[How-To] Bronco Factory Speaker Replacement

ToddGreen

Are there any meaningful differences between the various brands of 300 Hz bass blockers out there? I was considering getting the Crutchfield one but thought I'd check to see whether another brand is better for any reason for a few bucks more.

Not really. There is nothing special about a bass blocker, it literally a single capacitor and some wiring. Back in the day you could go down to Radio Shack and build your own for under 25 cents.

I've had 4 Infinity Reference speakers (ordered from Crutchfield) ready for the roll bar and front corners. Your video and description was very helpful. It really helped on knowing where the clips were. I, too, found an incorrectly installed trim panel, mine was by the LR speaker.
Luckily I bought this awesome trim set several months ago. 19Pcs Trim Removal Tool,Car Panel Door Audio Trim Removal Tool Kit, Auto Clip Pliers Fastener Remover Pry Tool Set with Storage Bag https://a.co/d/bUvU6yy

And I hated the idea of creating my own connection for the speakers. Why did ford change the harness they've used for 20+ years??
Anyway, Crutchfield now has a plug in harness! All is installed and way better in sound quality and volume.
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_120725603/Metra-72-5603-Speaker-Wiring-Harnesses.html

RagnarKon

Not really. There is nothing special about a bass blocker, it literally a single capacitor and some wiring. Back in the day you could go down to Radio Shack and build your own for under 25 cents.

Hi, RagnarKon.

Just seeking your views on this -

I swapped the 4" speakers with JL C2s. I left the kick panel speakers as factory. I don't have any amp or sub.

I originally had 300 Hz bass blockers on the dash speakers, but that seemed a bit too much bass for me, so I put in 600 Hz blockers.

Things still seem a bit bass heavy to me. I find myself turning down the "bass" setting on the factory unit a few notches below the "0" mark.

I'm wondering whether the higher sensitivity of the factory speakers is overpowering the high ranges coming out of the 4" dash speakers? If so, should I swap those out to match the dash speakers?

Alternatively, I could go up to a 800 Hz bass blocker on the dash, but that may be getting too high.

Any thoughts? Thanks.

RagnarKon

For awhile now, I've been writing up a how-to article on how to replace the factory speakers for those who are relatively new to car audio and/or aren't necessarily super comfortable with working on their vehicle. I was never happy with that article, and eventually that written article morphed into a video instead.

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TL; DW—

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Rear Pod Speaker Removal​

1. Remove speaker grille with a trim removal tool. There will be (4) clips holding the grille on.
2. Remove the speaker held on by (2) Phillips head screws

Front Dash Speaker Removal​

1. Remove the speaker grille with a trim removal tool. There are (5) clips total holding the grille on.
2. Remove the speaker held on by (2) 7mm screws

Kick Panel Speaker Removal

1. Remove the (4) TP-30 "Bronco bolts" securing instrument panel grab handle to the vehicle.
2. Remove the grab handle completely, there are (2) clips securing the rear of the grab handle to the panel.
3. Remove the cowl side trim panel with a trim removal tool. There are (4) clips total securing the panel. Note that (2) of those clips are securing the bottom of the trim piece and are very difficult to remove.
4. Remove the scuff plate trim panel to expose the cable tray with a trim removal tool. 4-door Bronco has (7) clips. 2-door has (9) clips total.
5. [Driver Side Only] Release the dead-pedal
   1. Remove the dead-pedal trim cover with a trim removal tool. There are (6) clips total.
   2. Use a 10mm deep socket to remove the (2) nuts securing the dead-pedal to the vehicle
6. Remove the speaker grille. There are (2) clips securing the speaker grille. These clips are along the forward edge (closest to front of vehicle) of the speaker grille. Do not pry from the rear edge of the grille.
7. Remove the lower cowl side trim panel with a trim removal tool. There are (3) clips securing the panel.
8. Remove the (3) 7mm screws to release the speaker.

For those who have done car audio before... you'll notice this is a fairly light-weight no-frills install. No sound baffling or anything like that. I am extremely confident with electronics, but car audio is still relatively new to me. So I am very interested if anyone did the install differently—particularly the removal/install of the kick panel speaker, or the inclusion of sound baffles/mats.

I have a 23 Bronco Wildtrak B&O system.
I had the entire system replaced plus I added Front Door Speakers🔊!!!.
Check out how Cabe did my System installation and he did a world class wiring installation for Christmas lights on the rear tire that I asked for.
I can’t wait to pick up my Bronco and listen for the first time.

Hi! Great information!!
My husband upgraded my speakers with a local shop this week because I just couldn’t handle the weak B&O system installed. They replaced all speakers and added a Kicker Livin’ Loud Hideaway. They did say they had to eliminate the front middle speaker for whatever reason. The sound is definitely much better, however, there is still something missing.
First, my reverse and warning tones sound much different and wimpy if that makes any sense. Also, I’ve gotten in my car a few times and the sound settings keep resetting to all be in the middle (any thoughts to what would cause that?). Third, they explained the Sirius radio will never sound good played directly from the car screen and I need to use my phone app for Sirius to sound decent. The way he explained it kind of made since, but also mentioned the way ford built it, it communicates differently. Regardless, there still seems to be something missing or off with the sound. For $2,700 I was expecting more. Any input is greatly appreciated. I will be contacting them next week about the tones and fading resetting itself.

WestBronco

Hi! Great information!!
My husband upgraded my speakers with a local shop this week because I just couldn’t handle the weak B&O system installed. They replaced all speakers and added a Kicker Livin’ Loud Hideaway. They did say they had to eliminate the front middle speaker for whatever reason. The sound is definitely much better, however, there is still something missing.
First, my reverse and warning tones sound much different and wimpy if that makes any sense. Also, I’ve gotten in my car a few times and the sound settings keep resetting to all be in the middle (any thoughts to what would cause that?). Third, they explained the Sirius radio will never sound good played directly from the car screen and I need to use my phone app for Sirius to sound decent. The way he explained it kind of made since, but also mentioned the way ford built it, it communicates differently. Regardless, there still seems to be something missing or off with the sound. For $2,700 I was expecting more. Any input is greatly appreciated. I will be contacting them next week about the tones and fading resetting itself.

Those warning/reverse chimes are primarily played from the middle speaker. If you take a cell phone call on your Bronco, that is also primarily played through the middle speaker. So by eliminating the middle speaker they also dramatically reduced all of the warning chimes.

SiriusXM sounding better from your phone is just a question of bitrate. It’s probably better explained by comparing it to streaming video. The better the internet connection the higher the bitrate will be. The higher the bitrate the better quality video you’ll get.

SiriusXM streaming from space usually has a much lower bitrate than when streamed from your phone. And therefore streaming from your phone will typically sound much better.

(For satellite radio in particular a lot of it also has to with the compression codec, but I’m just going to gloss over that part cause it gets complicated in a hurry.)

@RagnarKon can you send a picture or tell me the line up of your kicker key 200 pins? I’ve installed one on my bronco but can not get it to work correctly.

I’ve installed all new speakers with tweeters and a sub woofer in the rear.

Reading/watching this now, I'm now in the process of finding the parts I need to order on Amazon before I make a move