Level-Up the Symphony (yeah.. speakers) -- swapping dashboard speakers with some JL Audio C2-400x speakers

[bigbender]

Haven't decided how to tackle the kick panel speakers yet, since as you noted, those are a bit less intolerable due to the poly cone (vice paper). My next endeavour is likely to be to design a rollbar mount to secure 6x9 speakers, replacing the 4s and giving a little bass boost to avoid a separate sub. For the 6x9s, a small amp might be an order.

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[bigbender]

After a few weeks of daily driving, I've determined that a simple speaker upgrade will not cut it with the base stereo head unit. With the top down and volume up, there is far too much loss in sound quality.

So I scratched my plan to upgrade rears with 6x9s because an amplifier and sub was undoubtedly the only way forward. I started Friday morning with some CNC work on an amp and sub mount -- and by the end of Sunday (today), hopefully the upgrade will be complete.

The most mind numbing/teeth grinding part of the install was splicing the wires at the head unit. There is VERY little room to work and the wiring harness only gives about 3 inches of wire leads per side to splice. I didn't want to wait for a company like Metra to come out with a harness (probably a year+ out).

Amp: JBL A5055 (5-channel)
Sub: Kicker Enclosure 206TCWC104
Front and Rear Speakers: JL Audio C2-400X
Kick Speakers: Alpine SPE-6000 (note these required Metra 825605 and 75-5602 adapters)
Speaker Wire: 16-gauge https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B082QYG383
Amplifier Install Kit: https://www.skaraudio.com/collectio...cts/skar4anl-ofc-4-gauge-amplifier-wiring-kit

I DON'T recommend the Skar Audio amplifier install kit. The 4 gauge wire was too short and didn't reach the trunk area. Also, the fuse block holder is a very brittle polycarbonate. The 4 gauge wire was 17' long and you will need at least 20' if you mount the amp behind the 2nd row of seats like I did.

I pumped some tunes through the setup last night (1, 2, 3 testing testing) and it sounded incredible. Made my day of sweating and dehydration worth it.

I will upload photos of the finished job when the pain ends.

 

[FATHORSE]

Would love more pictures, i know its a tall order when you have your hands full of wires and have to take your shoe off to count the wires. Jk. Please post more!!!! You will be helping out alot of us when we finally get our broncos!

 

[bigbender]

Finished the install. Picture time!

 

[da_jokker]

Yesterday I was driving my Wrangler with some serious OEM bass and great sound and it really has me bummed I'm going to have to give that up for such a shit sound system from Ford.

But I would think the first thing would be to add a Sub where the Oem sub would be if you sprang for Lux? Or maybe thats not possible.

I just don't want to lose any cargo space simply to be able to have decent music.

 

[Danny's Bronco]

Does the box with Bronco on it just hold the amp and wires? The Kicker box came premade with the sub already in there?

 

[bigbender]

Yesterday I was driving my Wrangler with some serious OEM bass and great sound and it really has me bummed I'm going to have to give that up for such a shit sound system from Ford.

But I would think the first thing would be to add a Sub where the Oem sub would be if you sprang for Lux? Or maybe thats not possible.

I just don't want to lose any cargo space simply to be able to have decent music.

I looked at using what I believe is the Lux sub location. #1, that spot probably doesn't fit more than one 8" sub at most. #2 the geometry in that location is very complex and space is limited. I'm guessing Ford has a custom molded plastic insert for the lux sub that wasn't in the cards for me. #3 there isn't enough space for a 5-channel amp in that back corner. You can definitely fit a small single channel amp for a sub though. That said, if you are upgrading speakers, you'll want an amp to push them since the stock head is a featherweight.

I will say that I'd wager the sound quality I'm getting from the setup I just installed rivals or beats the Lux system. My daily driver is 2014 328 with the premium Harman Kardon system and my new Bronco setup gives that a run for it's money.

 

[bigbender]

Does the box with Bronco on it just hold the amp and wires? The Kicker box came premade with the sub already in there?

The box I built just holds amp and wires but also serves as a mounting location for the Kicker enclosure. The Kicker has a built in 10" sub. It was perfect for where I mounted everything with the bass vent facing left and the wire hookups on the right. https://www.crutchfield.com/p_206TCWC104/Kicker-CompC-44TCWC104.html

 

[Danny's Bronco]

The box I built just holds amp and wires but also serves as a mounting location for the Kicker enclosure. The Kicker has a built in 10" sub. It was perfect for where I mounted everything with the bass vent facing left and the wire hookups on the right. https://www.crutchfield.com/p_206TCWC104/Kicker-CompC-44TCWC104.html

Thanks, Looks great. Now that I see what the sub looks like in that link it makes sense. Been a long time since I built a sub box. You did a great job with the Bronco logo. I thought maybe you had built the part with the Kicker logo also, and I just couldn't figure out where the speaker was.

 

[tjnoffy]

No wiring harness options that I know of yet. I spliced using the crimps provided by the speaker manufacturer and did some crafty work with some adhesive lined heat shrink tubing.

Could it be as easy as cutting the plug from the stock speaker wires and soldering the new speaker wires to the stock plug for a PnP solution?

 

[bigbender]

Could it be as easy as cutting the plug from the stock speaker wires and soldering the new speaker wires to the stock plug for a PnP solution?

If you want to go to town with a Dremel to remove the plugs, I suppose you could, though I'm not certain you'll be able to reuse the wiring coming off the plug. At that point, why bother when you can directly splice? As long as you aren't planning to swap speakers multiple times, it will be cleaner to cut the plugs off the feed side and wire straight to the speaker terminals.

 

[da_jokker]

I looked at using what I believe is the Lux sub location. #1, that spot probably doesn't fit more than one 8" sub at most. #2 the geometry in that location is very complex and space is limited. I'm guessing Ford has a custom molded plastic insert for the lux sub that wasn't in the cards for me. #3 there isn't enough space for a 5-channel amp in that back corner. You can definitely fit a small single channel amp for a sub though. That said, if you are upgrading speakers, you'll want an amp to push them since the stock head is a featherweight.

I will say that I'd wager the sound quality I'm getting from the setup I just installed rivals or beats the Lux system. My daily driver is 2014 328 with the premium Harman Kardon system and my new Bronco setup gives that a run for it's money.

Oh I have no doubt you have some serious great sound with your updates. Just would prefer not to use up cargo area for me.

In many of my past cars, I personally found just adding a single sub with an amp (and filtering out the highs) was the missing link. But then again, cargo space.

But thats my point with the jeep. They put an 8x12 sub in the floor and it's totally out of the way. i even have a rubber cargo matt laying over it and it still sounds good...all without losing a single inch of cargo.

Have no idea where the amp is though. Here is a < 1 min vid showing the sub. Maybe the amp is inside.

 

[da_jokker]

Could it be as easy as cutting the plug from the stock speaker wires and soldering the new speaker wires to the stock plug for a PnP solution?

I initially thought the same thing, couldn't figure out why people kept asking about a plug because I would just cut the dang thing off the old speaker.

Then I saw some pictures and realized that the plug is actually soldered onto the circuit board of the factory speaker. So there's nothing you can "cut off" and reuse.

 

[tjnoffy]

I initially thought the same thing, couldn't figure out why people kept asking about a plug because I would just cut the dang thing off the old speaker.

Then I saw some pictures and realized that the plug is actually soldered onto the circuit board of the factory speaker. So there's nothing you can "cut off" and reuse.

In another post by Pickens Party of 5, someone said that this is the connector you would need to plug into the plug on the wiring harness. I can't confirm this, however, but may save everyone some effort.

https://smile.amazon.com/Metra-72-5...r+wire+adapter+for+ford&qid=1627322023&sr=8-4

 

[bigbender]

In another post by Pickens Party of 5, someone said that this is the connector you would need to plug into the plug on the wiring harness. I can't confirm this, however, but may save everyone some effort.

https://smile.amazon.com/Metra-72-5...r+wire+adapter+for+ford&qid=1627322023&sr=8-4

Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure that is not the right connector. In another thread someone identified the right one, but it's just the connector housing, not pinned with pigtails or anything. Also, the connector was apparently quoted at >$70 (I'm assuming because it isn't mass produced on the open market yet).

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