Bkennedy's SAS and Rebuild Thread

[gmanpaint]

Head unit settings can interfere and fight an amp, resulting in sound distortions. Can ruin a speaker too.

What head unit do you currently have installed?

Does the unit have a "Loud" button? If so, turn it off for higher volumes. Some head units even come with an option for amp gains, in a low or high settings. If the unit has preset EQ settings, some have the loud feature on no matter the volume, and can cause distortion at a higher volume. I like to use a personal saved setting to use for high volumes, and the loud feature is off. The presets are fine to use for lower volumes on mine, and simply toggle thru them depending on the genre playing. This is the 1.5 Din in the 94. The dble Din 7" touch screen Kenwood, in the 95 is way more complex with more setting options then I care to use. lol

 

[BKennedy]

The head unit is a Kenwood KDC-BT21 (link to Kenwood KDC-BT21 | Receivers | CAR ENTERTAINMENT | KENWOOD USA, PDF manual below). It is very complicated and its settings took a long time to figure out. It calls the bass, mid and treble settings, "bands", 13 in total. I didn't realize that the presets might activate the loudness and bass boost features, which I know causes distortion at higher volumes. I am still thinking the right front speaker is blown because it sounds much worse than the others and it just started yesterday. I'll mess with it some more and report back.

Gman, please send me a link of which 6.5" component speakers you have. If they fit in your Explorer, they will fit in mine. They need to be shallow to clear the window, and I have the door panel notched right in front of the speaker to clear the A pillar of the cage as shown below. Speakers I have now clear the pillars with the covers mounted, so there is some wiggle room in there. I'm not pulling the trigger on new speakers today, so no hurry.

If anyone has a link to what they are using, or would like to be using, please post.

 

[gmanpaint]

I run Sony 2 way 6.5" in the fronts for now. The 2 way come with dome tweeters on them, so no separate tweet is needed. If you ran a pair of 6.5" subs, then they would be needed. That setup is the most powerful tho.

I want either the JL audio to match the JL subwoofer, or the RF Punch. I really like both of those brands. I use the RF punch 5.25 with tweets in the rear doors for mids and highs.

Most are the same size dimension mounting wise, but some differ on the depth with the magnets. This list of brands offered at Crutchfield will have dimensions listed in the specs, for each speaker. Priced from very cheap, to very expensive. Some come with the adapter plates needed as well.

Car Speakers at Crutchfield

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www.crutchfield.com

The RF 5x7/6x8 adapter plate. Holds a 5.25" or 6.5" and a space for a 1" tweeter.

 

[BKennedy]

Gmanpaint, RF makes the Punch series in a 6x8, but you are saying that a 6.5 will give more bass. Is it the speaker shape or the component speakers that give it more bass? More bass without adding a sub would be a plus. The RF Punch component speakers in 6.5" are about $110 a pair with free shipping at Crutchfield, so not a deal breaker.

I think I could mount a tweeter in the lower part of the triangle shaped speaker grille for the front doors. Mount it to the door with the panel removed, mark it, cut a hole in the grille so the tweeter sticks out. Not ideal for a tweeter location, but I don't have much space with the cage going through the door panels. I know having a metal tube running past the front of the speakers effects the way they sound, but it can't be helped. I can move those pod gauges up or down a few inches if a tweeter would be better up high.

 

[gmanpaint]

6.5 will give tons more bass due to the way it's made and magnet size. Dual will have tweeters on them already if you dont wanna mess with mounting one elsewhere.

 

[BKennedy]

Spent some time chatting with Chad over at Crutchfield today. He recommended Kicker 6x8 componets Kicker 46CSS684 CS Series 6"x8" component speaker system at Crutchfield for the front and Kicker 6x8 2-ways for the rear doors Kicker 46CSC684 CS Series 6"x8" 2-way car speakers at Crutchfield. Said I would get as much bass and sound as the RF and they guarantee they will fit. What do you fella's think about Kicker?

 

[gmanpaint]

No idea about door speakers from Kicker. Only ever heard them in truck boxes. If they recommend them, they must believe in them.

 

[BKennedy]

I ordered them. When installed I will report back. During the chat I was asked what system I currently have. He said that the system was decent, but I would never get good sound out of those Boss speakers. He said they sell that brand but he doesn't ever recommend them.

 

[BKennedy]

Crutchfield sent a invoice and a guide that is just for the 91-94 Explorer.

 

[BKennedy]

The speakers arrived today along with the four 1/4" spacers I ordered off eBay. The original spacers for the front doors don't fit anymore due to the cage pillar going through there. I got four of them so I can double them up if they will clear the pillar. I still need to wait for the screens I ordered to protect the front speakers.
Speakers look nice.
Rear

Front

The front component speakers came with several mounting options for the tweeters.
There is a pod mount and then through panel mounts one angled, one flat
Pod mount has a very small mounting surface

Mounting options that are not blocked by someone sitting in the seat, or other stuff within the doors, etc.

1. Would be fairly easy to mount here

2. Not sure if its even doable to mount them here because its nearly impossible to remove the panels due to the cage.

3. Fairly easy to mount, just drill a hole in the metal door behind the screen, but the window motor might interfere with this. Might be able to just drill a hole in the screen and mount them to that.

4. Might have to drill a big hole in the sheet metal of the door to clear the back of the tweeters, but this is a nice location. Up high, out of the way and securely mounted.

What do you audio geeks think??

 

[gmanpaint]

I think your going to be really pleased with the sound difference after install.

Can you surface mount them to the roll cage? Simple zip tie for the wire behind the tube so you can't easily see them? If so the a pillar tubes would be a good place to keep them safe.

I would want to place them anywhere they can't get hit accidentally, or get wet .

 

[410Fortune]

Kicker speakers are really really good for the $$$$
But before I could even type that you already have them! What a day and age we live in.
Put those tweets where they wont get knocked off, bumped into or spilled on
I like to flush mount them in the door panel

Now you are going to want to add a subwoofer after all of this

 

[BKennedy]

I am thinking I will go with the tweeter location in the last picture. Its up high and is in a location where it won't interfere with anything, and it will look nice there if I do it right. It will also be easier to run wires. Need to pull the door panel off to make sure it will clear. Back to work....

 

[BKennedy]

I got the rear door speakers installed. I had one of the old speakers wired backwards. I listened to the stereo before I removed the speakers, then listened again. Those Kickers put out about 3-4 times the bass and are much louder than the POS Boss speakers. Means I can reduce the gain on the amp. I am a little excited now to get the front speakers mounted but still need to wait for the covers to arrive.

A while ago I got these heat shrink solder seal butt connectors so I thought I would give them a try. They have solder built into the shrink wrap. As you heat them up the solder is released and solders the wires together. They worked very well on the speaker wires, but they have to be held in place while they shrink. In a tight space they might not work very well, but for speaker wires they seem to work great. In the picture, black wire has had heat applied, orange wire has not.

Workbench visual speaker comparison pictures

It took longer that I planned because I found that the door pull handles separated from the door panels, so I had to do some gluing and plastic welding. Then, when I got the panels mounted back on the doors, I noticed that one of the speaker grills had come loose. Remove panel, plastic weld it back on, reinstall...

 

[gmanpaint]

Kickers are going to sound amazing compared to those old speakers. The fronts are actually woofers, so the bass increase will be dramatic. Cool beans!

When I use those solder shrinks, I tin the wires together first with regular higher temp solder, then slip them over and heat up. I also heat the solder ring until it actually melts and runs both directions into the wire strands. After you do a few of them, you can tell when to stop applying heat, so you don't burn the shielding away. I use a butane solder for them, to pinpoint the heat. They work well, and I like them in tight spots. Easier to heat them up, then to get a crimp tool in there sometimes. You can use a simple alligator clip to clamp one side to the wire, to free up a hand to hold the other side, if you need to stop it from moving on you.

 

[BKennedy]

The solder melted, the band you see is discoloration from the solder in the plastic. It ran in both directions and made a good bond. I tested them out first on some scrap wire. I cut the shrink wrap off after and couldn't pull the wires apart. Pretty clever design. I use a good old cheapo HF heat gun so I don't have to worry about burning the wrap.

 

[Paul]

You guys are making me wish I wasn't tone deaf (or regular deaf . . .).

 

[BKennedy]

I worked on the front component speaker install on and off today. Was slammed with phone calls and emails about upcoming work I am trying to schedule. Nothing for 2 months, then all the sudden they want the moon and stars in a few days.

First, I figured out that the woofers would fit, and clear the window tracks and the cage A pillar with two of the 1/4" spacers per side. The grills I ordered came today and they will fit as well. After checking fit, I removed the woofers and set them aside. I then figured out where to flush mount the tweeter where I thought it would be out of the way, safe from damage, and high up on the door. Here is where it ended up, and that's where its staying because I cut a big hole in the door panel. I actually did the right side door panel first because I have another one of these in storage.

After I trimmed off the excess of the trim mount sticking out, it clears the steel part of the door without any modifications. After the pic below, I taped down all the wires and taped over the back of the tweeter to help keep dust out. The insulation was folded away in the pic and covers the tweeter as well.

The crossovers have volume settings for the tweeter. I mounted them on the door in one of the few places the panels would clear. There were a few more locations, but all would require pulling the door panel to adjust the volume settings. As we all know, its best to not have to keep removing and installing these old door panels. I opted for under the door lock and window controls because there is plenty of room, its in between the tweeters and woofers, and it allows me to adjust the volume by simply popping out the door control panel and reaching inside.

I put the volume setting in the middle for now, see how it goes when its all installed. Not sure when I will get back to work on this, maybe after the weekend. I still have to do the driver side tweeter mount, shorten all the wires, cover them with loom, etc.

 

[BKennedy]

That was quick. I couldn't wait so after dinner I went back out in the garage and got the passenger side mostly finished. Need to attach the door panel as its just hanging there, and then that side will be done.

 

[410Fortune]

very nice install!