Speaker Install in 2007 non-JBL

I haven't found much specific about replacing the front speakers in the non-JBL sound system, so, using Sparky's great write-up on the rears I decided to figure it out for myself.

I replaced my front speakers with Infinity Reference 5010cs component speakers. Only 5 1/4", I know, but they were on sale at Crutchfield. I also replaced the rears with Sony GT1325A 5 1/4" two-ways.

Sparky's guide is still dead-on for the 2007's for door removal. Both rear and front come out as described, with two screws and a bunch of clips. The only excitement I had there is that on the rear doors there is a piece of foam insulation that is not glued well to the door panel. On both sides it fell off and had to be held in place while re-attaching the panel (a somewhat tricky process unless you happen to be an octopus).

The most interesting bit is the wiring of the crossover for the front speakers. I don't know how earlier models are wired, but for the 2007 the signal pair from the head unit goes to a four-conductor connector attached directly to the tweeter. The crossover is enclosed in a sealed plastic housing that this connector is molded into. I guessed that the second pair from this connector runs to the woofer. After much removing of rubber coverings I was able to verify this by tracing the wires.

To connect the crossover I cut off the tweeter connector, leaving about 4" of wire on the connector to give me plenty to play with if I ever decide to put it back. I could have just popped the connector off and tapped the four wires if I'd really been concerned about not modifying the stock harness.

On the front left door the incoming audio from the head unit is on a pink+/violet- pair, as in previous years. The pair running from the tweeter to the woofer, however, is black+/yellow-. I connected these to the appropriate posts on the crossover. On the Infinity replacement tweeter I cut off the original connectors and used crimp-on butt splices to add about 18" of additional wire to get flexibility in location of the crossover. After connecting the tweeter leads to the crossover I stuck it in place with 2" of velcro, verified that everything worked, and closed it up. (Hereby glossing over the part where my original crossover location intefered with the window, resulting in all the wires being torn loose and having to dissassemble everything again. Test that location before you button up!)

The front right had one additional challenge. The incoming audio is a green+/blue- pair. The same color is used between the tweeter and the woofer, meaning that there were two green/blue pairs at the connector. Both are buried in a knot of wiring about mid-door so tracing the lead back to the woofer was a bit of a challenge. I finally just turned the radio on and tested both pairs with the stock speaker to see which one was the incoming signal, then marked that pair with some tape. Other than that the hookup was the same as the left side.

The Infinity tweeters are a little thicker than the stock tweeters, even after I peeled the attached grill off. This prevents the stock clips from grabbing them. I finally settled on super-glue - we'll see how well that works.

There was nothing special about the woofer installation, either front or back. Sparky's walk-through for the rear doors works equally well for the front. The rivets holding the speakers are a pain to drill out, though - they have a tendency to spin rather than cut.

Overall it took about two hours on the front left door while I figured out the wiring and the crossover placement, 30 minutes on the front right, and about 15 minutes each on the two back doors.

I have to say it made a big difference even without an amplifier. The stock speakers are pretty cheap, with a tiny magnet and paper cone. Even the tweeters were pretty poor. With these speakers and the powered sub I installed earlier I may decide I don't need an amp at all. I'll have to get used to the sound of these speakers for awhile before I'm sure, of course.