Stereo Upgrade for White Haven Chevy Silverado

A while back, the owner of this 2016 Chevy Silverado traveled down from White Haven to talk to the team at Mobile Edge about upgrading the stereo in his truck. He wasn’t happy with how loudly the system played and wanted more bass to make the music sound more realistic. After inspecting the vehicle and talking with the client, we auditioned several amplifier, speaker and subwoofer upgrade options on the display boards in our store. The client chose speakers, an amplifier and subwoofer from Hertz, and we suggested an AudioControl interface that would let the system work with the factory radio.

Chevy Truck Speaker Upgrade

The tweeters were mounted in the factory locations.

Our fabricators created mounting adapters for the speakers.

The doors were treated with sound deadener to help reduce resonances.

The Hertz woofer was mounted in our new plates.

We added foam rings to the woofers to help maximize their output.

We started by removing the stock 6×9 speakers from the doors and the little midrange drivers from the dash to make way for a set of Hertz HSK 165 XL 6.5-inch component speakers. Our fabrication team created a set of mounting adapters for the woofers that would allow them to bolt into the original door speaker location. We added a set of foam gaskets to the back of the adapters to help prevent water from damaging the speakers. Once bolted to the door, we added a layer of Hushmat sound deadening material to ensure everything is sealed correctly. With the speakers in place, we added a second set of foam coupling gaskets to the front of the doors to seal the speaker to the door panel. These gaskets improve midbass response and reduce distortion caused by sound bouncing around inside the door panel.

The tweeters from the Hi Energy-Series components are mounted in the dash of the truck. The stock mounting locations are angled toward the driver and passenger to help improve the on-axis response from the speakers. Hertz kindly includes plastic mounting adapters with the kit, so we didn’t have to fabricate anything to complete the installation.

The rear doors were upgraded with a set of Hertz HCX165 coaxial 6.5-inch speakers to match those mounted in the front doors. We treated the rear doors with the same application of sound deadening material and acoustic coupling gaskets.

Hertz Dieci 12-inch Subwoofer Upgrade

The subwoofer enclosure fit perfectly under the seat.

As we’ve mentioned many times, adding a subwoofer is one of the biggest upgrades you can make to a car audio system. The owner of this Silverado chose a Hertz Dieci-Series DS300.3 subwoofer for his truck. We mounted the sub in an Audio Enhancers subwoofer enclosure that is designed specifically for these trucks. The enclosure fits under the rear seat and the sub points at the floor of the vehicle.

Custom Chevrolet Silverado Amp Rack

Mike used our welding table to build the amplifier mount.

The metal amplifier rack bolts to the back wall of the truck.

The client chose a five-channel Hertz HCP 5D amp to power the audio system. This amp is rated to produce 65 watts of power to the front and rear speakers, and an impressive 330 watts to the subwoofer. We used an AudioControl LC7i line-level interface to convert the output signal of the factory radio into a preamp signal that will work with the Hertz amp. We added an ACR1 remote level control to the processor to function as a bass adjustment for the system. We mounted the control within easy reach of the driver, so adjustments are quick and easy.

Our fabrication team created one of our welded steel racks to mount the amp, processor and passive crossovers on the back wall of the truck. You can see each of the pieces of the rack laid out on our table before Mike welded them together. We paint each rack with corrosion-resistant paint to prevent any surface rust. Once bolted to the truck, we mounted the equipment and set to work making all the electrical connections and running the wiring to the new speakers and the factory radio module.

Chevy Silverado Stereo Upgrade Project

With everything installed, the last step was to set the levels on the AudioControl interface and the crossover and sensitivity controls on the amplifier. It took about two days to complete the installation, and the client was thrilled with the way the new stereo in his Silverado sounds. If you’re interested in upgrading the sound system in your car or truck, drop by Mobile Edge in Lehighton. Feel free to click the red button below to send our team an e-mail to schedule your personal consultation.