Base stereo simple upgrade-for now

I am happy to answer your questions to whatever extent I can. Very simply- the front 4” speakers are easy to upgrade and benefit from the bass blockers at about 400mhz. You put the bass blocker in line, ahead of the 6.5” kick panel speakers. I would not bother upgrading the kick panel speakers without more amplification.
Rears already have a low pass crossover in the internal amplifier.

I have completed all those upgrades and a few more, grew up in 12v audio and have a system that is reasonably good after a few attempts.

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/thre...os-whats-your-biggest-complaint.42433/page-16

Mattwings

I am happy to answer your questions to whatever extent I can. Very simply- the front 4” speakers are easy to upgrade and benefit from the bass blockers at about 400mhz. You put the bass blocker in line, ahead of the 6.5” kick panel speakers. I would not bother upgrading the kick panel speakers without more amplification.
Rears already have a low pass crossover in the internal amplifier.

I have completed all those upgrades and a few more, grew up in 12v audio and have a system that is reasonably good after a few attempts.

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/thre...os-whats-your-biggest-complaint.42433/page-16

Thank you Matt I will check out that thread.
First of all rears have an internal amp?
Bass blocker ahead of the 6.5? No bass for the 6.5?
Wouldn't the 6.5 speakers benefit from an upgrade at least from those 25W Vietnamese Ford specials?
Ok I'm good with new 6.5 even without an amp as upgrades are certain, including an amp and hopefully a compact sub.
Also a stereo shop with 30 years experience told me "putting amps in Fords sometimes messes them up because the head unit senses something is different than just powering speakers and they mess up the sound"
Any idea if this is true, and true with the Sync 4?
Thanks

Hank

I'll give my 2 cents... why not....

I'd say just about "any" speaker would be an upgrade to the stock system. In mine & BIL's, we put kicker 2-way,4" speakers up front, and Pioneer 2-way, 4" speakers in the rear (Pioneers fit better in rear enclosure).
Did the Forscan trick. Changed 1st line, and it made a difference with overall volume. I'd suggest giving that one a go as well.
Could notice a difference immediately. Nothing great, but better sound. Since then, have installed bass blockers (needed after Forscan), for the front speakers, installed them right in front of the 4" speaker.

Now BIL has since installed the JBL soundbar, and had the dealer do the JBL tune. My opinion, you lose a lot of visibility, we've already made a extra bracket to raise the bar itself. For the money spent, I just wasn't blown away with the sound.

This weekend I'll be installing a Kicker Key 200.4 in my Bronco and replacing the 6 3/4" kick panel speakers with a set of Kickers, so after that I'll be able to let people know if I think that's worth the money. Curious to see what the 4" speakers in the rear sound like afterwards.

Nminus1

Thank you Matt I will check out that thread.
First of all rears have an internal amp?
Bass blocker ahead of the 6.5? No bass for the 6.5?
Wouldn't the 6.5 speakers benefit from an upgrade at least from those 25W Vietnamese Ford specials?
Ok I'm good with new 6.5 even without an amp as upgrades are certain, including an amp and hopefully a compact sub.
Also a stereo shop with 30 years experience told me "putting amps in Fords sometimes messes them up because the head unit senses something is different than just powering speakers and they mess up the sound"
Any idea if this is true, and true with the Sync 4?
Thanks

Hank

All of the speakers are powered by an internal amp. It's just relatively low power (maybe 10-15 watts per channel?)
Putting the "bass blockers" in parallel with the positive lead at the dash speaker location will not change the frequencies sent to the kick panel speakers. That was the first upgrade I did (Infinity Reference 4" speakers and 300hz bass blockers). That was a decent upgrade and at least made the stereo sound clear and added just enough volume to hear it with the top off. Bass was still terrible and the volume still not really enough, especially topless.

The 6.5" speakers are actually decent quality. I did end up upgrading them, but due to their location, they are not the most critical upgrade. The power rating of a speaker has very little to do with how the speaker sounds or operates, it's simply the highest recommended power you should send to the speaker. Often times higher "power" speakers will actually be little less efficient and make less volume than a similar sized, lower power rated speaker. This is usually measured by a speakers sensitivity (sound level at 1 watt from a certain distance like "89DB" sensitivity).

There can be issues when interfacing any stock stereo. In my case I did some research and ended up using and Audio Control LC21 converter and it has worked well. There are other similar units and harnesses that can adapt the Bronco stereo. One option that has gotten very good reviews is the Kicker Key 200.4 kit offered by Plug and Play kits. The website is kind of confusing, but if you call and talk to them, they can help you decide which way to go from a wiring and interface perspective.

https://plugnplaykits.com/products/...lified-radio-plug-n-play-audio-harnesses-kits
Photos of the amp (Kenwood 50x4, in this configuration it is at 2ohms on the front channels and bridged for the sub, so it's rated at 75 watts foe the two channel and 150 watts for the sub) , line level interface and 8" sub/custom enclosure that I built-


I did work in my family 12v business for 10 years and also worked for a very high end audio retailer for a few more years too. I am not an expert, but I do have a background in 12v electronics and audio, so I am not completely making stuff up :)

edit- good write up and process documentation here-
https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/thre...k-panel-speaker-removal-wiring-diagram.25210/Edit- here is the Polk Audio 8" sub and enclosure-


Link to Kenwood Amp- https://www.crutchfield.com/S-EnJNP...znriNid8EJjKieKAwmicCRCSPYhJ7fgcaAvrXEALw_wcB

Thank you Matt for your time and effort. I did see the other post on 6G and I liked that install. If I could find someone to do that install with a compact sub it would be perfect. I will forward this link and the other to a stereo shop I have done business with before and see what they say.

@Nminus1 I installed my Kicker Key 200.4 over the weekend. I will say it definitely sounds better than stock (4" Kicker up front, stock 6 3/4" down low, 4" Pioneer in rear pods). But I will say the 4" speakers in the rear are definitely the week point in this set up. @Mattwings obviously took his a few steps further.

But to summarize, yes, sounds much better than stock. Still not where I want it though. I may look into adding an UTV soundbar to the rear (smaller than the JBL that Ford is offering). Or might even look into adding some wakeboard speakers, maybe 5.25" or look at some 8". Trying to find the cheapest route to get the sound to where I want it to be.

EvlNvrDys

@Nminus1 I installed my Kicker Key 200.4 over the weekend. I will say it definitely sounds better than stock (4" Kicker up front, stock 6 3/4" down low, 4" Pioneer in rear pods). But I will say the 4" speakers in the rear are definitely the week point in this set up. @Mattwings obviously took his a few steps further.

But to summarize, yes, sounds much better than stock. Still not where I want it though. I may look into adding an UTV soundbar to the rear (smaller than the JBL that Ford is offering). Or might even look into adding some wakeboard speakers, maybe 5.25" or look at some 8". Trying to find the cheapest route to get the sound to where I want it to be.

I liked the idea of the 200.4, but after initially upgrading the speakers (better) and adding and amp to the front 4/6” I just new that just adding DSP and more power to the rears wasn’t going to get it done for me. The missing component of the setup is no internal crossover and low pass output. I would suggest you pursue a subwoofer and crossover to further limit the low end passed to the full range speakers and the low frequencies to the sub. More "small" speakers just won’t add enough bass to make it balanced IMO. Do you have 400hz bass blockers on the front 4”? That did help quite a bit too in my case.

Mattwings

I liked the idea of the 200.4, but after initially upgrading the speakers (better) and adding and amp to the front 4/6” I just new that just adding DSP and more power to the rears wasn’t going to get it done for me. The missing component of the setup is no internal crossover and low pass output. I would suggest you pursue a subwoofer and crossover to further limit the low end passed to the full range speakers and the low frequencies to the sub. More "small" speakers just won’t add enough bass to make it balanced IMO. Do you have 400hz bass blockers on the front 4”? That did help quite a bit too in my case.

Yeah I have bass blockers for the 4" front speakers. Which was needed, too much distortion up there without them. And that was after doing the Forscan trick before the amp.

My problem isn't bass, it's just not getting the sound I want from the rear speakers. I'm used to having 6x9's in the rear and fading back to them to balance everything out. I think sometime in the next 2 weeks I'll give a set of 6.5" wakeboard speakers a try for the rear. Will just need to make new brackets to mount them. Should hopefully get some sound from the rear after that, and I'll be able to keep my visibility as well.

All personal preference, I like a front sound stage with the rears for fill or the back passengers personally, but I know lots of people like a lot of rear volume.

Mattwings

All personal preference, I like a front sound stage with the rears for fill or the back passengers personally, but I know lots of people like a lot of rear volume.

Well I just ordered some 6.5" wakeboard speakers from Rockville Audio. Figured for around a $115 it'd be worth it to give it a try. Assuming I can figure out a way to mount them this weekend (also assuming they arrive by then), I'll let you guys know how they sound.

I'm giving these a shot:

https://www.rockvilleaudio.com/rwb70b/

:unsure:

I installed the wakeboard speakers today. Had to rig them up temporarily using a pvc pipe from speaker bracket to speaker bracket... Don't knock it, it works for now.

Anyways, definitely an upgrade, I now have bass coming from the rear without needing a sub. Not sure if I'm sold on Rockville speakers, but definitely a huge upgrade in sound.

Only problem I have is front speaker cutting out in heavy bass, will need to see what bass blocker I out on that. For reference, I listen to 80's metal. So heavy drums.

I have some Rockford Phosphate lol 6x9s new in box if anyone wants them cheap. From a speaker box project that never happened....
New 4" Infinitys go in tomorrow let everyone know what I think, about a $150 upgrade with bass blockers and factory wiring terminals.
Stock stereo is not as bad as I thought it would be, although my expectations were low based on previous reviews.....
I'll post after the new speakers install tomorrow.
The front speakers really do most of the sound as it bounces off the windshield into your ears. There is a driver only or all passenger mode factory mode that takes some of the sound off the rear speakers, I actually preferred the all passenger mode

Hey there,
Not sure if anyone has put together suggestions for a budget upgrade yet here.
My budget (for now): $300 +/- $50. I Welcome any suggestions from some audiophiles that may be lurking around here, because I am not.

Interested in component but want OEM look and not sure if swapping the 4” dash for tweeters would hurt or help.

Budgets lower end because I’ve already spent close to $4k and the bronco ain’t even here yet…lol but the idea is put some speakers in now that will work with the head unit but also benefit from an Amp addition later.

It's a very good first step to go with some upgraded 4" speakers and "400hz bass blockers". I tried Infinity Reference Series and ended up using them for rears and used Kicker https://www.crutchfield.com/S-ID51W...1J4WNYvlo-QuAq7AB9NTYMiaA5vLTosxoC3lQQAvD_BwE. It gives you a bit more volume and clarity. For me, it went from unacceptable to decent top on and at least audible with the top off. That ends up about $100 if you install it yourself. My suggested next step to stay in that budget would be a small 4 channel amp with high level inputs. That should be about $250 with install parts. I used a Kenwood "marine rated" amp https://www.crutchfield.com/S-vjw71...BNbaSUyzI3dm-Vw5u4N0NUqgNzcCgQthoC07kQAvD_BwE

That will give you decent volume and sound quality is pretty heavily dependent on those 4" dash speakers, because of placement. Bass is still pretty lacking, but at least you can hear it and have relatively full range sound. The Kicker Key 200.4 upgrade with the Bronco specific harness is well reviewed and a really good setup to install, but is over your budget without speakers. https://plugnplaykits.com/products/...1&_sid=483568ab8&_ss=r&variant=41305703350462

Mattwings

It's a very good first step to go with some upgraded 4" speakers and "400hz bass blockers". I tried Infinity Reference Series and ended up using them for rears and used Kicker https://www.crutchfield.com/S-PDdUh...JkH0cBLG3aY96S2piJcyUY6lDtPKxU2RoC42AQAvD_BwE .It gives you a bit more volume and clarity. For me, it went from unacceptable to decent top on and at least audible with the top off. That ends up about $100 if you install it yourself. My suggested next step to stay in that budget would be a small 4 channel amp with high level inputs. That should be about $250 with install parts. I used a Kenwood "marine rated" amp https://www.crutchfield.com/S-vjw71...BNbaSUyzI3dm-Vw5u4N0NUqgNzcCgQthoC07kQAvD_BwE

That will give you decent volume and sound quality is pretty heavily dependent on those 4" dash speakers, because of placement. Bass is still pretty lacking, but at least you can hear it and have relatively full range sound. The Kicker Key 200.4 upgrade with the Bronco specific harness is well reviewed and a really good setup to install, but is over your budget without speakers. https://plugnplaykits.com/products/...1&_sid=483568ab8&_ss=r&variant=41305703350462

Appreciate your help!

So you suggest replacing just the front 4" and adding the amp now? Will the 4 channel amp be enough for all 6 speakers eventually, or do I need to future proof that?

ATXBroncBuilder

Appreciate your help!

So you suggest replacing just the front 4" and adding the amp now? Will the 4 channel amp be enough for all 6 speakers eventually, or do I need to future proof that?

The front 4 speakers are wired together. I never checked if they were in parallel or series ( I replaced the 6.75" kick panel speakers as well and wired then in parallel for a 2ohm load) but either way, that will be 2 channels. The rears are separate and will run fine off the other 2 channels. There is a factory cut off for low frequencies that can be modified with Forscan, but personally I would leave it as is an avoid paying for bass blockers for the rear. The amp should be adequate until you want a sub. that can be a separate amp or powered sub to fit in with the initial set up and investment.

I personally used the factory "amp" to power the rears, but I prefer a front sound stage, so the rear speakers are just for a little fill and rear passenger sound for those times people are in the back (not often). I bridged the second two channels and used the internal crossover to power an 8' sub in a custom enclosure. I have it detailed in the forum - https://thebronconation.com/forums/threads/audio-upgrade-with-sub-and-amp.11543/#post-170437

Mattwings

The front 4 speakers are wired together. I never checked if they were in parallel or series ( I replaced the 6.75" kick panel speakers as well and wired then in parallel for a 2ohm load) but either way, that will be 2 channels. The rears are separate and will run fine off the other 2 channels. There is a factory cut off for low frequencies that can be modified with Forscan, but personally I would leave it as is an avoid paying for bass blockers for the rear. The amp should be adequate until you want a sub. that can be a separate amp or powered sub to fit in with the initial set up and investment.

I personally used the factory "amp" to power the rears, but I prefer a front sound stage, so the rear speakers are just for a little fill and rear passenger sound for those times people are in the back (not often). I bridged the second two channels and used the internal crossover to power an 8' sub in a custom enclosure. I have it detailed in the forum - https://thebronconation.com/forums/threads/audio-upgrade-with-sub-and-amp.11543/#post-170437

I think you've helped me make up my mind then! I've got a black diamond with washable floors so the marine grade fixtures would probably fit the theme there. I might eventually want to do marine pods for the back like previously suggested in this thread and skip the sub all together.

Appreciate the help!

Here are some stereo stuff I bought based on Mattwings prior posts FYI:

https://thebronconation.com/forums/threads/finally-a-ship-date.11124/page-6#post-179241

You can always upgrade in stages. I can tell you that I first installed 4" Kicker CS series speakers in the dash. I used bass blockers. The difference in JUST this stage was VERY Noticeable - and I'm no audiophile. I then upgraded the kick panel speakers. While the OEM speakers aren't bad at all - for what they are, where they are located and what they are designed to do - if you ever plan on adding an amp, me personally I'd replace them.

I installed a Kicker Key 200.4 amp with a plug n play harness. The difference in sound is absolutely ridiculous. We've got a 2dr BB that I installed a Bestop soft top on. (best mod hands down for the 2dr in my opinion). Before, I rarely turned the factory stereo up beyond 15 or so (interstate speeds / top down) because it started to sound SO BAD at any volume beyond that.

After the amp and speakers - the sound is so good, I find myself turning it up loud. Not as loud as 15 (no need with an amp / speakers). My wife and I just came back from a long weekend trip. 750+ miles round trip. Top down, 68-78mph interstate speeds, volume at 10-14 (depending on song / source) was PLENTY loud.

In a way I wished I'd never done it. It sounds so good now, just ordered a Kicker 8" Hideaway powered sub.