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I recently embarked on a project to upgrade the audio system in my 2023 Bronco Badlands. The stock stere is pretty awful so this was high on my priority list.
A bit about my audio background – I grew up in the 90s and developed a love from music which translated to a passion for high end car stereo. My first real stereo build was in my FD RX7 with a PPI Pro-650, MB Quart Components and JL 10W6 in the trunk. I am still rocking the same PPI Pro-650 with Focal component and a JL sub in my Mazda 6. (The RX-7 now have a JL 10TW3, JL HD amp and C5 components)
I originally planned a somewhat basic build with a stand-alone DSP and a JL HD 900/5 amp that I had in my Jeep. As I started researching and collecting components, the system continued to evolve (and cost more):
Fronts – Focal K2 3-way components
Rear – JL Audio C5-650 (overkill but I already own them)
Sub – JL 10TW3 shallow mount sub
Amps: Audison Forza AF M5.11 – Running Front woofers, Mids & Sub
Audison SR4.300.2 - Running Tweeters and Rear fill
Amp Mounting – My goal for mounting the amps was to find a place that would be safe from water, should the interior get rained on or I decide to ford some deep water (It’s a Bronco thing). This was one of the driving factors that made the Audison package attractive. My original thought was to mount the amps under the rear seat but once I figured out I could fit them under the dash, it was a no-brainer. I designed a clever mounting system that utilizes factory points, keeping the amps tucked nicely up under the dash.
AF5.11 Mount, uses all factory mounting points without any modifications to the vehicle:
SR4.300 mounts on top of the AF5.11. I was able to leave what should be enough space so things stay cool.
The mid and tweeter placement in the dash presented another challenge. I crafted a non-traditional metal mount, which allowed me to slightly overlap the speakers. This required some trimming of the dash but left both mounting screws in tact. I was also able to use the factory speaker covers, giving it a factory look.
Cad Design:
Brackets:
Installed:
The woofers were easy, I opted to make my own spacers out of 5/8” birch plywood. I could have purchased plastic spacers but it was just as easy to make a pair.
Woofer Spacer:
Installed:
Subwoofer mounting – I waffled over two locations for the sub – the factory location in the cargo area or tailgate mounted. The factory location was definitely more tricky but this gave me a much more factory look and wouldn’t lose cargo space. This made the decision pretty easy for me - factory location. I used a combination of ¾ MDO plywood and fiberglass. I started out making the face to locate the speaker and worked from there. Once I had a portion made with plywood, I mounted it to the chassis through the factory mounts. I then applied a layer of masking tape over everything, then a layer of ¼” carpet pad and another layer of masking tape.
I laid up two layers of fiberglass to get the basic shape. Once dry, I removed and put 3 more layers on the outside of the box and also attached the face with screws and fiberglass. Overall, the box turned out great from a functional standpoint.
Sub Cover - The bronco comes with a factory 8” subwoofer in the same area but I had to shift the TW3 further back so it didn’t line up with the factory hole. This caused me to get creative in my cover design.
Material:
½” MDO Plywood
Diamond Grill material – Plastic
Carbon look Marine grade vinyl
The basic shape:
Test fitment:
Making it perfectly contour to the factory panel via Body Filler:
I used threaded inserts for all mounting points;
Weldwood Landau Contact adhesive to attach vinyl:
Final Wrapping (was not easy)
Overall, I am very happy with how the cover came out.
Wiring: Wiring was kept pretty streamlined due to the convenient location of the amps. I was able to pre-assemble the harnesses using Tesa tape, which gave a very factory look. I ran 16 gauge for the woofer and mid and 18 gauge for the tweeter. The sub has 12 gauge running to the back.
Front harness:
For power, my main power wire is 2 gauge which reduces to 4 gauge for the 5.11 and 8 gauge for the 4300, all through a single fuse block mounted on factory studs under the dash.
Fuse Bracket:
Installed:
Once I had everything installed, now came the nerve racking part…. Tuning the DSP. It is important to note that this was my first venture into the DSP world. I know Audison doesn’t have the best reputation on here but the new Forza Bit series caught my attention. I watched their setup/tuning videos on YouTube and also played with the software and it seemed pretty intuitive.
I used the setup wizard to get everything close enough to start. Within the wizard, it walks you through setting up time delays, Cross-Over points and check polarity. My input signal was pretty flat since I used ForScan to turn off any EQ settings coming from the vehicle. It took me about 2-3 hours to do the initial tune. At this time, I had the system sounding pretty good but wanted to give my ears some rest. After a couple days of listening to the stereo, I went back for another fine tuning session and I have to say, it improved a ton over the initial tune.
My NOVICE review of Audisons software is that it is very easy to use and I am extremely happy with how it currently sounds.
Final Thoughts: This was more challenging of a project than I originally expected but I am extremely happy with how everything turned out. It is by far the best car stereo I have installed and probably one of the cleanest installs to date. The project allowed me to use a just about every skill in my arsenal, Metal Working, Wiring, Woodworking, Fiberglassing and Computer tuning.
A bit about my audio background – I grew up in the 90s and developed a love from music which translated to a passion for high end car stereo. My first real stereo build was in my FD RX7 with a PPI Pro-650, MB Quart Components and JL 10W6 in the trunk. I am still rocking the same PPI Pro-650 with Focal component and a JL sub in my Mazda 6. (The RX-7 now have a JL 10TW3, JL HD amp and C5 components)
I originally planned a somewhat basic build with a stand-alone DSP and a JL HD 900/5 amp that I had in my Jeep. As I started researching and collecting components, the system continued to evolve (and cost more):
Fronts – Focal K2 3-way components
Rear – JL Audio C5-650 (overkill but I already own them)
Sub – JL 10TW3 shallow mount sub
Amps: Audison Forza AF M5.11 – Running Front woofers, Mids & Sub
Audison SR4.300.2 - Running Tweeters and Rear fill
Amp Mounting – My goal for mounting the amps was to find a place that would be safe from water, should the interior get rained on or I decide to ford some deep water (It’s a Bronco thing). This was one of the driving factors that made the Audison package attractive. My original thought was to mount the amps under the rear seat but once I figured out I could fit them under the dash, it was a no-brainer. I designed a clever mounting system that utilizes factory points, keeping the amps tucked nicely up under the dash.
AF5.11 Mount, uses all factory mounting points without any modifications to the vehicle:
SR4.300 mounts on top of the AF5.11. I was able to leave what should be enough space so things stay cool.
The mid and tweeter placement in the dash presented another challenge. I crafted a non-traditional metal mount, which allowed me to slightly overlap the speakers. This required some trimming of the dash but left both mounting screws in tact. I was also able to use the factory speaker covers, giving it a factory look.
Cad Design:
Brackets:
Installed:
The woofers were easy, I opted to make my own spacers out of 5/8” birch plywood. I could have purchased plastic spacers but it was just as easy to make a pair.
Woofer Spacer:
Installed:
Subwoofer mounting – I waffled over two locations for the sub – the factory location in the cargo area or tailgate mounted. The factory location was definitely more tricky but this gave me a much more factory look and wouldn’t lose cargo space. This made the decision pretty easy for me - factory location. I used a combination of ¾ MDO plywood and fiberglass. I started out making the face to locate the speaker and worked from there. Once I had a portion made with plywood, I mounted it to the chassis through the factory mounts. I then applied a layer of masking tape over everything, then a layer of ¼” carpet pad and another layer of masking tape.
I laid up two layers of fiberglass to get the basic shape. Once dry, I removed and put 3 more layers on the outside of the box and also attached the face with screws and fiberglass. Overall, the box turned out great from a functional standpoint.
Sub Cover - The bronco comes with a factory 8” subwoofer in the same area but I had to shift the TW3 further back so it didn’t line up with the factory hole. This caused me to get creative in my cover design.
Material:
½” MDO Plywood
Diamond Grill material – Plastic
Carbon look Marine grade vinyl
The basic shape:
Test fitment:
Making it perfectly contour to the factory panel via Body Filler:
I used threaded inserts for all mounting points;
Weldwood Landau Contact adhesive to attach vinyl:
Final Wrapping (was not easy)
Overall, I am very happy with how the cover came out.
Wiring: Wiring was kept pretty streamlined due to the convenient location of the amps. I was able to pre-assemble the harnesses using Tesa tape, which gave a very factory look. I ran 16 gauge for the woofer and mid and 18 gauge for the tweeter. The sub has 12 gauge running to the back.
Front harness:
For power, my main power wire is 2 gauge which reduces to 4 gauge for the 5.11 and 8 gauge for the 4300, all through a single fuse block mounted on factory studs under the dash.
Fuse Bracket:
Installed:
Once I had everything installed, now came the nerve racking part…. Tuning the DSP. It is important to note that this was my first venture into the DSP world. I know Audison doesn’t have the best reputation on here but the new Forza Bit series caught my attention. I watched their setup/tuning videos on YouTube and also played with the software and it seemed pretty intuitive.
I used the setup wizard to get everything close enough to start. Within the wizard, it walks you through setting up time delays, Cross-Over points and check polarity. My input signal was pretty flat since I used ForScan to turn off any EQ settings coming from the vehicle. It took me about 2-3 hours to do the initial tune. At this time, I had the system sounding pretty good but wanted to give my ears some rest. After a couple days of listening to the stereo, I went back for another fine tuning session and I have to say, it improved a ton over the initial tune.
My NOVICE review of Audisons software is that it is very easy to use and I am extremely happy with how it currently sounds.
Final Thoughts: This was more challenging of a project than I originally expected but I am extremely happy with how everything turned out. It is by far the best car stereo I have installed and probably one of the cleanest installs to date. The project allowed me to use a just about every skill in my arsenal, Metal Working, Wiring, Woodworking, Fiberglassing and Computer tuning.
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