Explorer Audio upgrade(s)

[deewan]

My apologizes if I was wrong about the ohm mismatch. I thought I recalled someone saying they took the door panels off and found the 6x8 and tweeter were wired in parallel and that the 6x8 was stamped 4-ohm. That lead me to believe the amp would likely be seeing something closer to 2 ohms with both drivers hooked up. I was also going to be surprised if both drivers were 4-ohm that the factory Ford speakers had a higher efficiency than the aftermarket Hertz speakers if they were both getting the same power.

FYI, the factory sub with the premium sound system is much closer to DVC 1-ohm, not 2.

 

[SHANNdaMAN]

I think you may have uncovered another possible explanation for the problem Zach7 is having.

If he cut the wires from the connector and only hooked up the 2 wires for the front speaker, that would disable the door tweeter and change the ohm load reducing his apparent available power and speaker volume.

However, if he installed his door speaker the same way as Unsta, using the contacts inside the old frame to connect his new speakers, this would not apply. (except that in this pic Unsta has the pos & neg leads soldered to the wrong terminals, They are out of phase, should be neg left & pos right)

This would replace the factory 4 ohm with his aftermarket 4 ohm, and the door tweeter would still be connected in parallel from the wires coming out of the main speaker connector, with no difference in ohm load from the factory speaker setup.

 

[CalifLove]

Hey Folks,

Recently I added some Polk Audio db coaxials to the rear of the ride. I ended up just taking the same full range signal that was combined with the JL audio cleansweep and combiner running to the rear speakers thus loosing fade which isnt a big deal.

However, before I ended up there, I wanted to run the rear speaker signals through the cleansweep to determine if at least by its measure the signal passing was full range. Turns out the unit reports back that it is NOT full range which doesn't surprise me, however and unfortunately, it does not report what range of frequencies are missing. I assume there is a filter on the lows at some point given the factory speakers are low wattage coaxials BUT when run independently they do put out somewhat low sounds (not all that clear or defined of course).

So that brought back the question I had when I first started my project years ago - has anyone confirmed low level Front/Rear outputs PRE Sony Amp (for those witht he 12 spkr Sony system)?

 

[Zach7]

deewan,
Zach7 replaced his front door speakers ... factory 4 ohm speakers, with Hertz DCX 690 4 ohm speakers. He didn't mention replacing factory 2 ohm subs, so no ohm mismatch as you are suggesting. Hertz DCX 690 speaker freq response is 45 - 21k Hz, so not great bass speakers. That may be part of the problem.

Zach7,
I would suggest replacing the Hertz speakers with something like Pioneer TS-A6995R . They're very good performing speakers and cheap for the performance you get. They are 4 ohm, have a 92 dB sensitivity, and freq response is 27 - 37k Hz - MUCH better for Bass than your Hertz speakers (they will also handle more power, if you decide to go with an aftermarket Amp)

To hear the difference between 45 Hz and 27 Hz (the lowest frequencies these speakers can reproduce) Click Here to download test tones in any frequency. (use headphones to listen instead of PC speakers)

Well I have to say that the Hertz speakers were not for me. I replaced them with a pair of Kenwood 6x9's and they sound much better! A good upgrade and I can put an amp to them in the future.

I have the regular sound system, not the Sony premium sound in my Explorer.

As mentioned in another post I had to make sure the speaker wires were connected properly to keep my door tweeters/upper speakers working properly.

Thank you all for the help and suggestions as they all worked good!

 

[Tony407]

Making custom speaker adapters:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7WKCFHGwRY

Tony

 

[Zach7]

Making custom speaker adapters:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7WKCFHGwRY

Tony

Good watch. If I only had a small fab shop and a bunch of time to make those that would be great!!

 

[Tony407]

If the signal being sent from the head unit is not full range, I don't believe there would be any easy way to combine channels or make a channel full range. Once that information is gone, it's gone. You can't combine two channels (one low end and one with everything else) to get a full range signal back.

I'm just now reading though this thread and I realize it's a couple of years old, so maybe this technology didn't exist then, but it does now!

There's more than one option out there (e.g. Audio Control and JL Audio) to combine (sum) partial audio signals that have been crossed over into a single full-range signal.

Tony

 

[XLT16]

Speaker Upgrades

I see this forum is a little more active, posted this on another and wondering if anyone could give me some guidance here...

Originally Posted by Anime View Post
The new Pioneer 6x8's are the TSG-6845R and you can get four for around 60 bucks:

http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-TSG684...=pioneer+6+x+8

They are a very good upgrade to the stock system, and you can also use them if you ever get an aftermarket head unit.

You might also want to get factory speaker harness adapters so you can just plug one end into the factory wiring plug and the other onto the speakers, this way you don't have to cut any wires and can just plug the old speakers back in should you sell the vehicle or want to upgrade. They are a few bucks per pair and you only need two pairs for four speakers. You'll have to check to be sure you get the right plugs since Ford used different plugs for different years.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...,electronics

Hi folks , got a couple of questions about these speakers and other Pioneer 6*8's before I order them to replace the stock speakers on my 2016 XLT.

Is it worth upgrading to the three way or four way 6*8's that Pioneer also offers or are they likely not going to add much to the sound? Any reason they wouldn't fit the same as the two ways? Wouldn't the three way Pioneer version give me a little more midrange than a two way given there are tweeters already built in the doors?

Do these speakers fit right onto the current OEM setup without adapters? Are the speaker mounts the same in the front and rear doors? Would most any 6X8 speaker fit into the Explorer? I see the Pioneer ones are actually branded as made for Ford.

Any idea which Ford speaker wiring adapter on Amazon is used for the 2016 Explorers , I have the 9 speaker premium system (not the Sony). Anyone know what the wattage is of this system?

Before I pull the panels want to have everything I need to swap out the OEM speakers and not be scrambling for adapters etc..

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum XLT16.:wavey:

Peter

 

[GeoGeek]

XLT16,
I've got the same setup as you and I just had mine opened up last weekend.
The 6X9's in the front doors have the spacer ring as an integrated part of the speaker, so you will either need to custom make a speaker ring (like I did) or buy one made for this vehicle....which I have not seen online anywhere.
Some folks have cut apart the factory 6x9 to use it's spacer ring for an aftermarket speaker, but that (in my opinion) is not ideal.
Your radio has two plugs that plug into the back, a 24-pin and a 26-pin, but to my knowledge there isn't an aftermarket harness that works for it....I'd be interested to know if there was, as I'd like to avoid cutting into the factory harnesses.

 

[XLT16]

XLT16,
I've got the same setup as you and I just had mine opened up last weekend.
The 6X9's in the front doors have the spacer ring as an integrated part of the speaker, so you will either need to custom make a speaker ring (like I did) or buy one made for this vehicle....which I have not seen online anywhere.
Some folks have cut apart the factory 6x9 to use it's spacer ring for an aftermarket speaker, but that (in my opinion) is not ideal.
Your radio has two plugs that plug into the back, a 24-pin and a 26-pin, but to my knowledge there isn't an aftermarket harness that works for it....I'd be interested to know if there was, as I'd like to avoid cutting into the factory harnesses.

Here are speakers that are specifically made for Ford by Pioneer that others have mentioned using on these forums. If you use these links you will see the speakers (among many that are 6x8 size, different brands - these say specifically they are made for Ford and Mazda - you can see this at the top of the picture on the speaker) and the wiring harness that clips the speaker in on the door rather than splice and solder for a Ford product - not at the radio harness

http://www.amazon.ca/PIONEER-TSG6845R-8-Inch-2-Way-Speakers/dp/B00NF5EQDY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1443901853&sr=8-1&keywords=Pioneer+6+8

http://www.amazon.ca/Metra-72-5600-Speaker-Adapter-Vehicles/dp/B001OAB6BW/ref=pd_bxgy_422_img_y

Regarding the spacer ring , that is interesting , are you referring to the plastic piece that holds it away from the door panel to give the magnet/ speaker room etc.? Does that mean the space and speaker are all one piece, what a pain if that's the case. That could be a real issue for any install if it can't be reused. How did you make a spacer ring?

Here is a how to on doing the speakers by someone else, he doesn't mention the spacer ring issue. He does mention Crutchfield can offer an adaptor ring.

http://www.paulstravelpictures.com/Ford-Explorer-Interior-Door-Panel-Removal-Guide/index.html


After all that I found this on the premium system , so perhaps the front and rear speakers are different sizes. Frustrating trying to figure this out. Seems like not a lot of folks are switching out speakers on this vehicle. One of my other vehicles is C7 'Vette and there are so many folks doing mods on them that you can find just about anything out.

Premium Plus 9 Speak 100W

-2x Door Handle Tweeter 25W 80hms (Size: 1")
-2x Front Door Fe Midwoofer 25W 40hms (Size: 6x9")
-2x Rear Door Fe Full Range 25W 40hms (Size: 6.5")
-2x 3rd Row Fe Midrange 25W 160hms (Size: 80mm)
-1x IP Center Channel Fe 25W 80hms (Size: 80mm)

 

[SHANNdaMAN]

XLT16,

The 6x8 speakers and speaker wire adapters you reference are for older model Ford vehicles and are not compatible with the 2011 & newer explorers. The front door speakers are 6x9 and have an integrated spacer built into the housing. the rear door 6.5 speakers also are built with an integrated spacer.

As far as I am aware there are no aftermarket door speaker mount kits available for 2011 & newer explorers, so if you do not have the ability to build custom spacers/speaker mounts for this installation your best bet is to follow the method used by Unsta on page 5 of this thread and use the factory speaker frames to house aftermarket 6x9 speakers. You will have to dremel away some of the factory speaker support webbing, but a 6x9 speaker will fit nicely into the frame.

I have done this on My 2013 Explorer using Pioneer TS-A6995R 5 way speakers in the front doors, and Pioneer TS-A1685R 4 way speakers in the rear doors and they fit quite nicely and sound very crisp and clean. (I did not have to cut down the factory frames nearly as much as Unsta did with his install, I guess the Pioneer speakers have a slightly smaller frame than the speakers he used)

I bought the speakers at Walmart.com and had them delivered to my local store for in store pickup, they were inexpensive and are rated among the best sounding speakers in their size category.

To ensure that everything gets wired properly and in phase, here are the door speaker factory wiring color codes:

Left Front - White/Brown
Left Front + White
Right Front - White/Orange
Right Front + White/Purple
Left Rear - Brown/Yellow
Left Rear + White/Green
Right Rear - Brown/Blue
Right Rear + Brown/White

 

[XLT16]

XLT16,

The 6x8 speakers and speaker wire adapters you reference are for older model Ford vehicles and are not compatible with the 2011 & newer explorers. The front door speakers are 6x9 and have an integrated spacer built into the housing. the rear door 6.5 speakers also are built with an integrated spacer.

As far as I am aware there are no aftermarket door speaker mount kits available for 2011 & newer explorers, so if you do not have the ability to build custom spacers/speaker mounts for this installation your best bet is to follow the method used by Unsta on page 5 of this thread and use the factory speaker frames to house aftermarket 6x9 speakers. You will have to dremel away some of the factory speaker support webbing, but a 6x9 speaker will fit nicely into the frame.

I have done this on My 2013 Explorer using Pioneer TS-A6995R 5 way speakers in the front doors, and Pioneer TS-A1685R 4 way speakers in the rear doors and they fit quite nicely and sound very crisp and clean. (I did not have to cut down the factory frames nearly as much as Unsta did with his install, I guess the Pioneer speakers have a slightly smaller frame than the speakers he used)

I bought the speakers at Walmart.com and had them delivered to my local store for in store pickup, they were inexpensive and are rated among the best sounding speakers in their size category.

To ensure that everything gets wired properly and in phase, here are the door speaker factory wiring color codes:

Left Front - White/Brown
Left Front + White
Right Front - White/Orange
Right Front + White/Purple
Left Rear - Brown/Yellow
Left Rear + White/Green
Right Rear - Brown/Blue
Right Rear + Brown/White

Good stuff, now it is much clearer , really appreciate that info !!

Up until now I had no idea that the spacers and speakers were one piece. So that adds a whole new dimension to the work involved. I have done speaker flip outs before in vehicles so can manage this myself, just really wanted to understand what was involved before I peel the panels off. So if I wire up using your info does that impact the built in tweeters at all, saw something on this thread about that.

I find the stock speakers really flat, very little bass. Did you improve the bass with the Pioneer? How does the new setup sound compared to old?

 

[SHANNdaMAN]

the door tweeter wires are slaved to the Front door speakers. the + and - leads come out of the door speaker connector and up to the door tweeter. As long as you follow the method Unsta used (soldering the aftermarket wires to the leads INSIDE the speaker frame) the factory door tweeters will be unaffected by the install and will work normally. And you won't have to cut the speaker connector wires at all!

The Pioneers I bought supply Rich, crisp mids and Highs and substantial, clear Bass (but not as much as Subs, obviously) with none of the muddy, distorted sound of the Factory Speakers. I am VERY pleased with them. (of course you will have to adjust the EQ low/mid/high settings to optimize the output of the new speakers)

 

[XLT16]

the door tweeter wires are slaved to the Front door speakers. the + and - leads come out of the door speaker connector and up to the door tweeter. As long as you follow the method Unsta used (soldering the aftermarket wires to the leads INSIDE the speaker frame) the factory door tweeters will be unaffected by the install and will work normally. And you won't have to cut the speaker connector wires at all!

The Pioneers I bought supply Rich, crisp mids and Highs and substantial, clear Bass with none of the muddy, distorted sound of the Factory Speakers. I am VERY pleased with them. (of course you will have to adjust the EQ low/mid/high settings to optimize the output of the new speakers)

Again thanks ! Sounds like I will set aside an afternoon in the near future and get at. I probably will be using Pioneer speakers like you, have had good luck with them in the past. While I am at I will throw some Dynamat sound deadener in the doors at the same time.

Edit - ordered Pioneer 6x9's for the front and 6.5" for the back from Amazon this morning as well as some Dynamat to do the doors while I have the panels off. Should be a project for next weekend. Good to have a much better understanding of the work involved now.

 

[GeoGeek]

You might consider a set of component speakers rather than a coaxial...that way you'd get a separate tweeter you could put in the factory spot and replace both drivers.
One note about that guide to door panel removal....on the 2016's now there are 2 10mm bolts rather than screws in the locations behind the door opener handle panel and one behind the pull handle (that you can only access by popping out the plastic panel that holds the window switch.) I've got pictures, but cannot upload here without a premium account.

 

[willied]

You might consider a set of component speakers rather than a coaxial...that way you'd get a separate tweeter you could put in the factory spot and replace both drivers.
One note about that guide to door panel removal....on the 2016's now there are 2 10mm bolts rather than screws in the locations behind the door opener handle panel and one behind the pull handle (that you can only access by popping out the plastic panel that holds the window switch.) I've got pictures, but cannot upload here without a premium account.

You can upload your pictures to Photobucket, which is free, and then post the image URL here.

 

[SHANNdaMAN]

or you can follow Ford-Explorer-Interior-Door-Panel-Removal-Guide

 

[GeoGeek]

or you can follow Ford-Explorer-Interior-Door-Panel-Removal-Guide

Yes, it was this guide that I was referring to when I said that the 2016 has some differences from what was shown in that guide....namely how to access the bolt behind the pull handle and the fact that there is no screw behind the door-open lever...it now has a 10mm bolt there.....other than that it is fairly similar.

I'll look into the photobucket thing so I can get some pictures up for folks to see.

 

[Ecobeast]

Not sure if it is a concern for any of you here, but I was not aware of this. If you trade in the vehicle with an aftermarket stereo/speakers, they cannot Ford certify it. Or at least that is what I was told from my dealer. They wanted all of the original Ford speakers and Sub woofer (on my Edge Sport) before they could certify the car for me. It sounded great! I had an amp, component speakers and a 10" sub installed along with a sound processor to interact with the factory radio/nav head unit. I thought it would be a selling point for them on a used edge, but quite the opposite. Just something to keep in mind.