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

[Jakep47]

so going on this picture here, A looks like you have two of them inside of each other here?
There’s a chance you could get it to work like that, my gut feeling says it’s going to push it out too far into the door panel. I say that because o had issues with the with the powerbass plug and plays on my first install because of the thickness of the foam. Once you attach the speaker though it may compact the boom mat down enough to not be an issue.
Now my opinion based on experience with the boom mat. I had put boom mats on the rear 4” and I didn’t like the way they sounded vs. without, they sounded like trash, like they were inside of a little tin box (like it had no room to push air). That was also a 4” speaker so a 6.5/6.75 may not have the same issue.

I hear you tho on wanting to have it put together and ready to go, that’s what I did with my hertz ck165-F, but with that boom mat it may be something you have to play around with before you have them read to zip into the openings. Here’s my hertz once I had em ready to mount (I drilled a hole in the side of the adaptor ring for the wiring harness to go through, as you’ll have t connect it in front of the plastic door insert that you’ll mount the speaker to).

the one other thing you might run into is the depth of the boom mat, not sure how deep they are but it's possible they could interfere with the window track. I want to say I’ve read on some board where people used the boom mat and cut the back part off, to still focus the air The speaker is pushing straight back (and gives them more airspace instead of “suffocating” them in a tiny enclosure).

good luck! Happy to try to help if I can, if you have any other questions or run into anything Else.

Thank You! I think I am going to forgo the Boom Mats. This whole thread has been super helpful and has made the job of installing the speakers much easier.

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[DrDan]

BootXL76....
First of all.....thank you so much for your excellent documentation as we've all seen and read your audio installation journey. It will help those who wish to do a DIY upgrade of their sound systems....and it also helps others realize that they really don't want to go through all of that!!

I fall into the latter category.....I have a nice car audio installation shop near my house that I'm going to take advantage of. So for me, the only question is WHICH components to ask them to use... I'd like to stick to using the FoMoCo head unit and other than the sub.....no added power amp.

My Musical tastes are varied.....played lots of brass ensemble with pipe organ stuff in hight school up through college.....and I still enjoy listening to that "long haired" stuff. So to pick up the bass pipes of a pipe organ you need a good, tight subwoofer. Don't like the loud, distorted fuzzy sound the rappers tend to prefer. I also like some rock and country on occasion.

For the Front:
The Morel Maximo 6, the Hertz Uno K170, and Memphis Audio SRX60C are the three I am leaning towards. Since there is a tweeter up front it doesn't make much sense to get coax drivers in the front doors. Which would be best? Which should I avoid?

For the Rear:
Back here a coax design might work well.....here are the ones I "think" might be best:
Morel Maximo Coax 4, Focal RCX-100 4" coaxial, Hertz dcx100.3 2-way coax

For the Sub:
These have been mentioned all over this board.....and I have no idea which meet my criteria for good, clean, tight bass that fits my musical tastes mentioned above. I also prefer to put it behind the back seat rather than take up space in the storage bins UNDER the back seats....but I might have to.
JBL BassPro SL 8"
Kicker Hideaway 8"
Rockford Fosgate PS-8
Kicker 45CSTB84 8" tube (probably won't fit behind the seat)

It also appears I'll need a LC2i Pro to properly distribute the power to all the speakers.

So......for those of you who are familiar with how all of these speaker sound.....what would you recommend?
Please cast your vote below......Thanks!

I did not hear any suggestions from the group.....so I made the decision to get something not mentioned here. Hope I'm not sorry!
I'm getting Focal 6.5's in the front and 4" coax's in the back with a Kicker 8" powered sub.
We'll see how it sounds.....

 

[uh50]

I did not hear any suggestions from the group.....so I made the decision to get something not mentioned here. Hope I'm not sorry!
I'm getting Focal 6.5's in the front and 4" coax's in the back with a Kicker 8" powered sub.
We'll see how it sounds.....

Great choice for some fine speakers. Quality builds. I like the balanced and clear sound of these Focal speakers and only wish I could afford them.

 

[jewc75]

Focals are great speakers.

 

[DrDan]

Great choice for some fine speakers. Quality builds. I like the balanced and clear sound of these Focal speakers and only wish I could afford them.

Thanks Howard....glad to hear that.
BTW....I used to live near Jefferson, TX growing up.....went to 1st grade there. Swam in Lake 'O the Pines many times.

 

[BootXL76]

I did not hear any suggestions from the group.....so I made the decision to get something not mentioned here. Hope I'm not sorry!
I'm getting Focal 6.5's in the front and 4" coax's in the back with a Kicker 8" powered sub.
We'll see how it sounds.....

Sorry about that DrDan, I somehow completely missed your original post. Can’t go wrong with Focals, honestly, especially if you like a little brighter sound

 

[DrDan]

Sorry about that DrDan, I somehow completely missed your original post. Can’t go wrong with Focals, honestly, especially if you like a little brighter sound

No worries! From what I’m reading it may be a great choice!

If there are any others like me that wanted to do what you did, but were hesitant to tackle a project like this for fear of tearing up their truck (those clips make me nervous!)….I can share what it cost to pay someone else to do it if they want.
The Focals cost me about $300-350 more than getting the Morels/Kickers, etc. Not a “huge” difference…but they were definitely more $$.
Dan

 

[uh50]

Sorry about that DrDan, I somehow completely missed your original post. Can’t go wrong with Focals, honestly, especially if you like a little brighter sound

These speakers remind me of the Bose 901s and 601s I had in the late 1970s and 1980s. I love the sound for popular groups at that time.

 

[Chris_G]

These speakers remind me of the Bose 901s and 601s I had in the late 1970s and 1980s. I love the sound for popular groups at that time.

Fond memories

 

[Red Ryder]

Removing the large trim pieces was the hardest part. The YouTube video was a very helpful guide (search YouTube "Ford Maverick rear speaker removal") - although I didn't yank on the pieces wildly like the guy in the video (!). I just took my time and used a flashlight to look behind as I was removing them, I used a very large flathead screwdriver to help pry away clips that were the farthest from me.

Regarding the trim pieces that hold the speakers - after removing the 7mm bolt at the bottom (no need for a power drill, a small socket wrench worked perfectly), I was not able to release the upper clips by trying to lift them upward, nor was I able to reach in by hand to lift them up the 1/2" or so they needed to go up.

I installed my Polks today. They are the biggest single improvement to the sound I've made thus far. Even used as fill, the clarity in the vocals and cymbals is really apparent now. Not sure why the Polks haven't gotten more attention, they are perfect for the rear EQ and very efficient.

Milous, your tutorial was a great help. My Lowes was out of 5-gallon stir sticks, but they had a 36" wooden ruler for 98 cents. I cut it and had a 20" and 16" inch piece which worked well. Your advice on slightly detaching the lower plastic was spot on.

This little bit holder enabled me to remove the bolt with the 7mm socket in close quarters, and add the ratchet for loosening and final tightening: https://www.lowes.com/pd/CRAFTSMAN-3-Pack-1-in-Magnetic-Screwdriving-Bit-Holder-Set/1000594249

Here's what I'm talking about:

Can be used with ratchet for additional torque

Allows finger loosening and tightening in close quarters without fully removing the lower panel

Snap the ratchet on for initial loosening or final tightening

Basically all I needed for panel and speaker removal

Thanks again, Milous and everyone else for the tips. It went well as a result!

 

[uh50]

Yes, it especially matters for your subwoofer, unless you are adding some sort of bass-restorative device. The factory system's rear channels are equalized to limit the bass response to the small, cheap, 4" drivers back there. The door woofers (front channel) receive full range audio and would be ideal for getting the lower tones a subwoofer will need. The doors and dash are effectively the same signal, with the tweeters bass-limited by their integrated crossover/capacitor.

I understand that the factory rear channels are equalized to limit bass response because of the cheap speakers. I did read somewhere the limit can be removed using ForScan. Right now I plan on finding some way to mount 6.5" or 7" rear speakers. However, if I'm using a line converter like the DS18 V5HL 5-Channel Line Out Converter will the factory rear speaker limitation be removed? The V5HL uses the ACM 4 channel High Level Input and provides 5 channels RCA Output, all with gain adjustment.

I've been looking a several mini/micro 4 channel amps (Kicker, Kenwood, Sony) that have the capability to convert the ACM High Level, but none of the ones that I like (smaller size units) have the sub channel. There are a few larger size amps that provide an RCA output that can be used for the sub, but I don't like the size of the amp. So, with the V5HL, I can use a small form factor amp and also feed either a mono/2 channel amp for subwoofers or a powered sub. By the same token, I've read some good things about DS-18 and also some not so good things. What do you think of DS18.

The Line Out Converter can be found here:


I understand that I can also purchase a Plug&Play KIT 38 Basic Converters for adding full system including 17ft. cables with all speaker wires to run to 4 channel amp for $185 that appears to have an RCA output for a sub. At least I think I'm seeing an Axxess four channel hi level input/low level RCA outputs for front and rear speakers and an Axes hi level input/low level RCA line converter for the sub RCAs. If I'm interpreting the wiring harness correctly, which is difficult because the photos on the website are poor. I assume this is a plug and play system for amps with RCA inputs. Thoughts?

TIA!

 

[DrDan]

I understand that the factory rear channels are equalized to limit bass response because of the cheap speakers. I did read somewhere the limit can be removed using ForScan. Right now I plan on finding some way to mount 6.5" or 7" rear speakers. However, if I'm using a line converter like the DS18 V5HL 5-Channel Line Out Converter will the factory rear speaker limitation be removed? The V5HL uses the ACM 4 channel High Level Input and provides 5 channels RCA Output, all with gain adjustment.

I've been looking a several mini/micro 4 channel amps (Kicker, Kenwood, Sony) that have the capability to convert the ACM High Level, but none of the ones that I like (smaller size units) have the sub channel. There are a few larger size amps that provide an RCA output that can be used for the sub, but I don't like the size of the amp. So, with the V5HL, I can use a small form factor amp and also feed either a mono/2 channel amp for subwoofers or a powered sub. By the same token, I've read some good things about DS-18 and also some not so good things. What do you think of DS18.

The Line Out Converter can be found here:


I understand that I can also purchase a Plug&Play KIT 38 Basic Converters for adding full system including 17ft. cables with all speaker wires to run to 4 channel amp for $185 that appears to have an RCA output for a sub. At least I think I'm seeing an Axxess four channel hi level input/low level RCA outputs for front and rear speakers and an Axes hi level input/low level RCA line converter for the sub RCAs. If I'm interpreting the wiring harness correctly, which is difficult because the photos on the website are poor. I assume this is a plug and play system for amps with RCA inputs. Thoughts?

TIA!

I wonder if the LC2iPro will do the same thing to overcome the factory's equalization changes to limit the frequencies going to the back speakers? My system will have the LC2iPro along with an 8" Kicker sub....and I'd like that sub to get all the frequencies it's supposed to get.

Dan

 

[uh50]

I wonder if the LC2iPro will do the same thing to overcome the factory's equalization changes to limit the frequencies going to the back speakers? My system will have the LC2iPro along with an 8" Kicker sub....and I'd like that sub to get all the frequencies it's supposed to get.

Dan

Yeah Dan, I've wondered the same thing about the LC2iPro which makes me question if the rear speaker hi level ACM outputs are limited when connected to amplifiers that support them.

 

[Red Ryder]

I'm not an expert by any means, especially with DSP and all of the available capabilities.

That said, I do believe that the LC2i's Accubass is limited to correcting bass rolloff and should be fed from the front channels if used with a subwoofer.

As for feeding rear speakers that are capable beyond the OEM rear speakers, you might want to read up on channel summing capabilities of DSPs especially if you're going to incorporate larger speakers. Audio Control has some white papers I've been meaning to read that covers some of this in much greater detail.

 

[uh50]

I'm not an expert by any means, especially with DSP and all of the available capabilities.

That said, I do believe that the LC2i's Accubass is limited to correcting bass rolloff and should be fed from the front channels if used with a subwoofer.

As for feeding rear speakers that are capable beyond the OEM rear speakers, you might want to read up on channel summing capabilities of DSPs especially if you're going to incorporate larger speakers. Audio Control has some white papers I've been meaning to read that covers some of this in much greater detail.

Thanks, I'll continue to research. I do think that the DS18 V5HL 5-Channel Line Out Converter sub channels are actually fed from the front channel, so that leaves only the rear channel ACM limit to solve.

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