Terrible upgraded stereo.

[Hotpantz]

Yes, another "My stereo system sucks in my Bronco" thread. I upgraded by stereo in my '22 OBX (softtop, non B&O) with front and rear Alpine type S 4" and Kicker KS 6.75s in the kick. I went on Forscan and edited the rear speakers, but that didn't seem to do anything. I've messed with the settings, balance and fade, tried setting to driver audio, or whatever it's called. It still is just terrible. I know the next step is to add a Kicker key200.4 and possible a subwoofer, but is the kicker key going to bring these speakers to life or what?!

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[zombie]

IMO you aren't going to get anything decent/impressive without adding an amp.

I upgraded the speakers and went with a kenwood 5 channel and added a 12" subwoofer. All in was around a grand USD and I'm super happy with the results.

Link to what I did: https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/ultimate-stereo-upgrade-thread.37328/#post-1224231

 

[rtazz17]

Yup,speakers wont change much. Powered subwoofer or a system amp is what makes difference. Without a sub you wont get what your looking for

 

[Bearcat1]

I would return the kick panel speakers and put back originals, the saved money will get you part of the way to a kicker key amp.

 

[Bmadda]

Kicker key 200.4 is absolutely awesome! Stock speakers are not bad at all. I would do the key 200.4 before adding a sub...that's what I did and really coulda stopped there and been happy (I like rock music w/screaming guitars, not bass heavy gangsta rap). Do the setup steps per the instructions, and if you want awesome rear sound turn fader off on the key 200.4. You wont be able to fade frt/rear anymore, but trust me you wont need to! I did end up adding a sub to get that extra "bump" and now mine sounds like a $2500-$3000 system. Right around $1000 and my own time...huge difference!

 

[Hotpantz]

I would return the kick panel speakers and put back originals, the saved money will get you part of the way to a kicker key amp.

I feel like the very little bass I do have comes from the 6.75"s. Again, it's very little, but thanks for the advice. My plan was to upgrade the kicks last after reading some people saying that they don't add much, but I got a great deal on some so I jumped.

 

[dadjoke]

Kicker 200.4 was a big upgrade for me, but I installed and didn't adjust the gain until months later...the gain adjustment was as big a improvement for me as just hooking up the amp in the first place

 

[zombie]

Decent 4" replacements are less than $50 (and likely much less)... The stock speakers are paper trash... anyone saying to put them back must have hearing damage IMO

 

[TheSSBoz]

Key works well. Dont know if it will bring the rears to life. Regardless of countless threads...its not pushing the same signal as it will to the front.

However what also helped me was adding an under front seat powered sub. World of difference now with new speakers all round and the KEY and sub.

 

[Hotpantz]

Key works well. Dont know if it will bring the rears to life. Regardless of countless threads...its not pushing the same signal as it will to the front.

However what also helped me was adding an under front seat powered sub. World of difference now with new speakers all round and the KEY and sub.

What underseat sub did you go with? I will definitely need to add one (or two) after the key200 is installed. I have two car seats and a booster, so i never fold down the back seat, so i thoight about putting a couple under there, but the front is an option as well. I'm looking for something plug n play if possible, but if there is a better option for about the same money, I'd go that route.

 

[RagnarKon]

In my opinion the amp should have been the first upgrade... but too late for that now, and if I'm being honest you probably would have wanted to upgrade the 4" speakers in the end anyway.

Also... the factory tune on the 4" speakers makes a lot of sense, so you may want to go back to that. No need to change it unless you are added a bass blocker or if you are installing bigger speakers. Smaller speakers don't reproduce low frequencies well, and in some cases prevent them sounding good on the higher frequencies, which is why Ford put a DSP high-pass filter on the rear pods, and a bass blocker on the dash speakers.

 

[Hotpantz]

In my opinion the amp should have been the first upgrade... but too late for that now, and if I'm being honest you probably would have wanted to upgrade the 4" speakers in the end anyway.

Also... the factory tune on the 4" speakers makes a lot of sense, so you may want to go back to that. No need to change it unless you are added a bass blocker or if you are installing bigger speakers. Smaller speakers don't reproduce low frequencies well, and in some cases prevent them sounding good on the higher frequencies, which is why Ford put a DSP high-pass filter on the rear pods, and a bass blocker on the dash speakers.

If I could go back, I would have done the amp first, but you're correct, I would have done the speakers as well. I did put 300hz bass blockers on the front 4", but I feel like it sounds decent at lower volumes, but when I get to about 18, it starts to sound like junk.

 

[RagnarKon]

If I could go back, I would have done the amp first, but you're correct, I would have done the speakers as well. I did put 300hz bass blockers on the front 4", but I feel like it sounds decent at lower volumes, but when I get to about 18, it starts to sound like junk.

Yeah that's just the weakness of the factory amp in play.

Even with the amp... I'm guessing you won't really be happy until you've install a sub. Kicker HS8/HS10 are the popular options, but there are plenty out there. Depends if you just want to stick one under a seat, or if you want to put it in the tailgate, or how crazy you want to get with it. Personally I'm sticking a sub in the B&O factory location... but... still waiting on parts to arrive.

 

[dokk]

having just done all this, I highly recommend the Kicker Key 200.4 amp with dsp like others have here as a #1 mod for improving the overall sound quality of the system. The package from plug and play kits was easy to install and works great.

Then prioritize speaker replacement, then maybe a sub if you want more low end. I went with the Kicker 10 inch amp/sub under seat deal, but it was a huge pain in the ass to make it fit and I'm still not happy about how its placed and may revisit that at some point. I probably should've gone with the 8 in retrospect. Oh well.

Also, adding an in line base blocking fuse for the top dash speakers did some serious magic for the clarity and tone of those 4 " bad boys. There's always forscan reprogramming as well if you want to be able to send more power to drive the speakers, but the amp with dsp was such a drastic improvement over stock that I am very happy of where its at.

 

[TheSSBoz]

What underseat sub did you go with? I will definitely need to add one (or two) after the key200 is installed. I have two car seats and a booster, so i never fold down the back seat, so i thoight about putting a couple under there, but the front is an option as well. I'm looking for something plug n play if possible, but if there is a better option for about the same money, I'd go that route.

I put an Infinity Basslink mini under the front driver seat. Works great for me and fits pretty good like it was meant to go there... But also I dont have folks in the back seat much kicking feet up under the driver seat...which could be a concern.

Others have definitely put in more. But I didnt want to take up any cargo space.

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