802a stereo amp question

Hey Guys,

By no means am I a stereo guru, but I am pretty handy and I am getting tired of the lackluster stock sound 802a. I have been following everyone's threads and I am getting close to taking the plunge to upgrade a few things.

So a question for all of you... the Sony amp in the back by the subwoofer enclosure... is that a subwoofer amp ONLY or is that feeding channels for all the doors and dash? Does anyone know what gauge wire Ford has running to that amp? These two questions will help me enormously. My upgrades plan to be DIY, not too hard, done in a weekend kind of thing. I'm going to stop short of making wire pulls.

Thanks everyone

Guy

I would also like to know. I'll be fallowing this thread.

The Sony amp runs all the speakers. You cannot not just switch out amp and hope for improvement. If you want more bass than you need to add a new sub box and amp using a line converter to tap the stock sub speaker wire. If you really want to make an improvement than all the speakers need to be replaced with two additional amps being feed with a processor directly from stock Sony amp. See The Car Stereo Guy for options who is one of the best and member on forum. My advice is leave it unless you really want to make the system right and redo everything.

Thank you for answering my question.
I disagree with your opinion of spending thousands of dollars or nothing at all, but my expectations for sound are obviously much lower than yours.

Thanks
Guy

There are some stages of upgrade that will improve the sound quality. Be warned though, audio upgrades are a slippery slope. It doesn't take long to find the next weakest link.

1. First upgrade for most is the sub and use the factory amp and enclosure. You can swap the Sony sub with a Kicker for a cheap upgrade.
2. At that point you will hear the lack of quality in the door speakers. These can be upgraded while keeping the factory amp.
3. At this point you will find that the Kicker sub is lacking on power. You decide to add an aftermarket amp and possibly a custom sub box. You have to add a processor for the amp input.
4. At this point the sub now overpowers the new door speakers, so you decide to upgrade the amp for the door speakers. If you were smart you bought a processor that does more than 2 channels, otherwise you have to replace that.

In the end, you've done a full system upgrade. If you replace anything, always buy items that will work in the system with future upgrades. It will save you money in the long run.