Updated 4" inch speakers dash and back

[Dan G]

I swapped out the dash and kick panel speakers with Kicker CS, I swapped out the rear pods with SSV 6.5 inch pods, also kicker CS. Everything sounded much better, but the rears sucked. I did the Forscan mod and it made them slightly louder. Still not happy bought kicker key 200.4 and a plug and play harness. All was great, but the rear speakers were muffled and sounded like crap. Used Forscan and put it back to the original configuration, and it's sounds so much better. The bass is not as good as the front, but you can hear them, and they sound clean.

I am finally really happy with the sound, was going to add a sub, but don't think I even need it now.

Nice. good info. Can you share more on the kicker key 200.4? Did you need it to power the Kicker CS 6.5in speakers in the back? did you wire everything directly off the rear existing wires? any Pics on how it looks?

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[PearlJamFanLV]

Not trying to be a jerk here, but it is "bass" not "base". I just lost it after seeing the reference 9+ times.

On a side note, I am working with my local installer to try and get pricing for the Metra FD-BROPOD1 rear pods to upgrade to 6.5" in the rear.

Another question, why would some of the 6.5" pod housing only be for a 4 door?

 

[Verve50]

Nice. good info. Can you share more on the kicker key 200.4? Did you need it to power the Kicker CS 6.5in speakers in the back? did you wire everything directly off the rear existing wires? any Pics on how it looks?

The amp powers the 4 front speakers (they are wired together) and the rear 2 speakers. The rear pods plugged directly into the factory harness. I powered it through the plug and play harness. It does not cut out as others have mentioned, and I've had it up to 22. I did mess around with the dip switches until it sounded good. The DSP setup made it sound much better. I will take pics tomorrow, it's rainy pretty bad in NY today.

 

[Frebaln]

Was this for a standard system or the B&O system ?
Finding that B&O ACM as-built is different than standard and FORScan number combos aren’t working

 

[Vicman12]

That config isn't quite right. You want to change 727-01-02, not 727-01-01. Also, that Forscan change just removes the EQ for the rear pods. Which is fine if you are just swapping in another set of 4" speakers.

But if you want to send full range to the rear pods (ie. you are swapping in larger speakers or a sound bar) you'll want to also change the speaker configuration.

I got all of the details in the Forscan post here.

What is the code to change to have power to to a sub ? I plan on taking out the fake amp and fake sub and replacing it with a working amp and sun and using the stock enclosure.

Thanks ,

 

[RagnarKon]

What is the code to change to have power to to a sub ? I plan on taking out the fake amp and fake sub and replacing it with a working amp and sun and using the stock enclosure.

Thanks ,

On the Forscan post I wrote look for the "7-speaker as-built" configuration. I don't actually know if the ACM is different on the models with the "delete" option, but assuming it's the same... changing the ACM to the 7-speaker as-built configuration should turn on the subwoofer output which you should be able to feed in to your amp.

 

[Lak34ers]

That config isn't quite right. You want to change 727-01-02, not 727-01-01. Also, that Forscan change just removes the EQ for the rear pods. Which is fine if you are just swapping in another set of 4" speakers.

But if you want to send full range to the rear pods (ie. you are swapping in larger speakers or a sound bar) you'll want to also change the speaker configuration.

I got all of the details in the Forscan post here.

Sorry to ask but what specifically will get the best sound if I replaced all 6 base speakers and upgraded the rear to 6.5s. Find what numbers and change them to what? Thank you!

 

[RagnarKon]

Sorry to ask but what specifically will get the best sound if I replaced all 6 base speakers and upgraded the rear to 6.5s. Find what numbers and change them to what? Thank you!

You have to change the rear pod speaker configuration to "full range to rear pods", and then you have to remove the EQ setting. The Forscan spreadsheet has all of the details.

 

[ucbmiles]

I swapped out the dash and kick panel speakers with Kicker CS, I swapped out the rear pods with SSV 6.5 inch pods, also kicker CS. Everything sounded much better, but the rears sucked. I did the Forscan mod and it made them slightly louder. Still not happy bought kicker key 200.4 and a plug and play harness. All was great, but the rear speakers were muffled and sounded like crap. Used Forscan and put it back to the original configuration, and it's sounds so much better. The bass is not as good as the front, but you can hear them, and they sound clean.

I am finally really happy with the sound, was going to add a sub, but don't think I even need it now.

Literally doing the exact same set up. Kicker CS 4" for the dash arrived yesterday and SSV 6.5 pods with Kickers are on their way. Was hoping no additional equipment would be needed (amp, sub, etc) and also didn't want to mess with Forscan. But sounds like you've gotten the best results with these speakers + key amp and no forscan?

 

[Stizzo]

This guy did a great job in this video so I'm sharing if anyone else wants to do it. Very easy. I went with different speakers Kickers and they fit perfectly. Took me like 45 min to change out all 4 speakers and you can use the Forscan app too to unlock more power for the rear speakers as per his video. But I went in and changed the ACM 727-01-01 to "3801" vs the 3800 as per below. 3801 unlocks the base for the back speakers. Albeit shitty compared to a sound bar but much better than factory speakers!

Thank you for the polarity guidance - super helpful.

 

[Akinmx]

Question for you guys. I have a 4-dr 2022 Badlands with the crappy factory stereo system. I finally decided to upgrade. I'm handy with minor mechanical work but know nothing about radio systems.

I did some research and have ordered the following:

Kicker 46csc44 dash speakers with wiring harness from Crutchfields
Kicker 6.5 in rear pod speakers from SSV.

I'm leaving in the factory door panel speakers.

Do I need to install a 300hz bass blocker on the dash speakers?

I don't have access to forscan so whatever the settings are now is what I'll have. Will it sound better? Anything I should add in that I'm overlooking? Curious... and thanks for any replies.

 

[Brian_B]

Question for you guys. I have a 4-dr 2022 Badlands with the crappy factory stereo system. I finally decided to upgrade. I'm handy with minor mechanical work but know nothing about radio systems.

I did some research and have ordered the following:

Kicker 46csc44 dash speakers with wiring harness from Crutchfields
Kicker 6.5 in rear pod speakers from SSV.

I'm leaving in the factory door panel speakers.

Do I need to install a 300hz bass blocker on the dash speakers?

I don't have access to forscan so whatever the settings are now is what I'll have. Will it sound better? Anything I should add in that I'm overlooking? Curious... and thanks for any replies.

Will it sound better? Yes, but not as good as it could

You don’t need bass blockers up front - but they are cheap and easy to try to see if you like the sound better with them. They just plug in line and it takes about 2 minutes to get the cover off and the speaker out to get at it

The rears already have a bass blocker applied from the factory settings, and it will really restrict what your new 6.5” speakers can do. The only way to remove that is via Forscan though.

 

[GregMac]

Long time listener, first time poster… Got a little ahead of myself and installed the kicker CS speakers in the dash. Harnesses made process a breeze but I am really unhappy with the how harsh and bright these are. I really don’t think I want to commit to an amp and forscan, any last suggestions before I pull and return?

 

[Brian_B]

Long time listener, first time poster… Got a little ahead of myself and installed the kicker CS speakers in the dash. Harnesses made process a breeze but I am really unhappy with the how harsh and bright these are. I really don’t think I want to commit to an amp and forscan, any last suggestions before I pull and return?

Bright is a commonly used word with Bronco audio. I struggle with it in my own system even, to be honest.

Some of it can be tuned out - Forscan and an amp with some basic adjustments can help significantly. But just adjusting the fade a bit and tweaking with the basic EQ tools on the stock head unit, I can usually get it someplace where I'm happy with it. The problem is that it seems to be track by track and not consistent, or maybe it's windows up versus windows down, and there's definitely a huge change in hard top vs stop top when I swap those for the summer.

Some people swear by using component speakers rather than coaxials. Others say you need a DSP or equalizer. Some swear by specific brands of speakers, or the mythical "mid-bass" speakers in the kick panels.

Bottom line, I guess, is yes, it absolutely can get better. But I don't think there is a universal answer to it, since everyone has a bit of a different opinion on what sounds good.

For my own system - I'm still running the fronts in parallel on the stock wiring. I do have them on a 50W amp, but they are still in parallel. When I sweep to the front, I can hear the dash speakers, and they are a bit tinny, but I get almost nothing from the kicks. So I want to split those out. I don't have any more channels on my amp though, so debating how to best do that. I'm thinking of running the dash + front channel amp input on the stock head unit, and moving the kicks to being just by themselves on the amp - just not sure how that will work. I'm trying to avoid moving to a 7 channel amp since I don't want to re-run my cables if I can avoid it and I don't think anything bigger will fit where I have the amp mounted now.

 

[GregMac]

brian_b thanks so much for the thorough reply. Tinny is another great adjective for what I’m experiencing. I’d rather have the paper stock cones that were more balanced than an aftermarket that sounds high pitched and overwhelming. Thanks for the counsel.

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