Replacing speakers worth it?

[Tim d]

The "SPARK-O-Matic" and Jensen 6x9 triax were my "Go To" set up for just about everything back in the 80's. The colored EQ lights were a huge deal back in the day. I mounted that in an overhead console that was way ahead of it's time.

View attachment 139475

View attachment 139475

Very cool! You should have patented that! I still have a working 8 track in my 72 cuda,and also my Craig power play 8 track. And I have a brand new set of 6x9 Jenson speakers still in the box for the 80,s.

The "SPARK-O-Matic" and Jensen 6x9 triax were my "Go To" set up for just about everything back in the 80's. The colored EQ lights were a huge deal back in the day. I mounted that in an overhead console that was way ahead of it's time.

Very cool! You should have patented that! I still have a working 8-track in my 72 cuda, and still have my Craig power play 8-track. I also have a set of never used Jensen 6x9 speakers still in the box from the mid 80s

Sponsored

 

[Craiger9131]

I am waiting on a new forscan adapter to come in the mail for my laptop. Before I go to swapping speakers I’m going to disable the factory EQ which is all over the place. I’m also going to change the settings to send full sound to the Rear speakers, not just tweeters as it is now. I’ll update when I do that this weekend.

I'm interested to see how that goes.

 

[24atlasmaverick]

I'm interested to see how that goes.

I’ll upload some video samples for those interested. I’ve heard others talking about it so I wanted to give it a try. Of course I lent out my old obd to usb adapter and had to order another one haha.

 

[colinl]

I'm interested to see how that goes.

my bet is that it won't be impressive just replacing the speaker.

it does not have meaningful separation between the front and rear of the speaker. it's a 4" speaker freeair. even if you install a 4x6, you are not getting much output (SPL), especially midbass, from this size and location. the factory filter is around 600hz and that's about all anyone should ask of a speaker mounted this way.

and speaking of location, it fires straight into any rear seat passenger's head. so, even if you do amplify it, passengers aren't likely to enjoy high output here.

it's so much better to fade it nearly into nothing, leave it stock, and spend your money on front components, amplifiers and a sub. at mid/high volume, there's no question rear seat passengers can enjoy the front speakers.

 

[prsncat]

@Emccusker

At 59, I still value high-fidelity sound in my vehicles.

The B&O system in my wife's PHEV Escape is good enough for her vehicle. I haven't heard the Maverick's B&O system. Thus, I don't know if I would be happy with it or not.

I have an XLT Maverick and wasn't satisfied with the factory system. Consequently, I handed mine to a shop that wanted to use it to create good/better/best packages for Maverick owners.

I was unhappy with the low-frequency response when they delivered the first iteration. In my opinion, and compared to two of my other vehicles with systems they installed, the low-end sounds "muffled." Thus, it is back with them for additional improvements.

The Maverick's cab presents several acoustic challenges that may limit quality.

I like the response by @colinl !

Swapping out the speakers will create a small, noticeable improvement in the quality. Whether the OP notices the difference or not will depend upon their hearing. I suspect they won't notice enough change without also adding an amplifier. The new speakers may have a better frequency range and be slightly more efficient. Yet, if they don't generate at least a 3dB increase in Sound Pressure Level, the OP probably won't notice the difference.

We are sensitive to proportional changes in sound/intensity, and they are non-linear. If you want to learn more, look up Fletcher-Munson Curves. In essence, ears are not equally sensitive to all frequencies.

Furthermore, loudness is an individual's perception of sound intensity. Distance from the sound source impacts loudness (inverse square law).

Most humans cannot perceive a 1 dB change in loudness. A 3dB change will sound slightly louder. It takes a 6dB change to be noticeable. Thus, I suggest a speaker upgrade without the ability to increase the intensity (by adding an amplifier) will barely be noticeable. Addressing the low end (by adding a subwoofer, for example) will also improve the perceived quality since it will address frequencies that the factory system cannot produce with sufficient intensity.

In summary, upgrading only the speakers might not create a discernable improvement. I recommend the OP use what others have already presented here on MTC to upgrade the speakers and add sound deadening, amplifier, and subwoofer.

 

[colinl]

Swapping out the speakers will create a small, noticeable improvement in the quality. Whether the OP notices the difference or not will depend upon their hearing. I suspect they won't notice enough change without also adding an amplifier. The new speakers may have a better frequency range and be slightly more efficient. Yet, if they don't generate at least a 3dB increase in Sound Pressure Level, the OP probably won't notice the difference.

that's mostly true, but there's more to reproduction than just volume. if you replace the stock speakers on a base Maverick system (Ford Connected Audio) and change nothing else, the stock speakers are definitely low enough quality that you could (and should) notice a difference in midbass performance as well as smoothness of the higher-frequencies. they should sound like they have more bass, and less shrill treble.

even 2 speakers with similar frequency response can sound differently based on distortion, tweeter material, and more.

and this is even more pronounced if you have the B&O system because it has a fairly potent amplifier, well-designed electronic crossover, phase alignment and even automatic clipping detection. the B&O speakers themselves are not great, and if you replace them you can get a very noticeable improvement.

 

[stv1cal]

I'm 60 and I still love a good sounding system, replaced front and back and the tweeters with JL Audio Speakers, sounded way way better but I love base and clarity, added small amp to push more power to the speakers and a small JBL nano powered subwoofer, now it sounds excellent even with low volume!

 

[Deleted member 23941]

Has anyone replaced the factory speakers only, and feel the quality is far better? I see many adding crossovers, and key200.1. Just looking for feedback for only the speakers. I'm looking at the Kicker CS series.

Update:
I replaced the front speakers with Kicker CS series. Nothing else. Absolutely amazing!

 

[stiloff]

Update:
I replaced the front speakers with Kicker CS series. Nothing else. Absolutely amazing!

did you do it yourself? how hard was it?

 

[Deleted member 23941]

did you do it yourself? how hard was it?

I did. Super easy. 1 hour for both.

 

[GS535]

did you do it yourself? how hard was it?

It is pretty easy. While you are at it add some sound deading material in the door to reduce vibration. There are videos on youtube which shows how to replace. I did both of our Mavericks with infinity speakers. Crutchfield will sell you everything you need. When you buy the speakers from them you get the adapter and wires.

 

[Snowbird]

Update:
I replaced the front speakers with Kicker CS series. Nothing else. Absolutely amazing!

Do you have any plans to replace the rear speakers?

 

[Deleted member 23941]

Do you have any plans to replace the rear speakers?

No. The system sounds great no.

 

[Deleted member 23941]

No. The system sounds great no.

Now

 

[Sb23mav]

I'm 60 and I still love a good sounding system, replaced front and back and the tweeters with JL Audio Speakers, sounded way way better but I love base and clarity, added small amp to push more power to the speakers and a small JBL nano powered subwoofer, now it sounds excellent even with low volume!

where did you install your nano?

Sponsored