My 2023 2 Door Stereo Upgrade (Base Radio starting point)

[kojack19]

I thought I would share some thoughts on my stereo upgrade both to date and what I might do in the future. For a little background I am a guitar player and have a very nice stereo at home and used to put aftermarket stereos in my 95 Bronco and trucks/cars I drove until about 15 years ago. Doesn't mean much but think I have. a pretty decent ear but am not high on car stereo knowledge.

I have a 2023 with the sub delete. The stock system is literally awful. Before I got my Bronco, stereo work was def not on my to do list. I did a ton of research talked to some professional installers including getting two bids-one was way too much-DSP amps, custom fab parts using component speakers etc and the other was more reasonable but I did not have a lot of confidence in the guy doing the work. I also read a lot of reviews and posts from others and watched a lot of @RagnarKon S very helpful videos before deciding on my plan.

I am not an expert but I think there are several things working against the bronco sounding good. In no order, 4" speakers in the rear pods with limited signal being passed, weak front dash speakers shooting straight at glass which will make the highs really bright, a head unit/amp that is not anything close to neutral sounding and a listening environment that is beyond suboptimal-no sound deadening and speakers in less than ideal places.

I decided to tackle this project in stages and have only completed phase 1 which is already a very big improvement.

Here is what I did. I found a really good deal on 6 Audison Speakers-4" Coax for the Dash, 6.5 coax for the kick panels and 6.5 inch for some unloaded SSV pods I bought. I chose the Audisons as both installers recommended them and I liked that they were efficient speakers at 94DB. I also bought some cables with 300 htz bass blockers for the 4" and Metra rings for the kick panel installs. I met up with @dubseed who tinted my front windows of my Bronco-highly recommend anyone in the CT area go see him for tint, PPF and he also does a bunch of other Bronco work. Andrew is a great guy and was really impressed with his work. He has done the Kicker Key install and other stereo upgrades to his own Bronco.

He installed all 6 speakers, got wiring done and mounted the SSV pods and most importantly used Forscan to send a full range signal to the new pods, eliminated auto stop/start as well in under 2 hours. Here are a few pics

Results
Even without the sub, Bass is finally a part of the soundstage and the rear pod upgrade with Forscan is a massive change. I can't stress how big a change this made. I listen to pretty much all forms of rock music so I want to hear bass but am not looking for the Bronco to shake or give up space in the very limited back of the Bronco. Besides I think my dog would probably destroy it. If the Bronco shipped like it sounds now, I never would have thought of doing work to it. The Audisons are really efficient and I went from loud settings being like 16 or 17 when I was driving to 13 or 14 on the dial.
The Big Question is if I am done....Not sure yet. The Audison's are really bright in the dash-I almost have the treble all the way down-I may try removing the bass blockers or just get a set with a lower value. I may also activate the deleted sub or add an amp. If I do any of this extra work, it will be with a limited budget as I think the stereo is massively improved with what has been done so far. Also the SSV pods do not block anything out the rear window which was an important consideration as well.

Again, hope this helps some of you trying to improve the sound of the Bronco and again thanks to @Dubsesd for his help with the install! Will update this thread if I decide to take on anything else with the stereo.

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[Dubsesd]

Thank you! I couldn’t believe how much of a difference just the rear pods and forscan did.

 

[RagnarKon]

The Big Question is if I am done....Not sure yet. The Audison's are really bright in the dash-I almost have the treble all the way down-I may try removing the bass blockers or just get a set with a lower value. I may also activate the deleted sub or add an amp. If I do any of this extra work, it will be with a limited budget as I think the stereo is massively improved with what has been done so far. Also the SSV pods do not block anything out the rear window which was an important consideration as well.

Removing the bass blockers helped a lot for me. The dash speakers I used were just insanely bright and overpowering everything with the bass blockers.

I was hesitant to do it at first, because in a more traditional car audio setting that would absolutely be the incorrect move to make. But I think part of the problem is the location of the kick panels. They're just too hidden away and they don't really contribute as much as they should to the sound system when compared to vehicles where the speakers are installed in the door. Combined that with the fact that the dash speakers are directly in from of your face and it's just too hard to get the right balance between the front speakers.

I think a crossover with a -2dB or -3dB tweeter setting (like one you'd would normally use with a component audio setup) would also have worked, and may be the "correct" answer. But the 4-inch Kickers are good all the way down to 60Hz, and I was very inclined to make the audio system work without spending more money on it.

Also... I had no idea @Dubsesd did window tint. As a fellow resident of the nutmeg state this is a very helpful piece of information for someone such as myself who is looking to tint his windows.

 

[kojack19]

Removing the bass blockers helped a lot for me. The dash speakers I used were just insanely bright and overpowering everything with the bass blockers.

I was hesitant to do it at first, because in a more traditional car audio setting that would absolutely be the incorrect move to make. But I think part of the problem is the location of the kick panels. They're just too hidden away and they don't really contribute as much as they should to the sound system when compared to vehicles where the speakers are installed in the door. Combined that with the fact that the dash speakers are directly in from of your face and it's just too hard to get the right balance between the front speakers.

I think a crossover with a -2dB or -3dB tweeter setting (like one you'd would normally use with a component audio setup) would also have worked, and may be the "correct" answer. But the 4-inch Kickers are good all the way down to 60Hz, and I was very inclined to make the audio system work without spending more money on it.

Also... I had no idea @Dubsesd did window tint. As a fellow resident of the nutmeg state this is a very helpful piece of information for someone such as myself who is looking to tint his windows.

Thanks for this. He tinted my front two windows in my Bronco and did a great job. Car has been a heck of a lot cooler with the tint which has been a real blessing with the heat here the past few weeks-especially with Marine Grade Vinyl seats which just bake with any sunlight.

Will have to try removing the blockers and see how that goes. If I am reading the specs right, my speakers will go down to 80Hz so not as much as your Kickers....

 

[Dubsesd]

Removing the bass blockers helped a lot for me. The dash speakers I used were just insanely bright and overpowering everything with the bass blockers.

I was hesitant to do it at first, because in a more traditional car audio setting that would absolutely be the incorrect move to make. But I think part of the problem is the location of the kick panels. They're just too hidden away and they don't really contribute as much as they should to the sound system when compared to vehicles where the speakers are installed in the door. Combined that with the fact that the dash speakers are directly in from of your face and it's just too hard to get the right balance between the front speakers.

I think a crossover with a -2dB or -3dB tweeter setting (like one you'd would normally use with a component audio setup) would also have worked, and may be the "correct" answer. But the 4-inch Kickers are good all the way down to 60Hz, and I was very inclined to make the audio system work without spending more money on it.

Also... I had no idea @Dubsesd did window tint. As a fellow resident of the nutmeg state this is a very helpful piece of information for someone such as myself who is looking to tint his windows.

Yes we do PPF as well too. Let me know when your ready it would be nice to meet you. I learned a lot from your videos.

 

[soldier989]

I just added a factory sub from I got from someone who didn't have it deleted. Turned it on, turned the EQ off and enabled the rear pods to speaker. Even that woke up the base speakers, and there's plenty of bass for me from the little sub. I'm thinking about trying some new rear 4" speakers.

I do have a weird digital sound now when I get in my car, and the door cime comes from the guage cluster and not the stereo now. I did have a checksum error when enabling the rear pods to speaker. That may be causing this to occur. Might turn the rear pods back to tweeter and see if that resolves those things.

 

[604Bronco]

Really dumb question, but using a DSP instead, does this still require ForScan to “unlock” the rear speaker pods?

 

[kevin.gt]

Really dumb question, but using a DSP instead, does this still require ForScan to “unlock” the rear speaker pods?

Yes if you are using rear signal to rear speakers. Your dsp might let you take front signal and send to the rear, but you’d loose ability to fade via the head unit

 

[HOSSMAN]

Thanks for the write up. Like many I am sure I love a kickass system/sound but am completely dumb when it comes to installing car audio. All our boats have had big mega systems in them but put in by custom installers for many thousands of dollars but I don't want to put that kind of money into the Bronco for a system, just something that actually sounds better than my JBL portable speaker on my back patio at home. I have the base system in mine with the sub delete and yes, it sounds like total crap. Reminds me of my moms 77 LTD wagon with an 8-track sound when I was a kid. I read all the installs everyone does thinking I can do it myself but get gun-shy, especially given how expensive the 12" screen sync system is in the damn thing.

What made you pick the Audison's over the Kickers everyone seems to be using?

Thanks for the write up!

 

[604Bronco]

Yes if you are using rear signal to rear speakers. Your dsp might let you take front signal and send to the rear, but you’d loose ability to fade via the head unit

Thanks very much.

I'm not installing my system myself (audio and electrical are not my thing), but I am having a professional shop install it for me. I expect they will be doing just that, by taking the front signal and sending it to the rear.

I have the following items as part of my build, which I hope to have completed by the end of next week:

• ZEN-A2B DSP6A-A2B
• BLAM Relax RA 501 D Mono Amplifier 500 W Ultra Compact Class D
• Audiotec-Fischer Match Up 10 DSP
• JL Audio 10TW3-D4 (10" Subwoofer)
• HELIX Compose i7 Speakers
• BLAM Signature FRS 2N50 Full-Range Speakers
• HELIX PF C100.2 Speakers

According to the shop, they said it'll be the "best sounding Bronco in North America!" lol, I know they were joking, but I am very excited for this.

 

[Nabor19]

Great write up. I did similar to my 23 BD base with sub delete. I’d suggest doing the sub with the Fusion amp and the 4 ohm 6.75 Kicker sub. For the cost, it is a good value and adds a fair amount of bass.
I also installed bass blockers on the front and it now is pretty bright sounding. I may remove them as suggested earlier!

 

[Tfly]

Concerned about top storage space, how bad do the SSV rear pods encroach into or is it no longer an option?

 

[DJ1]

Thanks very much.

I'm not installing my system myself (audio and electrical are not my thing), but I am having a professional shop install it for me. I expect they will be doing just that, by taking the front signal and sending it to the rear.

I have the following items as part of my build, which I hope to have completed by the end of next week:

• ZEN-A2B DSP6A-A2B
• BLAM Relax RA 501 D Mono Amplifier 500 W Ultra Compact Class D
• Audiotec-Fischer Match Up 10 DSP
• JL Audio 10TW3-D4 (10" Subwoofer)
• HELIX Compose i7 Speakers
• BLAM Signature FRS 2N50 Full-Range Speakers
• HELIX PF C100.2 Speakers

According to the shop, they said it'll be the "best sounding Bronco in North America!" lol, I know they were joking, but I am very excited for this.

Those are some serious components! I'd love to know how the BLAM speakers work out, I have been very interested in their stuff.

 

[604Bronco]

Those are some serious components! I'd love to know how the BLAM speakers work out, I have been very interested in their stuff.

I’ll update my build journal in my signature once it’s done. May not have a ton of pictures since I’m not installing it myself, but will give feedback.

I’m pretty excited to hear how this sounds. The reviews I’ve read on the components seem very positive.

 

[DJ1]

I’ll update my build journal in my signature once it’s done. May not have a ton of pictures since I’m not installing it myself, but will give feedback.

I’m pretty excited to hear how this sounds. The reviews I’ve read on the components seem very positive.

I have been considering dropping in a set of the 2-way components into my existing build:
https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/thre...-dsp-speakers-and-sub-lots-of-pictures.43856/

I've got plenty of power to make to most of them, I'm worried about the depth of the basket though.

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