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ST stereo vs Titanium, which sounded much better

18K views 44 replies 22 participants last post by  Elizabeth 
#1 ·
Bought an Oxford White ST2 with black/blue interior and love it so far, except have some issues with the sound of the stereo.
Sold my 2012 Focus Titanium 5spd with cloth seats, which I also loved.

Comparing the two cars, which should have the same identical Sony audio, the ST just sucks compared to it. The audio in the Titanium was much louder and the bass was also much deeper. I would only have to get the volume 25% or slightly under 50% max. With the ST, volume is at 75% and it still doesn't sound as crisp. Bass is not as deep or as loud either.

Both have the Sony audio what gives?
Anyone else notice this? And no, speed compensation is not on and MyKey was never set.

Really frustrating.
 
#4 ·
I'm pretty sure you might need to play with the audio settings, because for all intents and purposes the systems are 100% identical, and therefore should sound the same when given the exact same source track.
 
#7 ·
No he's right, I had a 2012 Ti and yes the stereo was better sounding and louder. I did some looking and the amps are different revisions. I have access to my 2012 Ti being I sold it to my brothers son. I plan on swapping out the amps to see it this is the problem.
 
#14 ·
One thing I have noticed is that with time (almost 6 months now) the sound of the stereo has improved. Maybe it has taken time to get "used to" but very possibly the sound is smoother, and the bass a bit better due to the speakers breaking in. Poly cones and rubber surrounds (both featured in this system) are very stiff when new which could explain the harsh midrange, poor bass, etc. Now I'm not saying the sound is now magically perfect, far from it, but its better now for certain than the day I drove off the lot. As for why the Ti is/was/might be better, cant say. Since any given Ti is older than most people's STs perhaps the speakers have been broken in a bit more?

Around the time when MFT 3.6.2 came about, I was playing around in the bezel diagnostics section as someone posted the instructions to enter (set to radio, press and hold the eject button & forward-seek button at the same time.) Poking around, the ST is classified as a sedan! If Ford has different DSP settings for body styles this could explain it. It would be great if a 5 door Ti owner could check their body type in diagnostics and confirm.
 
#15 ·
Rmurad38 notes a truth about many audio systems, and not just those in cars: they sound better after a "break-in" period. A not-so-few hours on the electronics and especially the speakers often makes a notable improvement.

I drove a 2013 Ti loaner for a day while a cosmetic delivery issue was being fixed on my ST and noticed a substantial difference in the Sony 10-speaker system's front/center speaker grille. It's much larger and unobstructed in the Ti, smaller and partially blocked by the ST's dash-top gauge cluster. No idea whether the driver(s) might be different as well. The observed difference might be enough to result in a weaker center stage mid-bass/midrange in the ST.
 
#17 ·
OK so I went on car-part.com to find an amp from a 2012 Focus. Called one of the yards and got the VIN number of the car an amp came out of, a `12 hatchback Titanium, perfect.

Got the amp today and put it in. YES there is a very audible difference. Not only is the volume "louder" but the bass has more punch and just more fuller overall.
Volume never has to go over 50% and 20-25% is good for most situations.

Before I did this I went to the dealer and complained of the sound difference between my old Titanium and ST. They didn't care, said take it to service which did nothing as to them it sounds fine. In a sense that is true especially if you haven't heard the better sound.

So the two part numbers:
2012 Focus Hatchback Titanium: CT4T-18B849-AA (amp manf Feb '12)
2013 Focus ST : CT4T-18B849-AF (amp manf April '13)

I'm a happy camper now.
 
#18 ·
So it is confirmed! Thank you kind sir.

But this is interesting though, did Sony/Ford make this power for a reason? Perhaps they realized that speakers would be less likely to blow if they de-powered the amp?

Oh well, on to my goose hunt for a 2012 amp....[hatchet]
 
#20 ·
Finally got a chance to pick up one of these amps.

I can confirm switching amps to part # CT4T-18B849-AA effectively doubles the volume of your radio with no distortion. I'm now listening to music at 25% when I used to listen at 50%. This is how the radio should have come from the factory!

Thanks again quattro1![cheers]
 
#23 ·
The amp in question, is it the one beside the spare tire? What are people paying for the Ti amp? I'm very interested in this swap.
 
#26 ·
Not sure about the Sony system, but my wife's Fiesta has digital time alignment which allows you to select either "driver" or "all". When we bought the car, I thought the stereo was awful until I found that setting, then setting it to "driver". It sounded pretty good then, at least for the driver.
 
#39 ·
This doesn't surprise me.

The person at Ford responsible for signing off on the MFT system (audio-wise, forget the bugs) must be highly incompetent.

My car does not have a proper volume control (a common complaint among MFT owners).
This is audio engineering 101.
 
#41 ·
interesting thread here. I traded in a 13 titanium for a 14 ST3...and wondered what the heck was up once I drove it off the lot. Not that it was a huge deal, but there definitely was a volume difference between the two cars.

I suppose for $35 dollars like whats being quoted in this thread, it's not too big of a risk to check out.

Thanks everyone.
 
#42 ·
Technically your 13 Focus Titanium should have had the later revision amplifier just the same as the ST so you should notice no difference until you changed to the one specified in the forum, as people with both a 13 ti and a 13 ST said it sounded the exact same
 
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