- First Name
- Orrin
- Joined
- Dec 17, 2021
- Threads
- 1
- Messages
- 57
- Reaction score
- 65
- Location
- California
- Vehicle(s)
- 2005 F250. 2022 Maverick Hybrid. Honda Accord
- Engine
- 2.5L Hybrid
- Thread starter
- #1
I recently upgraded my Maverick XLT front speakers. The stock speakers are not great! I thought I might share some of the things I learned along the way.
I bought a pair of Focal RSE-165 component speakers. These are not high-end speakers as they only cost about $100. I got them from Crutchfield which I recommend as they provide the adapter spacer plate and the wiring connector. You need the adapter spacer because the stock speakers have a spacer built in and replacement speakers need to be spaced out to fit. They also included a tweeter wire adapter but it did not fit the ford wiring so I did not use it.
There are lots of videos on YouTube about changing the speakers but I did notice a couple of problems with some of them. First, when removing the door panel, some missed the screw under the reflector and when installing a new tweeter, some missed the fact that the stock tweeter had a built in capacitor to filter out the mid and low frequencies that the tweeter can’t handle. They installed the tweeter without a crossover to protect it from those low frequencies. You need to use the crossover. I used the Focal included x-over but only connected the tweeters to it. It was much too hard to run the wires from the x-over to the woofers in the door. So they just naturally roll off on the high end. Also, if you remove the door latch and lock/unlock cables from the handles in the door panel, pay close attention to how it snaps back in I suggest taking a picture for reference. I did not get it back in correctly and it came out which trapped me in the truck with now way to open the door. Had to climb out the other side and take door all apart again to fix.
Another suggestion would be to have a better plan for upgrading than I did. After installing the speakers in front doors with new tweeters in dash, I decided I wanted more power and also to add a subwoofer. So I looked under dash, after taking out the glove box, and found a spot to the right of the glove box and the air handler where the cabin air filter is located. I ordered a NVX VADM2 2 channel amp. I takes the input from the front speakers and provides up to 220 watts per channel, I seriously doubt it really puts out that much power, But more than enough for my needs. Most importantly, it is very small as the space I had was small. I include a pic to show how it is mounted. It is a piece of angle iron and a 1/8 plate of aluminum. The clearance with the glove box is very tight, I had to space the aluminum plate over 1/8 to clear it.
To get the signal to the amp I got a wiring harness from PAC Audio #LPHFD31. It attaches between the stock stereo head unit and the speakers. It also provides a +12 volt power and a ground. The signal then goes to a line output converter(LOC) from PAC model # LPA-2.4. This LOC takes the 2 channels and outputs 4 low level channels with RCA connectors, 2 for the front and 2 for the rear. It also has a low pass filter to feed a subwoofer amp. I used these channels for the subwoofer which I mounted behind the rear seat. The LOC also provides a turn on wire for the amp and the sub. I mounted the LOC to the left of the air handler box up real high on a metal bracket that is part of the dash support structure. (pic included).
The subwoofer is a Kicker 11HS8 powered sub. I used the location that the B&O system uses for the sub or the amp. There are 2 metal brackets that are mounted to the back wall. I had to straighten them as they turn up at the bottom. I made a board and mounted it to 6 holes in the bracket. The lower 2 are tapped to 6mm 1.0 thread. The other 4 are not tapped and I tapped them to 10-24. The sub mounted to this board. It seems to work fine like this. Others that have posted on YouTube have taken these brackets off and found another way to mount it. Some even gluing bolts to the painted surface with JB weld. I don’t think that is going to work. So far, the brackets seem to work fine, time will tell. (see pic of sub)
With the Hybrid, the battery is under the rear seat so I connected the amp and the sub directly there with a fuse. I ran the 12v power and turn on wire down the right side of the vehicle and the low level signal wire down the left side to the sub. People have posted videos on running these wires.
I also put sound deadening material on the back of the door panels and on the inside of the metal door skin. At least as much as I could through the speaker mounting hole. Also install some behind the sub.
I initially set the gain on the loc output about Âľ up and the input gain on the amp at .5v. the amp input range was .5v to 5v. Since I had low level inputs I thought that would work. But when I fired everything up, there was a lot of static. And when I played some music, it was VERY loud. I settled on the output of LOC almost all the way down and the input gain at 5v on amp. This eliminated the static and was plenty of gain from the head unit through the LOC.
If I had planned from the start to install everything, I would do it a little different. I would install the x-over between the amp and the PAC wire harness that feeds the amplified signal back into the stock wires to the speakers and then I would run a new wire from the x-over to the tweeters. This way, all of the speakers would be connected to the x-over. I may do this at some point in the future.
I still need to tidy up some of the wiring under the dash by wrapping it and protecting it from rubbing damage but overall, I am very happy with the results. Sounds far better than it did stock. For now, I don’t plan to do any upgrading of the rear speakers as I keep them almost turned completely off as their placement really irritates anyone who sits it the back seats. If you have any questions, please ask. I hope this helps someone.
I bought a pair of Focal RSE-165 component speakers. These are not high-end speakers as they only cost about $100. I got them from Crutchfield which I recommend as they provide the adapter spacer plate and the wiring connector. You need the adapter spacer because the stock speakers have a spacer built in and replacement speakers need to be spaced out to fit. They also included a tweeter wire adapter but it did not fit the ford wiring so I did not use it.
There are lots of videos on YouTube about changing the speakers but I did notice a couple of problems with some of them. First, when removing the door panel, some missed the screw under the reflector and when installing a new tweeter, some missed the fact that the stock tweeter had a built in capacitor to filter out the mid and low frequencies that the tweeter can’t handle. They installed the tweeter without a crossover to protect it from those low frequencies. You need to use the crossover. I used the Focal included x-over but only connected the tweeters to it. It was much too hard to run the wires from the x-over to the woofers in the door. So they just naturally roll off on the high end. Also, if you remove the door latch and lock/unlock cables from the handles in the door panel, pay close attention to how it snaps back in I suggest taking a picture for reference. I did not get it back in correctly and it came out which trapped me in the truck with now way to open the door. Had to climb out the other side and take door all apart again to fix.
Another suggestion would be to have a better plan for upgrading than I did. After installing the speakers in front doors with new tweeters in dash, I decided I wanted more power and also to add a subwoofer. So I looked under dash, after taking out the glove box, and found a spot to the right of the glove box and the air handler where the cabin air filter is located. I ordered a NVX VADM2 2 channel amp. I takes the input from the front speakers and provides up to 220 watts per channel, I seriously doubt it really puts out that much power, But more than enough for my needs. Most importantly, it is very small as the space I had was small. I include a pic to show how it is mounted. It is a piece of angle iron and a 1/8 plate of aluminum. The clearance with the glove box is very tight, I had to space the aluminum plate over 1/8 to clear it.
To get the signal to the amp I got a wiring harness from PAC Audio #LPHFD31. It attaches between the stock stereo head unit and the speakers. It also provides a +12 volt power and a ground. The signal then goes to a line output converter(LOC) from PAC model # LPA-2.4. This LOC takes the 2 channels and outputs 4 low level channels with RCA connectors, 2 for the front and 2 for the rear. It also has a low pass filter to feed a subwoofer amp. I used these channels for the subwoofer which I mounted behind the rear seat. The LOC also provides a turn on wire for the amp and the sub. I mounted the LOC to the left of the air handler box up real high on a metal bracket that is part of the dash support structure. (pic included).
The subwoofer is a Kicker 11HS8 powered sub. I used the location that the B&O system uses for the sub or the amp. There are 2 metal brackets that are mounted to the back wall. I had to straighten them as they turn up at the bottom. I made a board and mounted it to 6 holes in the bracket. The lower 2 are tapped to 6mm 1.0 thread. The other 4 are not tapped and I tapped them to 10-24. The sub mounted to this board. It seems to work fine like this. Others that have posted on YouTube have taken these brackets off and found another way to mount it. Some even gluing bolts to the painted surface with JB weld. I don’t think that is going to work. So far, the brackets seem to work fine, time will tell. (see pic of sub)
With the Hybrid, the battery is under the rear seat so I connected the amp and the sub directly there with a fuse. I ran the 12v power and turn on wire down the right side of the vehicle and the low level signal wire down the left side to the sub. People have posted videos on running these wires.
I also put sound deadening material on the back of the door panels and on the inside of the metal door skin. At least as much as I could through the speaker mounting hole. Also install some behind the sub.
I initially set the gain on the loc output about Âľ up and the input gain on the amp at .5v. the amp input range was .5v to 5v. Since I had low level inputs I thought that would work. But when I fired everything up, there was a lot of static. And when I played some music, it was VERY loud. I settled on the output of LOC almost all the way down and the input gain at 5v on amp. This eliminated the static and was plenty of gain from the head unit through the LOC.
If I had planned from the start to install everything, I would do it a little different. I would install the x-over between the amp and the PAC wire harness that feeds the amplified signal back into the stock wires to the speakers and then I would run a new wire from the x-over to the tweeters. This way, all of the speakers would be connected to the x-over. I may do this at some point in the future.
I still need to tidy up some of the wiring under the dash by wrapping it and protecting it from rubbing damage but overall, I am very happy with the results. Sounds far better than it did stock. For now, I don’t plan to do any upgrading of the rear speakers as I keep them almost turned completely off as their placement really irritates anyone who sits it the back seats. If you have any questions, please ask. I hope this helps someone.
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