When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
i can't drive anywhere without the stereo on... and thank heavens we don't just have AM/FM either. i use USB drives for my tunes... whether I'm driving my fusion or my old F350
I am the opposite, never spend money on a radio or even turn it on if I have it.....
Mine is rarely on when I'm driving it. If my wife drives it then it comes back with Sirius on "80's on 8" I have lifetime on Sirius thanks to the prev owner.
Decided to come back to see how Big's project was going... Nice work and the truck looks amazing. Not so sure about ripping out the interior, but you have a couple of pics that are helpful in regard to the electric motor that runs the sliding window (I wondered where they stashed it)...
Originally Posted by Maxium4x4
I am the opposite, never spend money on a radio or even turn it on if I have it.....
Originally Posted by sdetweil
Me too.. first thing I do is turn it off.
I AM NOT ALONE!!!!!!!
I have only played the radio once in my truck and that was just to see if it worked. Sounded fine, but I prefer peace and solitude for the most part.. Always listening for something going haywire, being aware of traffic etc...
I do listen to books on CD sometimes while on long trips, but infrequently..
Putting a high dollar radio/stereo system in anything I drive is a waste.
I would actually prefer an old style AM/FM radio with a **** on each side and 5 push buttons.. But the mfgrs don't see it my way...
You guys are a trip. You know...it's a funny thing lately...sometimes I'll take 4-hour road trips, and notice upon arrival that I didn't have the entertainment system on at all. Find myself brainstorming and generally just thinking things through.
But always did like having quality sound, be it at home or in the car. Amazing how much more enjoyable music and movies are with full range HD quality sound and picture. Nice to turn on a little Caruso, Pavarotti or Metallica ever now and then
2015 F350 Super Duty JL Audio Aftermarket Stereo Installation
System complete. Here is an illustrated breakdown of the installation...
Removed rear seat, factory sub and mounted jack/tools:
Removed rear-wall padding and lifted carpet. Ready for Dynamat and install:
Dynamat installed. For those who aren't familiar...Dynamat is a sound deadening thermal barrier. This product is used extensively in the car audio industry to eliminate road/engine/exhaust noise, drone and rattling. It also acts as an engine/exhaust thermal barrier. Gives that "luxury car" quiet interior.
Plenty of room in the side-rail channels to run cables.
JL recommends 4-gauge wiring. Important to use quality connections with this type of equipment. Decided on Stinger Pro and took a set of well-insulated THX-rated RCA's from my home theater.
Ran power with a 50-amp mini-ANL fuse from the driver's side battery:
Remote/turn-on lead is made easy in the Super Duty...there is a large bunch of capped-off wiring on the driver's side just behind the emergency brake pedal. These are made to run accessories...found the WH/BU labeled RUN/ACC for the processor and amp lead...you see it here pulled out of the bunch:
No visual change to the factory mount separates speaker locations, except for swapping out of the Sony logo for JL Audio Replaced the OEM 6x8 Sony speakers and tweeters with a set of JL Audio C2-650, in both factory front and rear locations, connected with OEM compatible harnesses to the factory amp...which has plenty of power to run these. JL's are efficient and produce great sound quality without the need for another amp. Unless you are comfortable with custom work, I would recommend going with OEM-sized 5x7 or 6x8 though...the JL's are listed as 6.5" but are actually 6.75" and require some mods to install even with Scosche adapters.
Ran the JL Audio RBC-1 control **** for active sub-amp control from the driver's seat. Mounted in that little random open dash compartment to the right of the steering column...this allows adjustment on the fly based on music choice, or you can turn the sub off completely, leaving the rest of the entertainment system intact.
If you don't change out and/or bypass the factory navigation head unit, then you must keep the factory Sony amp. Everything seems to run through this unit for the OEM stereo system...there are literally ~40 wires running in/out of this unit...never seen anything like it on an amp. And none of the speakers work if you disconnect it. For signal to the new sub, used 2 of the 4 factory sub speaker wires (factory sub is a dual voice coil configuration) going into the Audio Control line-out converter. No factory wiring harnesses were modified or cut for any of this installation, except for these two wires which were simply redirected from their original clip into the LC2i.
As we all know, space it tight behind the rear seat. I built a custom amp rack to hold the stock Sony amp, Audio Control LC2i and JL mono-amp. Tolerances were literally millimeters. Had to shape the rack around the power rear-window motor and space everything out precisely, but it all fit perfectly. Used an over-sized L-bracket to mount the amp rack to the factory jack base, which I was able to keep in it's original location.
Here are a couple shots installed and ready to rock...The 2-ohm SVC JL sub runs the amp at it's intended rated 2-ohm 500-watt RMS load.
And here we are with the seats back in. Took the opportunity to brush a bit of anti-seize on the through-floor seat bolts (while I was at it, rolled under the truck and did the same on the 4 DPF-mounted EGT sensors!).
Used two small stainless steel L-brackets to secure the subwoofer box in place through existing holes, just to make sure nothing shifts around during offroad driving.
Quite happy with the final results. Didn't have to sacrifice any under rear seat or center console storage and didn't break the bank. Sound is tight and accurate. With equal factory power, the JL component separates are crisp, clear, dynamic and a significant improvement over the OEM Sony speakers. With all the panels and carpet back in and seats raised in place...the mono amp's power is properly absorbed and the right quantity of bass fill can be dialed in via the dash control ****. Plays well with all types and genres of music. Walked the entire truck and can't find any noticeable rattling from the low-end, save for the air-release flaps on the rear cab vent directly behind the subwoofer, which cannot be heard from inside.
Installed component list and cost recap:
JL Audio C2-650 6.5-Inch 2-Way Component Speaker System (2 sets)
Retail: $249 each set
Paid: $150 each set
JL Audio 13TW5v2-2 13.5" Thin-Line Series Subwoofer
Retail: $699
Paid:$445
JL Audio JX500/1D 500W Mono Class D Sub Amp
Retail: $299
Paid: $165
JL Audio RBC-1 Remote Bass Control
Retail: $40
Paid: $31
AudioControl LC2i 2-Channel Line Out Converter
Retail: $99
Paid $79
Stinger SK4641 4 Gauge 4000 Series Car Audio Amplifier Installation Kit
Retail: $125
Paid: $58
SuperCrewSound Custom JL Audio 13" TW5 Subwoofer Box with black carpet, gold banana-plug speaker terminal upgrade and acoustic stuffing: $214
JL Audio SGR-13 speaker grille: $26
20 ft Stinger Pro 12-gauge speaker wire: $20
Amp rack and other misc materials (wood, carpet, brackets, stainless screws, etc): $50
Installation and custom work: $0
Custom Auto shop quote for similar install: $10,098
Retail component and materials cost: $2470
DIY budget $1500
Total final actual cost installed: $1624
Was install cost really $0 or did it take a few beers?
Zero dollars and zero beers for this install...decided to take this project on myself...although did have my girl graciously assisting from time to time
Impressive technical skills Justin. Don't know many people that would take on making their own circuits. Your db/Hz charts are a good read. I believe you are right on...the factory system has an ACM which likely incorporates a digital signal processor used to tune output to each speaker in the system. As auto manufacturers have worked to improve their OEM entertainment, they've updated equipment and used more professional tuning.
Not sure how the 2014's are configured, but I notice you referred to rear door speakers? My 2015 only has tweeters in the rear doors, with the main 6x8 drivers housed in the side panels behind the rear doors. You noticed -12db on either side of 40Hz for the sub. I noticed low-end signal seems to roll off in the rear 6x8 drivers as well, likely in an effort to more seamlessly transition the sound front to back to the factory sub. There is significantly less bass output from the rear drivers. I was able to seal up the front doors with Dynamat and the front door drivers beautifully recreate their full intended range, including some significant low-end. But in the rear, sheet metal openings must be left for the seat belt assembly. I attributed some low frequency loss to this physical attribute, but after some testing with various configurations, including sealed baffles...I realized that the missing frequency range was in-fact more likely intentionally tuned out of the rear drivers by a DSP.
The result is a bit of a mid-range void in the musical curve when listening from the back seats, but hardly noticeable from the front, given the efficiency, accuracy and quality of the fully fed front C2's. Wish the rears matched the front more closely, but not willing to change over the head unit, ACM/DSP to get it done...not to mention adding another amp, high-end signal processor, the thousands of dollars and countless control module adds that this would require given the OEM head unit's current systems control responsibilities...et al.
Let me know if you think there could be some other explanation for the front to rear signal-range discrepancy...?
To answer your question, for signal to the new sub, I used 2 of the 4 factory sub speaker wires post amp (factory sub is a DVC configuration) going into the Audio Control line-out converter. I don't notice any lack of low-end range being fed to the new sub through the LC2i. As you might be able to see in the images, I'm running the converter flat on all settings, with the amp filtering at 80Hz and boost levels set ~+2 and sensitivity at ~15%.
Not sure how the 2014's are configured, but I notice you referred to rear door speakers? My 2015 only has tweeters in the rear doors, with the main 6x8 drivers housed in the side panels behind the rear doors. You noticed -12db on either side of 40Hz for the sub. I noticed low-end signal seems to roll off in the rear 6x8 drivers as well, likely in an effort to more seamlessly transition the sound front to back to the factory sub. There is significantly less bass output from the rear drivers. I was able to seal up the front doors with Dynamat and the front door drivers beautifully recreate their full intended range, including some significant low-end. But in the rear, sheet metal openings must be left for the seat belt assembly. I attributed some low frequency loss to this physical attribute, but after some testing with various configurations, including sealed baffles...I realized that the missing frequency range was in-fact more likely intentionally tuned out of the rear drivers by a DSP.
Let me know if you think there could be some other explanation for the front to rear signal-range discrepancy...?
Sorry, meant 'rear' speakers not rear door. In my thread I have plotted the rear speaker signal frequency response, it's rolls off at 150hz (-3db point). so there will be basically no bass from them for the reason you stated. Didn't measure the front, but I think I will, becasue if it is 'full range' (which I doubt) it would solve our problem. the front speaker signals go to and from the amp so they are right there.
It is also possible that the filtering is done in the amp, although unlikley, but worth checking.
05-03-2015, 03:15 PM
Replaced the OEM 6x8 Sony speakers and tweeters with a set of JL Audio C2-650, in both factory front and rear locations, connected with OEM compatible harnesses to the factory amp...which has plenty of power to run these. JL's are efficient and produce great sound quality without the need for another amp. Unless you are comfortable with custom work, I would recommend going with OEM-sized 5x7 or 6x8 though...the JL's are listed as 6.5" but are actually 6.75" and require some mods to install even with Scosche adapters.
I appreciate detail.
