Speaker upgrade with stock nav head unit

[Isstatu1]

Hello all,

 

I drive a 2015 NV 1500 cargo. The van is overall amazing and i love it to death. The only thing i would like to change in it are the speakers. I would like to upgrade them without swapping out the stock nav head unit. Is there a direct speaker swap available or should I not even bother because it won't improve the audio quality with the stock head unit?

[Glidedon]

I added a sound processor and 2 amplifiers, infinity speakers plus subwoofer to the stock nav unit and it sounds great.

[Isstatu1]

I added a sound processor and 2 amplifiers, infinity speakers plus subwoofer to the stock nav unit and it sounds great.

Could you please share some more details about this project? What speakers did you use?

[Glidedon]

Audio Control LC7 sound processer , this is necessary to work around the OEM limitations on output , put in place to prevent cheap OEM speakers from blowing out.

 

I used cheap ampififires ~ $100.00 (Blaupunkt, Cerwin Vega)

 

cheap subwoofer Sound Ordinance ( Crutchfield house brand)

 

Infinity Component speakers, Dash and doors and pair of 3 ways in back

 

I also used a plug and play harness so no cutting factory wires. There is a link to the harness somewhere in the Audio/Navigation thread.

 

Found the post

http://nissannvforum.com/topic/506-nv-2500-aftermarket-radio-and-door-speaker-installation/?view=findpost&p=2504

Edited November 13, 2017 by Glidedon

[Isstatu1]

Are there any direct swap speakers without additional hardware like amps and wiring harnesses?

[eddiebecerra]

No, even if you just do a speaker swap you won’t be able to directly connect to the aftermarket speaker with the factory connector. You will need a harness adapter which retains the factory connector and allows you to connect to the aftermarket speaker terminals.

 

Your factory radio is the amp so technically you don’t need to buy and extra amp unless you want more power

Edited July 25, 2018 by eddiebecerra

[EnigmaMan]

Honestly, do you intend to put the stock speakers back in your ride?

Why waste the money on multiple factory speaker connectors?

 

I replaced all of my speakers inside with Rockford Fosgate speakers all the way around and you would not believe the sound difference even with the stock headunit! 

 

Also since the panels on the back are wide open with tons of holes, make sure you pick up some sound deadening material to put behind the plastic panels! It makes a huge difference in rattles/ road noise and the slamming of bass :-D

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Noico-deadening-Automotive-Insulation-dampening/dp/B00URUIKAK/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1537887334&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=Noico+80+mil&psc=1

 

I'll ditch the factory Nav head unit with an aftermarket one in a few months to handle a DVD player and setup the visual piece of it! 

Edited September 25, 2018 by EnigmaMan

[iowarhino]

Did you attach the sound deading material to the plastic panels or did you attach to the metal of the van and cover up the "access" holes?   Do you have any pics of what you did?

Thanks!

 

Looking at doing a speaker upgrade/subwoofer/amp but keeping the stock head unit for now and but would love to deaden outside noise/seal up the vehicle first!

 

 

 

Honestly, do you intend to put the stock speakers back in your ride?

Why waste the money on multiple factory speaker connectors?

 

I replaced all of my speakers inside with Rockford Fosgate speakers all the way around and you would not believe the sound difference even with the stock headunit! 

 

Also since the panels on the back are wide open with tons of holes, make sure you pick up some sound deadening material to put behind the plastic panels! It makes a huge difference in rattles/ road noise and the slamming of bass :-D

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Noico-deadening-Automotive-Insulation-dampening/dp/B00URUIKAK/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1537887334&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=Noico+80+mil&psc=1

 

I'll ditch the factory Nav head unit with an aftermarket one in a few months to handle a DVD player and setup the visual piece of it! 

[EnigmaMan]

You should apply it directly to the metal. Usually the stuff has a self adhesive on the back with a roller and you roll the stuff on. It's a little time consuming but worth it in the end of the think.

 

When I pull off the door panels I'll be sure to take photos of this process!

[iowarhino]

EnigmaMan................I tore the whole back end apart and sound proofed inside and out, the sliding door, the driver and passenger door.   All i have left to do is between headliner and the roof.   But just with the back done, it made a HUGE difference on our summer road trip (7 states and just shy of 2400 miles).   I could hear the kids talking all the way in the back without shouting while driving 75 with all terrain tires.   I also upgraded speakers and new head unit.

 

sound material i used: 1 - this stuff i used for rolling on the bare metal closest to the interior trim panels (you can see the dark black in the pics)   https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BKKZ1AM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

2 - this stuff i used inside the wall compartments and stuck it on the "inside of the outside" wall of the van  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FYLM47D/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

with 1 box of the roll-on stuff and 2 boxes of the thicker just adhesive stuff I was able to do the entire rear of the van, back doors, sliding door, and both driver/passenger door.   My wife IMMEDIATELY noticed that the van stayed cooler inside when running AC and didnt get as hot sitting in the sun turned off in a parking lot making it easier to cool down faster (and it will get even better when i get the headliner/roof part insulated).

 

I put Alpine speakers in the rear 6x9 spots and also put in Alpine components in the front for the driver/passenger door and the tweeters on the dash.   I installed a Pioneer AVIC-5201 head unit which proved to be the most challenging trying to get all the wires connected in the right spots.  Crutchfield bailed me out a couple times with great customer service, but I was also able to find a shortcut to wiring the reverse gear signal for backup cam auto turn-on.   

 

Soundproofing took me an entire day (by myself, could shorten it quite a bit with a helper) and the head unit replacment would prob be about half a day minus the wiring issues i ran into (someone has posted on here a great MS Word doc of the instructions how to get the dash apart and I'd give them an A+).

Edited September 10, 2019 by iowarhino

[Kevin]

Looking to add a sub to the factory head unit. Is it possible? 2018 NV2500. Head unit is the one with Bluetooth only. No NAV

[iowarhino]

I added a powered subwoofer to the back door of mine but its Pioneer head unit.  I ran the wires when i had it apart for soundproofing, then mounted the sub on the door.  Also added a front camera just above Aries Bull Bar so I can see front area for parking in tight spots or on trails.   I had trouble uploading pics before but here is a few.    I also took out factory backup cam and added the one crutchfield sells that goes in the rear light at top of the back doors.   it works AWESOME and has 3 levels for tilting/angle and allows you to switch to camera view during driving to check on whatever you are pulling.   

[MidniteToker]

On 12/10/2020 at 1:20 PM, iowarhino said:

I added a powered subwoofer to the back door of mine but its Pioneer head unit.  I ran the wires when i had it apart for soundproofing, then mounted the sub on the door.  Also added a front camera just above Aries Bull Bar so I can see front area for parking in tight spots or on trails.   I had trouble uploading pics before but here is a few.    I also took out factory backup cam and added the one crutchfield sells that goes in the rear light at top of the back doors.   it works AWESOME and has 3 levels for tilting/angle and allows you to switch to camera view during driving to check on whatever you are pulling.   

 

Hey -

I upgraded the head unit, as well, to a Joying 10.1" Android head unit.  After doing so, I realized the quality on the backup camera was lacking.  Can you please provide a link for the backup camera that you used?  Was it an exact replacement, or were modifications required?

Thank you!

Aaron