OEM vs Aftermarket, sound quality

I have a 96 Nissan hardbody with 4 JL coaxial (no amp) 6.5's and an alpine head unit. I though the sound was ok for what it was but knew I needed more time and some money to get it there. Well last night I was asked to drive a friends truck home (06 Armada) and threw one of my cds in and good lord the sound was awesome in the thing. Highs mids and lows sounded perfect, or a hell of a lot better then my turd. My question is would it be possible to get a close sound in my standard cab pick up? I think the Armada has 8 or 10 speakers but thats not happening in the little space I have to work with. Would a good set of 3 ways and a 10 in that little space come close the the sound in the Armada? Thanks for any answers. Also does it make any difference in sound if you put the tweeters on the dash to fire at the windsheild or on the doors?

You need to start with an amplifier...simple as that.  It doesn't take a whole lot to beat OEM sound systems.Build the box so that it performs well in the worst case scenario and, in return, it will reward you at all times.

you an get your truck to sound just as good with the right setup.  you dont have to spend a whole lot of money to do it you just need to match everything together{i.e.  dont get an awesome pair of speakers and rn it off a doodiety amp}.  it does make a little difference with placement but nothing that your probably going to realy notice in an everyday setup.  i would do a 5 channel amp with one 10 in sub in a sealed box.  if the speakers are relatively new, keep them, if the radio has 3 sets of outputs and a good preamp voltage keep it.  if not change those also.If you say "I already know how", don't ask me a single question.

Yeah, its a CDA-7897, it went in to get fixed about a year ago. Got 3 sets and 4v preamp outs. Man I cant wait to get this done!

Maybe you just don't have it tuned right. There are many variables that affect the sound quality.

Here's sort of a comparsion... I have a '03 Jetta with the stock Monsoon system but added Diamond audio tweeters and it sounds amazing -- I get asked everytime someone gets in if it has "subs" because it defintely does hit! It does have a trunk mounted amp but the key factor is the way they are mounted in the doors and how the doors are pretty dang sealed, making sort of a "mock" enclosure. I know it was rated by Edmunds as a Top 10 audio system for I think it was under $35,000? I then have a '96 Jetta with higher quality speakers/deck/amp than my '03 but since the mid speakers act more free air in this car than enclosed in my other, the lows just aren't there the same. It's alright, I will change this as the money rolls in with some baffles and dampening.. But I said all this because SOME systems are designed very well for the application and do more than most people need/want.

I may not be a pro. in car audio mods. But, I know one thing: that almost any aftermarket car audio equipment will sound better than your OEM, when tunned properly. When I purchased my 05 F-150 Lariat truck, It came fully loaded with all the options and upgraded audio system. Which sounded awesome to most people, But not to me. Then on second week since the purchase I started to pull the interior copletely apart. Three months later and $4,500 My audio system would be realy hard to beat!!! JL 300/4 500/1, Focal 165K2p Comp's, 165 coax., Kenwood DDX6019 HU, Ifinity Kappa Perfect10 in sealed box, JL Power and RCA cables,Stinger 12ga. speaker wire, 1.2f. Cap,Garmin Nav., and 2 bulk paks of sound deddening. And with my friend's help and knowledge.

I wouldn't expect any OEM system to even compare to a $4,500 aftermarket stereo system. The closest out there is the Mark Levinson system that you can get in a Lexus LS 430. First came out in 2001 and still has NO rival in the OEM department

My mom has a Honda Pilot...It's actually a really nice sounding system