I'd be curious about two things, 1) do all gen3s have 6x9s in the front (W/T owner) and 2) how much space is there before worrying about window stuff?

And thanks for this post, I've been wondering.

 

Is there 7 speakers in the standard system? Did you replace 4 out of the 7? I know the bose system has some additional speakers on the dash.

Colorado | Bose Automotive

Available with a premium Bose system, complete with 7 high-performance speakers.*

automotive.bose.com

 

I think there is only 6 in the non Bose system, I can only find 2 in the dash and one in each door

 

How does it sound? I really wana upgrade the speakers, did it do the trick?

 

It did the trick. Sounds so much clearer and does not distort at higher volumes. Definitely recommend it as an upgrade if you do not have the Bose speakers.

 

How does the new active noise cancelling fit into the system, is it through the door speakers?

 

I don't believe these trucks have ANC.

 

Great post Red - saved me a lot of time doing research. Replaced the front and rear door speakers with some Rockford Fosgate speakers. Didn't notice much difference in back, probably because the seats are in the way, but the fronts made a huge difference. The new speakers have much more bass and overall sounded better.

My only installation tip - whenever you see a red sliding tab on the harnesses, you need to slide it out to release the connectors. All in all, it was about an hour to do all four.

Rear speaker with adapter - 6.5"

Front speaker - 6x9 with adapter

 

I

have the red tabs slid out and they still won't come off

 

Curious what made you guys choose the speakers you did? I’m going to give it another go with speaker replacement in this truck, I’ve decided to go with the Kicker 46CSc6934 fronts.
Why did you guys choose the models you did? These ones have the best rating on Crutchfield I can find, and have a great sensitivity (92) which is what im most worried about when replacing stock speakers on a stock system.
can’t wait to hear them!

 

Curious what made you guys choose the speakers you did? I’m going to give it another go with speaker replacement in this truck, I’ve decided to go with the Kicker 46CSc6934 fronts.
Why did you guys choose the models you did? These ones have the best rating on Crutchfield I can find, and have a great sensitivity (92) which is what im most worried about when replacing stock speakers on a stock system.
can’t wait to hear them!

Please post your impressions of the new speakers, I added a Rockville sub and will probably change the speakers this fall

 

Please post your impressions of the new speakers, I added a Rockville sub and will probably change the speakers this fall

How does the Rockville sound? 8” or 10”? Looking at a few subs, and this one seems to get good reviews.

 

The 10" and yeah it sounds really good for being a stand alone unit as I have a custom built box and separate amp in my Vette. Several guys on the facebook colorado page have bought one after I posted mine and they are all happy with it, the big help is you turn the bass down on the door speakers and it makes those speakers sound super clean

 

For those who have replaced the stock speakers, do the stock speakers indicate if they are 4 ohm?
Thx.

 

Yes, the stock speakers in the base (non-Bose) system are all 4 ohm

 

I just installed JBL GTOs in the front and back. Sounds better but it's still missing the bass like I had in my last gen Bose system. 😭 definitely need an amp to power them better and a small sub. I was hoping just the better speakers would do it but I guess the stock setup just doesn't give enough to aftermarket speakers. (Newbie to audio stuff)

 

So here’s my adventure in a nutshell… replaced the 6x9‘s and 6.5‘s with Kicker CS series, and went to try to get 3.5’s of the same type in but the magnet was too large to comfortably sit in the slot. Picked up a couple Kicker 2.75” medium/tweeters (not sure of model number but adding them made a total difference) even though just the door speakers were a drastic change in and of themselves! I will say the low end gets lost but with a bass heavy/treble light eq I’m super satisfied even without an amp which I was trying to avoid. It wreaked havoc on my Ranger’s sensors, especially auto Start/Stop. But yeah, happy customer and not too difficult of a job for the doors but worth $100 to me to have a professional go into the dash.

 

So did you have the Bose system?

 

Just ordered some new speakers and accessories from Crutchfield.

This video makes it look pretty easy to remove the door panels.

 

I also am no expert but my experience has been to go with what is in your budget but with the highest SPL or db rating, which usually means louder than factory at the same volume, because a 92 db efficient speaker is always going to be louder than a 88 db speaker with the same input, and also the highest rated in your budget range.

Kicker CS series are really good imho. I have a brand new set of 4. I bought them with the intention of installing them in our 2019 ZR2 diesel Colorado but never got around to it. Not sure they can be used in our 2023 ZR2 Colorado with the Bose system or not. I will find a use for them somewhere.

 

I just put the CS series in my truck, they sound pretty good, volume is a little lower now so they could probably use more power.

 

Thanks so much for this thread. It inspired me to replace my front non-Bose door speakers. Went with the Kicker 6x9 and it made a huge difference in sound quality. Couldn’t have been easier!

 

I also upgraded to Kicker 6x9's in the front of my 2023 Trail Boss.

I downloaded a few equalizer apps that took it up another notch. One is Poweramp that I use for MP3's on the USB drive.

The other one I use is Flat Equalizer for Spotify.

Both apps work through the Bluetooth connection, and Poweramp is Android Auto compatible so it shows on the infotainment screen similar to how Spotify does.

With theses apps you can adjust 10 or more equalizer bands, as well as loudness and bass boost. I have found with the upgraded Kicker speakers, you can tweak more clarity and bass out of them since they don’t distort like the factory speakers did.

Just figured I’d put it out there incase anyone wasn’t aware of it!