Solved Tony407's Ultimate DIY Audiophile Audio Build

[12secford]

A pillars.

I made custom temporary mounts so I could use a laser pointer to precisely aim my mids and tweets directly at my ears. This system will be a one-seat wonder. Passengers will never hear what I hear, and this is okay with me.

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MDF mounting ring for a Dynaudio MD142 3-inch soft dome midrange.

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Dynaudio 3-inch MD142 midrange, from their Esotec System 362.


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Closeup of the passenger side A-pillar during test fitment. I used small wooden dowels and super glue & insta super glue hardener to precisely aim the midrange at my right ear with the laser pointer. This took awhile.

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Definitely hardcore! You are a fabricator extraordinaire worthy of the ones on the Motor Trend channel. Your tweeter pods gave me an idea for mounting 3" gauges.

 

[joefoss]

Hey, everyone!

Just wanted to share my audio build. I've been doing my own systems since I was 16 years old in 1987. I've done 5 entire system replacements and dozens of substantial updates to every car I've owned. My 2001 Nissan Maxima and I were featured in CarDomain magazine back in the day, and I sent myself through a custom car audio fabrication school at The Install Institute in Florida. I feel like I know more about car audio than pretty much anything I know anything about, and I humbly attest there's still a lot I don't know.

This project started in 2018. I spent seven months in my spare time putting in a no-compromise SQ system in my 2015 Explorer Sport. Then in 2020 I was involved in a head-on highway-speed collision that the other driver and I were lucky to walk away from. My 2015 was totaled so I bought a 2017 Sport and transplanted everything into it. Needless to say, I know my way around the inside of this generation of Explorer! Having said that, I'm not a professional and if there is anything you want to try on your own based on my work here, keep this in mind please.

Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this and gets something useful from it.

Tony

OK, this doesn't have anything to do with fabrication. However, I have a 2014 Explorer Police and I want to replace the standard radio with the upgraded radio from a same vintage Explorer. I got the junk-yard radio because I wanted XM radio.. Radios look the same; both Clairon units. The junkyard radio seems to have upgraded audio as it has an additional heatsink on the side. When swapped, the junkyard radio turns on and displays. but there is no audio despite the indicators show the audio is increasing. The radio is locked on one FM station and will not change. I has a Ford dealer try to change the radio numbers with the vehicle's computer without success. One member at this site, states that the the build number has to be changed. I need a step-to-step direction on how to do this. Can you help? You may want to upgrade your alternator to a 250 amp police alternator. I got mine form a junkyard for $75.00.

 

[joefoss]

Hey, everyone!

Just wanted to share my audio build. I've been doing my own systems since I was 16 years old in 1987. I've done 5 entire system replacements and dozens of substantial updates to every car I've owned. My 2001 Nissan Maxima and I were featured in CarDomain magazine back in the day, and I sent myself through a custom car audio fabrication school at The Install Institute in Florida. I feel like I know more about car audio than pretty much anything I know anything about, and I humbly attest there's still a lot I don't know.

This project started in 2018. I spent seven months in my spare time putting in a no-compromise SQ system in my 2015 Explorer Sport. Then in 2020 I was involved in a head-on highway-speed collision that the other driver and I were lucky to walk away from. My 2015 was totaled so I bought a 2017 Sport and transplanted everything into it. Needless to say, I know my way around the inside of this generation of Explorer! Having said that, I'm not a professional and if there is anything you want to try on your own based on my work here, keep this in mind please.

Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this and gets something useful from it.

Tony

OK, this doesn't have anything to do with fabrication. However, I have a 2014 Explorer Police and I want to replace the standard radio with the upgraded radio from a same vintage Explorer. I got the junk-yard radio because I wanted XM radio.. Radios look the same; both Clairon units. The junkyard radio seems to have upgraded audio as it has an additional heatsink on the side. When swapped, the junkyard radio turns on and displays. but there is no audio despite the indicators show the audio is increasing. The radio is locked on one FM station and will not change. I has a Ford dealer try to change the radio numbers with the vehicle's computer without success. One member at this site, states that the the build number has to be changed. I need a step-to-step direction on how to do this. Can you help? Also, you may want to upgrade your alternator to a police-type 250 Amp. I got my junkyard one for $75.00

 

[Tony407]

OK, this doesn't have anything to do with fabrication. However, I have a 2014 Explorer Police and I want to replace the standard radio with the upgraded radio from a same vintage Explorer. I got the junk-yard radio because I wanted XM radio.. Radios look the same; both Clairon units. The junkyard radio seems to have upgraded audio as it has an additional heatsink on the side. When swapped, the junkyard radio turns on and displays. but there is no audio despite the indicators show the audio is increasing. The radio is locked on one FM station and will not change. I has a Ford dealer try to change the radio numbers with the vehicle's computer without success. One member at this site, states that the the build number has to be changed. I need a step-to-step direction on how to do this. Can you help? You may want to upgrade your alternator to a 250 amp police alternator. I got mine form a junkyard for $75.00.

I'm sorry, I have absolutely no idea about changing the build number on an OEM radio, never even heard of this.

I would love to get an upgraded alternator, but I just haven't gotten around to it yet. Scoring one for $75 is pretty sweet though!

 

[daktari]

Are you available for hire? I'd be willing to make the four hour drive for door/pillar speaker upgrade.

 

[mmorey79]

OK, this doesn't have anything to do with fabrication. However, I have a 2014 Explorer Police and I want to replace the standard radio with the upgraded radio from a same vintage Explorer. I got the junk-yard radio because I wanted XM radio.. Radios look the same; both Clairon units. The junkyard radio seems to have upgraded audio as it has an additional heatsink on the side. When swapped, the junkyard radio turns on and displays. but there is no audio despite the indicators show the audio is increasing. The radio is locked on one FM station and will not change. I has a Ford dealer try to change the radio numbers with the vehicle's computer without success. One member at this site, states that the the build number has to be changed. I need a step-to-step direction on how to do this. Can you help? Also, you may want to upgrade your alternator to a police-type 250 Amo. II got my junkard one for $75.00

You need the "as-built data" changed to match your vehicle. This can be done with the Forscan program and cable, or the dealer can do it. The problem is likely that you pulled a unit from a "premium" sound vehicle, which routes low level signal from the ACM to the Sony or other amp in the trunk (or other location if from a non-explorer). You need the ACM to switch to producing the high level/amplified signal itself. Though if you have a dealer load your factory as built it will disable the HD radio feature if your vehicle didn't have it. Changing stations is probably due to an incompatible switch/button setting.

 

[Tony407]

Are you available for hire? I'd be willing to make the four hour drive for door/pillar speaker upgrade.

Possibly. I've been considering doing some work on the side.

 

[daktari]

Possibly. I've been considering doing some work on the side.

Okay. I'll check back when the lack of high frequencies gets too annoying. haha

 

[igell]

really amazing work.. i truly appreciate great craftsmanship.
I like good audio but not really a big adiophile, want something that's good enough with minimal effort. I am pretty handy but not looking for a big project.
What is the best bang for the buck upgrade for audio quality on these trucks? I have a 15 explorer sport with Sony audio.
I'd prefer to leave the head unit as is and min work/money as I only plan to keep the truck for a few years. Coming from an x5m with a top of the line oem audio i am very underwhelmed by this sony system.
1. muddy and weak base
2. max volume is very low
3. mids and highs are meh
so far I stuffed some pollyfill in to the stock subwoofer.. which made base a little bit better but not much. what are my best options for minimal effort based on your experience?
What i came up with is:
1. install line level converter harness and use the subout to connect another 2ch amp and run sub off of that
2. replace the sub in the stock box with an upgraded shallow mount unit.
thoughts?

 

[Tony407]

really amazing work.. i truly appreciate great craftsmanship.
I like good audio but not really a big adiophile, want something that's good enough with minimal effort. I am pretty handy but not looking for a big project.
What is the best bang for the buck upgrade for audio quality on these trucks? I have a 15 explorer sport with Sony audio.
I'd prefer to leave the head unit as is and min work/money as I only plan to keep the truck for a few years. Coming from an x5m with a top of the line oem audio i am very underwhelmed by this sony system.
1. muddy and weak base
2. max volume is very low
3. mids and highs are meh
so far I stuffed some pollyfill in to the stock subwoofer.. which made base a little bit better but not much. what are my best options for minimal effort based on your experience?
What i came up with is:
1. install line level converter harness and use the subout to connect another 2ch amp and run sub off of that
2. replace the sub in the stock box with an upgraded shallow mount unit.
thoughts?

Given your preferences, I'd suggest adding a small sub box that you can attach to the floor or whatnot behind the 3rd-row seats. Not the same as a stealthy install and you'll some lose cargo space, but that would be the simple solution to weak bass. And easy to take out when you sell the vehicle in a few years. And yes, use a line output converter to tap into the OEM sub wires and then your new amp. You can mount the amp to the box.

You could also try an aftermarket shallow-mount sub in the OEM enclosure and see if that sounds better with or without a new amplifier. I suspect simply replacing the sub with a different one probably won't be worth the effort, whereas doing a sub and amp might be. Choose a sub whose thiele small parameters match the size of the OEM enclosure. You can calculate the OEM enclosure's size by filling it with packing peanuts and then putting them into a cardboard box that you know the size of (like 12"x12"x12" for example). You should choose a sub that if it doesn't sound good in the OEM enclosure like you hope, you can still use it in the first option above.

As far as making the system louder, a lot of people seem to have good luck just replacing the OEM speakers but since this isn't the route I chose I'm not very experienced in this. Might want to search the forums or whatnot.

Hope this helps!