Find the audio upgrades that actually fit your car.
Pick your vehicle and I’ll build you a step-by-step upgrade path — the right signal, speaker sizes, bass, and amp for your exact setup, with the gear I’d actually buy.
Start with your vehicle
Two quick questions and your plan is ready.
This is how I tailor the picks and the budget — no long survey, I promise.
2023 Ram 1500
Your 2023 Ram 1500 gives you everything you need for a complete system: a replaceable head unit, door speakers front and rear, a factory sub already in the cab, and no amp — meaning every component in the chain has room to improve. A full build done yourself starts with the front doors, which take 6x9 drivers; component speakers here lay the foundation of a real front stage. Rear door drivers, a proper amplifier sized for the full system, and a subwoofer in a custom truck-cab enclosure built to the driver's specs round it out. The factory sub location is your guide for placement — under or behind the rear seat is the right spot, and a shallow-mount driver in a properly built enclosure gives you real output without eating all the cab space. Do it all at once at a premium budget; there's no reason to stage any of it.
The upgrade path
4 steps · ordered by impact · with DIY difficultyA direct single- or double-DIN swap is the right starting point for a full system build. The factory head unit's low preamp output is a bottleneck for everything downstream — a quality aftermarket unit with strong RCA voltage gives your amp a better signal to work with, which translates directly to lower noise and better dynamic range from your speakers. For a full build, look for a head unit with dedicated front, rear, and subwoofer preamp outputs so you can connect each zone of the amp independently. Since there's no factory amplifier in your 2023 Ram 1500, the signal path is straightforward — RCA out from the head unit, straight to the amp inputs. Get this step right and the rest of the chain benefits.
Why it’s the pick: When maximum screen real estate is the goal, the DMH-WT8600NEX is my go-to — the oversized floating panel and crisp capacitive glass put a tablet-sized display in almost any dash.…
Why it’s the pick: DFS cones, butyl surrounds and a rotating aluminum inverted-dome tweeter make the 690AC a tough, musical 6x9" that plays low without getting muddy. If you’re replacing factory 6x9…
A full system build means the bass has to match the quality you're putting into the rest of the system — and your 2023 Ram 1500 already gives you a head start with a factory sub location in the cab. Replace the factory driver with a proper aftermarket subwoofer, build a custom enclosure matched to that driver's specs and the under/behind-seat space, and add a dedicated mono amplifier to power it. This is where the build comes together: the front stage handles midrange and high-frequency detail; the sub handles everything below that. Without clean, controlled bass from a properly loaded and amplified driver, the system never sounds like a system — it just sounds like loud speakers. Take your time with the enclosure — even a well-built sealed box tuned to the driver's specs outperforms a factory unit significantly.
Why it’s the pick: Built in JL’s Florida facility, this system’s V-Groove MDF box, flared slot port, and TW1 low-clearance driver with concentric-tube suspension produce big-system bass from a compa…
For a full system build, the amplifier is what makes every other component perform at its potential. Your 2023 Ram 1500 has no factory amp, so you're starting fresh — and at a premium budget, that's an opportunity to do it right from the start. Size the amp (or amps) to the full channel count: one channel per speaker, plus a mono channel for the sub. A multi-channel amp that handles all the speaker channels plus a separate mono sub amp is a common and clean configuration. Run dedicated power and ground cables properly — undersized wiring is a common point where premium builds give up performance. Set gains with a multimeter or oscilloscope, not by ear.
Why it’s the pick: VXi gives pro-grade tuning without extra boxes. JL’s NexD2 Class-D platform is efficient and quiet, and the integrated DSP plus TüN™ software can run active fronts and a sub from…
2023 Ram 1500 audio — common questions
What size speakers fit a 2023 Ram 1500?
The 2023 Ram 1500 uses 6×9 front speakers and 6×9 rear speakers.
Does the 2023 Ram 1500 have a factory amplifier?
No factory amp — the 2023 Ram 1500 drives its speakers off the head unit, so adding a compact 4-channel amp later gives the new speakers clean, properly rated power.
What is the best subwoofer setup for a 2023 Ram 1500?
There is already a factory sub location to work with. No trunk, so bass lives in the cab — a shallow/compact sub fits under or behind the rear seat, or in a truck-specific enclosure.
What head unit fits a 2023 Ram 1500?
The 2023 Ram 1500 has a Single/Double DIN head unit (Replaceable — direct swap), so a matching aftermarket receiver fits with the correct dash kit and harness.
Everything on CarAudioNow for your 2023 Ram 1500
Fitment is a guide, not a guarantee. Speaker sizes and fit details are based on your selected year, make, model, and audio package and can vary by trim, options, and prior modifications — always confirm before buying.
Your plan is guidance built from your selections (vehicle, goal, budget), not a guarantee of fit, sound, or results, and not a substitute for professional installation advice. Prices are pulled from retailers and may change at checkout.
CarAudioNow is reader-supported — some links are affiliate links and we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. See our FTC disclosure and privacy policy.
