Some Audio Questions - Bronco New Owner

[cmtaz]

I just (a week and a half ago) got my Bronco and the audio upgrades have begun. Thanks to all in the fourm for the shopping / analysis advice.

I have a 2023 Wildtrack base audio – sub delete (at least I think cause no sound comes from the sub grill). The dash speakers were replaced by Infinity 4032s w/ 600 Hz bass blockers installed. This GREATLY helped clarity and presence. The rear pods were replaced with Mabett pods running JBL Concert 621s 6.5 inch with 150 Hz bass blockers installed.

This was a noticeable improvement. I plan on replacing the 6.5 kick panel speakers in the near future and it will probably get much better after the rear speakers have been opened up & and the EQ has been turned off. I’d like all this done before doing the AMP.

Then I will start looking at DSP / AMPs. This will probably be a KEY200.4 (a JBL 4086 or Infinity 6840 is also a possibility).

Here are some audio questions: If using the KEY200.4 I believe I would want to tap the AMP Inputs for speaker level leads to run for a sub. If using the JBL or Infinity channels 7 & 8 can work as a sub output. Another option would be to “turn on the OEM sub” and get the signal from there. If I’m not using the Ford Amp is the any issue with that? Which are most people using?

For the sub I’m torn between putting an 8” in the factory enclosure with an amp or seeing if a hideaway 8” or 10” will fit behind the trim where the factory sub enclosure is, or has any one mounted a hideaway 8” or 10” on the tailgate?

Thank You

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[RagnarKon]

In general, there are two ways to do a sub (you already mentioned both, but to summarize):

• Splice into the front left and front right channels—this is what the majority of the "plug and play" harnesses do
• Turn on the subwoofer output and use the factory wiring.

Personally I went with the former, but I have a 2022 that doesn't even have a subwoofer output. If I had a 2023 or later I'd absolutely go with the latter one.

There are two "gotchas" about the factory wiring:

1. The power wire is only 12-gauge, which is only good for a ~250 watt amplifier (give or take). So you will probably have to run your own power wire.
2. The remote turn-on line is only 5 volts rather than the typical 12 volts. You can boost it to 12 volts using something like a PAC Audio TR-4.

---

The factory enclosure on the base audio system is for a 6.75" subwoofer, which in my opinion is too small. Fine for a factory setup, but if you're going through the hassle of upgrading, I'd go larger.

The factory B&O enclosure fits an 8" subwoofer with some modification, but you can fit up to a 10" into the factory install location with a custom enclosure. Anything beyond a 10" will have to be installed in a box or mounted to the tailgate.

I went with an 8" in the B&O enclosure, because frankly that was the only option at the time when I was upgrading back in late 2022. But if I was upgrading today I'd probably do a JL Audio Stealthbox. A little pricey, and a more traditional subwoofer box or a tailgate mounted box would probably be better, but I value the cargo space.

 

[cmtaz]

The factory enclosure on the base audio system is for a 6.75" subwoofer, which in my opinion is too small. Fine for a factory setup, but if you're going through the hassle of upgrading, I'd go larger.

The factory B&O enclosure fits an 8" subwoofer with some modification, but you can fit up to a 10" into the factory install location with a custom enclosure. Anything beyond a 10" will have to be installed in a box or mounted to the tailgate.

I went with an 8" in the B&O enclosure, because frankly that was the only option at the time when I was upgrading back in late 2022. But if I was upgrading today I'd probably do a JL Audio Stealthbox. A little pricey, and a more traditional subwoofer box or a tailgate mounted box would probably be better, but I value the cargo space.

Thanks..

Can you fit an 8" in the base subwoofer enclosure? I'm guessing "probably" but that is only because PnP kits seels it as an upgrade?

 

[RagnarKon]

Thanks..

Can you fit an 8" in the base subwoofer enclosure? I'm guessing "probably" but that is only because PnP kits seels it as an upgrade?

By default, no. It's sized for a 170mm subwoofer, roughly 6.75-inches.

If you're willing to do some cutting to make the hole larger... probably.

 

[Brian_B]

By default, no. It's sized for a 170mm subwoofer, roughly 6.75-inches.

If you're willing to do some cutting to make the hole larger... probably.

I did. It did require “enlarging” the hole a bit - maybe 1/4”

The trick is that there is a bevel/lip on the rear edge of the enclosure, so you have to offset the circle towards the leading edge off center - almost as far forward as you can make it fit.

Not hard at all though. I used a jigsaw, although in hindsight I would use a dremel with a fine circular blade. The jigsaw was a bit too rough and the plastic is brittle, it kept wanting to splinter.

Once the hole was cut, I drilled new holes and clipped speed nuts on them. A line of silicone around the back edge of the sub. I installed a banana plug connector while I was at it and sealed the port up. Gift wrapped the entire thing in kilamatt and reinstalled it

It sounds pretty pretty decent for reusing a factory enclosure.

 

[cmtaz]

So I have someone that will forscan my Bronco at the end of this week. That begs a question. Setting the EQ to off is a no brainer. Changing the rear speakers from tweeter to speaker is also a no brainer, but do I want to enable the sub (I have sub delete), as a forethought to a sub installation? Could it hurt anything if I just left it plugged into the dummy amp for a while? To me this is like running a sub cable from your home theater receiver to a powered sub, but not plugging the powered sub in. It won't do any harm to the receiver.

Thanks

 

[Brian_B]

So I have someone that will forscan my Bronco at the end of this week. That begs a question. Setting the EQ to off is a no brainer. Changing the rear speakers from tweeter to speaker is also a no brainer, but do I want to enable the sub (I have sub delete), as a forethought to a sub installation? Could it hurt anything if I just left it plugged into the dummy amp for a while? To me this is like running a sub cable from your home theater receiver to a powered sub, but not plugging the powered sub in. It won't do any harm to the receiver.

Thanks

It won't hurt anything if it's unplugged, so if it where me and I were limited in my Forscanability, I would go ahead and turn it on.

Plugged into the Dummy amp - I can't say with any certainty but I would be shocked if it did anything if it were turned on and plugged into the dummy amp.

 

[brkdncr]

FYI I just upgraded from a modified factory sub box with a kicker compRT to an additive audio custom box with a JL audio 10”.

the gains from going to the 8” were huge. The gains going from the 8” to the 10” not nearly as much.

 

[mikec426]

There are two "gotchas" about the factory wiring:

1. The power wire is only 12-gauge, which is only good for a ~250 watt amplifier (give or take). So you will probably have to run your own power wire.
2. The remote turn-on line is only 5 volts rather than the typical 12 volts. You can boost it to 12 volts using something like a PAC Audio TR-4.

About #2… would that be this blue wire from the plug and play kit? Found it odd to be there when it wasn’t used by the 200.4.

And the LC2i has Remote In and Remote Out connections. That blue wire would go into the LC2i and then out to a 500.1?

 

[RagnarKon]

About #2… would that be this blue wire from the plug and play kit? Found it odd to be there when it wasn’t used by the 200.4.

And the LC2i has Remote In and Remote Out connections. That blue wire would go into the LC2i and then out to a 500.1?

There is some flexibility, but yeah.

Most aftermarket audio equipment allow you to use one of two methods:

1. Signal sensing. When the amplifier sees an audio signal it'll turn the amplifier on. If it doesn't see a signal for XX number of seconds, it'll turn the amplifier off.
2. Remote turn-on. When the amplifier sees a voltage (typically 12 volts) on the remote line it'll turn that amplifier on. If it doesn't see a voltage, it'll turn the amplifier off.

(2) is always preferred over (1), but on modern car audio systems... (2) is not always possible. The plug-n-play kit includes that remote turn-on wire in case you can and want to use (2).

Personally, I use both in my setup. The 200.4 uses signal sensing, and then I use the remote line output on the 200.4 to feed my 500.1 in the back for the subwoofer. So effectively the 200.4 is using (1), and the 500.1 is using (2). Therefore whenever the 200.4 turns on the 500.1 will also turn on.

The 2023+ Bronco uses (1) for its own subwoofer amplifier, but the voltage is 5 volts rather than 12 volts.

 

[cmtaz]

Thank you for the advice on my Bronco's audio system. I have upgraded my speakers (all 6) and I am getting set to order the Kicker Key and harness. I had my radio forscanned to EQ = OFF & Rears = Speaker & Speaker and Sub (sub is inactive as I have sub delete). That bring me to a couple of questions?

I can't decide if I want just a small, powered sub (hideaway 10 / Blaupunkt 10) or a small amp (key 500 / NVX) and an 8" woofer stuffed into the OEM Base sub enclosure. However, this should apply to both solutions:

When I install the Key200 or Hideaway, I will pull and extra 8-gauge power wire and leave it under the rear door sill trim (UNFUSED of course). Then when I add either sub solution, I will then have the power wire ready to go.

I am assuming I can tap the OEM sub plug into the dummy amp for the sub signal and while either solution should have auto turn on, does the kicker harness have a turn on lead I could tap in to OR could I tap the 12volt + lead to the dummy amp and use that as the turn on signal?

Thanks in advance,

 

[Brian_B]

I am assuming I can tap the OEM sub plug into the dummy amp for the sub signal and while either solution should have auto turn on, does the kicker harness have a turn on lead I could tap in to OR could I tap the 12volt + lead to the dummy amp and use that as the turn on signal?

OEM sub harness does have a turn-on signal, but it's 0-5V, not 0-12V. If you try to use it without an adapter it seems to be hit or miss and not reliable. Some amps have issues with it, some work fine - not sure about the 500.1. I'd note - this is in the subwoofer harness in the back, not the ACM harness up front - the ACM harness up front does ~not~ have a 12V ACC signal that I'm aware of (although many plug and play harnesses have the wire for it, the Bronco does not use it).

Not sure if that wiring would be in a plug-n-play harness or not. I thought most of those pulled a speaker-level input from the front kickpanel, and you'd use speaker-level auto-turnon, rather than a remote 12V signal. I don't have a Kicker or a PnP harness to verify.

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_541TR4/PAC-TR-4-Trigger-Module.html

 

[VAtruck]

You might want to consider changing the chimes from "Speaker" to "Instrument Cluster Only" when you have the Forscan mods done. The chimes will be unacceptably loud coming through the speakers after the amp is installed.

 

[mikec426]

Oooh… I didn’t know you could do that. I noticed my chimes were louder. Amp is still at minimum gain.

 

[cmtaz]

I wish I had known that. My forscan mods are done for now

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