Planned Speaker Upgrade for 6 Speaker ‘23

[JTBros]

Hey folks, first time dabbling into audio upgrades and have a few questions.

Looking into this adapter kit for the kick panel to upgrade to 6.5” speakers there:
https://soundsgoodstereo.com/produc...ford-bronco-6th-gen-front-kick-panel-location. I already have Mabett 6.5” speaker pods for the rear roll bar and would leave the dash speakers at 4”. Would be using Kicker KS speakers and the Key Amp 200.4 w/ plug & play kit.

For the sub I’m looking to follow this guideline: https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/thre...nd-functional-amps-removed.61106/post-1840658 but go with the smaller sub as suggested.

Is there anything else I would need to supplement this setup? Any better / similarly priced speakers?

TIA.

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[Brian_B]

I did almost the exact same thing you are doing. I've got the factory sub amp, sub speaker, and rear 4" pods sitting in my closet.

You probably won't need a kit for the kick panel speakers. Most aftermarket speakers come with their own bracket, and you are probably going to want Kilamat/Dynamat for other parts of the car while you are in there - that's pretty much all that's in that kit you linked, apart from the wiring adapter, which you can get for like $10 each.

If you are planning on using the Factory Sub Amp - it's pretty anemic. I wouldn't put all this work into your rig only to drop that thing in there. I recommend a beefier amp, even if you are using a smaller sub. That said, the factory one fits in the rear panel and is made to go there - almost anything else you use will require you to get creative. -- That's just my opinion: if you think the OEM amp is good enough and it sounds good to you - more power to you, and if you do go that route and decide you don't like it, you can always change it out after the fact, it's not terribly hard to get at.

I ran a 5-channel amp (Kenwood X802-5) which has 50W for the 4 main channels and 500W for the sub, it fit in my glove box, but I had to run a new line back to the sub - it wouldn't work with the factory wiring (too much power) -- but any powered line-level sub amp would work, just a matter of finding a home for it.

The wiring harness adapters for the speakers make life easy. I think the Mabett pods come with one for that set, but you still need 4 more for the fronts. The kick panel and the 4" use a different adapter if I recall - you can't just get 4 of the same adapter and call it a day.

I think these are the parts you need for the harnesses
4": https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001OAB6BW/
6.5": https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016YIFQ7I/

You can use ~almost~ any speakers of the proper size in there, that's really up to your preference. I know Kicker gets a lot of love because that was the original guide/post, but you can use just about anything you think sounds good. Crutchfield is an excellent resource to just do research - they tell you what will drop right in, which need adapters, etc. I'd recommend buying from there if you can - they have great customer service and will make sure you get all the harnesses and adapters you need to make it work, but I'd be lying if I said they always have the best prices.

I was partial to Infinity References from an older vehicle I did, so I went with them again all around, and used the smaller 6.5" Kicker sub in the OEM housing. Honestly, the 4-channel speakers didn't make a huge difference in the sound quality to me over the factory - not sure if that's because the Infinitys suck nowadays (which could very well be), or the Bronco just doesn't have great interior acoustics (well, that's a given), or just that the amp made such a much bigger difference it overwhelmed the quality added by anything else. The sub replacement, once it had power - night and day.

I can tell the Kicker sub isn't tuned for the OEM enclosure - it gets particularly boomy at certain frequencies. I almost wish I had went with one of the sub enclosures that mount to the rear door. I don't think the 8" would fair any better really, it's about tuning the enclosure for the speaker, and with the OEM enclosure you get what you get.

With the Mabett pods, the pod cover comes in very close to the speaker front. If you choose like a coaxial with a tweeter that sticks out (like idiot me did), either the front cover won't close or you'll need to modify the cover for it to fit. The Infinity References fit everywhere else fine, but I had to drill the Mabett covers to get them to fit there - wasn't hard and it turned out ok, but if I had enough foresight I could have just chosen a different speaker for the rears.

If you ever change between a hard top and soft top = the acoustics change drastically. I had to pull my amp and retune the volume and eq when I went from soft to hard top this fall - the bass was crazy overpowering with the hard top. Just saying it helps if you have the amp in a place where you can get to it halfway easily.

 

[Brian_B]

Oh - the most important part:

Getting the damn panels off. They are made of some super special plastic that will scratch if you breath on then wrong, and the tabs love to break off. Get one of those cheap panel removal kits and just be patient. You will have almost 1/3 of the truck interior apart doing this.

Something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/XBRN-Removal-Window-Fastener-Remover/dp/B07R44VJHN/

You will almost certainly break a few of the panel clips, and there are about half a dozen different ones that get used. Just be prepared to run out to the auto parts store to grab a handful once you do.

This one I couldn't find at the auto parts store, and it's the main one used in the rear panel that goes over the sub. The OEM clip part of it stays in the body panel, the other part snaps in place, like a plastic button. I broke a few trying to figure that out. There is a TSB out for those clips but I haven't seen the updated part yet. This is what I've seen as the non-factory recommended replacement:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09NWBV764/

 

[JTBros]

I did almost the exact same thing you are doing. I've got the factory sub amp, sub speaker, and rear 4" pods sitting in my closet.

You probably won't need a kit for the kick panel speakers. Most aftermarket speakers come with their own bracket, and you are probably going to want Kilamat/Dynamat for other parts of the car while you are in there - that's pretty much all that's in that kit you linked.

If you are planning on using the Factory Sub Amp - it's pretty anemic. I wouldn't put all this work into your rig only to drop that thing in there. I recommend a beefier amp, even if you are using a smaller sub. That said, the factory one fits in the rear panel and is made to go there - almost anything else you use will require you to get creative. -- That's just my opinion: if you think the OEM amp is good enough and it sounds good to you - more power to you, and if you do go that route and decide you don't like it, you can always change it out after the fact, it's not terribly hard to get at.

I ran a 5-channel amp (Kenwood X802-5) which has 50W for the 4 main channels and 500W for the sub, it fit in my glove box, but I had to run a new line back to the sub - it wouldn't work with the factory wiring (too much power) -- but any powered sub amp would work, just a matter of finding a home for it.

The wiring harness adapters for the speakers make life easy. I think the Mabett pods come with one for that set, but you still need 4 more for the fronts.

You can use ~almost~ any speakers of the proper size in there, that's really up to your preference. I know Kicker gets a lot of love because that was the original guide/post, but you can use just about anything you think sounds good. Crutchfield is an excellent resource to just do research - they tell you what will drop right in, which need adapters, etc. I'd recommend buying from there if you can - they have great customer service, but I'd be lying if I said they always have the best prices.

With the Mabett pods, the pod cover comes in very close to the speaker front. If you choose like a coaxial with a tweeter that sticks out (like idiot me did), either the front cover won't close or you'll need to modify the cover for it to fit.

If you ever change between a hard top and soft top = the acoustics change drastically. I had to pull my amp and retune the volume and eq when I went from soft to hard top this fall - the bass was crazy overpowering with the hard top. Just saying it helps if you have the amp in a place where you can get to it halfway easily.

Thanks for the super detailed write up!

For me my main concern is improving audio quality a decent amount without an overly involved install process.

Definitely planning on KILMATing the entire trunk and areas I open up, along with the pods themselves. Reducing NVH & improving quality is a big win/win.

The Kenwood setup sounds pretty solid and the price of the amp is not far off of the Kicker. For that though I’d have to run wiring to wherever the amp is mounted from the speakers, correct? Vs just being able to use the factory wiring + a plug and play kit with the kicker amp. Granted the plug & play kit is not inexpensive.

Will absolutely be checking out what Crutchfield has in stock, have played with their site before and it makes things super simple. Having the Mabett pods on hand definitely makes life easier for measuring lol.

Planning on keeping hard top as is but may go with a skyrider at some point.

One question would be, how much of a disservice would I be doing myself by sticking with the existing head unit/amp for the time being and upgrading down the line. Looking to piecemeal it together but just wondering if I should install all at once or wait till every bit is in one place.

 

[Brian_B]

The Kenwood setup sounds pretty solid and the price of the amp is not far off of the Kicker. For that though I’d have to run wiring to wherever the amp is mounted from the speakers, correct? Vs just being able to use the factory wiring + a plug and play kit with the kicker amp. Granted the plug & play kit is not inexpensive.

For the Kenwood amp:

There's the harness that goes into the Factory radio - that's the one behind the HVAC controls and it breaks out the speaker lines. You need that no matter what amp you use (unless you want to cut the factory harness).

The Kenwood going in the glove box is like ... 6" away from where most people are mounting the Kicker 400.4. The Kenwood comes with it's own harness for the line level inputs, and has terminals for the speaker outputs. So yes, you do need to run like ... 18" of wire from the back of the HVAC controls to the glove box (and make sure it has enough room for the glove box to still open when you are done). But it's really isn't any different than installing the Kicker -- apart from needing to run that new subwoofer line. I just pulled the passenger seats and went under the carpet.

So no, you don't have to run new wire to all the speakers - the harness behind the HVAC does that for you - you just have to run to that to pick up the line level inputs, then back to it for the speaker outputs.

This kit, for example, has the T-harness and all the speaker harnesses:
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_541LPHFD31/PAC-LPHFD31-LocPro-Advanced-T-Harness.html?tp=99567

You end up cutting the wire on the T-harness, and one side goes to the amp input, and other back out to the speaker. If you don't cut the wire - factory radio works just like it always did. They usually come with the wiring diagram that tells you exactly which wire is which speaker and which side to wire to input and output.

------

So -- I typed all of that up. And went back and looked at the post you linked to. They aren't using the Kicker 400.4 to upgrade the 4 channel speaker amp, they are just using the factory amp to power the 4 channels and adding in the subwoofer where it was deleted on some '23's. The common Sound System upgrade on the Broncos use the Kicker 400.4 and put it up in the center console passenger side, tucked up behind the glove box

Which is fine. If all you are wanting is to add the sub in and make it look factory. There are easier ways to just add a sub (like the external ones that mount to the rear door), but they won't look OEM or hidden.

I don't recommend changing the speakers out unless you do the amp as well though. In my opinion, 80% of the bang comes from the amp, 20% from the speakers. Yeah, changing out the speakers is pretty easy, but without more power to run them they aren't going to sound appreciably better than the factory ones, and if you get ones with a much bigger magnet they could even sound worse.

If you are pulling out everything in the rear to do the OEM sub enclosure - that's harder than adding an aftermarket amp. My 2 cents on it anyway.

 

[Copperhorse73]

For the kick panel speakers, be sure and replace with a woofer, not a 2 way speaker. Otherwise it’s likely you’ll be actually hurting sound quality versus stock. Also, you’ll want a set of 600hz bass blockers for the dash speakers. Follow those rules and the kicker 200.4 amp will give good improvement over stock.

 

[graham5david]

I did this 4 months ago.

2Kicker KS 6.5s
4 kicker CS 4s
Kicker 6.75 4ohm
Ford fusion amp
Forscan mods.

Here is my take.

The Kicker sub in factory enclosure sounds much better with fusion amp than no sub. But it's pretty weak honestly. It also rattles alot. I wrapped the entire enclosure in sound deadner and that finally stopped the rattle. I added a downfire Kicker 12 inch sub 1 month after all of this. It was the best money I spent so far. It takes up minimum space in the rear.

Don't use the Kicker CS speakers recommendedby so many. My dash speakers are already blown with the bass blockers. The 600hz blockers seemed like too much for me. With the CS series. The highs were ear piercing sharp. Something with a silk tweeter would be better. I went with 300hz after a few months. But I would recommend buying better speakers, I like alpine, jl and jbl so that will be what I do next. The ks series in kicker would probably be a good upgrade over the cs.

I think a woofer in the kick panel will be better than 2 way and I will be changing that soon. There is little to no mids with the Kicker KS set up in the kick panel. The ks sounds much better than the cs in my opinion though.

Adding the 6.5 rear pods might help with mids with the forscan mods.

I will say that by replacing the factory speakers , adding the fusion amp and kicker 6.75 sub and the down fire sub, the sound is 100 times better than stock.

So if I did it all over. Which I will Because I really want it a little better. I would go with higher end speakers in the dash. The KS is probably fine for the pods. A woofer style in the kick panels. Upgrading the pods to 6.5 might be useful. And i would definitely add an aftermarket amp like the kicker key or something Similar. But if you want any decent bass you will need more than the Kicker sub in the stock enclosure.

 

[Luckylat]

I did this 3 months ago as my Phase 1:

2 Memphis Audio MJP6 (6.5" Woofer) in Kick panels
2 kicker CS 4s in dash
2 Focal ACX 100's in the rear pods
Kept the Factory Sub.

Phase 2: Was considering the Kicker Key 400.4 w/Plug & Play harness if I didn't like the results of Phase 1.

NOTE: For the kick panel speakers replaced with a good quality woofer and using a set of 300hz bass blockers for the dash speakers mad a key difference. So far I am very pleased with my Phase 1, and feel I won't need an AMP. Factory Sub with the MJP6 provides plenty of Bass for me.

 

[bniknar]

I did this 3 months ago as my Phase 1:

2 Memphis Audio MJP6 (6.5" Woofer) in Kick panels
2 kicker CS 4s in dash
2 Focal ACX 100's in the rear pods
Kept the Factory Sub.

Phase 2: Was considering the Kicker Key 400.4 w/Plug & Play harness if I didn't like the results of Phase 1.

NOTE: For the kick panel speakers replaced with a good quality woofer and using a set of 300hz bass blockers for the dash speakers mad a key difference. So far I am very pleased with my Phase 1, and feel I won't need an AMP. Factory Sub with the MJP6 provides plenty of Bass for me.

Is this the Memphis speaker you used in the kick panels? https://www.amazon.com/Memphis-Audio-MJP6-Mid-Range-Speaker/dp/B08JP4J79F

 

[Luckylat]

Is this the Memphis speaker you used in the kick panels? https://www.amazon.com/Memphis-Audio-MJP6-Mid-Range-Speaker/dp/B08JP4J79F

Yes that is the right model... a little pricier than the 4 1/2" but the mid-range and additional bass they provide are amazing. I purchased mine through Crutchfield for about the same price ($130 ea.). I thought the $130 cost was for a pair, imagine my surprise when I opened the box to install my all of speakers and I was short one kick panel 6.5 Memphis speaker. Lol.

 

[bniknar]

Yes that is the right model... a little pricier than the 4 1/2" but the mid-range and additional bass they provide are amazing. I purchased mine through Crutchfield for about the same price ($130 ea.). I thought the $130 cost was for a pair, imagine my surprise when I opened the box to install my all of speakers and I was short one kick panel 6.5 Memphis speaker. Lol.

Super!

And I found these bass blockers on Crutchfield - did you use these? I ask because it looks like they would connect easily into Kicker CS speakers in the dash. https://www.crutchfield.com/p_007BB300/Crutchfield-Bass-Blockers-300-Hz-cut-off.html

 

[bniknar]

I've installed the Memphis Audio MJP6 speakers in the kick panels and the 300hz bass blockers in the dash CS speakers. What a huge difference - crystal clear sound. The only "want" I have is more deep bass. I've read through many threads about this, the consensus seems to be that a separate sub and bass speaker is required, that a Key 200.4 amp in the dash won't enhance the bass much.

My test track for bass is Tom Sawyer (Rush).

Appreciate any thoughts/suggestions. I don't want to be spending $$$ on this however I do want to understand my options.

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