Speaker upgrade

[Shane361]

1000 to two 10's is minimal in my opinion also. But 1000 is about as much as you want to put on a stock electrical system. I'm over 6,000 watts on two 12's. A basic 10' is 500rms and I wouldn't run anything less than that.

I doubt I'm hitting 130 with my 12's which are 100 pounds a piece, over 900 bucks each in a custom enclosure with 6,000 watts on 112ah of headway lithium. Hell my vision gets blurry from the bass and all the glass starts popping. Rear view falls straight down in the first few beats.

 

[Shane361]

Basic System that would destroy the stock one...could go 100 different ways but this is the basic yet still killer system. Even without a DSP this can sound amazing.

Sundown Audio 500 rms subs, Qty 2, NOT SHALLOWS
Fox Acoustic F150 sub enclosure, best bang for the buck hands down.

6.5 Herts CK's, or any comparable component set usually around $350(with adaptor plate)

Audio Control LC7i for an interface

Either rear 6.5 Hertz CK coaxials(or comparable other speaker) or a mid bass speaker(with adaptor plate)

JL Audio 75x4 highs/midrange amp
JL1000 for subs

 

[smurfslayer]

no way your getting to 130 db ,with that setup .I can't even get to 130 db with my setup .mine is a sq setup so I have plenty of power for plenty of headroom ,my speaker r only 120 watts .my tweeters r 20 watts ,I'm feeding them 75. class a ,and the mids r feed with 250

Have you actually put a db meter in the truck? I have. Mostly I used it to quantify how much louder the AWE exhaust was, but yes, you can hit 130db
(I think my main amp is 75x4) with a pretty modest build.

The whole reason I looked was after the upgrade I was getting enough sound out of the tweets to actually cause pain. That sharp, ‘damn that’s loud’ pain. That’s a clue, and after a few times I checked it.

 

[The Car Stereo Company]

ah the peer pressure. all the guy wanted was to replace his speakers......

as far as db output. since you are all familiar with jl audio. i ran the 13w7 for several years. in the jl spec ported box it reached 136db in my old mercury sable. i made changes to get more output, but as for reference, theres a lot of cheaper subwoofers now, that will get much louder that.

 

[Backwoods]

I have a 17 with the Sony system. Any recommendations on just replacing the speakers? Looking to upgrade without going full system upgrade

I did exactly what you are looking to do.... think I spent around $1k-1.5k. It made a huge difference. In fact, my 2017 sound was much better than the unleashed system on my 2022. That actually caused me to spend much more on upgrading my 2022..... here is what I would do:

#1 - as smurfslayer said, sound treatment on all 4 doors. It makes a HUGE difference. Spend the money here before doing anything else.
#2 - I replaced the 4 door speakers - used Morel (602's I believe) - bought all of this from Crutchfield and bought the adapters as well - simple plug and play.
#3 - sound treatment around the plastic factory sub enclosure plus some sound stuffing inside - this worked well if you aren't looking to invest a bigger sub install and just want a little better "non-plastic" bass.
#4 - replace the factory 8" sub speaker with something better the fits the factory sub location. You will also want an entry level amp - I think I used a pioneer. Crutchfield has all the compatible components if you enter in your truck info.

Like I said, this made a huge difference from the factory sound and I was very happy with it. Now the problem is that once you do this you will be inclined to spend $10k on upgrading the system on your next truck, so it gets much more expensive. If you dig back 4-5 years in the posts in this part of the forum, there was a more detailed post on putting together the system I walked through above.

good luck with the install - - it's worth it.

 

[Winchester30]

1000 to two 10's is minimal in my opinion also. But 1000 is about as much as you want to put on a stock electrical system. I'm over 6,000 watts on two 12's. A basic 10' is 500rms and I wouldn't run anything less than that.

I doubt I'm hitting 130 with my 12's which are 100 pounds a piece, over 900 bucks each in a custom enclosure with 6,000 watts on 112ah of headway lithium. Hell my vision gets blurry from the bass and all the glass starts popping. Rear view falls straight down in the first few beats.

 

[Shane361]

Please elaborate, lol

 

[Ellison3]

Maybe JL Audio C1's which I would never run but you're trying to upgrade your speakers without upgrading your power. If you have the Sony it's much cheaper to upgrade to good speakers with a small 4 channel amp than the B&O. Not sure if it's a money issue or you just feel overwhelmed but I have no doubt you will still be unhappy and you waisted your time and money.

Was gonna mention the “power” thing like Shane361 did. You can put better speakers in your truck all day. However, if the optimum power rating is less than what the factory system provides it’s a waste of time, and money.

Case in point… I have a 2016 Expedition with the factory sub. Pretty lame. Finally decided to pull it. Took the Kicker 8in, and the Alpine amp (included pics of it mounted from the rear and from the front), out of the 2004 Expedition to throw in the new one. I stuffed polyfill in the enclosure to “trick” the speaker (operates in a manner that mimics a larger enclosure than what you really have).

Once the enclosure was reinstalled I wired up the LC2i Pro to handle the signal conversion. Point is once you upgrade the speaker you’ve got to give it more power (per manufacturers spec’s) for optimum performance. If not the sound will be compromised, and in some cases damage the new speakers.

In the pics you’ll see the factory location used for the sub because I don’t believe in taking up usable storage space with a bulky device that brings attention. Out of sight, out of mind. Also, I put the LC2i Pro under the third row cup holder area. Out of sight, but easily accessible if I need to make adjustments. The amp is mounted under the third row seat. Again, out of sight, but still able to operate the seat folding feature (I folded the carpet under itself to give more clearance in the area the amp is mounted in).

I posted all that to say if you’re going to upgrade your speakers go the extra mile now to do it right the first time. You’ll be much happier.

In your case, I think a component speaker set (front & rear speakers with a matched crossover) with an amp would be a good fit. Look into some of those options.

If you want to add bass of course there are plenty of F-150 under-seat sub/ enclosure options, both powered and un-powered. Good luck.

 

[Ellison3]

Please elaborate, lol

Think he just means that’s a lot of freaking power. That’s all…

 

[greatone99]

Have you actually put a db meter in the truck? I have. Mostly I used it to quantify how much louder the AWE exhaust was, but yes, you can hit 130db
(I think my main amp is 75x4) with a pretty modest build.

The whole reason I looked was after the upgrade I was getting enough sound out of the tweets to actually cause pain. That sharp, ‘damn that’s loud’ pain. That’s a clue, and after a few times I checked it.

yes , I hit about 124 db at best ,with 1650 watts . my point was your not hitting 130 db with a 50 watt per channel amp