Thinking of moving to DSP Amp

[404]

So I used forscan to turn off the factory dsp so I get four channels of full range to the amp. I didn’t have to do any cleanup to the input signal, as there was no time delay or eq applied.

The according tune is pretty decent for what it does. Accordo does the delay times a little different you measure or calculate because of how it tries to adjust for phase issues.

Sponsored

 

[Brian_B]

So I used forscan to turn off the factory dsp so I get four channels of full range to the amp. I didn’t have to do any cleanup to the input signal, as there was no time delay or eq applied.

The according tune is pretty decent for what it does. Accordo does the delay times a little different you measure or calculate because of how it tries to adjust for phase issues.

Yeah I forscanned off the factory eq, but still saw a pretty linear slope on the input. Entirely likely that I am doing it wrong too - as once I corrected for that all my speakers that I had though sounded fairly close on my old amp showed an over-corrected response to the input correction that needed a lot of eq massaging to get to match a curve

No timing issues or all phase filtering needed though, thankfully.

 

[23OBX2.7]

Pic of mounting?

Learning curve is steep. Linear slope is desirable.

Main thing is to get the time and phase alignment set (easy) and run it flat with maybe some cuts to balance sound. Then spend hours on tune or just get a remote one. Two seat tunes are very difficult.

It can take many hours tweaking the tune which will be fine for whatever fidelity like flac you used to tune but not be great for lower fidelities or or when top is off.

Need DRC so can have few tunes e.g. open top, closed top, FLAC, lower grade source, or different music genera.

Went through this with an Audison DSP amp in Mustang and dont really want to do it in Bronco. Have the B&O out put to same level as Mustang Audison with just lucky driver selection and massively better sub but I like the volume at 7-17.

 

[Brian_B]

Pic of mounting?

 

[Brian_B]

Went back in this morning - same mic and setup and everything, and yeah... what I had thought was a sloped input was flat as can be. I don't know if I didn't have the mic calibration file loaded or if it was because the mic was brand new out of the box or what. But it was completely different, and more like what folks here are reporting.

I'll chalk it up to user error.

Wow, @404 is right, Accordo is fairly impressive, and very fast. The initial Setup wizard was kind of slow (probably due to my laptop and non-familiarity), but Accordo was like... less than 5 minutes. And produced pretty good results. I just needed to adjust the gain up a bit and sounds better than what I was doing by hand, I admit.

 

[EOD98]

I put in a Audison c8.14 and mounted it under the cup holders.

Wiish I could use that space but 2025's have AC vents to the back of the console that take up that space.

Took... 7 weeks, but finally got the Audison M8.14 in hand yesterday. Spent most of yesterday afternoon watching tutorials.

You made the right decision! The Audison AFM814BIT is the way to go. Way more tutorials out there and the tuning siftware is much better than most competitors. Musway is great but not much information out there because the brand really hasn't hit the US market hard enough yet. Of course, Helix DSP's are awesome as well.

 

[23OBX2.7]

Plus Audison tech support is amazing

 

[EOD98]

Went back in this morning - same mic and setup and everything, and yeah... what I had thought was a sloped input was flat as can be. I don't know if I didn't have the mic calibration file loaded or if it was because the mic was brand new out of the box or what. But it was completely different, and more like what folks here are reporting.

I'll chalk it up to user error.

Wow, @404 is right, Accordo is fairly impressive, and very fast. The initial Setup wizard was kind of slow (probably due to my laptop and non-familiarity), but Accordo was like... less than 5 minutes. And produced pretty good results. I just needed to adjust the gain up a bit and sounds better than what I was doing by hand, I admit.

Yeah I had same issue with mic calibration file not loaded I think. Accordo is awesome. Maybe one of the main reasons I like the Audison DSP's so much. I tuned one in a friends vehicle. My Musway M6 Pro is fantastic, has a ton of power for such a little box, but a bit more brain power needed to tune I think. Currently looking for a AF M8.14 bit and should have one in a week or so. I like your glove box install but I don't want to run everything up to the front. With my 2025 B&O, everything is at the factory amp in the rear that I need.

I have my Musway M6 Pro under the rear drivers side seat. Mounted to the underside of the cushion.... Flatens down just fine with a little slack in the wiring. Then 2 mono amps under the cargo area mat. I replaced the factory plastic cargo area with the DV8 one for more space and then installed the MRT trail rated exhaust, moving it away from the rear storage area.... heat isn't an issue now.

Thanks for sharing.

Plus Audison tech support is amazing

Honestly, the Musway support is ridiculous. So good that they even remoted into my laptop and configured everything in my bronco remotely. Helped with the install even. Can't lie, Musway support is next level.

 

[Bronco21Maybe]

Yeah I had same issue with mic calibration file not loaded I think. Accordo is awesome. Maybe one of the main reasons I like the Audison DSP's so much. I tuned one in a friends vehicle. My Musway M6 Pro is fantastic, has a ton of power for such a little box, but a bit more brain power needed to tune I think. Currently looking for a AF M8.14 bit and should have one in a week or so. I like your glove box install but I don't want to run everything up to the front. With my 2025 B&O, everything is at the factory amp in the rear that I need.

I have my Musway M6 Pro under the rear drivers side seat and 2 mono amps under the cargo area map. I replaced the factory plastic cargo area with the DV8 one for more space and then installed the MRT trail rated exhaust, moving it away from the rear storage area.... heat isn't an issue now.

Thanks for sharing.



Honestly, the Musway support is ridiculous. So good that they even remoted into my laptop and configured everything in my bronco remotely. Helped with the install even. Can't lie, Musway support is next level.

In a 2 door base Bronco, are people still fitting amps under the seats?

 

[EOD98]

In a 2 door base Bronco, are people still fitting amps under the seats?

I know the Musway m6 pro fits under either of the front seats

 

[Bronco21Maybe]

I know the Musway m6 pro fits under either of the front seats

Sweet!! Thank you, sir!

 

[23OBX2.7]

These DSP amps work hard generate a lot of heat rear cargo on MTX amp rack with 1/4" rubber spacers is best with so much free airspace and convection especially with the speaker grill and qtr panel air space.

It is a PITA running wiring so ready made harness is optimal though DIY is just time consuming is all.

 

[Brian_B]

It is a PITA running wiring so ready made harness is optimal though DIY is just time consuming is all.

This is true.

30 min to pull old amp

30 minutes to install new amp

3.5 hours to make up new wiring harness.

 

[Brian_B]

I think I finally landed on a tuning I can live with.

Trying to do it by hand, I learned the difference between pink and white noise. But all my manual attempts ended up with the sound being pretty tinny and harsh - haven't quite figured it out yet.

Going with Accordo - it gets you 80% of the way there. Playing with that as a baseline profile got me pretty good results. A couple of revisions later and I got to something pretty good.

A couple of things I found --

I can be sitting in the Bronco while tuning and think it sounds great, but when I come back the next morning and drive to work, within the first 5 miles of driving is when I really hear what the tune sounds like. I had a few iterations where I thought it sounded amazing parked while playing with it, only to absolutely hate it when I started driving.

I have a DSPMik1 for a calibrated microphone, but it seems to be low gain. I have Windows gain set at 100%, but when using it, all the dB levels are shown as very low in Bitdrive. To get the music levels to even register I had to crank the level almost to the point of clipping (and wear earphones - it's F'n loud). And even at pretty much max volume I could never get the mic levels anywhere near high enough to hit the calibration curve. Not sure what to do to correct for that, or if that's supposed to be normal. I can't find any settings for microphone adjustment in Bitdrive at all (other than "pick a mic" and "load cal file"), and Windows settings are pretty anemic. I may have a bum mic or something.

Accordo will screw with phasing and relative power output of all the speakers if you let it. When I run it, it keeps wanting to reverse one of the passenger channels. I'm sure it's seeing a particular spot come in out of phase because of sound reflection, but if you leave it like that, it sounds horrible when trying to play music. Make sure you double check these and re-correct for them if needed.

All in, probably around 5-6 hours playing with the software. Probably landed on my settings right now more by accident than anything else. I'm certain it's not as good as a professional tuner could do, but honestly, this project was as much about getting better sound as it was to have something new to play with and learn.

 

[404]

I find that a tune needs to have more bass than sounds normal when just sitting in the driveway. The road noise drowns out low end at normal listening levels.
Also, I cut a little in the 2-4K range because that is where the harshness comes from. I attribute that to the glass reflection. When I move my head slightly it changes.

Sponsored