New RV Speakers

[sourdough]

Bought the new HC. When walking thru noticed there were no ceiling speakers anymore. Saw that in many models we looked at. Hmmm, what IS that I thought? How would they sound? Well, like crap.

Mine has the little rectangular speakers on either side of the stereo head above the "fireplace" (last trailer was so much nicer). No overhead; no soundbar - just those little speakers. Turned them on during walkthrough and my ears revolted - sounded like a 1920's message through a tin can. Figured I would fix that; and I have.

Short of rebuilding the interior to get some decent sound for movies I thought I wanted a new head; stereo, DVD etc. along with speakers. So called Crutchfield to discuss. There are not decent replacements for the Furrion head without completely tearing out the existing framing/cutouts - they are what they are. Since "tinny" sound was my issue I decided to opt for new speakers before going full blown "tear it out". I don't like loud music anymore but I DO like to hear my MDK (murder/death/kill) movies at a pretty decent volume...enough to overcome the AC when running.

Pulled the speakers, and folks if you have that kind of junk in your RV throw it away. They are some sort of Furrion plastic molded, way el cheapo something I've never seen. The speaker is FORMED into the little plastic back mount - amazingly cheap. I was dumbfounded.

Tried to figure out what to do to fit that cutout; no one makes a speaker or enclosure to fit so the next thing would be making custom mounts and the associated woodwork - had to be a better idea. So measured the speakers as they sat inside that junky little mount. 4" approx. Spoke with Harley at Crutchfield and gave the measurements. After looking at all the measurements and the speakers that would fit she recommended the JBL Concert 421F. Speaker diameter was 3 5/8". PERFECT!

Got them today and went forward with the replacement. Pull the plastic speaker mount/speakers. Take them to the shop and use a Dremel cutoff blade to remove the little plastic posts that hold that speaker. Take a razor knife and cut the little "rubber" isolation ring around the speaker that is actually molded into that plastic mount. The hole is then "exactly" the size for the new JBL to drop into. Clock it where you want, drill 4 mounting holes, grab some 10x32 screws/lock washers/nuts, and mount to the little plastic backing then screw it back to the interior woodwork.

This may help some, and I am happy with the change. Not as good as my last trailer but at least it sounds pretty good (FAR better than the OE) and not like an old Gene Autry recording scratching through a 1950 phonograph.

[flybouy]

Check and see if they have a subwoofer installed. It could be powered off or disabled in the radio settings. If not, I'd suggest getting one. It will make an amazing difference.

[B-O-B'03]

Kind of a shame to have to do this to a brand new trailer?

Folks will know what to look out for now, thanks for posting.

-Brian

[Inspector128]

Just picked up our High Country last week and also noticed the cheap speakers. I haven’t had time to look into options but here is my question. Is it possible to purchase a sound bar and subwoofer and wire them up to the Furrion? If so, I’d like to just disconnect the Furrion speakers and leave them.

The 8 track player in my Oldsmobile sounds better!

[Keystoned]

Pretty sad state of affairs. Getting creative always helps. I second some kind of woofer option since those 4" replacements will have no bass at all.

[Northofu1]

How many cars/ trucks have you owned that had an awesome sound system?
Other than the German vehicles, most are garbage. Now, you can upgrade, but most of those from the dealership systems are garbage as well. You can change speakers all you want, they will never sound better until you change the head unit. The wattage of most standard head units is disgustingly low. I like Alpine, Kenwood, Polk Audio, just my preference. That being said, I don't spend that much time in my trailer to warrant those kinds of upgrades. A $99 to $200 dollar Logitech computer sound system rocks your trailer if connected to a decent TV. I use Samsung. Out door speakers? why? lol
As much as I love Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Yes, Emerson Lake and Palmer, and Myles Davis as well as host of other awesome rock and Jazz bands, no one wants to hear that crap at a camp site. I use a small blue tooth speaker if sitting around with Serena, or headphones if I'm hiking alone.
JM2CW :cool:

[sourdough]

Just picked up our High Country last week and also noticed the cheap speakers. I haven’t had time to look into options but here is my question. Is it possible to purchase a sound bar and subwoofer and wire them up to the Furrion? If so, I’d like to just disconnect the Furrion speakers and leave them.

The 8 track player in my Oldsmobile sounds better!



My initial thought was of a sound bar but the way mine is laid out there isn't anywhere to put it other than the ceiling or a complete revamp of the cabinetry and certainly not worth it. A subwoofer in an RV is sort of a no no to me (I've ran down/run off many that insist I need to feel my walls vibrate to "their" rap etc.). It's just not soundproofed enough to run something like that; same goes for high output receivers/speakers or outside speakers.

There are lots of things a person could do if they wanted to tear out a wall of a new RV to put in top of the line audio equipment and build around it but to me that is a 100% waste of time and money.

As far as new "high output", top of the line type receivers for an RV double DIN? Per Crutchfield there are none that fit that description and your pretty much limited to Jensen, Furrion and maybe one other. Outputs are about the same. That being the case the only option left is to upgrade the speakers. As I mentioned in the original post, the OEM Furrion speakers are just cheap beyond belief along with the sound. The JBL speakers are quite amazing for such a little speaker and are acceptable - in fact the tech at Crutchfield recommended them (along with Crutchfield) as the best option. They made that determination after a sound test of all the available speakers in that size range.

I'm used to "surround" sound in my old trailer and my homes with the sound coming from "up there". I takes a little getting used to when the sound now comes from directly in front of me only. I'll get used to it though - the TV, radio, DVD etc. aren't my primary things to do.

[Keystoned]

I replaced my dead irv33 with a double din Boss DVD unit and an a/b switch to make up for only 2 'zones'. I repurposed the irv faceplate to keep the form factor and appearance. I'm sure it sounds much better than the irv ever did. Also replaced the main speakers with some 6.5" kenwood coaxials that I already had. I bought the boss unit from crutchfield and my total cost for the new parts is only about $150.
Anyone interested in a pic?