DIY stereo upgrade for under $500.00

lawdog · Feb 15, 2018

smurfslayer said:
Good question. I can say the sound volume is better with the pioneers, the sound quality is better but I haven’t put my ear up to it for gauging the range of sound. if I get some time I’ll take a listen.

I found this...wiring diagram for speakers from the B&O system's DSP...see #s 3 and 4:

https://www.f150forum.com/f118/2018-stereo-wiring-diagram-405122/

It does look like crossover happens at the amp/DSP module. I may look for 6x9 components now, or maybe 6.5s, and do the center, as well, so the entire front matches/is upgraded.

Mountainkiter · Feb 19, 2018

Line level inputs?

Guy said:
Correct. I snipped the wires going to the sub and connected them to RCA adapters that became the kenwood inputs.

Easy really

I dont understand how you can take an amplified speaker level lione and run it into the RCA pre amp inputs on the kenwood sub. Does it have a switch for line level conversion, or did you use a converter for line level input??>

I saw this on amazon seems like it would be required but havent seen anything like this mentioned.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00I4EF1BC/?tag=fordraptorforum-20

Mountainkiter · Feb 23, 2018

amp

OK, so answering my own question. I purchased the larger kenwood kac 5001ps for the 300w rms. Anyway this amp doesn't look like it has the high level imputs like what is described in this thread for the smaller kenwood. I will need the line level converter for this amp as i suggested above.
Thanks for this thread so much useful info.

jck · Feb 25, 2018

Great upgrade

Thank you for the time and effort to put this information together. I completed the speaker / amp upgrade yesterday with a battery run for the amp and a line level converter....it sounds better than I had hoped.

thinkrevolutionx · Feb 26, 2018

Newb question but;

If I were to add new speakers utilizing stock amplification but later decide i'd rather add an aftermarket amp to give them more juice. Would I then need to run new wire to each speaker (open doors up a second time) or can I intercept their wiring from stock amp and splice into new amp.

The Car Stereo Company · Feb 26, 2018

you can grab it at the oem amp. the existing wiring is plenty adequate. no need to run new wires

thinkrevolutionx · Feb 28, 2018

The Car Stereo Company said:
you can grab it at the oem amp. the existing wiring is plenty adequate. no need to run new wires

Thank you.

I ended up going with the JBL GTO line (6.5 6x9 .75 tweeters and 3.5) all in almost $200 on the nose and ends me with an extra 3.5". I can't seem to find the metra speaker adapter kits for the doors - i'm wondering if these are totally necessary? Same for mounting the tweeters. I can't imagine with all the space in the truck it would be too difficult to sort something out or fabricate something even using the stock speaker surrounds.

Another newb question but - the metra speaker adapter harnesses should fit every speaker location correct (7)? I haven't done car audio in 15 years, out of the loop and when I did I didn't use harnesses.

So, yea - the JBL Speakers be great on their face as per reviews, but also leaves me room to add an amp in the future (hence my question above) once I get these in, i'll evaluate adding/upgrading subs and amp.

I've done alot of research on sound deadening in the interim and I want to do the doors in some combination of products offered from sound deadening showdown or second skin - it's just insanely expensive. Are there cheaper places to get it from other then the manufacturers themselves? I did some forum browsing and see they both offer sales now and again, but not alot of activity as of late.

lawdog · Feb 28, 2018

thinkrevolutionx said:
Thank you.

I ended up going with the JBL GTO line (6.5 6x9 .75 tweeters and 3.5) all in almost $200 on the nose and ends me with an extra 3.5". I can't seem to find the metra speaker adapter kits for the doors - i'm wondering if these are totally necessary? Same for mounting the tweeters. I can't imagine with all the space in the truck it would be too difficult to sort something out or fabricate something even using the stock speaker surrounds.

Another newb question but - the metra speaker adapter harnesses should fit every speaker location correct (7)? I haven't done car audio in 15 years, out of the loop and when I did I didn't use harnesses.

So, yea - the JBL Speakers be great on their face as per reviews, but also leaves me room to add an amp in the future (hence my question above) once I get these in, i'll evaluate adding/upgrading subs and amp.

I've done alot of research on sound deadening in the interim and I want to do the doors in some combination of products offered from sound deadening showdown or second skin - it's just insanely expensive. Are there cheaper places to get it from other then the manufacturers themselves? I did some forum browsing and see they both offer sales now and again, but not alot of activity as of late.

Curious how it turns out with the GTOs...I want to use them, as well, but I have a thread on here regarding the center channel...my installer does not want to use a 2-way with a tweeter in the center to replace the paper cone mid driver that's there...says it will be too much/too bright. The Car Stereo Company rep here seems to agree, and even suggested to just disconnect the center when I did the other upgrades. My installer wanted to go back with the JBL Stadium mid driver, which was $150 for the pair, with a fancy crossover I'll never use...so, $150 for one speaker. Seemed like overkill to me.

Mountainkiter · Mar 1, 2018

OEM CROSSOVER OR Low pass filter

Guy said:
Yes.

The doors are all full range.
The center dash is full range

I'm not sure about the a pillars. I am running filters because they are tweeters.

The subwoofer is the only channel I can verify that has a crossover cut off from the Sony amp. It's around 100.

The sound COMES TO LIFE with the speaker change.

Wondering how you determined/verified the above, that the doors and center are full range speaker inputs. Does that mean that the amp is more of a high pass filter to the sub?> , no crossocver limiting bass imput to the doors or center?> Wondering if the rear speakers are full range input, you could use a AudioControl LC2i 2 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IIL0LW0/?tag=fordraptorforum-20, to tap or bypass the speakers and also bypass the oem subwoofer circuit, allowing more control and subwoofer crossover control with the amp. COuld also amp the door speakers with this.
This then raises questions about the covert "fake " engine noise. Would this bypass thiss, does the engine noise come through rear speakers or just the sub?> i understand you can stop this with forscan as well. Sorry for long post just looking for options during my audio upgrades for B and O 2018 raptor. thanks

Guy · Mar 1, 2018

I was too generic in the way I originally posted that.

When I said “full range” I meant that there was a benefit to having “multiple way” coaxial speakers.

There are crossover points. The front doors don’t go down as low as you’d expect for a 6x9, but do have mostly intact high range up into the tweeter range.

The rear speakers appear to be the “fullest” range, but they are crossed over at the bottom as well. The center speaker is midrange to high..... and the teeeters I’m assuming have cross overs but I filtered them just in case.

A swap out of the speakers, without doing anything else, does significantly improve the sound of the system.

My next goal is to try to get to the next level with a signal processor, amp an upgraded sub enclosure, and get to a little more legitimate level of sound.

Mountainkiter said:
Wondering how you determined/verified the above, that the doors and center are full range speaker inputs. Does that mean that the amp is more of a high pass filter to the sub?> , no crossocver limiting bass imput to the doors or center?> Wondering if the rear speakers are full range input, you could use a AudioControl LC2i 2 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IIL0LW0/?tag=fordraptorforum-20, to tap or bypass the speakers and also bypass the oem subwoofer circuit, allowing more control and subwoofer crossover control with the amp. COuld also amp the door speakers with this.
This then raises questions about the covert "fake " engine noise. Would this bypass thiss, does the engine noise come through rear speakers or just the sub?> i understand you can stop this with forscan as well. Sorry for long post just looking for options during my audio upgrades for B and O 2018 raptor. thanks

DIY stereo upgrade for under $500.00

lawdog

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Mountainkiter

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Mountainkiter

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jck

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thinkrevolutionx

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The Car Stereo Company

aka grumpy car stereo guy

thinkrevolutionx

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lawdog

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Mountainkiter

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Guy

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