Victory: dialed in the Kicker 200.4 and 500.1 amps with upgraded speakers and Gearshade hidden 8" sub

[Area51BS]

Your crossover overlap could cause irregularities. Possible a bump in that frequency range of overlap. Generally crossing over a woofer and mid bass close but not overlapping fills the gap with combined output of the two drivers. Especially if crossover is a 12dB slope. Probably not much of an issue since mid bass is probably pretty weak. Without and RTA you can only go by ear. In the end if it sounds good to you that’s all that matters. I have a 10ch DSP and it’s fun tuning the system.

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[Altitude]

I have the hi pass on the 200.4 off and the low pass on the sub at 80. I might try shifting the high pass on the 200.4 to 60. That way there is overlap signal to both amps between 60-80Hz. Any experts willing to weigh in on that strategy?

IMO, they should both be crossed at 80hz, and I believe that is what most people do, and is the way mine is set up as well. Each of those amps have a 24 octave slope, which is steep, but its not a definitive cutoff on either at 80hz. The sub and kick panel speakers will be playing frequencies above and below 80hz, just not nearly as loudly.

 

[SkyKing]

IMO, they should both be crossed at 80hz, and I believe that is what most people do, and is the way mine is set up as well. Each of those amps have a 24 octave slope, which is steep, but its not a definitive cutoff on either at 80hz. The sub and kick panel speakers will be playing frequencies above and below 80hz, just not nearly as loudly.

Very helpful insight and explanation - I'll go to 80 on both and see if I feel like anything has been lost.

 

[Dads_bronze_bronco]

I would definitely try adjusting the gain a but toward the rears just to the point to where you feel the soundstage move back and see how you feel. I did upgrade the rear pods to 6.5.

If you don't want to mess with Forscan, your dealer can probably do it. 2 years ago, my dealer did mine to pass the signal to the rears (it is arguable how much difference it made). He charged me $20.

Unfortunately the 6.5” rear pod kits don’t seem to fit with the Raptor brace. Thought about attempting a heat gun on @Mabett’s pod set, but I didn’t think I could get it far enough in for the fit.

 

[SkyKing]

Unfortunately the 6.5” rear pod kits don’t seem to fit with the Raptor brace. Thought about attempting a heat gun on @Mabett’s pod set, but I didn’t think I could get it far enough in for the fit.

Might have to look for some wakeboard speaker pods.

 

[Hossfire]

Might have to look for some wakeboard speaker pods.

I think the aftermarket pods sellers are all saying that they don't work with the Braptor or they are working through a product modification. Anything sold that is Braptor-specific gets a back-burner for development because the lower quantity of these in the market. (It's like 2-door but much worse.)

 

[Hossfire]

Another route is to look for a custom metal shop that would create an adaptor bracket for you.

 

[Hossfire]

I think the Gearshade sub box is reasonably priced. I like to build my own boxes. I'm working up a box design that I can mount above the rear passenger trim panel bump out. The thought is to attach it to a molle panel with vibration isolating foam pads and bushings to prevent rattles.

 

[ManSquatch]

I found that the kicker dash speakers were way too loud, i think it has to do to the impedance of the two speakers together were around 2 instead of 4. I put in a set of focal component speakers and it was night and day better.
I also decided to change the kicker rears with infinity which sound way better IMO.
Agree 100% on changing the dings and other noises to built in speaker. It was obnoxiously loud when running through the stereo speakers

 

[SkyKing]

I found that the kicker dash speakers were way too loud, i think it has to do to the impedance of the two speakers together were around 2 instead of 4. I put in a set of focal component speakers and it was night and day better.
I also decided to change the kicker rears with infinity which sound way better IMO.
Agree 100% on changing the dings and other noises to built in speaker. It was obnoxiously loud when running through the stereo speakers

The forscan changes I did (in the OP) makes it feel like a different car. I get in, open doors, press ignition, get in out and no dings, buzzes, warnings - it's like the car finally treats me like and adult. yes, I know my car is on. I know my seatbelt is off. I know I just turned the car off. I know I'm outside the car while it's running. The people outside the car don't need to be able to hear my blinkers. And I really didn't need Rock Crawl mode but why not!

 

[Southside_Ray]

I have a very similar setup, except I have the L7 version box and kicker KS speakers. So happy to have bass in my Bronco! I have not done any forescan, and do not plan to. As someone who had a 15" sub and a 800w amp in his previous vehicle this won't replace but will round out what I hear.

 

[HotdogThud]

Thanks for the write up. I have pretty much the same set up - and I need to get mine dialed in better.

Have you had any heat issues for the 500.1 yet? Seems on really hot days, it's not happy back there. Im thinking of moving mine elsewhere.

I've got mine tucked fairly low and it's gotten toasty on hot days so far this year in Phoenix, but never to the point that I've been worried. Then again it's in the cabin and has access to AC:

 

[RhodeIslandRed]

Awesome post! About twice/year, I say I'm going to do this. -for the last two and a half years.

two questions. Why didn't you replace the floor speakers? I have seen posts that said they didn't hear much improvement there. But it seems weird to keep stockies with the rest of this arrangement.

And, I see you are in the Boston area. You want to do another one? It seems like you enjoyed it and you figured everything out. How much labor/time do you think it would take to a second one? How much were all the parts?

 

[SkyKing]

Awesome post! About twice/year, I say I'm going to do this. -for the last two and a half years.

two questions. Why didn't you replace the floor speakers? I have seen posts that said they didn't hear much improvement there. But it seems weird to keep stockies with the rest of this arrangement.

And, I see you are in the Boston area. You want to do another one? It seems like you enjoyed it and you figured everything out. How much labor/time do you think it would take to a second one? How much were all the parts?

I didn't replace the floor speakers because the more I read the more I was hearing that those speakers are not so bad (same as on the B&O package). The 4" dash and pod speakers are single cone paper junk with tiny magnets. The kick panel speakers are much more substantial and made of visibly nicer materials and big drivers. (I'm not claiming to be an expert). I had originally bought the 6.5" Kickers to replace the floor speakers, but the more I read, I decided they would make a bigger difference as an upgrade to the rear pods. I had previously upgraded to Kicker rear 4" pods but they still didn't produce meaningful sound. So I bought the Mabett 6.5" rear pods. And I think that was the way to go. Obviously, I could keep spending more... but I'm already in deeper than intended. Also, I think the floor speakers would be the most complicated to change out because the dash panel speakers are connected to them. But maybe I'll do it in the future if someone convinces me that it's easy and will make a big difference. At minimum I am now and expert at removing all the interior panels.

Anyway, the floor speakers seem to handle everything I'm throwing at them with this amp. The difference the amp alone makes it kind of a WTF - how is this little box making my crap stereo sound so much better!?

To answer your other question about my expertise and services - I'm no installer. I knew nothing but read many posts to prepare for this. I pulled apart all the panels and did all the settings and adjustments to the car, Forscan and to both amps. I did the speaker upgrade to the dash speakers with bass blockers. and I upgraded the rear pods to 6.5" coaxials. And, I bought the Plug N Play harness. But I outsourced shop do install and connections of the amps, harnesses, power and grounds. I was so far in that I probably should have done it all myself but I am a newbie and didn't want to risk doing something stupid, half-assed, or dangerous.

But I'm happy to share what I've learned about getting the amps and forscan dialed in. Forscan was simpler, faster and more satisfying than I expected.

 

[frdfan]

@RagnarKon does a great video on how to calm down the front speakers with a modification to the kick panel speaker harness. Here's his video--I used his mods on mine and the overall system sounds great. (I'm using a Musway Four.100 amp, Kicker KS speakers in all locations, added the 6.5" rear pods and speakers, and added a 10" powered Kicker sub).

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