This is just a general question for the 3rd Gen public, but what speakers are the absoulute best to install into a 3rd Gen (specifically in my case an 84' Z28 Camaro) with the factory head unit/radio? This one here:


I'm not looking to upgrade the head unit because it was referbished with a brand new cassette motor, but wondering what everyone else running the factory head unit has for speakers if they replaced the stock ones. My car had aftermarket Pioneers (from god knows when) that were blown out in the back when I bought it, and a few months later the dash speakers went out as well.

Provide links to your speaker products if you can!

Impossible to answer. There is no "Best"; it's personal preference so can be debated until the end of time.

Go listen to a bunch...pick the ones that sing to YOU.

That's deep ngl BUT I'm still interested if you have any suggestions? I dont want to buy anything the stock radio won't be able to power/ can't bring to its full potential/ overpower and break.

Keeping your original radio will require that the front replacement speakers be 8 ohm as that is orig. The rear/side speakers are 4 ohm

8 ohm is not required....it's just the junk the factory used. You can run a 4 ohm speaker on the stock head, just fine.


OP, Any decent, brand name speaker should be able to tolerate anything that the stock HU can put out (and a lot more), as long as you don't run the volume up into the realm of distortion and clipping.


Suggestions will run the gamut....just like "what oil's the best".... and "What tires are best".....and "what shocks are best"....and...and really, you need to go listen for yourself. What *I* think is a great speaker in an F-body, means nothing to what YOU think sounds great in an F-body.


I'll throw this in the thought mix too: Any one who's asking about "BEST sounding speaker" in the same conversation as "factory head unit" is wasting their and everyone's time. If you want "best sounding"....you need amps, subs, speakers, proper set up/install....and then some quality way to drive it all. The factory HU doesn't "fit" in that picture.

We have been selling Rockford Fosgate speakers for a couple of years now, customers have been happy with the install and sound quality. They are one of few dash speakers that fit well since there is very little depth available. The dash speakers also work well with radio only power, they have bass blockers built in which keeps the speakers from popping when you turn them up on the lower frequencies. This works well if you like to drive with the windows down or t-tops off. They also have rear speakers that work well with radio power only or you can add an amp to them. Overall great quality, easy install and good sound for the price point. Under $200 for front and rear speakers with shipping ($99 for rear speakers & $75 for front with adapters). Like the previous post mentioned you would need a different radio and an amp for the best sound quality, but these would be a definite upgrade over stock even when stock speakers were new.

dash speakers:
1982-92 Camaro/Firebird Dash Speakers – Screaming Chicken
rear speakers:
1982-92 Camaro/Firebird Rear Speakers – Screaming Chicken

OP I'm in the same boat, with the same radio too! Except I got mine from an '89 buick

If it helps, I've currently got my eyes on some two-way pioneers for the front and 3-way pioneers for the sail panels. Around $120 total depending on what sales Amazon is running at the time I decide to order. My last set of pioneers lasted over a decade before one finally died, and I still have the original factory units in the dash (one of which is dead) so I figure replacing all in kind is my next step.

Perfect! Thanks for sending this my way I will definitely look into them! 😁

Funny enough - I looked up the RPO codes for my 84' Z28 only to find out it had a radio delete from factory. I'm not sure if that means they didn't pack in any speakers with it either but whoever the first owner was (who had the car up until about a year ago) must've had a radio they liked because there were pioneers installed when I bought it. Problem is I love the TTops down and must've played the music a bit too loud for the probably 35+ year old speakers... back ones were already not working and the 2 front ones died out after 7 months whoops...

That being said though for being as old as they were, they did sound pretty damn good.

A factory radio is made to power 4 speakers: 2 front that are 10 OHM 4x6 ( hard to find aftermarket 10 OHM 4x6 speakers ) and 2 rear that are coaxial 6x9 4-OHM woofers. ( some F-Bodys got 2 10 OHM rear speakers; higher OHMS will not kill the radio, Lower OHM will. Most aftermarket speakers are 4 OHM.

DO NOT INSTALL 4 4OHM speakers on a factory radio,... at some point - you will KILL it. The radio is simply NOT ABLE to handle 4 4OHM speakers.

IMO: NEVER install 3-way rear speakers in a Thirdgen. The factory system is designed to blast the HIGHS in your face as the sound bounces off the windshield and all the "LOWS" are produced by the rear coaxial woofers. If you install 3-way speakers that system will produce too many HIGHS and not enough LOWS.

People often install new aftermarket speakers (almost always 4 4OHM speakers) and usually install 3-way speakers in the rear, than wonder why it doesn't sound "good" and blame the factory radio - when in fact they installed speakers that are not compatible and do not match the factory requirements.

Here is a simplified example why you don't ever want to install 4 4-OHM speakers on a factory head unit. The AMP chips inside the head unit can't handle it and at some point - you will kill the head unit.

http://berlinettta.info/video/4OHM.mov

​​I hope this helps !

This ^^^

Definitely some important information to have on this topic, thanks so much! 😀

All the 2-way speakers I’m finding are 4 ohm speakers. What options do you recommend?

There are very few speakers available other than 4 ohm unless you're wanting a subwoofer.

Right, that’s what I’m finding. I don’t know if there was a typo in the other guy’s message or not since he said to not install four 4-ohm speakers, but I’m like “what else is there?”

He is correct, but considering there are no longer 8 or 10 ohm speakers available there really isn't much of a choice. If you don't go crazy with the volume the amp in the stock radio is ok or you can add a small amp which would improve sound quality and help save your factory head unit. Sony makes a compact amp that uses speaker level inputs for about $150.

Stick with the stock dash speakers and put some good 4-ohm 6x9s in the sail panels.
If all the speakers are 4-ohm, that splits it down to 2 ohms.
The stock stereo needs a minimum of 2.5 to 3 ohms per channel to run stable...

Do you happen to have a link or a part number for the Sony amp? How is that wired?

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so powering new dash speakers and 6x9’s in the sail panels with an aftermarket amp is safe for the factory head unit? Even with all 4 speakers being 4ohms?

Thankfully I pulled a set of all 4 original speakers for free with another purchase through facebook marketplace. But that's also when I found out the speakers in my Z28 weren't stock and don't have the stock speaker connections on them. Whoever bought the radio for this radio delete car wired in the newer 2-way pigtails that speakers use today all the way back to the connector in the back of the radio. I might have to do some wire work and find a set of original GM speaker connectors for the front as to not kill the stock head unit if I can't find any 8-10 ohm front dash speakers...

Sony XMS400D 4 Channel Mini Amplifier

If you're using it with the factory radio the speaker outputs from your radio would connect to the amplifier and then the amp would connect to your speakers. The amp would also need a separate power wire, ground wire and a remote turn on (factory radios normally have a wire that activates a power antenna).

Yes, you would no longer be using the radio amp to drive the speakers.

What does that mean? "To run stable"??

I ran 4 ohm Pioneer's in my car for years. The stock stereo never "fell over" or anything. What am I missing?

I had a new 1992 Camaro in 1992 and first thing I did was replace all the speakers with 4 ohm Kenwood speakers and it worked great. Running 4 ohm speakers on a radio that is meant for 8 ohm speakers means the amp will be working a lot harder and won't last as long. Considering they are already over 30 years old that would be a lot harder on it than it was when everything was new.

Maybe. It does make more heat. I think that would fall into a category that I like to call, "Worryin' about chit that ain't worth worryin' about". If an '80's factory head died on me? I'd happily replace it with a head unit that actually makes music.

For lack of a better term; to run cool enough to not fry output transistors or transformers.
You might get lucky and never have a problem running a 2 ohm load on a factory unit, but obviously GM chose to err on the side of caution.
My factory unit is long gone, but some guys want to keep theirs...

Just realizing now that the reason my head unit was so hot one day was not because of the engine heat coming into the cabin, it was in fact because the speakers were all 4 ohm and it was working overtime... ☹️ Just checked em because I didn't throw them out without knowing if they all still worked or not. Ones wrinkled and another is torn so that's probably why they don't work right. Hopefully my head unit is alright...

For those looking for how to test speakers: I found out how to test if they work or not today without them being in the car - apperently just a 9 volt battery (if you don't have a multimeter) and touch it to the connectors on the speaker and if it still works (or semi works) it'll make a pop sound as if you just plugged in an aux cord and move slightly. If they do nothin' they're dead.

This is what I installed, starts at post #20 Ohms are discussed. https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/elec...-speakers.html