Airstream Stereo Speaker Upgrade

Steps | RV Speaker Upgrade

Remove Existing Speakers

Remove the existing factory speakers by removing the wire grill and loosening the speaker clamps. To remove the wire speaker grill, use a pick, the tip of a knife or similar to pry out the friction-fit grill. Next, loosen the four speaker clamps by loosening the 4 Philips clamp screws.







Disconnect Old Speakers and Connect New Speakers

Disconnect the factory RV speaker by removing the two speaker wire leads from the attachment terminals. Push the terminal tabs to release each speaker wire. You can now connect the new speakers to the speaker wires. Make sure to connect the negative (typically the black wire) to the negative speaker terminal. When using ferrules for speaker terminal connections, I like to insure the ferrule is the proper length - long enough to pass through the front and back of the terminal, but not too long to make contact with the speaker frame.

Prior to connecting the new speakers, I like to cut, re-strip and dress the speaker wires with ferrules. Ferrules are wire crimps used to improve wire connections, especially when using stranded wire. To add ferrule terminals to your wires, simply strip the wire and pass an appropriately-size ferrule over the wire, then crimp.







Mount New Speakers

After securing the speaker wires to the new speakers, mount the speakers. Many in-wall and in-ceiling architectural speakers like the one's I'm using, use a screw clamp to secure the speakers. These clamps turn out like spider legs to apply force to the back parameter of the mounting surface using screws turned from the front of the speaker. To use these clamps, start with the screws fully loosened to allow the clamps to fold in and clear the cut out hole. Once the speaker is in place, tighten the screws to activate and tighten these mounting clamps.