Explorer Front Stock Speaker Upgrade - Sony System

[mwittman77]

I apologize that this has most likely already been asked. When searching the forum I found descriptions and details of audio upgrades that some folks have done, but I wasn't looking to do a complete high-end component replacement from A-Z like some of the threads.

Basically, I'm just wanting to know if anyone has done a simple speaker replacement and if so, how much did it help with rounding out the sound of the factory system?

Also, and this may be something I could search for and find the answer but I'll ask anyway, what is the factory speaker layout for the Standard Sony system? My thoughts are basically just doing specific speaker upgrades and going from there. I don't want to lose storage space to a sub at this point, so factory speaker replacement is my first choice.

Thanks for any info or links you can provide!

 

[Stephen Cannon]

Although I can not speak specifically for the Explorer since this is my first one I can say that in the Taurus (X3, 2 SEL NON SONY and 1 SHO SONY) the speaker replacement was a VERY GOOD START on overall sound system improvement. It was and is still my considered opinion that the factory stereo system itself was pretty decent, the weak link was the door speakers. I finally figured out on the 2nd SEL that I could add some 6X9 to the rear deck and tap into the rear odor wiring as a power source. I went with Kenwood 6X8 on the doors and Kenwood 6X( rear deck and it was night and day difference. I did wind up getting a Kenwood low profile under seat combination SUB/AMP to increase quality but just changing the cheap OEM speakers to a decent set of good name brand speakers was a very good start. I suspect that will probably be the same case. I have a set of 6X8's that I didn't get around to adding to my Expedition so I will try them in the Explorer.

 

[Zodiac]

I apologize that this has most likely already been asked. When searching the forum I found descriptions and details of audio upgrades that some folks have done, but I wasn't looking to do a complete high-end component replacement from A-Z like some of the threads.

Basically, I'm just wanting to know if anyone has done a simple speaker replacement and if so, how much did it help with rounding out the sound of the factory system?

Also, and this may be something I could search for and find the answer but I'll ask anyway, what is the factory speaker layout for the Standard Sony system? My thoughts are basically just doing specific speaker upgrades and going from there. I don't want to lose storage space to a sub at this point, so factory speaker replacement is my first choice.

Thanks for any info or links you can provide!

Did you ever get this figured out?

I've been interested in getting a bit more out of the sound quality but the handful of shops I've visited have quoted me $1k+ for a complete overhaul of the system instead of just replacing the speakers.

 

[karlos2]

Try to contact crutchfield. They can give suggestions that will fit your budget.

 

[mwittman77]

Did you ever get this figured out?

I've been interested in getting a bit more out of the sound quality but the handful of shops I've visited have quoted me $1k+ for a complete overhaul of the system instead of just replacing the speakers.

No, I must have been going through a phase at the time or something, cause as of late I've been digging the sound. I do still contemplate upgrading the subwoofer, but haven't looked into it too deep yet. I've heard some folks just replace the factory with a slightly better quality woofer without doing an amp, and it adds some improvement. I'd think anything high-end though will require an amplifier though.

 

[xartic]

I have the Sony speaker setup on my 14 Sport and am in the process of upgrading the speakers. I'm stuck on the 6x9's in the front since most setups are 2/3/4 way speakers and the stock Sony speaker is a 1-way speaker. I realize the tweeter is wired into the stock setup so I will be leaving that in place.

Would finding a 1 way speaker for the 6x9 and leaving the tweeter alone yield the best results? I'm not trying to power the speakers from an aftermarket amp (as of yet).

 

[Michael Blackburn]

I would go with a 6 3/4 round component speaker setup.
Something like this.

Rockford Fosgate P1675-S

Punch Series 6-3/4" component speaker system

www.crutchfield.com

If you are going to amp the speakers these:

Rockford Fosgate T1675-S

Power Series 6-3/4" component speaker system

www.crutchfield.com

Don't forget that with the Sony system you need a lc7i interface or similar to convert the Sony amp output to low level for the new amp.

Fritz

 

[peterk9]

I have the Sony speaker setup on my 14 Sport and am in the process of upgrading the speakers. I'm stuck on the 6x9's in the front since most setups are 2/3/4 way speakers and the stock Sony speaker is a 1-way speaker. I realize the tweeter is wired into the stock setup so I will be leaving that in place.

Would finding a 1 way speaker for the 6x9 and leaving the tweeter alone yield the best results? I'm not trying to power the speakers from an aftermarket amp (as of yet).

If you use the 'Search' feature on "speaker upgrades" or "audio upgrades", you will find many more threads on audio/speaker upgrades. Here are just 2 of the many threads.

Replaced the stock Sony speakers

For my birthday I decided to treat myself to new speakers in the Explorer. I have the Sony system, and decided that while it is nice, it doesn't truly excel the way I want it to. For the fronts I installed JBL GT7-96, which are 6x9" 3 way speakers. For the rear doors, I installed Infinity...

www.explorerforum.com

Pics of my audio upgrade

This is very pic heavy. Let me know what you guys think. The system sounds phenomenal and sub looks great! Thought some of you guys might want to see what could be done if you were interested in upgrading the sound system from the Sony premium speakers. I'll try to show these in order as best...

www.explorerforum.com

Perhaps they will give you some ideas.

Peter

 

[xartic]

Thanks guys, but what I'm looking for is replacing the 6x9's with another set of 6x9's since I have the metra spacer already in possession.

None of those threads mentioned anything about replacing the 6x9's with a set that is component only and leaving the stock tweeter. I would like to give full power to the main 6x9 speaker without worrying about powering additional speakers (tweeters on the 6x9). I'm looking for cleaner bass/midrange. All that I seem to find on here are people replacing the component 6x9 with a coaxial 6x9.

Another question, is there any information on if there is a crossover on the speaker so the high range isn't sent through it, but rather than the tweeter?

I would go with a 6 3/4 round component speaker setup.
Something like this.

Rockford Fosgate P1675-S

Punch Series 6-3/4" component speaker system

www.crutchfield.com

If you are going to amp the speakers these:

Rockford Fosgate T1675-S

Power Series 6-3/4" component speaker system

www.crutchfield.com

Don't forget that with the Sony system you need a lc7i interface or similar to convert the Sony amp output to low level for the new amp.

Fritz

Thanks for the recommendation, but I wasn't looking to spend 150 for the front doors and finding a nice component 6x9 without a tweeter seems impossible.

 

[Michael Blackburn]

There really is no point replacing a mediocre factory speaker with a cheap aftermarket speaker.
Crutchfield has several 6x9 component speakers starting at $112 for a scratch and dent special.

Pioneer TS-A692C

A-Series 6"x9" component speaker system

www.crutchfield.com

They also ship the metra kit free when you buy a set of speakers so you can put in the 6 3/4 component woofer.
Here for $73 with free harness and metra adapters:

Rockford Fosgate R1675-S

Prime Series 6-3/4" component speaker system

www.crutchfield.com

Also on mine the tweeters had a bandpass capacitor installed. However, the Sony amp does seem to provide some bandpass filtering. Some threads said that pulling subwoofer signal from the rear or front speakers resulted in weak bass so the amp may limit the frequencies. Pulling signal from the sub output gave better lows.

On my upgrade I have a 5ch amp, running the front, rear and subwoofer. The two door tweeters, front center and two back are handled by the factory amp to maintain the alert audio. The front door component speakers use an external bi-amped crossover that came with the speakers. This allows the 5ch Amp to power the woofer part and the Sony amp to power the tweeter.
The lc7i interface is set to sum all 3 inputs and send the full combined signal to the amp on all 3 outputs.

Fritz

 

[xartic]

I ended up ordering Rockford Fosgate P1692 for the front, and P1650 for the rear. Ended up buying from Crutchfield as they provide the speaker adapters and mounting brackets free of charge, total cost was $197. Will be sending the other adapters I ordered from Amazon back.

 

[CD_Donaldson]

I've been searching but can't find the answer in what little downtime I have. So my 2016 has the 390 watt Sony system and I just want to know if I'm able to only upgrade the speakers and not the amp. I don't want to have to mess with the amp and stuff, but don't know if I'll throw everything off by just upgrading all the door speakers sound-wise. Anything other than the stock paper cones. Thanks in advance!

 

[Fix4Dirt]

I've been searching but can't find the answer in what little downtime I have. So my 2016 has the 390 watt Sony system and I just want to know if I'm able to only upgrade the speakers and not the amp. I don't want to have to mess with the amp and stuff, but don't know if I'll throw everything off by just upgrading all the door speakers sound-wise. Anything other than the stock paper cones. Thanks in advance!

by replacing speakers you should be fine. the amp balanca fade etc shouldnt be affected, ss the speakers are just the last "link" in the chain, and wont affect the amp any. in my experience, the only way to go is up with the sound mods!

 

[MM07]

No, I must have been going through a phase at the time or something, cause as of late I've been digging the sound. I do still contemplate upgrading the subwoofer, but haven't looked into it too deep yet. I've heard some folks just replace the factory with a slightly better quality woofer without doing an amp, and it adds some improvement. I'd think anything high-end though will require an amplifier though.

Just did mine, big difference.

2018 Explorer Speaker Install

 

[MM07]

Here’s what I did.

2018 Explorer Speaker Install

I have decided to document the install of my new speakers. I just received them today from Crutchfield. Kicker 3 1/2" for the center - Kicker 43DSC3504 DS Series 3-1/2" 2-way car speakers at Crutchfield Rockford Phosgate R165-S for the Front doors and tweeters - Rockford Fosgate R165-S Prime...

www.explorerforum.com

 

[peterk9]

I've been searching but can't find the answer in what little downtime I have. So my 2016 has the 390 watt Sony system and I just want to know if I'm able to only upgrade the speakers and not the amp. I don't want to have to mess with the amp and stuff, but don't know if I'll throw everything off by just upgrading all the door speakers sound-wise. Anything other than the stock paper cones. Thanks in advance!

Welcome to the Forum.
Your thread was merged with this existing one. There are several threads on this topic.

Anyone upgraded their stock speakers

The 2014 Limited I just traded in had a much more robust sound system than my new 2017. So much so that I'm thinking about upgrading all the stock speakers. Has anyone done this? Would changing out the speakers void my warranty?

www.explorerforum.com

2017 XLT Audio Speaker Upgrade

Hello All! This is my first real post. So, I'm in the process of upgrading my 2017 XLT audio 7 speaker system. I have removed all door speakers and actually modified the rear doors. I have put Kicker CS series component 6x9's in the front doors and Kicker DS series 6x9 coaxils in the rear...

www.explorerforum.com

Peter

 

[CD_Donaldson]

by replacing speakers you should be fine. the amp balanca fade etc shouldnt be affected, ss the speakers are just the last "link" in the chain, and wont affect the amp any. in my experience, the only way to go is up with the sound mods!

Awesome. So it should still sound fine? Like the sound/volume from the new speakers won't be too low or anything? And it's worth doing just the speakers?

 

[Fix4Dirt]

Awesome. So it should still sound fine? Like the sound/volume from the new speakers won't be too low or anything? And it's worth doing just the speakers?

nope, it wont make a difference! all speakers do is play the audio sent by the HU and amp! in my experience at least they wont mess wil volume etc in any way percievable to me (and j still got em young ears!) the ONLY way it can sound worse is if you get lower quality speakers. it can only sound better, upgraded to the kicker cs series in my 2nd gen, best bang for the buck mod imo, sounded much crisper and sharper and more detail. for the cost, its the best mod imo for sound! especially to do away with paper whizzed cones!

 

[CD_Donaldson]

nope, it wont make a difference! all speakers do is play the audio sent by the HU and amp! in my experience at least they wont mess wil volume etc in any way percievable to me (and j still got em young ears!) the ONLY way it can sound worse is if you get lower quality speakers. it can only sound better, upgraded to the kicker cs series in my 2nd gen, best bang for the buck mod imo, sounded much crisper and sharper and more detail. for the cost, its the best mod imo for sound! especially to do away with paper whizzed cones!

You've lifted my anxiety lol. Thank you so much!!

 

[Fix4Dirt]

nope, it wont make a difference! all speakers do is play the audio sent by the HU and amp! in my experience at least they wont mess wil volume etc in any way percievable to me (and j still got em young ears!) the ONLY way it can sound worse is if you get lower quality speakers. it can only sound better, upgraded to the kicker cs series in my 2nd gen, best bang for the buck mod imo, sounded much crisper and sharper and more detail. for the cost, its the best mod imo for sound! especially to do away with paper whizzed cones!

also for me i noticed that now with tweeters (tho i assume yours has) the highs were much better, and much more bass from woofer. unfortunately i never got a video of it, but i can say in my experience i dont regret it! what speakers are you looking at?