Speaker Upgrade... What have you done?

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Jun 9, 2015 | 06:48 PM

#16

System

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From: Western MA

Yes, sat-radio is awful. I don't even listen to it during free promo's. Not sure why more brands don't incorporate HD radio. It's a much better signal. The future must be HD-SAT....

Jun 9, 2015 | 10:10 PM

#17

kper05

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Karl4Cat

Interesting, thanks... I'm sure I have the same head as you do. The "premium" part just moderately upgrades the speakers and adds an anemic sub/sub amp. Well, Crutchfield is the only place that carries the Focal ISS series. Normally, I won't shop there as they sell at full retail. However, their 60 day return policy may be a worthwhile thing on this one. I could try the speakers in the front doors and if I don't find the improvement worthwhile, return them and go whole hog...

My understanding is it's the same as well for the basic lariat radio. What I don't know is if the speakers are the same or slightly better for the lariat package or if it's the head unit that determines the speakers.
If the lariat has slightly better speakers, I would be hesitant on the expense I had since it wouldn't be much of a gain.

The difficult thing with sound is five people will have separate opinions based on what they like to hear. It's difficult to select improvements without hearing them first. I've run sound systems for the past 13 years and there are times people think something doesn't sound correct when it's set the way it should be and there are times others hear quality issues that I didn't notice and correction is needed.
I don't know much about car audio though. My simple speaker replacement is the first time I've changed anything sound related in my vehicles. I've lived a boring life of factory speakers.

This is one of the factory units from what I think was the front left.

Jun 10, 2015 | 08:40 AM

#18

Ricohman

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Karl4Cat

Yes, sat-radio is awful. I don't even listen to it during free promo's. Not sure why more brands don't incorporate HD radio. It's a much better signal. The future must be HD-SAT....

For some reason the sat radio in my 2010 F350 and on my boat seems to be better quality than the crap that spews out of the unit in my new 2015 F350. I have no idea why this is.

Jun 10, 2015 | 10:21 AM

#19

lwk362393

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From: North Shore MA

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ricohman

For some reason the sat radio in my 2010 F350 and on my boat seems to be better quality than the crap that spews out of the unit in my new 2015 F350. I have no idea why this is.

The SAT radio quality in my 2011 also sucks, I don't know why. I used to have an in-home unit that received much better, even when I was using headphones. The SiriusXM internet quality is also substantially better.

Jun 10, 2015 | 11:49 AM

#20

smoky_diesel

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From: Chandler, AZ

Quote:

Originally Posted by Karl4Cat

Justin, on the oval thing. An oval speaker bolted directly to metal will always perform better than a round one with a thin plastic adapter in my experience. .... As for the fronts, yes, the feed is full range. However, if that full range isn't "full" then performance will still suffer. What are the specs on the factory head would be a good question to ask.

Good point on mounting rigidity. I think most people buy oval as it is easier to install a speaker that is already the right shape. A 6.5 to 5x7 adapter has little material left to flex and can be made as robust as desired. If a high pass filter is used, the door speakers no longer have to try to make low frequencies and the cone travel (and force exerted on the baffle) is greatly reduced.

If you want to keep all the functions of the stock head/nav/phone first thing I would do is measure frequency response of the front channel. The method is in my thread, PM me if you have questions. there is more than one way to do it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Karl4Cat

Often the head has the ability to cut response at higher volume levels to protect the factory speakers. I wonder if the Ford head is intelligent in this way or just plays full range at all volume levels?

I tested this as well, and for the 2014 system it does not. See post #31 for the whole story. I doubt the 2012 system does but you can measure to be sure.

Jun 10, 2015 | 06:06 PM

#21

CalCajun

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Joined: Aug 2012

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From: Yuma, Arizona

I completely replaced my stereo system with a Kenwood head unit; polk 6 in speakers, with tweeters front and back, as well as a 4 channel amp and a powered subwoofer. The sound difference was amazing! The quality from the Kenwood's sirius xm receiver is much better than the factory.

Jun 10, 2015 | 06:16 PM

#22

System

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From: Western MA

If I do it, I've decided to stick with the "go big or go home routine." Pioneer 8100NEX, Meastro, JL C5's, and a JL XD amp. Will see how bored I get when I'm done tweaking the RV... and how much money is left... Thanks for the thoughts Justin!

PS: The 6.5" JL C5 seperates will not fit our truck due to depth. So, it's 5.25" or 5x7.

Jun 11, 2015 | 11:25 AM

#23

UGA33

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From: Cartersville, Ga

Quote:

Originally Posted by ruschejj

I've always built a system with new speakers, amp, and sub.

This 2015 with the Sony system is actually pretty good. I removed the factory tweeters and installed Polk Audio 1" tweeters in the same place, all 4. Doing this alone completely changes the sound, it's crisp, clear, balanced, and the new factory subwoofer is juuuuust barely good enough for me right now.

So, for about $120 you could try it as the least invasive option. These Polk tweeters are something I can't live without, drums, cymbals, triangles, and voices of course are so much more clear.

Were these a plug n play type deal or did you have to modify anything?