Stereo Overhaul - Mild Documentation

[mikec426]

A speaker under the engine??

Sponsored

 

[Red Mountain Pass]

That is a big ass garage bro. congrats! You need more toys imo.

 

[MannyG20]

If I did this and took all those parts out at one time I swear I would have 12 bolts, 10 panel clips and a couple of random pieces left over when I put it all back together.

 

[Rick Astley]

Damn, absolutely killer project!

Thankfully modern cars are just simple Lego sets to reassemble. All you need is the correct order of operations.

The SI stuff really punches above their pay grads. I'm curious if it's going to be enough for you once done with a project this substantial, or if you, like a few folks I know, end up switching to Focal Utopia (minus the tweets).

You're going a step above with controls, and your install is looking fantastic so far.

 

[stickshifthappy]

If I did this and took all those parts out at one time I swear I would have 12 bolts, 10 panel clips and a couple of random pieces left over when I put it all back together.

Just as God intended .

 

[brtd]

This is above and beyond, looking forward to seeing the finished product!

Also makes me wish Ford just sold an actual sound deadening option for $1,000 or whatever from factory. I'd love some peace and quiet in the bronco, but have no interest in removing the entire interior to do so.

Still TBD if it helps. Definitely can't hurt. I was pleased to see a decent bit of foam under portions of the rubber floor liner. Pretty thick in some spots, thin in others though.

A speaker under the engine??

You know... To embarrass my kids at school pick up. And maybe whisper sweet nothings to the drivers who stay in the left lane at all times.

That is a big ass garage bro. congrats! You need more toys imo.

Suggestions?

The SI stuff really punches above their pay grads. I'm curious if it's going to be enough for you once done with a project this substantial, or if you, like a few folks I know, end up switching to Focal Utopia (minus the tweets).

You're going a step above with controls, and your install is looking fantastic so far.

We shall see. It'll be a much easier task to upgrade the speakers in the future. Despite my counter efforts, the bronco will never be an ideal listening environment. The Focals are appealing though.

Loudish and clear with as close to ZERO rattles is my goal. I've had some two ways in the past, but never an active three way like this. Lots of time with Room EQ Wizard for HT stuff, so it'll be fun to get it dialed in.

 

[eduard4us]

The plan has been in the works for a few months, mostly waiting on parts and compatible weather. The weather is here now, but still waiting on a few parts. I'm taking my time and hopefully being careful enough to be able to put it all back together. I'll share some pictures and thoughts throughout the project.

System Components:

• Amplifier/DSP: mObridge A2B 8.1.1
• Kick Panel Woofers: Stereo Integrity TM65 mkIV
• Tweeters (L/R dash): Stereo Integrity M25 mkII
• Midrange (L/R dash and center): Stereo Integrity M3 Carbon
• Subwoofer: TBD - waiting on the Stealthbox. We'll see.
• Sound Deadening - a mixture

There are all sorts of threads and videos out there showing how to remove the guts from the Bronco, so I won't be reinventing the wheel. I will say that anyone endeavoring to go to this length will be glad if they have a variety of panel and trim removal tools and some mega-beefy torx sockets. I have this set for the trim. And this set of torx sockets... a must have when it comes time to remove the seats (and a good length breaker bar). My Dewalt impact wanted nothing to do with the a couple of the bolts.

I'll be running the front L/R stage as active 3-way, with the two higher powered channels of the amp going to the kick panel woofers. Lower power channels to the mids and tweeter. That leaves two of the lower powered channels. One for the center channel... and I'm not sure yet about the rears. I will figure that out along the way. The amp included an additional harness that will leverage the three amp channels in the head unit itself. I will probably use them to power the rear speakers if I don't scrap them altogether.

The midrange for L/R are being cnc milled in order to fit closer with the tweeter and deal with the cramped stock location. That work is in progress this week, then they go to "The Mesh Man" to fabricate the mounting plates for me.

One additional element to this project is the addition of seven sound FX buttons I am adding just below the hero switches. I had seen this Mark Rober video years ago and always wanted to give it a try. I have a separate cheap amp for this, and I've already mounted the PA horn speaker just above the front skid plate.

Here's my status as of today:

I had installed the soundskinz kit along with some additional dynamat I had on the 4 doors a few weeks back. I have some blackhole for the rear and other spots. I have the soundskins kit for under the 4 seats as well. Still need to get the rubber floor liner out before I tack that part.

Here's a peek at the buttons. Not shown is the Adafruit SFX board attached to another ethernet keystone jack. Space was too tight to try to have the buttons and the board in close proximity. This will let me connect the two with a single cable so I can put the board somewhere accessible... for changing out the sounds.

And here's the speaker under the engine.

More to come...

This looks great!! I’m glad to see that someone is going the route with a DSP/amplifier that replaces seamlessly with B&O system.
Does it come with all the adapters to use the existing speakers wires including the center and the pods?

 

[brtd]

Good question. It does include a harness to use the 3x head unit channels if needed. Whether you can plug and play all of the speakers is unknown to me at this point. I plan on rewiring since everything is exposed. Some soldering/splicing/crimping is par for the course here I think.

I got a phone call today from Fraser at mObridge. He has his hands on a loaner Bronco now and discovered the harness to use the head unit channels in the Bronco differs from the F150 (assumed to be the same).

He's already ordered a batch and I should have one before I'm zipping things up.

He's also working on an adapter to mount the new amp where the B&O amp used to be. Helpful if one is using the B&O sub. That's not my long term plan, but I may end up with a temporary setup like that until JL gets their act together or I go another route for the sub altogether.

Gotta say, @mObridge / Fraser has shown a level of pre and post sales support that is exemplary. I couldn't be happier at this point, having no experience yet with the actual product.

If Fraser is the company, it shows. And if he's not, where can I get employees like that?

Does it come with all the adapters to use the existing speakers wires including the center and the pods?

 

[eduard4us]

Good question. It does include a harness to use the 3x head unit channels if needed. Whether you can plug and play all of the speakers is unknown to me at this point. I plan on rewiring since everything is exposed. Some soldering/splicing/crimping is par for the course here I think.

I got a phone call today from Fraser at mObridge. He has his hands on a loaner Bronco now and discovered the harness to use the head unit channels in the Bronco differs from the F150 (assumed to be the same).

He's already ordered a batch and I should have one before I'm zipping things up.

He's also working on an adapter to mount the new amp where the B&O amp used to be. Helpful if one is using the B&O sub. That's not my long term plan, but I may end up with a temporary setup like that until JL gets their act together or I go another route for the sub altogether.

Gotta say, @mObridge / Fraser has shown a level of pre and post sales support that is exemplary. I couldn't be happier at this point, having no experience yet with the actual product.

If Fraser is the company, it shows. And if he's not, where can I get employees like that?

I agree, it will be best if it will mount where the B&O sits now so you can use the factory subwoofer enclosure. With a good subwoofer in that enclosure and powered up accordingly it is a good compromise for sure.
Looking forward to following your awesome audio transformation and results.

 

[Breptar]

Love me some stereo integrity equipment. I have some sql 15s and the same mid bass, midrange, and tweeters. I’ll be keeping in eye in this built. Why not run a sql 12 in a sealed box for bass? They need minimal space. They are also about to come out with a 11” shallow mount subwoofer too! I believe he just opened the preorder in those yesterday.

 

[brtd]

Ooh. I see that 11" now. I don't think that was there a few days ago. I'll have to do some measurements and see if I could squeeze something in to accommodate that.

Fiberglass enclosures are not in my wheelhouse, but there are a lot of contours at play that make a traditional box challenging to fit in the stock sub location.

We will be using this vehicle for summer road trips with our family of four. Cargo space is a premium, so whatever I do it needs to have minimal encroachment on the trunk space.

Appreciate the input.

Love me some stereo integrity equipment. I have some sql 15s and the same mid bass, midrange, and tweeters. I’ll be keeping in eye in this built. Why not run a sql 12 in a sealed box for bass? They need minimal space. They are also about to come out with a 11” shallow mount subwoofer too! I believe he just opened the preorder in those yesterday.

 

[Rick Astley]

Just as God intended .

Careful now, that's how genocides started!

It's a good setup, nonetheless.

 

[Lanman]

I don't know the specs of your underhood speaker but I would mount it higher in the engine compartment and with the horn facing down so that there's no way for it to become a cup/speaker full of water.

 

[brtd]

Yeah, I've thought about adding some drain holes. I might reposition/change it once I can hear how it sounds. I couldn't find a better place for it higher up.

I don't know the specs of your underhood speaker but I would mount it higher in the engine compartment and with the horn facing down so that there's no way for it to become a cup/speaker full of water.

 

[brtd]

Some mild documentation from last night and today:

First, thank you to @Broncola for this post. Saved me some head scratching. There's ample documentation about getting through the firewall for automatics. They get the handy, accessible, and large grommet covering the hole through which the clutch passes for us 7MT folks.

Feeding my bulky bunch of wires through the small upper nub of the main grommet was NOT FUN. I was a bit beat by that time later on yesterday, so maybe that's a factor. Top of list so far for PITA factor.

The best I can describe is this. You can choose no more than two of the following at the same time:

• Have a line of sight.
• Get flashlight on it.
• Touch it.

The challenge was exacerbated by a few factors:

1. I chose to run 4ga instead of 6 recommended for the mObridge in case I decide more amplification is better someday.
2. I ran a separate 10ga for the sound effects amp so I could keep the fuses as close to the battery as possible.
3. I also had a pair of 16ga speaker wires for the external speaker in the engine bay.

But it's done now, so I will stop complaining.

I had ordered a variety of sizes of add-a-circuit fuse taps weeks ago in preparation. Today I went looking to find which fuse by the steering column was switched. Thank you @SPITmadFIRE for your post on this topic.

To my disappointment, the popular fuse choice is number two, which uses a micro2 fuse... a size not included in my pack.

Fortunately the second local auto parts store I visited had some. I tapped into fuse #2 by the steering column, adding a 5a fuse to feed both the 12-to-5 volt converter that powers the SFX board, and the remote-on wire for the amp that powers the external horn speaker.

FYI, there are multiple ground options in this area. I chose one that was exposed by removing the trim in the area covered when the door is closed, but there are others around here.

I haven't tidied it all up just yet, but the wire termination is done and I was able to test the functionality of the various pieces of the sound button setup. It all appears to work. After some crude hacking at the cheap amp a few days ago, this will mount comfortably under the steering column without impeding the full range of adjustability.

It sounds horrible, but it works. I think the amp will suffice for this purpose, but I might explore something better than a $40 PA horn with such a limited frequency range (400hz to 6khz (claimed)).

Here's a video of the first test run: https://photos.app.goo.gl/rhdbqF89AGfH4ZzZ6

And here's my youngest enjoying some soldering practice:

Sponsored