Budget stock Audio upgrades (XL) - plan, research, options and experimentation

[Red Ryder]

I just want more control of the sound and wanted an all in one amp/signal processor.

You certainly will attain that, I think it is a great idea. I've traditionally replaced headunits, added amps, speakers, and a sub. This OEM headunit/DSP thing is new to me. I've learned a bit in the past few months while waiting for my Maverick.
I going to let the Key do its DSP magic and hopefully the tone controls (I won't call bass/mid/treble an EQ) will make it livable.

But I have certainly developed an admiration for the higher-end Audio Control offerings. Being able to sum channels, EQ to fine granularity, and all of the time-alignment options are really cool.

That's exciting!

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[MikeyG]

Any updates on the sub box?

 

[BootXL76]

Any updates on the sub box?

Messaged you about it last Thursday

I friggin LOVE the way the cs250 sounds, but I’ve had a hell of a time getting the right fit behind the seat (ended up just finishing one of my cuts and I’ve currently got it on the floor behind the passenger seat). I think it’s possible to get it right, but the angle I ended up with after a few Test fits it fires right into the back of the seat and it’s basically like covering the sub face in a big layer of great crack foam stuff.
Ended up ordering an Audison APS 10D with a total depth of 4.6 inches and a bottom mount depth of 3.5 and these are going to be my final measurements: (hope to have it done this weekend, we got a new puppy recently and he’s made it really tough to work on anything for very long)

 

[MikeyG]

Messaged you about it last Thursday

I friggin LOVE the way the cs250 sounds, but I’ve had a hell of a time getting the right fit behind the seat (ended up just finishing one of my cuts and I’ve currently got it on the floor behind the passenger seat). I think it’s possible to get it right, but the angle I ended up with after a few Test fits it fires right into the back of the seat and it’s basically like covering the sub face in a big layer of great crack foam stuff.
Ended up ordering an Audison APS 10D with a total depth of 4.6 inches and a bottom mount depth of 3.5 and these are going to be my final measurements: (hope to have it done this weekend, we got a new puppy recently and he’s made it really tough to work on anything for very long)

Yep I saw that. I was curious if you finished the new box lol can’t wait to see pics lol.

 

[BootXL76]

Yep I saw that. I was curious if you finished the new box lol can’t wait to see pics lol.

Oooooooh I’m a moron, my bad
hopefully in the next week….

 

[MikeyG]

Oooooooh I’m a moron, my bad
hopefully in the next week….

No problem lol can’t wait to see pics

 

[Adospeed]

Messaged you about it last Thursday

I friggin LOVE the way the cs250 sounds, but I’ve had a hell of a time getting the right fit behind the seat (ended up just finishing one of my cuts and I’ve currently got it on the floor behind the passenger seat). I think it’s possible to get it right, but the angle I ended up with after a few Test fits it fires right into the back of the seat and it’s basically like covering the sub face in a big layer of great crack foam stuff.
Ended up ordering an Audison APS 10D with a total depth of 4.6 inches and a bottom mount depth of 3.5 and these are going to be my final measurements: (hope to have it done this weekend, we got a new puppy recently and he’s made it really tough to work on anything for very long)

@BootXL76 First, mad props for such detailed info and sharing your knowledge with all of us. I went through each page and I was like...it's like they're speaking in a foreign, coded language... LOL Obviously there are quite a few folks who can speak the car audio lingo.
Second, excited to see the final box you built. I'm sitting tight to see the final spec on the box, with the hope you can give a final maximum depth of slim "truck" box (amplified with a 10" or 12" sub). Again, thanks for sharing with us, greatly appreciated! - Ado the Old Skool Rockford Fosgate Fan Boy.

 

[jewc75]

AudioControl AC-LGD (lljcustoms.com)

Are these necessary?

 

[Red Ryder]

AudioControl AC-LGD (lljcustoms.com)

Are these necessary?

The LC2i and LC2i Pro have built-in load resistors. You might need them with your LC5.1300.

More info here: https://www.audiocontrol.com/knowle...ut-resistor-load-speaker-outputs-factory-amp/

 

[jewc75]

The LC2i and LC2i Pro have built-in load resistors. You might need them with your LC5.1300.

More info here: https://www.audiocontrol.com/knowle...ut-resistor-load-speaker-outputs-factory-amp/

That order was cancelled, said they didnt have one in stock. Instead i ordered a Kicker CXA400 mono amp, Kicker CXA360.4 4 channel, and a LC7i. I have all the wiring except the harness.

 

[Chowdayer]

but yeah, it’s not a perfect fit but they worked for me and others have used them as well (like I said earlier in the thread, I didn’t think they worked and then re-tried and got them to work)

anyway, I found these that people on the bronco forum are using (and pretty sure they have the same plugs) but finding the same in bronco threads…. Some saying the 5600 won’t fit, others saying they used them and they fit fine with no issues. These appear to be a more perfect fit (and actually clip in)

Bootxl76 thanks for putting a link to this. I tried the 5600 and was like wth it doesn’t fit. Bought these and tried the install a week later and went great today. Greatly appreciate you sharing this info.

 

[uh50]

On the drive home from the store last Monday, the long version of Uncle Albert by the Beatles came on SiriusXM. That song is somewhat complex in arrangement with lots of accompaniment, mid range guitar, fairly wide octave ranges, and key changes. I like listening to the intricacy of the arrangement and the song revealed the deficiencies of the stock XL sound system. I don't want to complain too much, and most of the time I don't notice the sound much. But on this song it was sorta pathetic how parts of the song were missing. So, I need to at least get to purchasing replacement speakers and an amp. I've been looking at a fairly low power amp, maybe the Sony XMS400D, as well as the newer JBL Nano and Rockville RW68CA 6" x 8" powered subwoofers, both of which has more bass capability than I'll ever want to listen to.

Have any of you tried listening to different speakers on the Crutchfield site? I know that sound quality depends on a lot of things, but Crutchfield has tried to standardize online listening by using the same recording system for all their speaker systems. They have a set up where you can choose your headphones and compare four different speaker systems at a time. They are adding more speakers each day it seems

I've spent a lot of time there the last month or so and have found some very interesting results. It's been a great learning experience and I've found there are some very reasonable priced speakers that sound great (at least to me). It's been my experience in the past that Crutchfield generally doesn't sell junk and when they realize something is not appropriate quality they react quickly to get it off their website.

I've learned I like the brighter sounds of the JBL and Kenwood over the Kicker, Powerbass, or Retro speakers. I understand the Kickers and Powerbass are great on the low end, but I really like to listen to the full range and the JBL and Kenwood speakers remind me of my Bose 601s and 901s back in the day. Plus, in a '79 El Camino I had 4 of the the same drivers (5.25" or so, I think) that the 901s used. I loved the bright sounds in both systems.

 

[BootXL76]

On the drive home from the store last Monday, the long version of Uncle Albert by the Beatles came on SiriusXM. That song is somewhat complex in arrangement with lots of accompaniment, mid range guitar, fairly wide octave ranges, and key changes. I like listening to the intricacy of the arrangement and the song revealed the deficiencies of the stock XL sound system. I don't want to complain too much, and most of the time I don't notice the sound much. But on this song it was sorta pathetic how parts of the song were missing. So, I need to at least get to purchasing replacement speakers and an amp. I've been looking at a fairly low power amp, maybe the Sony XMS400D, as well as the newer JBL Nano and Rockville RW68CA 6" x 8" powered subwoofers, both of which has more bass capability than I'll ever want to listen to.

Have any of you tried listening to different speakers on the Crutchfield site? I know that sound quality depends on a lot of things, but Crutchfield has tried to standardize online listening by using the same recording system for all their speaker systems. They have a set up where you can choose your headphones and compare four different speaker systems at a time. They are adding more speakers each day it seems

I've spent a lot of time there the last month or so and have found some very interesting results. It's been a great learning experience and I've found there are some very reasonable priced speakers that sound great (at least to me). It's been my experience in the past that Crutchfield generally doesn't sell junk and when they realize something is not appropriate quality they react quickly to get it off their website.

I've learned I like the brighter sounds of the JBL and Kenwood over the Kicker, Powerbass, or Retro speakers. I understand the Kickers and Powerbass are great on the low end, but I really like to listen to the full range and the JBL and Kenwood speakers remind me of my Bose 601s and 901s back in the day. Plus, in a '79 El Camino I had 4 of the the same drivers (5.25" or so, I think) that the 901s used. I loved the bright sounds in both systems.

the phenomenon that you cite is exactly what led me into the path I’ve been on in regards to the audio system. I listen to an extremely wide range of music and certain parts of certain mixes were non-existent. It drove me crazy…. coming from a 2016 Toyota Highlander and 2016 Camry SE, the stock systems weren’t amazing, but all the instruments and mixes were present, it was bright enough, and I could turn it as loud as I wanted without distortion. If it would’ve sounded even close to that I would’ve lived with it. Instead, here we are (with me trying to put together the cleanest system I’ve ever had).
With the lc2i bass knob, I’ve got it turned all the way down (for most songs) and feel like I’ve got it dialed in to where at lower volumes you wouldn’t really know there’s a sub, but the low end matches the volume of the rest of the music (bass heavy songs still pound at 80% volume but don’t overpower the mids and highs), but if I was feeling the need to have my neck rattled, I have the “room” to do so (because I do like hip hop and EDM - random artist that I never realized had so much bass in his songs - Dennis Lloyd (indie pop)).
As for listening on crutchfield, I’ve tried it out but I feel like the acoustics of the truck change everything in the actual application, so you can get an idea but it’s going to sound different. I also don’t have my quality over ear headphones as my son kept them in California . My earbuds sound great, but I don’t think they paint the true difference. I also like bright but not too bright and feel like the Hertz stuff I got is exactly what I was looking for (I’m swapping the hertz sub with the audison this evening, it won’t be my final box more than likely, but it’ll fit and function if I were never to finish the design I wanted).
the biggest thing is that sound is just so subjective
Circling back to the crutchfield listening thing, breakers stereo and performance on YouTube has some really solid videos comparing speakers, etc within certain price ranges and they do comparisons at the end of those videos where you can do the same audio comparison with good headphones, and they even compare them amped vs powered by the head unit.

 

[uh50]

the phenomenon that you cite is exactly what led me into the path I’ve been on in regards to the audio system. I listen to an extremely wide range of music and certain parts of certain mixes were non-existent. It drove me crazy…. coming from a 2016 Toyota Highlander and 2016 Camry SE, the stock systems weren’t amazing, but all the instruments and mixes were present, it was bright enough, and I could turn it as loud as I wanted without distortion. If it would’ve sounded even close to that I would’ve lived with it. Instead, here we are (with me trying to put together the cleanest system I’ve ever had).
With the lc2i bass knob, I’ve got it turned all the way down (for most songs) and feel like I’ve got it dialed in to where at lower volumes you wouldn’t really know there’s a sub, but the low end matches the volume of the rest of the music (bass heavy songs still pound at 80% volume but don’t overpower the mids and highs), but if I was feeling the need to have my neck rattled, I have the “room” to do so (because I do like hip hop and EDM - random artist that I never realized had so much bass in his songs - Dennis Lloyd (indie pop)).
As for listening on crutchfield, I’ve tried it out but I feel like the acoustics of the truck change everything in the actual application, so you can get an idea but it’s going to sound different. I also don’t have my quality over ear headphones as my son kept them in California . My earbuds sound great, but I don’t think they paint the true difference. I also like bright but not too bright and feel like the Hertz stuff I got is exactly what I was looking for (I’m swapping the hertz sub with the audison this evening, it won’t be my final box more than likely, but it’ll fit and function if I were never to finish the design I wanted).
the biggest thing is that sound is just so subjective
Circling back to the crutchfield listening thing, breakers audio on YouTube has some really solid videos comparing speakers, etc within certain price ranges and they do comparisons at the end of those videos where you can do the same audio comparison with good headphones, and they even compare them amped vs powered by the head unit.

Thanks for the info and thanks for the heads up about Breakers Audio on YouTube. I'll look them up and listen to some of the reviews. I've done some listening on YouTube, but haven't found many reviewers that aren't sponsored. Some, but not many. I'm adding more and more research info.

The more I research, the more I seem to change directions, but I'm pretty sure I've settled on JBL, Infinity, or Kenwood speakers that are a step or two above the base speakers, although I have to admit I really like the Kenwood KFC-1666S 6.5" coax and KFC-6966S 6 x 9 coax bright sound. But there are JBL that I like as well and I know they are better quality, especially the Infinity versions. I've found so far I like the coax sound a little better than the component, but need to visit a Best Buy or other audio store to really compare. I've always like Harman Kardon, although nothing is the same any more with the JBL, Infinity, and Kenwood are all made in Asia somewhere.

Again, thanks again.

 

[BootXL76]

Thanks for the info and thanks for the heads up about Breakers Audio on YouTube. I'll look them up and listen to some of the reviews. I've done some listening on YouTube, but haven't found many reviewers that aren't sponsored. Some, but not many. I'm adding more and more research info.

The more I research, the more I seem to change directions, but I'm pretty sure I've settled on JBL, Infinity, or Kenwood speakers that are a step or two above the base speakers, although I have to admit I really like the Kenwood KFC-1666S 6.5" coax and KFC-6966S 6 x 9 coax bright sound. But there are JBL that I like as well and I know they are better quality, especially the Infinity versions. I've found so far I like the coax sound a little better than the component, but need to visit a Best Buy or other audio store to really compare. I've always like Harman Kardon, although nothing is the same any more with the JBL, Infinity, and Kenwood are all made in Asia somewhere.

Again, thanks again.

On that note, they did a video on coax under $99 (also I had the name wrong, it’s breakers stereo and performance)

link:

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