Base Sound System Upgrade/Build

[redone17]

Bass blockers: I used 1 package PAC BB-4PR - ends up no you don't need blockers for the rears, the rear outputs are filtered at the head unit, can be disabled using FORSCAN.

So, I hastily put in blockers in the rear - without really testing without if there was similar crunching noise that the fronts had. What exactly gets “disabled”? I’ll hop on Forscan later. Wonder if the Crutchfield blockers will do a better job. They worked wonders for the front.

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[zombie]

So, I hastily put in blockers in the rear - without really testing without if there was similar crunching noise that the fronts had. What exactly gets “disabled”? I’ll hop on Forscan later. Wonder if the Crutchfield blockers will do a better job. They worked wonders for the front.

Installing High Pass Filters (bass blockers) on the rears likely wouldn't have any negative effects, but they aren't required. Not sure of the exact frequency range that is sent to the rears by default (likely filters everything below 300 or 400hz, but I'm just guessing).

 

[marjen]

So, I hastily put in blockers in the rear - without really testing without if there was similar crunching noise that the fronts had. What exactly gets “disabled”? I’ll hop on Forscan later. Wonder if the Crutchfield blockers will do a better job. They worked wonders for the front.

Lets see how much I have learned about car audio in general and the bronco in the last week lol.

I believe what the bass blockers do is block the audio frequencies below the cutoff indicated in your blocker. So if you got a 300 hz blocker it blocks all sound below that level, if you gto the 600 hz blockers it blocks all sound below 600 hz.

in the front you use them because of the way the speakers are wired from the factory. The kick panel speakers are taking the lower frequencies and its routing the higher frequencies to the dash speaker. So you use the blocker in the top to make sure the lower frequencies are only output from the kick panel speaker.

The rear speakers dont have an equivalent kick panel speaker to work with so you want all frequencies routed to the 4” speakers.

Does this make sense?

Also I think if you add an amp to the system you could actually get 2-way speakers for the kick panels and send full signal o the dash and kick panel speakers. But not 100% sure on that yet.

 

[redone17]

@zombie - makes sense, just wondering if getting a bit more bass from the rear would make for a fuller sound.

I’ll report back on what I see in Forscan.

I’m still totally happy with my Infinity upgrade.

 

[zombie]

Lets see how much I have learned about car audio in general and the bronco in the last week lol.

I believe what the bass blockers do is block the audio frequencies below the cutoff indicated in your blocker. So if you got a 300 hz blocker it blocks all sound below that level, if you gto the 600 hz blockers it blocks all sound below 600 hz.

in the front you use them because of the way the speakers are wired from the factory. The kick panel speakers are taking the lower frequencies and its routing the higher frequencies to the dash speaker. So you use the blocker in the top to make sure the lower frequencies are only output from the kick panel speaker.

The rear speakers dont have an equivalent kick panel speaker to work with so you want all frequencies routed to the 4” speakers.

Does this make sense?

Also I think if you add an amp to the system you could actually get 2-way speakers for the kick panels and send full signal o the dash and kick panel speakers. But not 100% sure on that yet.

Not quite right... the kick panel speakers take every frequency passed to them by the head unit, and they route the exact same signal to the dash speakers through some jumper wires (pin 1 to 2, pin 3 to 4, IIRC) The stock dash speakers include a built in "bass blocker" (I really hate that term, lol) so they sound "okay".

You don't want all frequencies routed to the 4" rear speakers because most 4" speakers simply cannot cope with low frequencies, every speaker has a range of frequencies they are rated for and most 4" speakers have a higher "low end" rating than larger speakers.

If you don't install HPF/bass blockers on the dash speakers you will hear why, there will be distortion and buzzing. If you use forscan to disable the software setting to restrict the sound going to the rears you will likely need to use a HPF/bass blocker to stop them sounding like garbage.

FWIW, the reason I hate the term "blocker" is they don't block anything, they pass frequencies above a certain level (hence the term high pass filter, the opposite exists and is called a low pass filter, there are also band pass filters that pass frequencies within a certain low/high range)

 

[marjen]

Not quite right... the kick panel speakers take every frequency passed to them by the head unit, and they route the exact same signal to the dash speakers through some jumper wires (pin 1 to 2, pin 3 to 4, IIRC) The stock dash speakers include a built in "bass blocker" (I really hate that term, lol) so they sound "okay".

You don't want all frequencies routed to the 4" rear speakers because most 4" speakers simply cannot cope with low frequencies, every speaker has a range of frequencies they are rated for and most 4" speakers have a higher "low end" rating than larger speakers.

If you don't install HPF/bass blockers on the dash speakers you will hear why, there will be distortion and buzzing. If you use forscan to disable the software setting to restrict the sound going to the rears you will likely need to use a HPF/bass blocker to stop them sounding like garbage.

FWIW, the reason I hate the term "blocker" is they don't block anything, they pass frequencies above a certain level (hence the term high pass filter, the opposite exists and is called a low pass filter, there are also band pass filters that pass frequencies within a certain low/high range)

So are the blockers acting as sort of passive crossovers? And why does it allow all frequencies to the 6” mid bass driver? Isn’t the 6” driver limited on the high end?

If using an amp with DSP, would just just route the signal from the head unit to the amp, and then use separate amp channels for the 4” and 6” speakers?

 

[zombie]

So are the blockers acting as sort of passive crossovers? And why does it allow all frequencies to the 6” mid bass driver? Isn’t the 6” driver limited on the high end?

If using an amp with DSP, would just just route the signal from the head unit to the amp, and then use separate amp channels for the 4” and 6” speakers?

The signals goes from the head unit to the plug to the 6.5" kick panel speakers and literally is just connected straight to the wires to the 4" dash speakers with some short loops of wire back into the same connector that goes to the 6.5" speakers. All of the filtering on the factory dash speakers is done right at the 4" speaker itself via a capacitor (acting as a High Pass Filter/bass blocker).

Even tho the rears are amplified, they still do not have access to the frequencies that the factory head unit wasn't sending in the first place. Amplification is just that, it amplifies a signal.

If you had a fancy amplifier that allowed you to adjust a software EQ/DSP, it might be worth disabling the software filter to the rears so that you could tailor it to your specific speakers, but for most people that is likely overkill.

In my particular case I took the 4 channel output from the factory head unit, ran it into a 5 channel line converter and then via RCA cables into a 5 channel kenwood amp.
The front outputs then went back to the 6.5" speaker and then I split the signal off to the 4" dash speakers.
The rear outputs went up to the 4" rear pods.
Sub channel goes to a Rockford Fosgate 12" sub.

You would need a 6 channel amplifier to run discrete audio signals to the rear speakers and the front speakers separately.

 

[Perfect-Beast-2]

I ordered the JBL sound bar to be installed on my BD. Will see tomorrow when I pick it up how it performs.

I picked up my truck today, and the JBL speaker is great! Rocked all day topless. The one downside is that the bar is rather thick and cuts rear visibility to about half.

 

[VictoryLights]

Do we have a best practice for the time being for connecting the 4” speakers in the dash and rear pods? Are we currently cutting wires and splicing them or is there a cleaner approach right now?

I see that there is a metra connector that works with the 6.5” speakers, but I haven’t seen anybody mention one for the 4” speakers.

 

[Bert20000]

Do we have a best practice for the time being for connecting the 4” speakers in the dash and rear pods? Are we currently cutting wires and splicing them or is there a cleaner approach right now?

I see that there is a metra connector that works with the 6.5” speakers, but I haven’t seen anybody mention one for the 4” speakers.

Some are using 31067-1071, which means no splicing on factory wires. See the thread https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/4”-speaker-harness-pics.21393/page-5#post-785105

 

[RhodeIslandRed]

The signals goes from the head unit to the plug to the 6.5" kick panel speakers and literally is just connected straight to the wires to the 4" dash speakers with some short loops of wire back into the same connector that goes to the 6.5" speakers. All of the filtering on the factory dash speakers is done right at the 4" speaker itself via a capacitor (acting as a High Pass Filter/bass blocker).

Even tho the rears are amplified, they still do not have access to the frequencies that the factory head unit wasn't sending in the first place. Amplification is just that, it amplifies a signal.

If you had a fancy amplifier that allowed you to adjust a software EQ/DSP, it might be worth disabling the software filter to the rears so that you could tailor it to your specific speakers, but for most people that is likely overkill.

In my particular case I took the 4 channel output from the factory head unit, ran it into a 5 channel line converter and then via RCA cables into a 5 channel kenwood amp.
The front outputs then went back to the 6.5" speaker and then I split the signal off to the 4" dash speakers.
The rear outputs went up to the 4" rear pods.
Sub channel goes to a Rockford Fosgate 12" sub.

You would need a 6 channel amplifier to run discrete audio signals to the rear speakers and the front speakers separately.

You lost me when talking about the backs. If i am just replacing the four 4"s (no amp/nothing else), do i need HPFs for the backs?

 

[zombie]

You lost me when talking about the backs. If i am just replacing the four 4"s (no amp/nothing else), do i need HPFs for the backs?

The rear speakers are filtered by the factory head unit itself, there is no need to install filters on the rear speakers.

 

[zombie]

Do we have a best practice for the time being for connecting the 4” speakers in the dash and rear pods? Are we currently cutting wires and splicing them or is there a cleaner approach right now?

I see that there is a metra connector that works with the 6.5” speakers, but I haven’t seen anybody mention one for the 4” speakers.

As I said in just about every stereo thread on here, there are metra harnesses that work, they just don't fit 100%

Metra 72-5600 don't snap into the factory connectors cleanly, but they do fit and do work.

 

[Lonestar777]

As I said in just about every stereo thread on here, there are metra harnesses that work, they just don't fit 100%

Metra 72-5600 don't snap into the factory connectors cleanly, but they do fit and do work.

Probably user error on my part, but I couldn’t get these connectors to plug into the stock harness for the 4” dash speakers, and I don’t see how they would work. The male blade part of the metra connector is much bigger than the receptacle in the stock harness. I was able to push the stripped wire ends from the speaker into the stock harness connector for now.

 

[buzpro]

why are you guys so insistent on using these factory connectors that are not the right size? .... just cut and strip the wires and hook up directly directly to your new speakers

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