Upgrading the Factory Amp.

[Camarofan]

Is it possible to upgrade the factory amp and keep my factory head unit. About halfway up on volume it doesn't get any louder, and i have to buy new speakers anyway, I found a set i could afford, so i figured i'd buy a better/bigger amp to go with them.

 

[DjDom]

Factory head unit destroys bass past 40%.

But, it is possible. Get a 4 channel amp with speaker line level inputs, and you can do it. But in all honesty, spend the money on a headunit and by pass the amp.

 

[Camarofan]

If i run an aftermarket amp, will it still cut bass? I've read it doesn't for other vehicles. And if it has the high level/Speaker line amp, do i need a LOC?

At some point i'm going to get a double din, but i don't have the money for one right now.

 

[DjDom]

It will still cut bass. The head unit itself is what sends the sound, so regardless of amp, the head unit is the limiting factor.
Save up for that double din, it makes a huge difference in sound.

 

[chefduane]

It will still cut bass. The head unit itself is what sends the sound, so regardless of amp, the head unit is the limiting factor.
Save up for that double din, it makes a huge difference in sound.

++1 on that! I swapped my Mach headend for a nice double din K'wood. Upgraded door speax and sub, and retained the factory amp. Sounds great. Keep the amp, put your money into the head unit.

 

[Camarofan]

Well, will the factory push 60x4 RMS for a few months without melting the carpet, or cable ties if i remount it? It typically gets hot at 35-50% volume, bass and treble are maxed, and i have an equalizer on my phone.

And thanks guys, i'll just splurge out on the system, i'm sure a new HU would make the Rockfords sound so much better than the factory.

Edit-
I've been reading on the Double Din installation, is the non premium stereo a 1.5 din? Mine has the cassette and an auto set button.

 

[DjDom]

Well, will the factory push 60x4 RMS for a few months without melting the carpet, or cable ties if i remount it? It typically gets hot at 35-50% volume, bass and treble are maxed, and i have an equalizer on my phone.

And thanks guys, i'll just splurge out on the system, i'm sure a new HU would make the Rockfords sound so much better than the factory.

Edit-
I've been reading on the Double Din installation, is the non premium stereo a 1.5 din? Mine has the cassette and an auto set button.

It is a 1.5 DIN.
You have to trim the lips of the dash where the radio goes in. Fairly easy with a dremel or another tool like that.

Don't listen when people tell you a 2 DIN won't fit.
It does.

 

[Camarofan]

I knew it'd fit, I didn't know if I needed a new bevel or not. But I'm going to order it a Pioneer for Amazon tonight, and probably the speaker adapters if it doesn't already have them.

Is an amp bypass a pain to do? Or is it something that can be done at in a 2 hour period?
I'm new to the whole audio thing, so I'm trying to figure out as much as I can before I do it.

 

[DjDom]

I knew it'd fit, I didn't know if I needed a new bevel or not. But I'm going to order it a Pioneer for Amazon tonight, and probably the speaker adapters if it doesn't already have them.

Is an amp bypass a pain to do? Or is it something that can be done at in a 2 hour period?
I'm new to the whole audio thing, so I'm trying to figure out as much as I can before I do it.

I left the stock amp in place.
Honestly, it's not as bad as you'd think.
The head unit limits the amp, the amp itself puts out quite some power.

 

[Camarofan]

So you hooked the factory up to the aftermarket head unit?
With a limited budget, it'd be nice to save a Hundred bucks.

 

[chefduane]

So you hooked the factory up to the aftermarket head unit?
With a limited budget, it'd be nice to save a Hundred bucks.

I've posted this before in another thread but... I retained the factory amp, dropped in a direct fit Kenwood Excelon KFCXW800F shallow mount 8" subwoofer (make sure you get a shallow mount sub, there's not a lot of depth in the box). The sub is plug'n'play with the amp, just hook it up and go.
I also installed 4 x Pioneer TSG6844R door speakers - again they drop right in the factory door mounts - plug'n'play. And I went with a K'wood DPX500BT double din head unit. You will need a Metra cable kit for hookup (sorry, don't have the P/N) and a Metra Dash Kit to mount the H/U. Whole thing took about 2-3 hours to install - plus or minus think time. The radio bezel does require some modding but no big deal if you take your time a follow the direx in the Metra Dash Kit. Shop around. I did the whole shebang for about $400 and it sounds great. There is a thread called "Show us your double din pics" where you can check out photos. Mine is the one with the dash cam on the dash. And shout out to DJDom for good advice on all things audio-wise on the Explorer.

 

[Camarofan]

So i can hook the amp up to the stereo. I've seen the Double Din page, that's how i knew they fit with some modding, but i didn't know if there was a double din bevel or not. And i don't have a sub, i had the chance to snag everything for the premium/mach sound, but i wasn't going to tear up the perfectly good parts someone else could use to get to it, but is there a place that sells factory boxes? And thanks again guys, i'll have to post some pictures one i can get it all done.

 

[toypaseo]

If you keep your OEM head unit, maybe look into one of these products:

http://www.audiocontrol.com/17612/OEM-Integration.html

I have the LC2i in my setup. OEM head unit to LC2i to aftermarket amp to aftermarket sub.

 

[EvinH]

I've posted this before in another thread but... I retained the factory amp, dropped in a direct fit Kenwood Excelon KFCXW800F shallow mount 8" subwoofer (make sure you get a shallow mount sub, there's not a lot of depth in the box). The sub is plug'n'play with the amp, just hook it up and go.
I also installed 4 x Pioneer TSG6844R door speakers - again they drop right in the factory door mounts - plug'n'play. And I went with a K'wood DPX500BT double din head unit. You will need a Metra cable kit for hookup (sorry, don't have the P/N) and a Metra Dash Kit to mount the H/U. Whole thing took about 2-3 hours to install - plus or minus think time. The radio bezel does require some modding but no big deal if you take your time a follow the direx in the Metra Dash Kit. Shop around. I did the whole shebang for about $400 and it sounds great. There is a thread called "Show us your double din pics" where you can check out photos. Mine is the one with the dash cam on the dash. And shout out to DJDom for good advice on all things audio-wise on the Explorer.

Apologies for the hijack -

Chefduane, do you remember if you had to use the Metra 70-5519 harness and the AFDI-5V voltage step down (Seen this recommendation on an older thread) to incorporate the factory amp? I had an aftermarket HU installed but I think they bypassed the factory amp as no sounds are coming through it. I want to get it back working and then upgrade the door speakers and sub later.

 

[chefduane]

Apologies for the hijack -

Chefduane, do you remember if you had to use the Metra 70-5519 harness and the AFDI-5V voltage step down (Seen this recommendation on an older thread) to incorporate the factory amp? I had an aftermarket HU installed but I think they bypassed the factory amp as no sounds are coming through it. I want to get it back working and then upgrade the door speakers and sub later.

I didn't have to use any harness or step down for the amp/sub connection. The Kenwood KFCXW800 sub was a direct connect with the factory wiring from the amp. I did use the 70-5519 Receiver Wiring Harness for the head unit install. The AFDI-5V eliminates the power on "thump" from some amps but I did not seem to need one. Probably because the sub I used was pretty closely electrically matched with the amp (spec'd at: 50-150 watts RMS - (I think the factory amp is 75watts), peak power 600 watts, frequency response 40-500 Hz, sensitivity 78 dB), AND the head unit and sub were both Kenwood products. (DJDom might have some input on that.) I did use the Metra 95-5817 Dash Kit for the double din mount. So far I am very happy with the system.
Hope that helps!

 

[EvinH]

I didn't have to use any harness or step down for the amp/sub connection. The Kenwood KFCXW800 sub was a direct connect with the factory wiring from the amp. I did use the 70-5519 Receiver Wiring Harness for the head unit install. The AFDI-5V eliminates the power on "thump" from some amps but I did not seem to need one. Probably because the sub I used was pretty closely electrically matched with the amp (spec'd at: 50-150 watts RMS - (I think the factory amp is 75watts), peak power 600 watts, frequency response 40-500 Hz, sensitivity 78 dB), AND the head unit and sub were both Kenwood products. (DJDom might have some input on that.) I did use the Metra 95-5817 Dash Kit for the double din mount. So far I am very happy with the system.
Hope that helps!

Cool. Thanks for the info!