
I too will be swapping front speakers in the next few weeks.
Any problems with fit in the doors? what size ? 6-1/2?


Jim

 

[TZL]

does the stock viper head unit have RCA outs?

does the stock viper head unit have RCA outs?

 

[Jack B]

Re: does the stock viper head unit have RCA outs?

The speakers fit perfect. The stock head doesn't have a rca out. Take a look below on the diagram, it has a rectanular/flush connector and and round connector on a cord.

I've done this on a couple of vipers and they both required splicing. This one was difficult becuase the new head was very complex with input and output connections. The Gen I, has sufficient room to contain the splices, the Gen II is tough due to the lack of room behind the radio. I am including a pic of the center console bezel, it is easy to remove if you know where the clips are.

If you haven't seen the new graphic fronts on these digital heads you cannot believe how they enhance the look of the interior.

 

[AJ]

so 6 1/2 fit in the front? how much space is behind the speakers? (i am thinking boston accoustics pro 6 1/2s, but they are kinda deep...

thanx in advance

alex
02 gts
few other cars

 

[jackson]

Questions

Jack (or others)-

I am looking to make some upgrades in this area, but have several questions - any help would be much appreciated:

Should any/most 6.5" speakers work in the doors? Which other make/models did you look at before deciding on the Sony?

What about the speaker in the center b/n the seats - what size is that? It is really just a woofer, isn't it?

Did you keep the oem amp? If you wanted to change the amp, could you just swap the old for the new - or would it require additional wiring?

Thank you for any help as I get started on this.

 

[Viper Specialty]

I am installing Rockford Fosgate Fanatic HPC2206 full range speakers in my doors, and two 6.5" JBL SW-0 Subwoofers in my trunk tonight-(yes, these are REAL subs, and finding 6.5's is a B*TCH!). These SHOULD yeild a lot of bass and excellent vocals, we will see tonight. let you all know...

 

[Jack B]

The Sony Xplode's are a 6.5" and fit nicely (a little trimming) in the door. I choose them after listening to about a dozen different speakers. In addition, the cones were polypropylene (for durability) There is a lot of room behind the speakers and the oem speakers were 5.5". The plus, was the red exposed cone that matches a red viper.

I put a pair of high end Kenwood full range speakers in the rear. I couldn't find just woofers, plus, I didn't feel with the air volume behind the speakers that dedicated woofers would add too much. The base in the car is now about as all you can stand due to the close quarters. Another interesting point, the Pioneer head has the ability to send just the woofer frequencies to the rear speakers if you choose to do so.