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'Ultimate Stereo Upgrade' Thread

roofone2

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Finally got everything installed! I have to echo every single other post on the forum in regards to the Kicker Key 200.4 - it's an absolute game-changer of an amp. Transforms the sound/imaging/soundstage; can't say enough good things about it.

Ended up swapping the front speakers at the 11th hour since I realized that those are going to be the ones I hear the most. Went with Audiofrog GS42s - happy I made the switch, but they need to be broken in a little bit more before they really start sounding good (I had some Focals in my last car that were the same).

Perfectly happy with the sub as well. Doesn't shake the earth but it adds in that last little bit of low frequency that I was missing. My kick panel speakers provide a decent amount of bass, but the sub really balances it out.

Also really glad that I added polyfill to all the speaker cavities - things sounded a bit hollow without it.

So the setup is:

Front Dash - Audiofrog GS42 (600hz bass blockers)
Front Kick - JL C2-650 (woofer, not coaxials)
Rear - Infinity Reference 4032CFX (300hz bass blockers)
Amp - Kicker Key 200.4
Sub - Kenwood KSCSW11
How are the GS42s now? Sound better after being broken in a bit more?

Trying to choose upgrades for my B&O.
 

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fitterhappier

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How are the GS42s now? Sound better after being broken in a bit more?

Trying to choose upgrades for my B&O.
Absolutely. Butter smooth. Very much worth the steep price!
 

BigMeatsBronco

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I'm running the following. Mostly because I don't want to lose any space.

JL audio C2-400X in front three dash speakers with dynamat under them.

JL audio C1-400 in the rear pods with sound dampening foam pad in pods.

Removed B&O sub for U-14 conversion.

JL audio 6W3V3 subwoofers in kick panels with soundstream 2 channel amp running them. Dynamat entire kick panels interior "box" and opened the bottom for a port.

Two Kicker hideaway HS10 10" powered subs. One under each front seat.

About $2300 total.

Sounds absolutely incredible! The 10s give a nice low bass even though they don't move much air compared to a "real" subwoofer box. I think the two of them together sound about as good as a single decent 10 in a good normal sized enclosure. Won't rattle the truck but inside, there is more than enough bass available and really brings out the low LOW notes well.

The kick panel speakers are absolutely fantastic and really bring out the mid-bass punch I love so much. These are extremely excellent for their size! Night and day better than the JL C2-650 component speakers I tried previously! They have an enormous magnet and required double adapter rings and some trimming and have there own grill so I'm OK with them protruding slightly. Hard to see much down there anyway.

Here's a picture of the kick panel JL audio I used in comparison to the OEM junk B&O. These speakers also sound fantastic even without the amp! Highly recommend!

The dash and pod JL audio sounds great as well as others have stated many time.

20220511_223144.jpg


20220510_132333.jpg


20220510_132340.jpg


20220510_132402.jpg


20220510_132407.jpg
 
Last edited:

roofone2

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I'm running the following. Mostly because I don't want to lose any space.

JL audio C2-400X in front three dash speakers with dynamat under them.

JL audio C1-400 in the rear pods with sound dampening foam pad in pods.

Removed B&O sub for U-14 conversion.

JL audio 6W3V3 subwoofers in kick panels with soundstream 2 channel amp running them. Dynamat entire kick panels interior "box" and opened the bottom for a port.

Two Kicker hideaway HS10 10" powered subs. One under each front seat.

About $2300 total.

Sounds absolutely incredible! The 10s give a nice low bass even though they don't move much air compared to a "real" subwoofer box. I think the two of them together sound about as good as a single decent 10 in a good normal sized enclosure. Won't rattle the truck but inside, there is more than enough bass available and really brings out the low LOW notes well.

The kick panel speakers are absolutely fantastic and really bring out the mid-bass punch I love so much. These are extremely excellent for their size! Night and day better than the JL C2-650 component speakers I tried previously! They have an enormous magnet and required double adapter rings and some trimming and have there own grill so I'm OK with them protruding slightly. Hard to see much down there anyway.

Here's a picture of the kick panel JL audio I used in comparison to the OEM junk B&O. These speakers also sound fantastic even without the amp! Highly recommend!

The dash and pod JL audio sounds great as well as others have stated many time.

20220511_223144.jpg


20220510_132333.jpg


20220510_132340.jpg


20220510_132402.jpg


20220510_132407.jpg
Sounds like a good system.

Since you amplified the kick speakers, did you have to add anything like the Zen interface to mitigate the B&O DSP?
 

Mmart

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I'm running the following. Mostly because I don't want to lose any space.

JL audio C2-400X in front three dash speakers with dynamat under them.

JL audio C1-400 in the rear pods with sound dampening foam pad in pods.

Removed B&O sub for U-14 conversion.

JL audio 6W3V3 subwoofers in kick panels with soundstream 2 channel amp running them. Dynamat entire kick panels interior "box" and opened the bottom for a port.

Two Kicker hideaway HS10 10" powered subs. One under each front seat.

About $2300 total.

Sounds absolutely incredible! The 10s give a nice low bass even though they don't move much air compared to a "real" subwoofer box. I think the two of them together sound about as good as a single decent 10 in a good normal sized enclosure. Won't rattle the truck but inside, there is more than enough bass available and really brings out the low LOW notes well.

The kick panel speakers are absolutely fantastic and really bring out the mid-bass punch I love so much. These are extremely excellent for their size! Night and day better than the JL C2-650 component speakers I tried previously! They have an enormous magnet and required double adapter rings and some trimming and have there own grill so I'm OK with them protruding slightly. Hard to see much down there anyway.

Here's a picture of the kick panel JL audio I used in comparison to the OEM junk B&O. These speakers also sound fantastic even without the amp! Highly recommend!

The dash and pod JL audio sounds great as well as others have stated many time.

Ford Bronco 'Ultimate Stereo Upgrade' Thread 20220510_132407


Ford Bronco 'Ultimate Stereo Upgrade' Thread 20220510_132407


Ford Bronco 'Ultimate Stereo Upgrade' Thread 20220510_132407


Ford Bronco 'Ultimate Stereo Upgrade' Thread 20220510_132407


Ford Bronco 'Ultimate Stereo Upgrade' Thread 20220510_132407
 

Mmart

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Do you have a picture with the kick panel on?
 

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JJ_Gecko80

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Finally finished my speaker, amp and sub install and so far I'm pretty satisfied. I've attached several of my pictures showing as much as I can. I've searched the threads for ways to run the battery cable from the engine bay, but with a 7 speed manual transmission there is little to no space to navigate in.
The amp I'm using for now is a 30 year old Braun PQ20 a/d/s, 4-channel bridged. "They dont make 'em like this anymore" :p I took it off an old BMW I had while stationed in Italy 12 years ago. I wanted to make sure it works so I used it here, but because its only putting out 200 watts it's not enough for my 500 watt sub, a Pioneer TS-SW841D shallow mount 8 inch. I have it inside a custom made enclosure which was specifically built to fit in the trunk in my old GTI. It fits in this trunk, but obviously takes up a lot of space.
Ford Bronco 'Ultimate Stereo Upgrade' Thread BroncoAm

I used the plug-and-play kit 1 to tap into the back of the head unit and connect the RCA cables that lead out to the amp. I've been messing around with stereos for some time now and these kits are life savers and well worth the money. Plug-And-Play Kits
Ford Bronco 'Ultimate Stereo Upgrade' Thread IMG_1982

Ford Bronco 'Ultimate Stereo Upgrade' Thread TrunkPreBuild

Im looking at getting a smaller amp, one which will fit under my driver's seat to save space. If anyone is interested in buying this amp to power their speakers, let me know.
Ford Bronco 'Ultimate Stereo Upgrade' Thread IMG_2002 2

I went with Kickers all the way around.
Ford Bronco 'Ultimate Stereo Upgrade' Thread IMG_1936

Ford Bronco 'Ultimate Stereo Upgrade' Thread IMG_1935
Ford Bronco 'Ultimate Stereo Upgrade' Thread IMG_1939
Ford Bronco 'Ultimate Stereo Upgrade' Thread IMG_1999

This plastic guide cord saved the day for sure. I used it to help get the battery cable through the rubber grommet by taping the crap out of one end and pulling it through to the cabin.
Ford Bronco 'Ultimate Stereo Upgrade' Thread IMG_1994

Crutchfield has this guide cord. You'll need it for this and any other projects requiring you to move cables through hard to reach spaces, or under the carpet for example.
Ford Bronco 'Ultimate Stereo Upgrade' Thread IMG_1995

You will have to drill or use something rough to rip open the rubber and widen the hole enough to fit the cable. I wanted to make it big enough to fit the plastic guide cord and cable, and after some careful effort, I managed to get it through and it's sealed tight right now. There is a large cluster of electrical cables going through here so you have to be very careful not to tear in to them.
Ford Bronco 'Ultimate Stereo Upgrade' Thread IMG_1997

So far so good!
Ford Bronco 'Ultimate Stereo Upgrade' Thread IMG_2004


IMG_2003.jpg
 

Mborkow31

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I'm running the following. Mostly because I don't want to lose any space.

JL audio C2-400X in front three dash speakers with dynamat under them.

JL audio C1-400 in the rear pods with sound dampening foam pad in pods.

Removed B&O sub for U-14 conversion.

JL audio 6W3V3 subwoofers in kick panels with soundstream 2 channel amp running them. Dynamat entire kick panels interior "box" and opened the bottom for a port.

Two Kicker hideaway HS10 10" powered subs. One under each front seat.

About $2300 total.

Sounds absolutely incredible! The 10s give a nice low bass even though they don't move much air compared to a "real" subwoofer box. I think the two of them together sound about as good as a single decent 10 in a good normal sized enclosure. Won't rattle the truck but inside, there is more than enough bass available and really brings out the low LOW notes well.

The kick panel speakers are absolutely fantastic and really bring out the mid-bass punch I love so much. These are extremely excellent for their size! Night and day better than the JL C2-650 component speakers I tried previously! They have an enormous magnet and required double adapter rings and some trimming and have there own grill so I'm OK with them protruding slightly. Hard to see much down there anyway.

Here's a picture of the kick panel JL audio I used in comparison to the OEM junk B&O. These speakers also sound fantastic even without the amp! Highly recommend!

The dash and pod JL audio sounds great as well as others have stated many time.

Ford Bronco 'Ultimate Stereo Upgrade' Thread IMG_2003


Ford Bronco 'Ultimate Stereo Upgrade' Thread IMG_2003


Ford Bronco 'Ultimate Stereo Upgrade' Thread IMG_2003


Ford Bronco 'Ultimate Stereo Upgrade' Thread IMG_2003


Ford Bronco 'Ultimate Stereo Upgrade' Thread IMG_2003
How’d you get the hideaways under the front seats? I had dismissed that idea based on many others indicating it wasn’t feasible.
 

B A C N O W

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How’d you get the hideaways under the front seats? I had dismissed that idea based on many others indicating it wasn’t feasible.
🤔 Hmm…i also dismissed this idea based on the same reasons! I would like to see a photo of this particular component of the build! If it’s feasible then that’s the route i’d rather take!
 
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pjmezz13

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Added this to another thread last night, I hope it's useful for some.


The attached should help those planning to upgrade their base, 6 speaker systems, with or without an aftermarket amp. The goal here was to convert the schematic into something that you can visualize easier as you start your installation.

I've focused on the front signal, as that seems to be where most of the confusion is.

Page 1: Driver's side front speakers stock
Page 2: Passenger's side front speakers stock

Page 3: Driver's side front speaker only swap
Page 4: Passenger's side front speaker only swap

Page 5: Driver's side front passive 2-way crossover/component (no amp)
Page 6: Passenger's side front passive 2-way crossover/component (no amp)

Page 7: Driver's side front passive 2-way crossover/component (w/amp)
Page 8: Passenger's side front passive 2-way crossover/component (w/amp)

If you follow these diagrams, you can expand to the rear speakers by running new speaker wires from your amplifier to the rear speaker pods or subwoofer, where applicable. This assumes that your amp has signal summing capabilities.

Page 9: Comparison of front and rear factory head unit ELECTRICAL signal playing pink noise, visualized through the Audio Control DSP.

Page 10: Original schematic

Feedback welcome :)
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