Front Speaker Bass Blockers - Why I removed them

[Toasty]

Like most things with my Bronco (and my Jeep), I always consult the forum to see what others are doing. There is a lot of great information on these forums and I am rarely pushed in the wrong direction but one thing I see consistently on here is to add Bass Blockers to the front 4" speakers. With the blockers installed, the speakers are far too "bright" or "tinny" as my girlfriend says. Being pointed right at the windshield doesn't help with this either and while I can see the potential problem of distortion (due to under powering the front drivers because of the front speakers wired in parallel), the gain of the speakers not being so "bright" in your face is worth not installing blockers. With my kicker key, I am usually only listening to the volume around 12 at the highest. Distortion only happens at level 17 and above.

I believe the solution to this would be somehow modifying the front speaker housing to accept a 5 1/2, and then powering each speaker on it's own channel. I would have to increase the amp size or add another Kicker Key, bridge the channels (to get 50 amps RMS per channel) and run the 6.5s in the back. Either way, there's more work to be done to make this sound system better. Let me know what y'all think.

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[RagnarKon]

I also removed the bass blockers from my Bronco.

There are two solutions I think:

• Buy a 6-channel DSP amplifier and wire each speaker independently
• Switch to a component setup for the front speakers rather than a pair of coaxials.

I am confident the 6-channel amp would work. Less confident about the component setup, but it would be the more economical solution if it works.

For myself personally... I was approaching my budget cap (there are other things I want to buy for my Bronco), so I just removed the bass blocker and rewired the front speakers in series rather than parallel. That provided a lot more balance. Is it perfect?? No... but it's a LOT better. And for what I was trying to achieve—on-par or slightly better than B&O—I believe I achieved that.

 

[Toasty]

I also removed the bass blockers from my Bronco.

There are two solutions I think:

• Buy a 6-channel DSP amplifier and wire each speaker independently
• Switch to a component setup for the front speakers rather than a pair of coaxials.

I am confident the 6-channel amp would work. Less confident about the component setup, but it would be the more economical solution if it works.

For myself personally... I was approaching my budget cap (there are other things I want to buy for my Bronco), so I just removed the bass blocker and rewired the front speakers in series rather than parallel. That provided a lot more balance. Is it perfect?? No... but it's a LOT better. And for what I was trying to achieve—on-par or slightly better than B&O—I believe I achieved that.

Did you do anything with the 4" speakers in the back? Have you thought about switching them to 6.5" drivers to get more mids out of the back?

 

[KirchTX]

I think the blockers are for if you’re not using any type of cross over. The kicker should have some level of filter on the speakers as it finds appropriate. I never could get real info on how it handled the front 4 speakers wired in parallel and I asked specifically about a sub and kicker support told me they don’t recommend using the 4 channel Key amp with a sub bc the mic won’t read correctly.

Disclaimer: I’m not an expert and I’ve only gone down the rabbit hole not actually done a full install yet.

 

[Dan-O]

I experimented with 300, 400 and 600 hz blockers on 4” dash speakers. After swapping a few times I ended up with the 400hz blockers and they sound great. Kicker 4” coax and kicker key, I also used killmat and sealed up kick panel speaker cavity and used 6.5 components there with 6.5 coax in rear pods with full range to rears. System sounds great now!!!

 

[Jok3r]

Did you do anything with the 4" speakers in the back? Have you thought about switching them to 6.5" drivers to get more mids out of the back?

You need to check out RagnarKon's video's on Youtube to see all he has done and trial and error'd. I learned a bunch there. (Thanks RagnarKon!)

 

[MrParticular]

A year ago I changed all six speakers using the Crutchfield guide that was popular at the time (except I used a different sub) and I tried the fronts with and without the blockers. I ended up removing the blockers... sounded better to me, especially with the top off. I can adjust bass in the radio and sub crossover and volume from under my seat.

 

[plipnoggen]

Hi all - there are so many threads on audio upgrades... I figured I'd post my overall experience here, because it is relevant to the bass blocker topic.

First, huge thanks to @RagnarKon . His videos were invaluable, plus I had reached out to him on the topic of the 4" dash speakers separately and he was very helpful.

Anyway, I have now upgraded the speakers in two separate Broncos over the last year. The first one was a '22 and did not have a fake sub enclosure. So, what I did with that one was replace all the 4" speakers to try to get better clarity. It worked... sort of... but -- the 4" fronts were WAY to bright. Those were Kicker 4" speakers. I eventually swapped them for Polk 4", which were much better, I thought; but still not the sound I wanted. Still just too much treble. I was using bass blockers there. Later, I ended up trading in that vehicle, so I didn't go much further with it.

Recently, I received my now permanent Bronco; a '23 with the fake sub enclosure. I wanted to do a full overhaul, including adding a sub. So, I ended up with this list of stuff:

SSV Works BR-B65U (6.5" speaker pods for the back seat overhead)
4x Polk Audio DB651 6.5" (2x kick panel, and 2x back seat overhead)
2x Polk Audio DB402 DB+ Series 4" (dash speakers)
KICKER CompRT 6.75"
Ford fusion amp

I've always been partial to Polk speakers. I did NOT replace the main power amp.

So, I installed all this stuff, plus a few vibration deadening things. I also made the following changes in forscan:

- Activated the sub
- Turned off the baked-in EQ
- Changed the rear speakers from tweeter to speaker (since I now had 6.5" back there)

Turned everything on... and the backseat sounded awesome.

The front.......... eh.... so-so. Two main problems:
1. the 4" speakers were AGAIN to trebly/tinny/bright
2. While the sub was strong in the back seat, the bass from it didn't reach the front all that well. It was much better than not having a sub. And I'm not a rumbling, thumping bass guy... but it just wasn't quite present enough.

So, reasonably satisfied but still a little disappointed, ran through any number of alternative configurations. With and without bass blockers; 300 bass blockers, 150 bass blockers, 400 bass blockers... tried them all. Various forscan setups.. speaker-only... speaker+tweeter... tweeter in the back... eq on, eq off... any configuration I could think of, I tried. But I couldn't dial in the sound I wanted.

I watched some more content on the topic and reached out to @RagnarKon . In one of his videos, he mentioned switching the front kick panel wiring harnesses from wiring in parallel vs. wiring in series. He mentioned in that video that he "found the mids". I ordered a set of harnesses, rewired them as he showed, and installed.

After installing speakers on two separate broncos, I would say that this change was THE most important item to do. Let me stress that again...

If you upgrade the front 4" dash speakers to non-factory speakers, REWIRE THE KICK PANEL WIRES TO BE IN-SERIES.

No more trebly/tinny/ear-piercing front dash sound. PLUS I get plenty of bass now all the way in the front seat.

I'm not well versed in some of this... but my assessment of why this works is as follows:
1. Wiring in series reduces the volume going to those 4" speakers.
2. As a result, the super bright 4" sound is simply more muted at higher volumes
3. Because the 4" speakers are not drilling a hole in my ears all the time, I now ride around with the overall stereo volume one or two notches higher than I used to. As a result, now I get more bass from the back -- simply because the stereo overall is a touch louder without being unpleasant.

There may also be some effect on how much mid you get out of an in-series wiring but overall, I think it's mostly just because now the 4" brightness isn't so overly-in-your-face loud and present. The other speakers in the car have a chance to play their role.

Long post, I know... but I wanted to share in hopes that it would be helpful to someone else. I didn't need to do a power amp upgrade and the sound in the car sounds phenomenal. Further, the front dash speakers in this setup do not have bass blockers on them; absolutely no need. They sound great.

P.S. - I also highly recommend the 6.5" speakers in the back. A lot more sound there.

 

[colonelburke]

Hi all - there are so many threads on audio upgrades... I figured I'd post my overall experience here, because it is relevant to the bass blocker topic.

First, huge thanks to @RagnarKon . His videos were invaluable, plus he I had reached out to him on the topic of the 4" dash speakers separately and he was very helpful.

Anyway, I have now upgraded the speakers in two separate Broncos over the last year. The first one was a '22 and did not have a fake sub enclosure. So, what I did with that one was replace all the 4" speakers to try to get better clarity. It worked... sort of... but -- the 4" fronts were WAY to bright. Those were Kicker 4" speakers. I eventually swapped them for Polk 4", which were much better, I though; but still not the sound I wanted. I was using bass blockers there. Later, I ended up trading in that vehicle, so I didn't go much further with it.

Recently, I received my now permanent Bronco; a '23 with the fake sub enclosure. I wanted to do a full overhaul, including adding a sub. So, I ended up with this list of stuff:

SSV Works BR-B65U (6.5" speaker pods for the back seat overhead)
4x Polk Audio DB651 6.5" (2x kick panel, and 2x back seat overhead)
2x Polk Audio DB402 DB+ Series 4" (dash speakers)
KICKER CompRT 6.75"
Ford fusion amp

I've always been partial to Polk speakers. I did NOT replace the main power amp.

So, I installed all this stuff, plus a few vibration deadening things. I also made the following changes in forscan:

- Activated the sub
- Turned off the baked-in EQ
- Changed the rear speakers from tweeter to speaker (since I now had 6.5" back there)

Turned everything on... and the backseat sounded awesome.

The front.......... eh.... so-so. Two main problems:
1. the 4" speakers were AGAIN to trebly/tinny/bright
2. While the sub was strong in the back seat, the bass from it didn't reach the front all that well.

So, reasonably satisfied but still a little disappointed, ran through any number of alternative configurations. With and without bass blockers; 300 bass blockers, 150 bass blockers, 400 bass blockers... tried them all. Various forscan setups.. speaker-only... speaker+tweeter... tweeter in the back... eq on, eq off... any configuration I could think of, I tried. But I couldn't dial in the sound I wanted.

I watched some more content on the topic and reached out to @RagnarKon . In one of his videos, he mentioned switching the front kick panel wiring harnesses from wiring in parallel vs. wiring in series. He mentioned in that video that he "found the mids". I ordered a set of harnesses, rewired them as he showed, and installed.

After installing speakers on two separate broncos, I would say that this change was THE most important item to do. Let me stress that again...

If you upgrade the front 4" dash speakers to non-factory speakers, REWIRE THE KICK PANEL WIRES TO BE IN-SERIES.

No more trebly/tinny/ear-piercing front dash sound. PLUS I get plenty of bass now all the way in the front seat.

I'm not well versed in some of this... but my assessment of why this works is as follows:
1. Wiring in series reduces the volume going to those 4" speakers.
2. As a result, the super bright 4" sound is simply more muted at higher volumes
3. Because the 4" speakers are not drilling a hole in my ears all the time, I now ride around with the overall stereo volume one or two notches higher than I used to. As a result, now I get more bass from the back -- simply because the stereo overall is a touch louder without being unpleasant.

There may also be some effect on how much mid you get out of an in-series wiring but overall, I think it's mostly just because now the 4" brightness isn't so overly-in-your-face loud and present. The other speakers in the car have a chance to play their role.

Long post, I know... but I wanted to share in hopes that it would be helpful to someone else. I didn't need to do a power amp upgrade and the sound in the car sounds phenomenal. Further, the front dash speakers in this setup do not have bass blockers on them; absolutely no need. They sound great.

P.S. - I also highly recommend the 6.5" speakers in the back. A lot more sound there.

Great write up. To do the pods in the back, do you have to run an amp or just make the change in forscan for powerbar?

 

[plipnoggen]

Great write up. To do the pods in the back, do you have to run an amp or just make the change in forscan for powerbar?

I should have mentioned, mine was not the B&O -- it was just the base speaker system. So, I didn't have any power bar back there.

At any rate, I did not need to run an amp for them, no. It was just swapping from the existing 4" pods and speakers to 6.5" pods and speakers.

At this point, my forscan setup looks like this, with the bolded digits being the ones I changed from the factory setup:

727-01-01: 382B 02F1 0086
727-01-02: 0900 000D 0047

So thats:
1. Switching the rear speakers to "speaker" instead of "Tweeter"
2. Turning on the Subwoofer
3. Turning off the baked-in EQ

 

[colonelburke]

I should have mentioned, mine was not the B&O -- it was just the base speaker system. So, I didn't have any power bar back there.

At any rate, I did not need to run an amp for them, no. It was just swapping from the existing 4" pods and speakers to 6.5" pods and speakers.

At this point, my forscan setup looks like this, with the bolded digits being the ones I changed from the factory setup:

727-01-01: 382B 02F1 0086
727-01-02: 0900 000D 0047

So thats:
1. Switching the rear speakers to "speaker" instead of "Tweeter"
2. Turning on the Subwoofer
3. Turning off the baked-in EQ

Great, thanks. I do not have the B&O either. Very helpful.

 

[Beachbum]

I should have mentioned, mine was not the B&O -- it was just the base speaker system. So, I didn't have any power bar back there.

At any rate, I did not need to run an amp for them, no. It was just swapping from the existing 4" pods and speakers to 6.5" pods and speakers.

At this point, my forscan setup looks like this, with the bolded digits being the ones I changed from the factory setup:

727-01-01: 382B 02F1 0086
727-01-02: 0900 000D 0047

So thats:
1. Switching the rear speakers to "speaker" instead of "Tweeter"
2. Turning on the Subwoofer
3. Turning off the baked-in EQ

Sounds like something I might want to do. Are the speakers plug and play into the existing pod wiring or would I need to buy some adapter? I just got done installing in the fusion amp and Kicker sub. The only setting I changed was turning on the sub. I had all 6 speakers replaced and wondering if I should turn the EQ off. I have 4" Kickers in the dash and pods and 6.5" Alpine in the kick panels.

Thank you

 

[Beachbum]

Sounds like something I might want to do. Are the speakers plug and play into the existing pod wiring or would I need to buy some adapter? I just got done installing in the fusion amp and Kicker sub. The only setting I changed was turning on the sub. I had all 6 speakers replaced and wondering if I should turn the EQ off. I have 4" Kickers in the dash and pods and 6.5" Alpine in the kick panels.

Thank you

I should have watched your video before asking questions.

 

[plipnoggen]

I believe you would only want to turn off the EQ if you move to larger back speakers. From what I understand, leaving the EQ on is appropriate if you have 4" pods in the back.

As for the harnesses, for dash speakers AND back pod speakers (even if you swap for 6.5"), you can use these:
72-5603

For the kick panel speakers, you can use these (these are the ones I suggest rewiring before you install though):
72-5602

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