Base Sound System Upgrade/Build

[62chad]

Same with the Infinity. Gotta cut off two of the tabs.

DAMN. Are Focal THAT much better?

Well first time I've used focal. Heard they were one of the best, so giving them a try. They are super crisp you hear everything. Much better base than stock.

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[Mike777]

Quick question....I've called 4 local Sound Audio shops and most have 300-500 4 star+ google reviews. With the Bronco being a brand new vehicle and of course non of them actually have worked on the Bronco. Would you trust it? Would it void the warranty if they replace all 6 speakers including adding an amp and sub?

 

[fitterhappier]

Quick question....I've called 4 local Sound Audio shops and most have 300-500 4 star+ google reviews. With the Bronco being a brand new vehicle and of course non of them actually have worked on the Bronco. Would you trust it? Would it void the warranty if they replace all 6 speakers including adding an amp and sub?

I don't think it would void the warranty. Based on everything I've seen, the biggest pain would be the front speakers in the kick panels. The 4" in the dash and rears (outside of possibly some custom wiring/splicing) should be pretty straightforward. Amp/sub shouldn't be any different than any other typical SUV in terms of installing the wiring/thru the firewall/routing to the trunk. I'd base the decision off of the shop that has the best custom install feedback. If they're skilled at super custom installs, the Bronco should be a breeze.

ps I'm in Austin so let us know who you go through! I'm in the same boat looking for parts and a quality installer.

 

[Portapot]

Update to the progress report, got the 6.5" Sound Ordnance installed today w/ some boom mat, and somehow it actually sounds worse than the factory speakers... Not sure how that's even possible.
Also, and this is a deal breaker for me, the tweeters on the P-65B's (they're 2-ways, obviously) protrude so far that the factory speaker covers can't be reinstalled.

I had a similar result with Inifinity 4" and Infinity 6.5" in kick panel, with boom mat all around, until I put bass blocker on the dash speakers. I still thought the sound was about the same as from factory when i was done. Kind of disappointed. The Inifnity's were clearly better speakers but the factory system the way it is designed just seemed to take better advantage of the cheaper components. A scenario where the sum of the whole is greater than the individual components IMHO. I think if you really want to do this right an amp is needed. When my 2 door comes in I may just have a shop do it professionally. Replacing speakers easy, adding the amp is a PITA for me and I am bound to hose it up ;o)

 

[Oh yea Bronco!]

These only fit in the front. Just tried the rears and the middle thing sticks out too far. I made it work but not ideal.

did you also add bass blockers to the front? What did you do to make the rears work?

 

[2022 base]

I always go with components... spreading out the tweeter helps create the soundstage. Just my personal taste.

What are you going with for the rest of the speakers? Does a 3-way component system make any sense for the fronts?

I found 3 way components that will work for all the fronts...MB-Quart PS1-316 $349.99 on Crutchfield

UPDATE: $135.99 on sale today

 

[HalfCab]

Big thanks to the contributors of this thread! I just completed my upgrade and am very happy with the results.

I decided to start with the addition of amps and a subwoofer, leaving the factory speakers to see if they would wake up with amplification. After install, I've decided that no speaker upgrade is needed - factory units perform very well with an amp and equalization.

I have included pic and model # of a great fitting loaded sub enclosure - even the carpet color was a near perfect match.

System:
Factory 6 speaker system (2 door Wildtrak) - now connected to a Kicker Key200.4 (installed in dash on factory knee brace/support). This amp did an amazing job with it's auto programming and auto equalizer (done with included microphone). Retained wiring in factory configuration (kick panel speakers and dash speakers on front channels, rear pods on rear channels).

Subwoofer/enclosure: Kicker 10" downfiring, shallow mount 48CVTDF102
Sub Amp: Kicker Key500.1 (installed under driver seat), also purchased the subwoofer remote level control Kicker 46CX (installed in recess below climate controls).

Sounds fantastic and capable of unbearable volume without distortion.

Thanks again for the info - schematics and pics were very helpful.

 

[airstreamin]

Just finished the install on my base two door this past weekend. Many thanks to the contributors of this post and especially @philjmatt for the idea of the mounting of the kicker key 200.4. This placement allowed for short runs of speaker and power & ground wires.

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/base-sound-system-upgrade-build.18480/post-746171

I watched several install videos from Five Star Car Audio as well for inspiration on the kicker key wiring and tuning. Check those guys out for great instruction

Build.
Kicker Key 200.4 - running this in biamp mode to the front four inch coaxial and 6.5 inch mid bass drivers in the kick panels. There’s a factory grounding point right above the driver kickpanel speaker.

Kicker Key 500.1 - mounted under the drivers seat on an ABS plastic panel between the seat bolts. Easy to run the different wires to this location since there’s a large wire run along the seat. Using seat bolt as grounding point.

Kicker CS 4inch coaxial speaker- I was going to use these for the real pods since the Morel 4 inch speakers were too deep for the dash so I had to use these in a pinch. They sound great and I might just keep them up front.

Memphis Audio 6.5 inch mid bass in the kick panels. Despite what others have said, I think the kickpanel speakers (when powered) are essential for a proper front sound stage. I went with the Memphis since it’s difficult to find just mid bass speakers a la cart. The sensitivity is also off the charts and was recommended by someone in this thread. https://www.crutchfield.com/p_953MJP6/Memphis-Audio-MJP6.html

DD Audio Subwoofer. Given the storage space is a premium in a two door, I needed to keep it small. These 6.5 inch subwoofers are no joke. Amazing how the technology has progressed over the years. https://ddaudio.com/series/le-s-series/?status=2&global=2

Metra harness to pull signal and then connects to the factory speaker wire for the dash 4 inch. https://www.crutchfield.com/p_120725602/Metra-72-5602-Speaker-Wiring-Harness.html

Metra 6.5 speaker adapters. https://www.crutchfield.com/p_120825605/Metra-82-5605-Speaker-Mounting-Brackets.html

build notes and lessons learned

• Next time, I’d run the 8 conductor speed wire rather than bundling individual speaker wires in braided loom. You have to pull signal from where the kickpanels sit and then run two sets of wires from the kicker key 200.4 to amplify the coaxials and kickpanels back to the same location. Speed wires would simplify
• rear speaker pods. I wouldn’t bother with them. They are so useless to begin with, they really only provide rear fill sound. I’d consider removing the pods entirely for a cleaner look. They’re currently powered by the factory radio.
• the kicker key 200.4 uses dc offset to turn on and I ran a blue turn on wire to the 500.1 from the 200.4. Pretty slick feature of the 200.4.
• Running the power wires through the 2 inch rubber grommet was a serious PITA.
• Minor trimming of the kickpanel speaker grill on the inside was required for it to snap back in place.
• I used trim removal tools for the dash speaker and still broke a retaining tab. It still snapped back into place flush though.
• I’m in for about 1400 and think it was money well spent to give the bronco a proper sound system.
• There are better reviews on the kicker key amplifiers out there, so I won’t go into those other than to say they are packed with amazing and easy to use features.

thanks again to the contributors on this thread.

 

[palley6]

I finished my sound upgrades yesterday, part 2 is completed.

Summary:

Kick Panels: 6.5 Infinity Reference
Dash: 4" Infinity Reference (300 bass blockers installed)
Rear Pods: 4" Infinity Reference (no bass blockers)

The work this past weekend was all about installing some bass to even it all out and I went with the Infinity mini-bass (was a huge sale on Crutchfield, footprint is also super small). This was relatively straightforward but I ended up removing just about every plastic trim piece to "do it right" and run my wires cleanly.

Since the plastics were out of the truck I applied a dampening layer EVERYWHERE and man that stuff makes one hell of a difference. I have a BL so I took the rear liner out (unbolt the tie-downs and it comes out in one piece) and applied that mat from edge to edge. I was also able to mount the sub to the liner with a few small screws that dont protrude and hold it tight. It will be hidden with my home built rear deck so its 100% stealth.

Last piece to mention I wired both the remote wire and bass control knob to the dash. The remote wire is connected to the 12v pass through Ford put in from the factory (behind the glove box) and I connected it to Aux switch 5 as a fail-safe and it works great (shuts off when flipped on after car turns off, turns off manually when switched to off from aux switch).

Overall it sounds phenomenal. The bass is truly more than I was even hoping for and with the Infinity Reference's up front the clarity is exceptional. Sorry I dont have any pictures of the install process but if you're in doubt or questioning if its worth it...DO IT. Guessing in total I'm out of pocket at most $500 for everything.

 

[VictoryLights]

Build.
Kicker Key 200.4 - running this in biamp mode to the front four inch coaxial and 6.5 inch mid bass drivers in the kick panels. There’s a factory grounding point right above the driver kickpanel speaker.

How are you able to run this in bi-amp mode if you are powering 4 channels in the front? Aren’t the front kick panel and dash speakers separate channels?

 

[VictoryLights]

Those of you installing subs and amps. Are you tearing apart the entire dash to get to the speaker connections behind the stereo, or are you tapping into the channels elsewhere?

 

[zombie]

Those of you installing subs and amps. Are you tearing apart the entire dash to get to the speaker connections behind the stereo, or are you tapping into the channels elsewhere?

There's no point to looking for connections behind the stereo, there are only high level outputs from the stereo, so tapping in at the speaker is what most (all?) of us have done.

 

[airstreamin]

How are you able to run this in bi-amp mode if you are powering 4 channels in the front? Aren’t the front kick panel and dash speakers separate channels?

bi-amp is kicker’s term for running a fully active front stage using two of the channels for the tweeter/dash speakers and two channels for the woofers. During the key setup process with the microphone it time aligns all of the speakers and determines each speakers frequency response. The alternative setup is four full range speakers which these are not.

 

[airstreamin]

There's no point to looking for connections behind the stereo, there are only high level outputs from the stereo, so tapping in at the speaker is what most (all?) of us have done.

Agreed this is the easiest method.

 

[airstreamin]

I found 3 way components that will work for all the fronts...MB-Quart PS1-316 $349.99 on Crutchfield

UPDATE: $135.99 on sale today

I had seen those as well and thought it was a typo on the price. How are you intending to mount the tweeter assuming the 4 inch drops into the dash slot?

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