Speaker upgrade

Long post: Just added all new speakers to my base 6-speaker setup for much improved sound for $600. Was really easy self-install. Listened to most brands to compare for similar price points ((alpine, jbl, JL audio (c1 and c2 series), infinity, kicker, hertz, etc.)) and went with FOCAL all around. It was a no-brainer..FOCAL had much more naturally aspirated highs and mid-range and natural sounding bass.. Not overly bright, but brighter with great clarity, etc. bass is not giving me the punch and depth a sub box would add (none of the above speakers brands in that $600 total price point do), but it is fine and much improved over the factory speakers. I found the other brands, even JL audio c2-65’s, to be boxy sounding. Disappointing amd you likely would not notice if you can’t do an A/B comparison, but obvious when you do. Did mine at Cartoys in same listening room with no amps or subs used, just a head unit power, like my install would be. Went with FOCAL 100 RCX x 4 for front and rears, and a pair of FOCAL 165ac for kick panels. All coaxial, not component sets. FOCAL makes some very high end car speakers (k2 and utopia series) if you want to go that high in price, but I figured this is NOT a sedan, but a road noisy soft top bronco with bad speaker dynamics and just a head unit for power. No subs. Not worth the spend as gains wouldn’t be like a nice sedan would sound with same equipment. My opinion. Trim was easy to remove for all locations. Metra 72-5600 for the 4” connectors, metra 72-5602 for kick panel 6.5”, and a pair of crutchfield bass blockers at 300hz cutoff for the 2 front window 4”. No need to cut or splice anything. Also used metra 72-5605 speaker adapters for the 6.5”. Slight inside plastic trimmimg needed on the 5605 adapters with a multi tool or a dremel for the focal 6.5” to fit properly (took 1 minute each adapter). Some off-brand dynamat for backing the rear pods and the kick panels, and some polyester fill from a craft store ($7) for filling all the speaker cavities to prevent sound resonating. In summary, give the speaker upgrade route a try yourself. No need for installers unless you are adding sub boxes, amps, etc. also, do yourself a favor and listen to the FOCAL speakers. I think most people would agree, they just sound better at all their price points from $100/pr stuff to $1000/pair stuff. Add an amp and it is massively better sound to factory. You can even go as low as $400 for a full FOCAL speaker set, but the lower the price point, the more they will sound like factory speakers. (Note: 4” speakers in front have more depth than cruthfield indicates. it is not a hard bottom cavity there, just a movable trim piece with some foam on bottom that can be pushed down to make more speaker depth and it is mostly an air opening to lower dash area; so you can mount a deeper speaker than crutchfield indicates that still fits under factory grill. And you can’t really dynamat that space like the other speaker locations. Just add some poly fill to limit sound resonation). Happy bronco riding.

Really appreciate this post @yoderman - I'm a relative rookie at car audio and this gives me a lot of confidence in upgrading my system on my own. Do you think the ACX's are worth the extra money ($30/pair) over the RCX's? I even considered getting a pair of each.

Not doing that until there’s a plug and play solution.

richtor

Not doing that until there’s a plug and play solution.

Ask and ye shall receive —>

https://plugnplaykits.com/products/...y-audio-harnesses-kits?variant=41130698473662

Bschurr

Ask and ye shall receive —>

https://plugnplaykits.com/products/...y-audio-harnesses-kits?variant=41130698473662

$410 without speakers is high though. I thought $200 with front speakers would be plenty.

richtor

$410 without speakers is high though. I thought $200 with front speakers would be plenty.

You can get the amp from Crutchfield for $270. The plug and play wire harness is the additional cost. From what I have read, it is very worth it. 4" speakers are $150-$200 for all 4.

ejaffe

You can get the amp from Crutchfield for $270. The plug and play wire harness is the additional cost. From what I have read, it is very worth it. 4" speakers are $150-$200 for all 4.

I don’t know audio. The link seemed to say plug and play wiring for $410 then one needs to buy 4 new speakers correct?
I just want 4 mid range speakers plug and play for $200 total. Is there speakers that can do this for that price?

richtor

I don’t know audio. The link seemed to say plug and play wiring for $410 then one needs to buy 4 new speakers correct?
I just want 4 mid range speakers plug and play for $200 total. Is there speakers that can do this for that price?

Go to Crutchfield, enter the vehicle and they will give you a bunch of options. If you want the Kicker 200.4 amp with the plug and play module, that is an enhancement. If your not an audio person, just get the speakers. Include 300hz bass blockers for the fronts.

ejaffe

Go to Crutchfield, enter the vehicle and they will give you a bunch of options. If you want the Kicker 200.4 amp with the plug and play module, that is an enhancement. If your not an audio person, just get the speakers. Include 300hz bass blockers for the fronts.

Everyone was saying no plug play options. You need to cut strip wires.

richtor

Everyone was saying no plug play options. You need to cut strip wires.

"Everyone" is not reading the right thread ;-) plugnplaykits.com

richtor

Everyone was saying no plug play options. You need to cut strip wires.

Everyone?

if you are looking for plug & play speaker pigtails use these —>
Metra wiring harness for front - 72-5600
Metra wiring harness for kickpanel - 72-5602

Awesome thanks

I don‘t understand why “plug and play” is a big deal...are folks planing on putting the stock speakers back in?

Oldhippie

I don‘t understand why “plug and play” is a big deal...are folks planing on putting the stock speakers back in?

i assume he meant plug and play for the amp, not the speakers.

Oldhippie

I don‘t understand why “plug and play” is a big deal...are folks planing on putting the stock speakers back in?

Why should I worry about wires for power/sound tools for cutting stripping wires making sure each wire is in the correct location? Plus the item of making sure there is no bad connection or fire hazards with any change in electrical.

We have plug and play for the expanded 12.1 touch screen displays but not on $50 speakers?

So I have a question I hope someone can help with. I replaced the stock front and rear speakers (Bronco Outerbanks with standard audio) with Polk DB 402's. They are rated at 45 watts rms and 90 DB. The front sound great. Much more range. But the back do not have much sound coming from them when I isolate them. I have no idea why. Any suggestions? I wanted to get those speakers done first before I start on the front panels and then maybe adding a sub

ejaffe

Go to Crutchfield, enter the vehicle and they will give you a bunch of options. If you want the Kicker 200.4 amp with the plug and play module, that is an enhancement. If your not an audio person, just get the speakers. Include 300hz bass blockers for the fronts.

Crutchfield is always a great choice and comes with hardware and instructions.

Gp9999

So I have a question I hope someone can help with. I replaced the stock front and rear speakers (Bronco Outerbanks with standard audio) with Polk DB 402's. They are rated at 45 watts rms and 90 DB. The front sound great. Much more range. But the back do not have much sound coming from them when I isolate them. I have no idea why. Any suggestions? I wanted to get those speakers done first before I start on the front panels and then maybe adding a sub

Yea, everywhere I have read, speakers are not what we need to improve sound.

Plugnplaykits makes a harness in conjunction with a kicker key amp that is supposedly much better than upgraded speakers. However he is running behind roughly 30-45days out with the harness. You can order the key amp somewhere else, but the harness is delayed.

Harness is kit 11-1 for $150 for a kicker key amp
Amp was is $269 on amazon.

You can order both on his site but the amp is backordered

I am still waiting for the harness