Repeat St. Peter Client Upgrades Ram 1500 Audio System

A repeat client from St. Peter dropped by Sweet Sounds to discuss upgrades to his 2017 Ram 1500 audio system. He just purchased the truck from Lagers of St. Peters. The client wanted them to bring it to our shop so we could upgrade the stereo system. Having installed several sound systems for this client over the past seven years, we know how he likes to enjoy his music. We were able to design and upgrade the stereo system so it would sound exactly the way he wants.

Custom Ram 1500 Audio System Subwoofer Enclosure

The underside of the enclosure is fiberglass.

The top of the enclosure was carpeted with a matching carpet.

The completed enclosure looks like it could be a factory upgrade.

The enclosure was built to leave room for the speaker beneath the seat.

The first step was to construct a custom subwoofer enclosure. None of the prefab enclosures available for this truck provides the airspace we wanted for the Memphis Bass Reference BRX1044 10-inch subwoofer. We wanted to use a full-depth sub in this application to provide as much output as possible.

After masking off the storage compartment under the passenger-side rear seat, we laid down several layers of resin-impregnated fiberglass. Fiberglass is relatively light and very strong. It also makes excellent use of the available space. Once the resin cured, we attached we created an MDF top for the enclosure and wrapped it in grey trunk carpet. We added a PRXG12 mesh grille from Memphis to protect the woofer from damage.

Five Channel Amplifier

We wanted a simple but high-power amplifier solution for the Ram. We suggested the Memphis MA850.5M five channel amp. Our plan was to configure the amp as a three-channel to provide 200 watts of power to the front speakers and up to 300 watts for the subwoofer. The audio signal for the amp is sourced from the factory radio using a PAC AmpPRO4 AP4-CH41 CAN bus interface. The interface effectively converts the output of the factory radio into the same signal we’d get from an aftermarket unit for clean and clear sound.

Focal Front Speaker Upgrade

To complete the project, we installed a set of Focal PS165V1 6.5-inch components in the front of the truck. The woofers from the set are mounted in the factory door locations on custom-made adapters. The tweeters from the set are mounted in the factory dash speaker location on another set of adapters.

The last step was to tune this Ram 1500 audio system using the AmpPRO4 interface and controls on the source unit and amplifier. The system sounds fantastic, and the client is thrilled with the performance. If you are in the Mankato or Minneapolis area and are looking for an audio system upgrade for your vehicle, drop by Sweet Sounds or send us an e-mail using our contact page.