s1edneck700

Figured I would start a thread with install pics and specs of my 2010 Lariat screw sound upgrade. I am, like most f-150 owners, dissatisfied with the standard audio system. I want to get better sound and imaging but retain rear cargo space and a factory like look. Most of all, I did not want to spend more than what the factory Sony upgrade would have cost. The following components are being installed next week at a grand total of $475.

JBL GTO 804 subwoofer
Kicker 08ZX550.3
Monster MPC I204 4C-5M Low Noise 4-Channel Car Stereo RCA Cables (5 meters)
Alpine Type-S SPS-600C - Car speaker - 80 Watt - 2-way - component
Stinger SGJ91 0-300 Hz 4-Bass Blockers Blocks for 6-Inchx9-Inch Speakers
Stinger Pro Series 4 Gauge Translucent Black Power Wire
Stinger Inline Gold Plated MAXI Fuse Holder
FORD SPKR ADPTR 5.25 6 6.5 TO 6X8
PAC AOEM-FRD24 Add-An-Amplifier Adapter

The factory rear door speakers will be retained for rear fill and run off the stock head unit with 300hz bass blockers.

I will be running the front 6.5's off the kicker amp as well as the sub, and mounting the tweeters flush on the defrost vents in the front doors.

Sub box will be a sealed enclosure between .3 and.4 cubic feet with a footprint to match the cutout hole in the weathertech rear floormat, and will be downfiring and mounted to the factory attachment points.

No aftermarket EQ's or crossovers will be used. I have been getting good results using my itunes EQ and loading different settings on my ipod. I rarely listen to the radio and am not concerned about EQing the sound from the truck because radio sounds mediocre anyway.

Will update this thread with install pictures as I go along, maybe a few sound bytes if I can get my hands on a good recording device. The main idea here is to put together a sleek, reliable system that outperforms the Sony upgrade for the same price, and maybe give all the other guys with the same desire some food for thought.

s1edneck700

Finished install last night. Very happy with the power the amp puts out and the JBL sub. It makes great sound in a small amount of room and never sounds overwhelmed, a perfect match for the amp. The sub also hits its lows and highs equally well, and has very linear response, great for metal and rock music, which is pretty much all I listen to. As for the alpine sps-600c's, i already have type r's on the way. The midrange is fine and they' handle power well, but the tweeter and crossover are awful. I guess they are "wide-range" tweeters or whatever, but they get fed so much low range frequency that when they are combined with the signal they are supposed to get they just sound like ****. Totally drowns out the woofer and creates a crap listening experience. I had a migrane before I went to sleep last night. I tried running them off a home theatre amp to see if it was a tuning issue, same thing. Can't level it with EQ because the overlap is too big between the tweeter and woofer and I end up eliminating entire frequencies, and there is no adjustable attenuation. Foreigner sounds like **** on them, the only songs I like to listen to so far on them are toxic by primer 55 and mercy severity by mudvayne, both of which have more lush guitar and bass in them. Don't count on them handling anything that could sound tinny or clanky, you will jump out of your truck like a wet weasel. Would have gone with a different brand to replace with but the surface mount cutouts are too big in the defrost vents and I need a big unit to fit in there and the type-r is the only one I could find that matches the bill (2" cutout for the tweet....cant wait to hear those cows....). Should be in by the end of the week so I will post review then. I will end up puting the type s woofers in the back doors and discarding the tweeters. If anyone here wants em you can have em just pay shipping. Will post up about the r's later, and will have install pics.

s1edneck700

Installed the type r's today. Wow, what a difference. The tweeters are a pleasure to listen to. I used -3db attenuation on both sides and it sounds immaculate. There are a few things I ended up omitting as well. Here is the final list of equipment used.

JBL GTO 804 subwoofer
Kicker 08ZX550.3
Monster MPC I204 4C-5M Low Noise 4-Channel Car Stereo RCA Cables (5 meters)
Alpine SPR-17s components
Stinger Pro Series 4 Gauge Translucent Black Power Wire (22ft for the screw)
Stinger Inline Gold Plated MAXI Fuse Holder
PAC AOEM-FRD24 Add-An-Amplifier Adapter

Did need lengths of speaker wire for the speakers and sub, used 14ga. Amp was velcro'ed to the back of the cab behind the rear seat and hasn't moved since. Gains on the amp are all the way down. It still tears ***, and I get noise if I turn them up. Zero distortion all the way to max volume. The type r components also came with adapters that fit the stock 6x8 holes perfectly. The system is faded to the front 3 notches on the head unit and bass is backed off 2, treble is neutral. Running 1db of boost on the sub and none on the components. Did not end up using the type s's in the rear, going to install them in a friends f-350, anything is better than those piles of crap. Sub is crossed at 100 along with the components. The sub enclosure didn't cost me anything since I had a sheet of 3/4" plywood laying around, but thats like 20 bucks at lowes so you can figure that into the price. All in all under 500$ to the doorstep for a system that owns the Sony setup from ford. Take it or leave it, if anyone has any questions about anything feel free to ask!

dnlow

Gets me thinking I need to upgrade also.

I am glad it all come all well and at a reasonable price.

Freakeystyley

Hey s1edneck,

Do you have SYNC in your rig? I saw you used the PAC module, but came across this when reading about it:

I'm guessing you don't, but I'm curious about the way that the SYNC module piggybacks.

And did you happen to take any pictures of the install yet? Always good to see what other folks have come up with. I think I'm about to build my own 2 x 10" enclosure to go under the rear seats.

I thought I might throw some pics of what you used all in one place to get an idea of what the build looks like:

fivefiftysix

How does the PAC AOEM-FRD24 Add-An-Amplifier Adapter work? I want to amp the front speakers and add a set of subs. What wires would I run from the Amp to the speakers? Would I just leave the rear speakers as is and then cut the speaker wires from the head before they enter the front doors at the kick panels and tie in the outputs from the Amp? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

NeBOfOrIoN

helo new to the forums i just got my new fx4 super crew and the sound is terrible like everyone here says going to do upgrade soon aswell not shore if i want to keep the factory dash unit or not

s1edneck700

freaky, thanks for posting pics. have not gotten a chance to take pics yet. sync has been working fine with the module. keep in mind sync audio only runs off the front speakers. system has been doing great so far and i get lots of compliments. im working at a ford dealership right now so i've done some back to back comparisons between the sony system and mine and everyone says mine sounds way nicer. the sony system does get louder, but its sloppy. i can hear tom hits way better on the type r's and the snap from the mid range is much sharper than the sony equipment. rock on

shortride

iTrader: (1)

I'm sure the new sound system will rock the house but I just can go the after market systems.

You are right though. the stock system sure leaves a lot to be desired. I had the 12 speaker Audiophile system in my Fusion SEL and sure do miss the sound quality.

2009XLTBFF1fitty

Do you have any pics of the install - mainly the radio. I am looking to upgrade as well and curious to see an aftermarket radio installed.