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DJ1

Badlands
Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2022
Threads
10
Messages
202
Reaction score
268
Location
Minnesota
Vehicle(s)
2022 Honda Civic Si, 2020 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro
Your Bronco Model
Badlands
This is gong to be a long one, I apologize in advance. I ordered my Badlands SAS with the base stereo since I was pretty sure that even with the B&O, I would have ended up replacing everything anyway. I have enjoyed reading all of the approaches people have taken to get better sound from their Broncos, both base and B&O. I am not a professional, so I am sure there are things I could have done differently, but now the sound system sounds great at any speed.

Background
I have always had big stereos in my cars and most recently I put a complete system with DSP into my Tundra. After hearing that and getting a feel for what DSP tuning can do, I was sold. This is my first stereo upgrade in an open-top car so I was not exactly sure how to approach it. Our wake boat has a stereo that sounds great at speed, with the engine roaring, wind, etc. so I figured I could try to duplicate the things that make that sound good. What I ended up with was trying to find components that work together and an amp that has lots of clean power. I also wanted to have the simplest approach possible, so a 5 channel system with an amp that had a built-in DSP seemed like the best solution for packaging and economics. I have seen a lot of things being done on this forum that I wanted to avoid (forscan reprogramming, boom mats, multiple co-axial speakers, etc.), so here is what I went with:

Equipment List
AudioControl D-5.1300 Amplifier and DSP
Morel Maximo 6 - 6.5" 2-way Speakers for the front
Kicker KSC40 4" Co-Axial for the rears
Kicker 12" sub w/passive radiator
KnuKonceptz Compleet 4GA Wiring Kit and 16GA speaker Wire

Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. stereo equipment


Install Process
The install was fairly straightforward and took a few days to get the entire thing done. One error in the install set me back a bit, but more to come on that later. First, I pulled all of the interior panels out that I needed for access to the various areas. Cargo area floor, rear trim, seat back floor trim and wall. Kick plate panels on all four doors and the access panel under the steering wheel and the glove box. There are plenty of threads that have this info, nothing new to report.

Next I ran the power wire from the cargo area across to the driver side, and then up the wire channels to the grommet under the steering wheel. Again, no issues, easier than working on previous cars. In previous installs I have done, everything was packed in so tightly that there is no room to work. Maybe the body-on-frame just leaves more room for wires and stuff. My Tundra was also really easy to work with. Anyway, here is how the power wire went:
Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. trunk power wire

Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. power firewall

Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. power firewall 2


And then a simple fuse holder with an L-bracket from the hardware store:
Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. fuse


Next was getting the signal from the head unit back to the amp. I have seen T-harnesses and other plug and play solutions, but I couldn't stomach the idea of paying someone that much money to do something I can do myself. Yes, my time is worth more than the cost of a harness, but for $25 of speed wire and an extra 10 minutes, I decided to do it myself. Here is the speed wire I used:

Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. speedwire


8 wires for 4 channels of signal plus a remote wire. I tapped in to the factory signal at the back of the head unit and ran the speed wire back down the passenger side wire channel to get the input signal and remote turn-on to the amp. I also used a new tool for this - a wire puller:
Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. wire puller


No more coat hanger and tape for pulling wires! 12" connectable sections with a wire loop at the end to grab wires. This thing made passing all of the wires through the various places a breeze! So while I was at it, I ran my own speaker wire from the cargo area to the front kick panels and existing roll bar pods. It did take some creative routing to get the rear wiring in place, but nothing too difficult.

Installing speakers was straightforward, Kickers in the rear fit with no problem. I just had to remove the extra mounting tabs and they fit perfectly. 6.5" woofers in the kick panels using the adapters that came with them through Crutchfield. I purchased some tweeter mounting plates from Crutchfield even though they said they wouldn't fit. I thought, "No worries, I can make them fit." I was wrong. So I ended up making some mounting plates from 1/4" plexiglass:
Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. tweeter

I wasn't too worried about the esthetics, nobody is going to see these. It took a couple of tries to get them to fit perfectly. Maybe I should re-evaluate my process of measure once, cut, cut, cut. Passive crossovers in the kick panels tucked up and away. Before mounting to their final location:
Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. crossover


Once I had all the speakers installed and wire going where I needed, I installed the amp. This was my one error that really cost me time. I made an amp rack and mounted the amp like this:
Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. amp 1

I had seen a few like this and I was pretty proud of myself. Until I tried to test fit the panel back in place. I had a couple of clearance issues and blocked a couple of the holes that the panel clips into. Ugh.

So on to amp mount number 2:
Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. amp final


Once I got that sorted I hooked everything up and by some miracle it worked! Next I used the DSP programming to start tuning the system:
Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. ds


I entered the active crossover points and time alignments and then started tuning. This is the audio output on top and the electrical output below. I am using the channel summing feature to get a full range signal to all 5 channels of my system and then controlling crossovers as I want them.
Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. dsp rta


One downside to this is that I lose the ability to fade the front and rear. Fortunately the DSP solved this for my purposes. I have one program set for normal listening and a second program for the front only. That way if we are road tripping and kids want to watch movies or listen to their own music with headphones, I can just choose program 2 and only send sound to the front. I am going to play with the tuning more and see if I want to run a separate program for top off.

Here is the sub control and sub:
Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. sub control

Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. sub

I used a small bracket to attach the sub box to the tie-down point. That is as far as I am going to go with securing the sub.

Final Thoughts
I still have some tuning to do to really optimize the system, but so far it sounds great. Completely clear at 70mph with top off and windows down. The last thing I need to do is make a cover plate for the "access" hole I left in the cargo area panel.

I have seen a lot of different approaches to sound deadening, polyfill, boom mats, etc. After looking at the different areas of the Bronco I only used a few sheets of sound deadening. 1 small piece on the inside of the rear pods just because it was easy and I already had them open. I also put some on the floor of the cargo area. Also because it was easy. When I installed the system in my Tundra I put Kilmat on the rear wall, inside every door and anywhere else I could access. With the Bronco, I have not had any issues with rattles or other unwanted noise.

I was a little concerned about only having the 6.5" woofer and tweeter for the front channels since the factory system had that weird 6.5" and 4" combo thing going. Nothing to worry about, the simple 2-way components up front sound great and have a full, rich sound. I guess simplicity and enough power are good enough.

Overall, this was not hard to do. I enjoy working on my cars and got to spend a weekend in the garage. I already had all of the extra bits (panel tools, heat shrink tubing, wire ferrules, connectors, etc.) from previous installations, so that did help. I still had to make a few runs to the hardware store for brackets, bolts and nuts for mounting the amp and fuse.

Now the system sounds good, has plenty of bass and I can keep tuning it though the DSP to really get it exactly where I want.
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Last edited:

RoLyMa27

Badlands
Well-Known Member
First Name
Rodney
Joined
Jul 14, 2020
Threads
21
Messages
1,853
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4,717
Location
SloKart, TX
Vehicle(s)
21 Bronco, 22 Maverick
Your Bronco Model
Badlands
This is gong to be a long one, I apologize in advance. I ordered my Badlands SAS with the base stereo since I was pretty sure that even with the B&O, I would have ended up replacing everything anyway. I have enjoyed reading all of the approaches people have taken to get better sound from their Broncos, both base and B&O. I am not a professional, so I am sure there are things I could have done differently, but now the sound system sounds great at any speed.

Background
I have always had big stereos in my cars and most recently I put a complete system with DSP into my Tundra. After hearing that and getting a feel for what DSP tuning can do, I was sold. This is my first stereo upgrade in an open-top car so I was not exactly sure how to approach it. Our wake boat has a stereo that sounds great at speed, with the engine roaring, wind, etc. so I figured I could try to duplicate the things that make that sound good. What I ended up with was trying to find components that work together and an amp that has lots of clean power. I also wanted to have the simplest approach possible, so a 5 channel system with an amp that had a built-in DSP seemed like the best solution for packaging and economics. I have seen a lot of things being done on this forum that I wanted to avoid (forscan reprogramming, boom mats, multiple co-axial speakers, etc.), so here is what I went with:

Equipment List
AudioControl D-5.1300 Amplifier and DSP
Morel Maximo 6 - 6.5" 2-way Speakers for the front
Kicker KSC40 4" Co-Axial for the rears
Kicker 12" sub w/passive radiator
KnuKonceptz Compleet 4GA Wiring Kit and 16GA speaker Wire

Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. sub


Install Process
The install was fairly straightforward and took a few days to get the entire thing done. One error in the install set me back a bit, but more to come on that later. First, I pulled all of the interior panels out that I needed for access to the various areas. Cargo area floor, rear trim, seat back floor trim and wall. Kick plate panels on all four doors and the access panel under the steering wheel and the glove box. There are plenty of threads that have this info, nothing new to report.

Next I ran the power wire from the cargo area across to the driver side, and then up the wire channels to the grommet under the steering wheel. Again, no issues, easier than working on previous cars. In previous installs I have done, everything was packed in so tightly that there is no room to work. Maybe the body-on-frame just leaves more room for wires and stuff. My Tundra was also really easy to work with. Anyway, here is how the power wire went:
Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. sub

Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. sub

Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. sub


And then a simple fuse holder with an L-bracket from the hardware store:
Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. sub


Next was getting the signal from the head unit back to the amp. I have seen T-harnesses and other plug and play solutions, but I couldn't stomach the idea of paying someone that much money to do something I can do myself. Yes, my time is worth more than the cost of a harness, but for $25 of speed wire and an extra 10 minutes, I decided to do it myself. Here is the speed wire I used:

Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. sub


8 wires for 4 channels of signal plus a remote wire. I tapped in to the factory signal at the back of the head unit and ran the speed wire back down the passenger side wire channel to get the input signal and remote turn-on to the amp. I also used a new tool for this - a wire puller:
Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. sub


No more coat hanger and tape for pulling wires! 12" connectable sections with a wire loop at the end to grab wires. This thing made passing all of the wires through the various places a breeze! So while I was at it, I ran my own speaker wire from the cargo area to the front kick panels and existing roll bar pods. It did take some creative routing to get the rear wiring in place, but nothing too difficult.

Installing speakers was straightforward, Kickers in the rear fit with no problem. I just had to remove the extra mounting tabs and they fit perfectly. 6.5" woofers in the kick panels using the adapters that came with them through Crutchfield. I purchased some tweeter mounting plates from Crutchfield even though they said they wouldn't fit. I thought, "No worries, I can make them fit." I was wrong. So I ended up making some mounting plates from 1/4" plexiglass:
Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. sub

I wasn't too worried about the esthetics, nobody is going to see these. It took a couple of tries to get them to fit perfectly. Maybe I should re-evaluate my process of measure once, cut, cut, cut. Passive crossovers in the kick panels tucked up and away. Before mounting to their final location:
Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. sub


Once I had all the speakers installed and wire going where I needed, I installed the amp. This was my one error that really cost me time. I made an amp rack and mounted the amp like this:
Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. sub

I had seen a few like this and I was pretty proud of myself. Until I tried to test fit the panel back in place. I had a couple of clearance issues and blocked a couple of the holes that the panel clips into. Ugh.

So on to amp mount number 2:
Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. sub


Once I got that sorted I hooked everything up and by some miracle it worked! Next I used the DSP programming to start tuning the system:
Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. sub


I entered the active crossover points and time alignments and then started tuning. This is the audio output on top and the electrical output below. I am using the channel summing feature to get a full range signal to all 5 channels of my system and then controlling crossovers as I want them.
Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. sub


One downside to this is that I lose the ability to fade the front and rear. Fortunately the DSP solved this for my purposes. I have one program set for normal listening and a second program for the front only. That way if we are road tripping and kids want to watch movies or listen to their own music with headphones, I can just choose program 2 and only send sound to the front. I am going to play with the tuning more and see if I want to run a separate program for top off.

Here is the sub control and sub:
Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. sub

Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. sub

I used a small bracket to attach the sub box to the tie-down point. That is as far as I am going to go with securing the sub.

Final Thoughts
I still have some tuning to do to really optimize the system, but so far it sounds great. Completely clear at 70mph with top off and windows down. The last thing I need to do is make a cover plate for the "access" hole I left in the cargo area panel.

I have seen a lot of different approaches to sound deadening, polyfill, boom mats, etc. After looking at the different areas of the Bronco I only used a few sheets of sound deadening. 1 small piece on the inside of the rear pods just because it was easy and I already had them open. I also put some on the floor of the cargo area. Also because it was easy. When I installed the system in my Tundra I put Kilmat on the rear wall, inside every door and anywhere else I could access. With the Bronco, I have not had any issues with rattles or other unwanted noise.

I was a little concerned about only having the 6.5" woofer and tweeter for the front channels since the factory system had that weird 6.5" and 4" combo thing going. Nothing to worry about, the simple 2-way components up front sound great and have a full, rich sound. I guess simplicity and enough power are good enough.

Overall, this was not hard to do. I enjoy working on my cars and got to spend a weekend in the garage. I already had all of the extra bits (panel tools, heat shrink tubing, wire ferrules, connectors, etc.) from previous installations, so that did help. I still had to make a few runs to the hardware store for brackets, bolts and nuts for mounting the amp and fuse.

Now the system sounds good, has plenty of bass and I can keep tuning it though the DSP to really get it exactly where I want.
I really like where you put the bass control knob. Looks factory. Great job!
 

firecapt

Badlands
Member
First Name
N
Joined
Apr 4, 2022
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Location
New England
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Ram Rebel
Your Bronco Model
Badlands
Great write up and awesome job! Former pro audio guy here, looking to make some moves on my stock BL also. Thanks for taking the shots of the AudioControl tuning also... Seriously considering the 5.1300 also.

Did you create a customer mount for the amp? Did you give any thoughts to other sub options?

I'm torn on factory sub enclosure or something like what you've done. I would love to stuff a single 10" back there and keep it hidden behind that panel... I wish there was a JL Steathbox or some other sub options already.
 
OP
OP
DJ1

DJ1

Badlands
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Joined
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Threads
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202
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268
Location
Minnesota
Vehicle(s)
2022 Honda Civic Si, 2020 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro
Your Bronco Model
Badlands
I did build a custom amp mount with 1/4" plexiglass and used some L brackets and flat bars to fit it in the passenger rear wheel well. It is a very tight fit, but I got everything to work.

For other sub options, yes I did look at other possibilities. I wanted to preserve as much cargo room as possible so a slim sub in a down-firing box was really the only option that seemed to work. And I didn't want to build my own box. Using the B&O system sub enclosure was not something I ever entertained. I don't like the idea of hiding the sub behind thin plastic panels in a plastic enclosure. Once you start pushing real power to a real sub there is too much flex and possibility of rattles for my liking. It can probably be made to work fine, I like the sound properties of an old-school MDF box.

I agree, if JL makes a stealth box that can completely fill that area and look stock, I will probably shift in that direction. I have (2) 10" JLs in my Tundra and they hit super hard and tight. The Kicker 12" defiantly thumps, but with the passive radiator it is a little boomy. Good thing the AudioControl sub control knob works so well. A little adjusting for certain songs keeps everything where I want. I can't say enough good things about the AudioControl amp/dsp combo. Super easy to tune and I have been going in and making minor tweaks just by plugging in my laptop when I notice something I want to adjust.
 
Last edited:
OP
OP
DJ1

DJ1

Badlands
Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2022
Threads
10
Messages
202
Reaction score
268
Location
Minnesota
Vehicle(s)
2022 Honda Civic Si, 2020 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro
Your Bronco Model
Badlands
Great write up and awesome job! Former pro audio guy here, looking to make some moves on my stock BL also. Thanks for taking the shots of the AudioControl tuning also... Seriously considering the 5.1300 also.

Did you create a customer mount for the amp? Did you give any thoughts to other sub options?

I'm torn on factory sub enclosure or something like what you've done. I would love to stuff a single 10" back there and keep it hidden behind that panel... I wish there was a JL Steathbox or some other sub options already.
Also, I can send a picture of the full audio control setup I used. Crossovers, time alignment, levels, etc.
 

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Brock9281

Outer Banks
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First Name
Rob
Joined
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616
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Location
Atlanta
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F150
Your Bronco Model
Outer Banks
What’s the advantage to having the woofer - tweeter vs 6.5” - 4”? Also how do the Morels sound? Im wanting something warm/rich and not something too bright/high
 
OP
OP
DJ1

DJ1

Badlands
Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2022
Threads
10
Messages
202
Reaction score
268
Location
Minnesota
Vehicle(s)
2022 Honda Civic Si, 2020 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro
Your Bronco Model
Badlands
What’s the advantage to having the woofer - tweeter vs 6.5” - 4”? Also how do the Morels sound? Im wanting something warm/rich and not something too bright/high
The Morels sound great. I went with those and the Kickers for the rear mostly because of their power handling and frequency response.

I am not a car audio expert, but the simplicity of a 2-way system with a true tweeter seemed like the best way to get the sound I wanted. A 4" co-axial in the dash would have worked to fill in the missing highs from the factory also. But I didn't like the idea of the overlapping sound from a 4" and 6.5". Or a 3-way setup would have been great, but more work for installation and fabrication than I wanted. Again, I am not a car audio expert.

Also, since I am using both active and passive crossovers I feel like it lets me really maximize what each speaker can do with a simple approach. A fully active crossover system would have been cool, but budget and time pushed me towards simple.
 

Mborkow31

Outer Banks
Well-Known Member
First Name
Mike
Joined
Jul 22, 2021
Threads
2
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131
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292
Location
Massachusetts
Vehicle(s)
Acura TL / Honda CRV
Your Bronco Model
Outer Banks
This is gong to be a long one, I apologize in advance. I ordered my Badlands SAS with the base stereo since I was pretty sure that even with the B&O, I would have ended up replacing everything anyway. I have enjoyed reading all of the approaches people have taken to get better sound from their Broncos, both base and B&O. I am not a professional, so I am sure there are things I could have done differently, but now the sound system sounds great at any speed.

Background
I have always had big stereos in my cars and most recently I put a complete system with DSP into my Tundra. After hearing that and getting a feel for what DSP tuning can do, I was sold. This is my first stereo upgrade in an open-top car so I was not exactly sure how to approach it. Our wake boat has a stereo that sounds great at speed, with the engine roaring, wind, etc. so I figured I could try to duplicate the things that make that sound good. What I ended up with was trying to find components that work together and an amp that has lots of clean power. I also wanted to have the simplest approach possible, so a 5 channel system with an amp that had a built-in DSP seemed like the best solution for packaging and economics. I have seen a lot of things being done on this forum that I wanted to avoid (forscan reprogramming, boom mats, multiple co-axial speakers, etc.), so here is what I went with:

Equipment List
AudioControl D-5.1300 Amplifier and DSP
Morel Maximo 6 - 6.5" 2-way Speakers for the front
Kicker KSC40 4" Co-Axial for the rears
Kicker 12" sub w/passive radiator
KnuKonceptz Compleet 4GA Wiring Kit and 16GA speaker Wire

Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. sub


Install Process
The install was fairly straightforward and took a few days to get the entire thing done. One error in the install set me back a bit, but more to come on that later. First, I pulled all of the interior panels out that I needed for access to the various areas. Cargo area floor, rear trim, seat back floor trim and wall. Kick plate panels on all four doors and the access panel under the steering wheel and the glove box. There are plenty of threads that have this info, nothing new to report.

Next I ran the power wire from the cargo area across to the driver side, and then up the wire channels to the grommet under the steering wheel. Again, no issues, easier than working on previous cars. In previous installs I have done, everything was packed in so tightly that there is no room to work. Maybe the body-on-frame just leaves more room for wires and stuff. My Tundra was also really easy to work with. Anyway, here is how the power wire went:
Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. sub

Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. sub

Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. sub


And then a simple fuse holder with an L-bracket from the hardware store:
Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. sub


Next was getting the signal from the head unit back to the amp. I have seen T-harnesses and other plug and play solutions, but I couldn't stomach the idea of paying someone that much money to do something I can do myself. Yes, my time is worth more than the cost of a harness, but for $25 of speed wire and an extra 10 minutes, I decided to do it myself. Here is the speed wire I used:

Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. sub


8 wires for 4 channels of signal plus a remote wire. I tapped in to the factory signal at the back of the head unit and ran the speed wire back down the passenger side wire channel to get the input signal and remote turn-on to the amp. I also used a new tool for this - a wire puller:
Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. sub


No more coat hanger and tape for pulling wires! 12" connectable sections with a wire loop at the end to grab wires. This thing made passing all of the wires through the various places a breeze! So while I was at it, I ran my own speaker wire from the cargo area to the front kick panels and existing roll bar pods. It did take some creative routing to get the rear wiring in place, but nothing too difficult.

Installing speakers was straightforward, Kickers in the rear fit with no problem. I just had to remove the extra mounting tabs and they fit perfectly. 6.5" woofers in the kick panels using the adapters that came with them through Crutchfield. I purchased some tweeter mounting plates from Crutchfield even though they said they wouldn't fit. I thought, "No worries, I can make them fit." I was wrong. So I ended up making some mounting plates from 1/4" plexiglass:
Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. sub

I wasn't too worried about the esthetics, nobody is going to see these. It took a couple of tries to get them to fit perfectly. Maybe I should re-evaluate my process of measure once, cut, cut, cut. Passive crossovers in the kick panels tucked up and away. Before mounting to their final location:
Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. sub


Once I had all the speakers installed and wire going where I needed, I installed the amp. This was my one error that really cost me time. I made an amp rack and mounted the amp like this:
Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. sub

I had seen a few like this and I was pretty proud of myself. Until I tried to test fit the panel back in place. I had a couple of clearance issues and blocked a couple of the holes that the panel clips into. Ugh.

So on to amp mount number 2:
Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. sub


Once I got that sorted I hooked everything up and by some miracle it worked! Next I used the DSP programming to start tuning the system:
Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. sub


I entered the active crossover points and time alignments and then started tuning. This is the audio output on top and the electrical output below. I am using the channel summing feature to get a full range signal to all 5 channels of my system and then controlling crossovers as I want them.
Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. sub


One downside to this is that I lose the ability to fade the front and rear. Fortunately the DSP solved this for my purposes. I have one program set for normal listening and a second program for the front only. That way if we are road tripping and kids want to watch movies or listen to their own music with headphones, I can just choose program 2 and only send sound to the front. I am going to play with the tuning more and see if I want to run a separate program for top off.

Here is the sub control and sub:
Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. sub

Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. sub

I used a small bracket to attach the sub box to the tie-down point. That is as far as I am going to go with securing the sub.

Final Thoughts
I still have some tuning to do to really optimize the system, but so far it sounds great. Completely clear at 70mph with top off and windows down. The last thing I need to do is make a cover plate for the "access" hole I left in the cargo area panel.

I have seen a lot of different approaches to sound deadening, polyfill, boom mats, etc. After looking at the different areas of the Bronco I only used a few sheets of sound deadening. 1 small piece on the inside of the rear pods just because it was easy and I already had them open. I also put some on the floor of the cargo area. Also because it was easy. When I installed the system in my Tundra I put Kilmat on the rear wall, inside every door and anywhere else I could access. With the Bronco, I have not had any issues with rattles or other unwanted noise.

I was a little concerned about only having the 6.5" woofer and tweeter for the front channels since the factory system had that weird 6.5" and 4" combo thing going. Nothing to worry about, the simple 2-way components up front sound great and have a full, rich sound. I guess simplicity and enough power are good enough.

Overall, this was not hard to do. I enjoy working on my cars and got to spend a weekend in the garage. I already had all of the extra bits (panel tools, heat shrink tubing, wire ferrules, connectors, etc.) from previous installations, so that did help. I still had to make a few runs to the hardware store for brackets, bolts and nuts for mounting the amp and fuse.

Now the system sounds good, has plenty of bass and I can keep tuning it though the DSP to really get it exactly where I want.
Awesome write up. I’m also going the DSP route but I have almost zero experience with install and I’m not remotely handy/skilled so I’m paying for professional install and tuning.
 

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The Morels sound great. I went with those and the Kickers for the rear mostly because of their power handling and frequency response.

I am not a car audio expert, but the simplicity of a 2-way system with a true tweeter seemed like the best way to get the sound I wanted. A 4" co-axial in the dash would have worked to fill in the missing highs from the factory also. But I didn't like the idea of the overlapping sound from a 4" and 6.5". Or a 3-way setup would have been great, but more work for installation and fabrication than I wanted. Again, I am not a car audio expert.

Also, since I am using both active and passive crossovers I feel like it lets me really maximize what each speaker can do with a simple approach. A fully active crossover system would have been cool, but budget and time pushed me towards simple.
what's your opinion on mounting a 10" powered sub on the tailgate? specifically the Kicker46HS10?

https://www.crutchfield.com/S-bfdH5...us6cdXlWGb1KF-RiNo0sPVp_Jdxf9FOMaAp6xEALw_wcB
 
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what's your opinion on mounting a 10" powered sub on the tailgate? specifically the Kicker46HS10?

https://www.crutchfield.com/S-bfdH5...us6cdXlWGb1KF-RiNo0sPVp_Jdxf9FOMaAp6xEALw_wcB
I am sure it would work. My concerns would be using an aluminum box sub on the tailgate might be a source of unwanted vibration and rattles. I may be completely wrong, but a box with more mass and different material might help to dampen vibration. Maybe something like this:

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_13693323/JL-Audio-CP110LG-TW1-2.html?tp=112

I might also be concerned about running the power and ground wires through the tailgate hinge area. Repeated opening and closing might introduce the possibility of pulling a wire loose.

It really depends on what you want. I'm not sure how a small power box that far back is going to sound/feel from the driver's seat. If you want a little bass fill, probably fine. If you want to feel the bass and go loud on the complete system, you will probably be looking to upgrade down the road.

For what it's worth, I am running 100W per channel on all four corners and 500W to the 12" down firing sub. I know I am losing sound with the top off, but I can still get the mirrors to vibrate when I turn the bass up. Volume at 15-17 on the head unit is as far as I have gone yet. It's too loud past that. But that way I can keep the head unit operating in a range that doesn't push it too far and still get really clear, big sound.
 

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Love this, can we get some more details on how you mounted that amp? I've got a 2 door BL on the way that I want to build a big stereo in and I also want to use a AC DSP as part of this build. I'm not sure how I'll feel about loosing that much cargo space but I'll make the box easily removable via a turnbuckle latch and a small anderson connector for the wire connections for long trips. I'm wondering what a sub and a fridge/freezer will look like in the back... lol.
 

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I had a similar issue with amp placement. I decided to cut the top corner of the cubbie which made it fit and I can still use the cubbie. Only issue is not getting to logo centered lol.

I have the same sub also and it’s perfect.

ABE8FCAB-B479-4CE3-82D3-59432A32AEA9.jpeg


C3E7E0D8-07CE-455A-973E-41DB02D38FAD.jpeg
 
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Love this, can we get some more details on how you mounted that amp? I've got a 2 door BL on the way that I want to build a big stereo in and I also want to use a AC DSP as part of this build. I'm not sure how I'll feel about loosing that much cargo space but I'll make the box easily removable via a turnbuckle latch and a small anderson connector for the wire connections for long trips. I'm wondering what a sub and a fridge/freezer will look like in the back... lol.
The removable sub box with quick disconnects is a good idea. Once I put the slim box in I was really surprised at how little volume it took away. It's a 12" sub with the following dimensions: 27.5"W x 6.125"H x 14.625"D. You can get even smaller with a 8" or 10" in a sealed box.

The amp mount is 1/4" acrylic plastic (plexiglass) with exterior dimensions just larger than the amp. I drilled and tapped holes to mount the amp from the top. I used L brackets - (1) 4" and (3) 2" to mount to the inner fender area. 2 of the 2" are sandwiched around the ridge that runs up the length of the inner wheel liner. These 2 make a "T" that the amp plate sits on. I drilled and tapped holes in the plexiglass to secure it.

The 4" L bracket is secured to one of the threaded bolts that stick up from the inner wheel liner. I can't remember what size nut is needed, but I just pried off the plastic connector holding the factory wiring and attached the bracket. The last 2" L bracket attached to the 4" L bracket to make a lopsided "U" that attached to the amp plate. Again, drill and tap the plexiglass to secure.

The whole thing floats above the metal ridge that runs down the wheel liner and once I tightened everything, it doesn't move. I did put some felt tape on the inner bodywork where it gets really tight. You can see the edge of it in this picture:

Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. amp final


There was not enough clearance to put the amp cover plate on, oh well.
 
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I had a similar issue with amp placement. I decided to cut the top corner of the cubbie which made it fit and I can still use the cubbie. Only issue is not getting to logo centered lol.

I have the same sub also and it’s perfect.

Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. amp final


Ford Bronco Complete Stereo Install - Amp, DSP, Speakers and Sub.  Lots of Pictures. amp final
That is one thing I forgot to mention: the storage cubby! I had to remove the whole thing to get my amp to fit. If anyone has to do the same, I used a utility knife to cut the plastic welds on the inside. Not too hard and only cut myself once.
 

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Awesome write up. I’m also going the DSP route but I have almost zero experience with install and I’m not remotely handy/skilled so I’m paying for professional install and tuning.
Care to share any details on components and cost? My Bronco days are far away, but upgrading the audio is definitely on my to do list. I've never done that kind of work myself and I don't want to scratch or otherwise screw up any of the plastic. Plus, I just don't know what all of the terminology means... Might be best to leave it to a pro.
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