DIY stereo upgrade for under $500.00

passive cross over are fine. like any product...there are bare bones cheap ones and nicer ones.

A totally electronically crossed over system is very expensive. has its plusses and minuses

melvimbe said:

For Sony, and I think any number of different sound processor options, some built into the Amp itself.

Also, based on the above discussion, how does passive crossovers come into play. Is it technically cleaner to avoid crossovers, to have the tweeters and midrange coming from different channels? Or is it irrelevant since the crossover is just clipping off frequencies, not altering the frequencies you hear. I suppose the frequencies need to get chopped off at the crossover in the amp/signal processor themselves anyway.

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Sony- Pac Amp Pro.

You can’t use a processor, you need a can-bus communication module FIRST which converts the can-bus signal into an audio signal. The first item in the signal chain for factory AMPLIFIED trucks must be the Pac Amp Pro for Sony or Zen a2b for B&O. From this module, you can add any dsp you want but you must translate the can-bus signal first no matter what.

An active crossover network is preferred when interested in sound quality. The reason being, you can eq, set time alignment, correct for phase, and level match each individual speaker. Running passive, you eliminate the ability to do any of the above except for blanket eq and left and right level matching. The items you would need for active is:

A dsp- Dayton 408 is $150.00
An amp that has enough channels to individually support each speaker in your system. If running components in the front and coax in the rear, you would need a 6 channel amp plus an amp for your subs.

I forgot to mention the most important reason active is preferred in a vehicle: in a vehicle, speakers are placed in various different locations and axis from the listening position. Unlike a high fidelity home audio systems where your listening position is on axis and centered both horizontally and vertically of each speaker, a vehicles speakers are off axis and far from centered of the listening position. Every speaker that utilizes a conical shaped cone will exhibit a different frequency response and crossover point when placed on different axis from the listeners position. We need to compensate for this. Think about your door speakers, they are 90 degrees off axis from your listening position. There is tremendous change in response when a speaker is this far off axis. When you run a passive crossover network, you utilize a physical crossover that sets in stone the crossover point for each speaker. (tweeter + midbass in a component system). This crossover point is predetermined and cannot be changed. This is called an electrical crossover. Going back the on-axis vs off-axis response, an electrical crossover cannot account for the speakers axis. What do you think happens to a speakers crossover point and frequency response when it is played off axis from the listener? The crossover point changes and the audible frequency response changes as a result. This change is called the acoustical crossover. In a vehicle, it is crucial to be able to correct for this. We do this by measuring the frequency response of each speaker and determine what the acoustical crossover point is based on each speakers position. We then correct for the off-axis response by adjusting our electrical crossover via a dsp so that the acoustical response and acoustical crossover point matches what the electrical crossover point should be. Without an active crossover network and dsp, you cannot correct for this. This correction is crucial for a sound quality system of any kind.

I forgot one other thing: in combination of the on-axis vs off-axis response, you also have to account for the enclosure each speaker is placed in. In the case of your truck, the door is the enclosure. That is literally the worst enclosure you could ever put a speaker in. Proper EQ is absolutely crucial to correct for this.

dhmcfadin said:

I forgot one other thing: in combination of the on-axis vs off-axis response, you also have to account for the enclosure each speaker is placed in. In the case of your truck, the door is the enclosure. That is literally the worst enclosure you could ever put a speaker in. Proper EQ is absolutely crucial to correct for this.

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Surely it's not better than sitting in box in the truck bed.

BIG TIME BALLER said:

I have read multiple threads on audio upgrades... but im not sure I have seen just a pure speaker swap recommendation. I don't want to add amps and the like, just upgrade the factory speakers. I hear Focal, Infinity, JBL, Pioneer etc., but I want to hear from someone who just swapped the factory speakers for low impedance, higher quality speakers.

What did you chose, how did the installation go, and was there an improvement?

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I don’t think anyone has answered this question, but I would be interested as well. I have a 2020 800A. Any speaker swap worth doing or is a complete overhaul needed?

WAYTALL said:

I don’t think anyone has answered this question, but I would be interested as well. I have a 2020 800A. Any speaker swap worth doing or is a complete overhaul needed?

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Think about it this way. Putting nicer speakers in without changing the source quality or power is like putting a 93 octane tune on your truck and only running 87. You won’t have the full potential of the tune without running the right fuel.

If you think you’ll upgrade the rest of the system, you can start with speakers. If you don’t plan on doing anything else, don’t assume nicer speakers will sound better. In fact, the opposite can be true because higher end speakers require a higher end signal. If I was only doing the latter, I wouldn’t spend more than $150.00 on a set of components. The Morel Maximo’s would be a perfect fit for the factory system. But set your expectations accordingly. Don’t expect a major transformation.

Yeah, speakers are like the “gateway mod” of the F150 audio mods. it’s going to make you want to upgrade the rest of the system.

Yes, it’s probably going to sound a touch more precise and a touch louder, but, because the aftermarket speakers are 10x the quality of OEM - even the most inexpensive aftermarket speakers you can buy are going to be better- you’ll notice sound “imperfections” you didn’t know were there before. Songs you’ve heard many times before, but now, you’re hearing new things. Plus, when you listen to the same track from the same source via decent head phones - think Bose noise cancelling, etc. It sounds completely different.

I knew the Raptor stereo was marginal when I bought, but hearing the songs I knew and hearing the Raptor stereo completely step on rhythm sections, and tracks that you need to listen to in order to truly enjoy, made me realize I would never be happy with the crappy factory mixing.

So speakers are a good first step. Once you take this step, it’s unlikely you’ll stop there.

I fixed mine for under $500.00. I canceled my satellite radio cause it was the source of my rotten sound in my truck... to my old ass ears. I added Spotify premium and try to listen to only HD radio channels. I quit worrying about the weak signal going to the rear speakers. Sounds great to me. Major improvement . Thanks EN4SER for all you help.

Raptor Vet said:

I fixed mine for under $500.00. I canceled my satellite radio cause it was the source of my rotten sound in my truck... to my old ass ears. I added Spotify premium and try to listen to only HD radio channels. I quit worrying about the weak signal going to the rear speakers. Sounds great to me. Major improvement . Thanks EN4SER for all you help.

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Funny, I just had this discussion with a rep at Sirius. I got 3 free months in my beater truck and they called to ask me how I liked it. I told him I thought the sound quality was crap. Reminded me of a junk amp that was clipping both highs and lows. He told me he had never heard that complaint, ever, because SAT radio is CD quality.