Well it's begun. So far I've added some JL Audio ZR650-Csi separates in the front doors. It's actually been pretty easy and it seems as if these speakers and crossovers were literally built for this car. I'm not done uploading photos, so there's more to come.
Eventually I'll be doing something different for the sub, and I'll add an amp for the new front speakers as well. Audio control is coming out with a new processor later this month called the LCQ-1 that I think will fit the bill and allow me to integrate nicely after the Sony amp. More on that later this summer as I continue to build the system bit by bit. It won't be anything elaborate. Stealth is one of my main goals...I don't want to advertise.
This picture shows the mounting depth from the sheet metal at the top of the mid-woofer cut-out in the door. It measures about 3.5 inches.
And this is the mounting depth from the bottom of the hole. About 3 inches. Keep in mind that by using the mounting ring I did, I gave myself about another inch of clearance. The JL mid's mounting depth is 2.65 inches, so even without the mounting ring I used I would still have had room.
Here's another look at the cut-out in the door. The black window track on the right side shouldn't get in the way of most speaker magnets. When centered on the cut-out, the JL mid's magnet didn't even come close to it. Plenty of room.
Here's are the holes I used to mount the mid to the door. The red arrows point to holes that were already there and they just happened to line up perfectly with the mid and mounting ring so I used them. I drilled a third hole (yellow arrow) into the door for another. I was not able to use a top (fourth) hole because the size of the cut-out was too large. But with the 3 screws I did use, the mid was securely attached and there was no need for a fourth.
Here's the Sony mid mounted to the door. The silver screws you see are what is holding the speaker to the door. The black screws are what is holding the speaker to the mounting ring. Note the absence of a screw in the uppermost hole.
Here's the finished product. As before, the door had a perfect cubby for the crossover. How cool is that? I'm telling you, that just never happens. Since the Sony amp (or crossover) sends separate wires to the Sony mid and tweeter, I just used them to wire the JL crossover in bi-amp mode sending the tweeter wire to the tweeter input and the mid wire to the mid input on the JL crossover. I then ran wires from the crossover to the JL mid and tweet. Once I get my AudioControl LCQ-1 and use an aftermarket amp I will have to modify the wiring just a bit but that shouldn't be a problem.
Here's a picture of the Sony mid and its connector. Notice how both wires are black, hence no visible distinction between positive and negative. But I did mark the polarity:
Here's the back of the Sony mid. This is one way to see which black wire was positive and negative. The other test (which I used to confirm polarity) is called the "pop" test. Take a AA battery and connect short leads of speaker wire to each end. Take the wire from the positive end of the battery and hook it up to the positive terminal of the speaker in question (if not known, just choose one). Briefly touch the wire hooked up to the negative end of the battery to the negative terminal (or other terminal, if not known) of the speaker. If you have them correctly hooked up (i.e., positive to positive and negative to negative) the speaker cone should "pop" outwards towards you when looking at the front of the speaker. If it "pops" inward, then the polarity is reversed. I used this process to confirm the proper polarity of both the mids and tweeters, just to be sure Sony had them marked correctly. You can do the same with subs, but you might have to use a 9 volt battery if a AA doesn't have enough juice to get the cone to move.
Here's the back side of the passenger tweeter. The positive wire is the green one with the orange stripe:
I already did the driver's side speakers earlier in this thread but failed to take photos of the wires. The woofer wires on the driver's side are the same as the passenger side, they're both black. But here's a pic of the driver's side tweeter. The positive wire is the purple one with the orange-ish stripe.
While I was at it I decided to check out the center channel. To be honest, I wasn't sure how much (if any) sound this sucker was putting out. I've tried to get my head close enough to hear it, but I really couldn't hear much.
To get the center channel out, I used my pry tool and carefully went around the grill in a circular pattern and carefully pried it out (notice I used the word "carefully" twice). It's wasn't hard, but it takes a little patience because I didn't want to break anything. It's in there pretty good.
Once I had it out I faced it towards me and was surprised how much volume was coming from it compared to the door speakers. I then disconnected it and was really surprised how much I noticed its absence. Which, I have to say, was a good thing. I always thought the Sony system in the Focus was mediocre at best, with one of my complaints being a harshness at higher volumes, with a moderate amount of distortion in the upper end. Once I disconnected the center channel most if not all of that was gone. GONE!! No more center channel speaker for me!!
So are you wondering how much presence around the dash/windshield area I would miss without the center channel? Yeah, me too. But I'm happy to say with the added clarity of the JL speakers vs. the Sonys, the center channel is not missed at all. Not a bit. Evidently the center channel is not a "true" center channel, meaning it's not receiving any sort of dedicated music material that's unique to it. I'm assuming all it is is just a summed mono signal. So it's been permanently unplugged.
I really didn't notice too much difference in sound quality when I had only done the driver's side speakers. However, with both sides now done I have to say the difference is quite noticeable. It's much more musical, detailed and articulate, and easier on the ears too. (The easier on the ears part is probably mostly due to the center channel being shut off now.)
Here's some pictures of the center channel speaker and the cavernous hole left in the dash when the grill is removed. The yellow arrow is pointing to the speaker connector. I took the photo through the windshield so the bottom of the photo is facing the front of the car:
Hi Tony,
I am deciding whether or not to get the MFT/Sony system package for my SEL. Which one do you think would have better sound, I get a 6-speaker system and then change the speakers aftermarket (but that's as far as I will go, wont add amp or anything else) vs just the stock Sony system? Thank you very much
Wish I could help. There's a ton of technology in the MFT (when it works) that is worth the upgrade alone, if you have use for it. I can't compare the stock stereo vs. the Sony. If you could get MFT w/o the Sony that might be an option, but I don't think you can do that. This is something that a TON of people on this forum have grappled with. Sorry I can't be more help.
Thanks for replying, Tony.
However, my question is if I get 4 new aftermarket speakers to replace the stock ones, do you think it would be better than sony system?
I found the biggest difference when I disconnected the center channel, which was producing some distorted, shrill high notes. I didn't realize this was the case until I did this, and the results surprised me. Of course, this is fairly subjective.
I did notice a difference in SQ when I replaced the front speakers with the JL Audios, but it was not as pronounced as I thought it would be. I suspect the Sony's system biggest fault lies in amplification and (possibly) equalization. I don't think the Sony speakers are that bad actually, with the center channel being an exception.
I will also make an educated guess and say that changing the sub, or at least providing more power and less (or more) equalization to it will make a huge difference as well.
I realize you're asking a simple question and I'm not really giving you a simple answer. Truth is, what my ears hear (or don't hear) might be different than yours. There are a few others who have swapped the Sony speakers out, I'd love to hear their input as well.
In a nutshell? Maybe. Was it worth the big bucks I spent replacing the Sonys with JL Audios? Not quite yet. Getting rid of the crappy center channel (or maybe it wasn't the speaker per se, but the amplification and/or equalization) was a much bigger improvement - and it was free! What I think will make a huge difference is when I eventually add my own amp(s) to replace the Sony one, in which case I think my JL investment will start to pay off.
Tony407 makes a lot valid points but seems to be moding the sony system. tvp90 is asking about moding the six speaker non sony system to get similar results to the sony system.
So the simple answer is most likely going to be that changing the speakers on the non-sony system one for one is not going to make a dramatic difference. Now adding an aftermarket EQ and adding sub w/amp would make a much bigger difference.
Got an email from Crutchfield saying my AudioControl LCQ-1 has shipped out! Been waiting for over 2 months and coincidentally I got the email on my birthday!! Can't wait to get my greedy little hands on it... [grinking]
Hey guys, I think I blew out my driver side tweeter today since I hear a rattle when the bass hits sometimes....I think this is the tweeter anyways? How do I fix that? Thanks!
Great stuff buddy, thanks! Quick question for ya, or anyone else who might know. What is the stock amp that comes with the 10-speaker system in the titanium? I'm assuming it's a Sony, but I was curious to which one, and whether or not it is an analog or digital amp. Thanks for the help,
Tony, what do you think about something like this in the stock 6-speaker sound system in an SEL? It's not the Sony system and not the MFT system. I just want this in the trunk like the sound package with the sub in our Foci.
I've heard a lot of good things about the Basslinks.
I'm really not sure how those get wired in, and I can only assume that you tap into one of the speaker leads.
You should be able to download an owner's manual for the Basslink on Crutchfield's website, and that will at least get you started. Sorry I'm not more help, but I'm not familiar with the 6-speaker system wiring. In principle it should be fairly straightforward though.
Because there are two separate sets of wires coming from the Sony amp to the tweeter and midwoofer. When I hooked up my JL midwoofer to the wires that went to the Sony tweeter, all I got was treble.
I do not believe so. Biwiring implies two sets of inputs into two sets of outputs.
The way around this is to hook up the tweeter wires to your new tweeter and the midwoofer wires to your new midwoofer and not to use the crossover that came with your new speakers.
The problem you might have with this is that the cutoff frequencies the Sony system has set up for their speakers may differ from yours. By how much I have no idea. Also, when I installed my JL speakers in place of the Sonys I really didn't hear that much of a difference. It wasn't until I added the LCQ-1 (which is what sums the tweeter and midwoofer signals) and my aftermarket amp that I actually noticed a difference in sound quality. And it was a big difference.
Without the info you've provided I think many of us would really be up a creek without a paddle (if not already).
As for me, given what you've cleared up...I think I'll be leaving it for the installer to nut out. Looks like it's a little beyond my humble straight swap installations.
Would it be possible to add tweeters to the 4 speaker package that comes on the S/SE?
My car has the same spot where it looks like a tweeter (should) be, but obviously there isn't one there. Are there separate harness connections for it in the 6 speaker model? Or are the tweeter and the front speaker just wired in series?
Big thumbs up to Tony407 for the information provided in post #42. Since day one I have been so disappointed with the mediocre sound of this Sony system.
After reading the post, I immediately headed out to the garage, removed the center grill and proceeded to remove the center speaker. Instant transformation. I spent 30 minutes in the car going through several songs and can say with confidence that this is the cure.
I can live with this system now and best of all it was free and took 15 minutes to accomplish.
I just came up from rummaging around in the basement. I found 2 pair of new in the box JL Audio C5-650's that will find a new home very soon. It's all your fault Tony [cheers]
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