Bronco standard sound system 6 speaker upgrade DIY writeup w/ instructions (dash & kick panel speaker removal) & wiring diagram

[WarthogJr]

Luckily there are some pretty decent line converters out there so all hope is not lost.

My Kenwood KAC-D8105 5 channel amp should be here later today, line converter just got dropped off earlier.

Agreed. Nearly every amp worth its weight has high level inputs. And LOCs are cheap if your old amp doesn't have them. More than one way to skin a cat.

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[stormshadow3800]

Thanks for the replies. I used to do a lot of stereo stuff back in the 90's.... Wasn't sure on things now a days. I have used the high level outputs before, but from previous experience it wasn't as clean sounding as doing RCA pre-outs. I'm guessing things have changed a lot since I was bangin'.

 

[zombie]

Thanks for the replies. I used to do a lot of stereo stuff back in the 90's.... Wasn't sure on things now a days. I have used the high level outputs before, but from previous experience it wasn't as clean sounding as doing RCA pre-outs. I'm guessing things have changed a lot since I was bangin'.

Oh you're still much better off if you can use pre-outs, but when you've got a head unit that either cannot be changed or cannot easily be changed, high level beats the alternative, IMO.

 

[Jbronc74]

WIthout looking, I will pretty much guarantee there are no pre-outs on the head unit, I can't think of many un-amplified stock head units that come with pre-outs.

Ford built this audio system to a price point and that price point did not include pre-outs that weren't used.

yea no pre outs.. If you have b and o then you need to get something called a zen module. Audio Interface - ZEN-A2B - NAV-TV (navtv.com) this is the the best interface to get clean level sound from the factory head unit so you can properly add amps. I did this for my expedition and it sounds amazing.

 

[JakeC]

yea no pre outs.. If you have b and o then you need to get something called a zen module. Audio Interface - ZEN-A2B - NAV-TV (navtv.com) this is the the best interface to get clean level sound from the factory head unit so you can properly add amps. I did this for my expedition and it sounds amazing.

Dude, that's $1018 !! woah..

 

[dingle87]

Dude, that's $1018 !! woah..

I just looked at that link, that's discontinued... but if you click the item that replaces it, it's $720. $300 savings! LOL. Still pricey, but if you're looking to do that type of upgrade, probably worth the cost.

 

[zombie]

I bought this for less than $100 CAD, and I'm sure it will do the job well enough for my needs:
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07C723VT4/

 

[CarbonBronco]

It sounds one-thousand times better than stock.
I have always found that the speaker baffles make a big difference in the sound. I found this out in my previous Jeep install after having the rollbar speaker next to my head. At first, I had only the speaker mounted then after hearing the hollowness of the speakers and speaking to my Crutchfield rep they said to either fill the cavity with Poly-Fil or use a speaker baffle like Boom Mat.
I didn't want the messiness of the PolyFil so I went with the Boom Mat. If anything it will be good to have in the kick panel speaker as there is no sound baffling at all at that location.

hey Brother i got a question for you on the speakers and locations are all the speakers coaxials? i presume there are not components that have a seprated tweekter and mid ranger woofer? also the factroy location for the 8" subwoofer is there anything there since this is not a upgraded sound package? im debating doing a 3 stage speaker set up probably something from Focal or the likes. so trying to plan out.

 

[jb_dot]

This is amazing - I'm already looking to use this as a guide for my Bronco when it gets here (hopefully anyday now!).

One question I have - and I may have missed it, is this for a 4 door? How would this change for a 2-door?

 

[RoLyMa27]

Luckily there are some pretty decent line converters out there so all hope is not lost.

My Kenwood KAC-D8105 5 channel amp should be here later today, line converter just got dropped off earlier.

Nice amp! What speaker's are you going with? Back in the day I was a big fan of Kenwood. I had a Kenwood separates home setup pushing 15" Cerwin Vega speakers! Man that thing would rock!

 

[zombie]

Just using junk crutchfield house brands for now, but will likely switch to something better depending on how this experiment ends up.

 

[nminus1]

One of the best DIY posts I have seen on this forum. Seeing 25 watt speakers stock from FoMoCo is pathetic. For perhaps 40-50$ more per vehicle they could have put a decent sound system in a 40k vehicle. I hope they didn't scrimp anywhere else, especially on the drivetrain.
Great Job thank you for taking the time on such a good post!

 

[monkeysdad]

Did you use the bass blockers just on the 4" in the front dash?

 

[BroncRik]

Did you use the bass blockers just on the 4" in the front dash?

The Bass Blockers are used only in the front as the low end in the front is routed to the kick panel speakers. I didn't bother with the rears as those are so far back. I am hoping some form of aftermarket option with larger pods will become available that I can just add some larger speakers back there.

 

[zombie]

Did you use the bass blockers just on the 4" in the front dash?

You don't need them on the rears, they're filtered at the head unit. And you don't need to (and likely don't want to) filter the 6.5 kick panel speakers.

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