Speaker pods... IAG vs Mabett vs SSV vs ?

[bek]

Hello.

I am looking to upgrade my audio and it looks like to me the IAG pods are the same exact pods as Mabett sells. (SSV is obviously something different.) I was wondering if anyone can confirm/deny if those are the same pods, and also if you had any good or bad experiences you'd like to share. Thoughts on other pods I'm not aware of would be good, too. Anything you'd like to share about any of them is welcome!

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[Brian_B]

I cannot confirm if they are the same. I do have the Mabetts, and can say they fit well and weren't hard to install at all.

They do have the caveat that you can't use a coax speaker that extends beyond the front face of the speaker or the cover will interfere (like a tweeter that sticks up and out) -- they are pretty up front about that in the documentation though.

I can also say - the upgrade from 4" to 6.5" in the rear was ... not all that significant. Maybe if I were sitting in the back seat, it would sound better back there, but from the driver's seat I couldn't really tell any difference in sound quality.

That isn't anything on the quality of the pod - it may be that I chose poor speakers or just aren't driving them hard enough to tell. Just saying going from OEM 4" to aftermarket 6.5" in the rear didn't change the overall sound field all that much.

 

[bek]

I cannot confirm if they are the same. I do have the Mabetts, and can say they fit well and weren't hard to install at all.

They do have the caveat that you can't use a coax speaker that extends beyond the front face of the speaker or the cover will interfere (like a tweeter that sticks up and out) -- they are pretty up front about that in the documentation though.

I can also say - the upgrade from 4" to 6.5" in the rear was ... not all that significant. Maybe if I were sitting in the back seat, it would sound better back there, but from the driver's seat I couldn't really tell any difference in sound quality.

That isn't anything on the quality of the pod - it may be that I chose poor speakers or just aren't driving them hard enough to tell. Just saying going from OEM 4" to aftermarket 6.5" in the rear didn't change the overall sound field all that much.

Do you have a 4-door or 2-door? I forgot to mention mine is 2-door, and I've read a couple of posts from people saying they don't quite fit the 2-door correctly.

 

[Brian_B]

Do you have a 4-door or 2-door? I forgot to mention mine is 2-door, and I've read a couple of posts from people saying they don't quite fit the 2-door correctly.

Oh good point. I do have a 4-door. I do recall Mabett saying they were 4-door specific

 

[bek]

Oh good point. I do have a 4-door. I do recall Mabett saying they were 4-door specific

Yikes. Mabett's Amazon page says they work for both models, but someone commented there's a clip or something you have to use for the 2-door. The reviewer didn't seem very happy about it.

 

[Lowcountry Bronco]

Hello.

I am looking to upgrade my audio and it looks like to me the IAG pods are the same exact pods as Mabett sells. (SSV is obviously something different.) I was wondering if anyone can confirm/deny if those are the same pods, and also if you had any good or bad experiences you'd like to share. Thoughts on other pods I'm not aware of would be good, too. Anything you'd like to share about any of them is welcome!

Up front I don't own either but IAG always states that they work with the original manufacturer to meet their standards so theirs are usually higher priced than the Mabetts. Now does that mean better quality with a higher price? Don't know.

If it were my money I'd choose the SSV ones, just because I like the styling better so take it how you want. Metra is also supposedly working on a pod for the past few years, that's the company that usually produced all those kits we bought in the past to add an aftermarket stereo and speakers.

One thing that hasn't been discussed is doing the mod to make sure the back speakers get full power. I'm not real schooled on that but plenty of threads already exist on forscan and FDRS settings so look up those when you can.

 

[mike8675309]

That isn't anything on the quality of the pod - it may be that I chose poor speakers or just aren't driving them hard enough to tell. Just saying going from OEM 4" to aftermarket 6.5" in the rear didn't change the overall sound field all that much.

Did you use Forscan to tell the bronco amp that there were full range speakers back there? By default the bronco amp will filter out the low frequencies to those pods.
https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/forscan-rear-speaker-eq-findings.54999/

 

[bek]

Up front I don't own either but IAG always states that they work with the original manufacturer to meet their standards so theirs are usually higher priced than the Mabetts. Now does that mean better quality with a higher price? Don't know.

If it were my money I'd choose the SSV ones, just because I like the styling better so take it how you want. Metra is also supposedly working on a pod for the past few years, that's the company that usually produced all those kits we bought in the past to add an aftermarket stereo and speakers.

One thing that hasn't been discussed is doing the mod to make sure the back speakers get full power. I'm not real schooled on that but plenty of threads already exist on forscan and FDRS settings so look up those when you can.

Thanks, LowCountry and Mike. If it comes down to just styling, I was going to say I'd probably go with Mabett or IAG, but then I looked at a YouTube video of the SSV pod, and it looks pretty nice, actually. Probably better made, too.

Definitely a good idea with the Forscan mod. I'll probably go with a pro shop near here. They're the best around. They talked about putting in a DSP and said we wouldn't need to do anything with Forscan. Beats me how all that works... I am definitely not a car audio expert--just a fan of clean and loud music.

SSV is $230 at Crutchfield, IAG is $104 at Amazon, and Mabett is $130 at Amazon. I'm pretty undecided.

 

[M7 23]

I have the Mabetts in my 2 door Bronco. Fit great, easy install, and huge improvement with Forscan update to send full signal to rear. Cant say if they are the same as IAG.

 

[Brian_B]

Did you use Forscan to tell the bronco amp that there were full range speakers back there? By default the bronco amp will filter out the low frequencies to those pods.
https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/forscan-rear-speaker-eq-findings.54999/

Good thought, but yes I have. They sound good - don’t get me wrong. They just dont sound appreciably better than the 4” did after doing the Forscan change

 

[mike8675309]

We know for a fact the factory amp doesn't have enough power to push even the stock speakers with clean power at a high level. Maybe time to add a better amp?

 

[Lowcountry Bronco]

Thanks, LowCountry and Mike. If it comes down to just styling, I was going to say I'd probably go with Mabett or IAG, but then I looked at a YouTube video of the SSV pod, and it looks pretty nice, actually. Probably better made, too.

Definitely a good idea with the Forscan mod. I'll probably go with a pro shop near here. They're the best around. They talked about putting in a DSP and said we wouldn't need to do anything with Forscan. Beats me how all that works... I am definitely not a car audio expert--just a fan of clean and loud music.

SSV is $230 at Crutchfield, IAG is $104 at Amazon, and Mabett is $130 at Amazon. I'm pretty undecided.

The SSVs on Amazon are $229.99 and have a 15% coupon so $209.17 with taxes for me.

SSV Works BR-2B65U 2021-2023 Bronco 2-Door Rear Speaker Pod 6.5in Upgrade w Speakers https://a.co/d/0071xXs

Pick whatever fits your budget, all do the same and honestly I've never even looked at the factory pods up close so this upgrade is not high on my list but maybe eventually.

 

[JayGar562]

I just installed the Mabetts with some kicker speakers this evening in my 4 door. A bit of a difference in sound…much better than the stock speakers. Was eyeing the SSVs for a while, but Mabetts were in my budget and they had a good discount for Black Friday. Was an easy install overall.

The speaker pods from Mabett come with extra spacers and brackets to fit the 2 door if you have one.

 

[bek]

The SSVs on Amazon are $229.99 and have a 15% coupon so $209.17 with taxes for me.

SSV Works BR-2B65U 2021-2023 Bronco 2-Door Rear Speaker Pod 6.5in Upgrade w Speakers https://a.co/d/0071xXs

Pick whatever fits your budget, all do the same and honestly I've never even looked at the factory pods up close so this upgrade is not high on my list but maybe eventually.

$249 now! I guess Black Friday is over for SSV. Oh, well.

 

[ToddReynolds]

I got the ones from MTI Acoustics to match my tailgate subwoofer enclosure I had done by the guy on eBay who others on the forum have used, jeepboxpro, they are textured and come with the hardware but no grills so you don't have any restrictions on how far the speakers stick out. I haven't installed them yet but attached a pic of them.

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