This week in the shop we had the pleasure of working on this Ford Bronco Badlands edition that was in desperate need of a stereo upgrade. This Bronco came equipped with the base 6-speaker audio system featuring a set of 6.5″ kick panel speakers, dash tweeters and rear 4″ sound bar speakers.
The stock Bronco stereo system is very underwhelming due to a couple limiting factors:
- Lack of power
- Low quality original speakers – which are also simply too small in the rear sound bar
- Lack of a subwoofer to reproduce any sort of bass
Your first thought might be to do a Bronco speaker upgrade, but without addressing the core issues above, you are spinning your wheels. You’ll never hear the full potential of higher quality aftermarket speakers unless you include a DSP amplifier to A) clean up the shoddy signal coming from the original radio B) add the power that is missing.
DSP Amplifier necessary for non amplified models
If you happen to have the premium 8 speaker B&O system, you don’t necessarily have to use a DSP amplifier. For OEM amplified models we prefer to use a digital pre-amp adapter such as the PAC Audio AP4-FD31. The pre-amp adapter allows us to get a flat, clean RCA pre-amp level or toslink digital out from the factory radio. From there you could go to a high quality aftermarket amp or one with a DSP included. To learn more about pre-amp adapters, you can check out this video below.
The pre-amp adapter isn’t currently an option for the basic 6 speaker model. That is why in this Bronco speaker upgrade we used the MATCH UP 6 DSP amplifier. Don’t let the size of this compact little amp fool you. It packs a tremendous amount of power and audio control tools making it an amazing value.
The MATCH UP 6 DSP is one of our shops favorite DSP amps to use. It features 4 channels of power at 65 watts plus another 2 at 90 watts RMS @ 4 ohm. The higher powered channels are also 2 ohm stable and deliver 160 watts at that resistance. The MATCH UP 6 DSP is what allows us to analyze and correct the crummy signal coming from the original radio. It features a whopping 31 bands of equalization per channel.
But really – why do I need a DSP amp for my Bronco speaker upgrade?
Have you ever heard the analogy garbage in/garbage out? If you don’t use a DSP amp with your Bronco speaker upgrade, that is essentially what you’re dealing with. Your speakers performance will continue to be throttled unless you include a DSP amp to change that signal from garbage to clean and powerful. Only adding an amp without addressing the quality of signal simply makes that crummy signal louder. To learn more about our shops car audio tuning process, whether it be with a DSP amp or aftermarket head unit, check out the video below.
With a clean audio signal and plenty of power in place, we upgraded the Bronco speakers using the Sony Mobile ES XS-162ES 6.5″ component speakers in front and XS-160ES 6.5″ in the rear.
Using the right Bronco speaker mounting adapters
To upgrade to larger speakers in the rear, we used the Metra 6.5″ sound bar kit FD-BROPOD1. This kit is a must in order to create a nice full range response in the rear. The great part about this accessory is the factory fit and finish. You can barely see the Sony logo under the grille which is perfect. No one will know this Bronco has an upgraded stereo unless they hear it.
For the front 6.5″ kick panel speakers we used speaker mounting adapters and fast rings. A fast ring is a foam ring that goes around the outer edge of the speaker. This helps to create a seal against the panel directing more of the sound waves directly into the cabin, rather than getting lost in the kick panel itself. We also used mounting adapters for the dash tweeters enabling us to neatly mount the new Sony tweeters in the factory location under the original grilles.
These Sony Mobile ES speakers deliver sound quality with high power handling capability. A combo that is hard to beat. To learn more about the Sony Mobile ES speakers, check out my video below.
This Bronco speaker upgrade would not be complete without a subwoofer. Did you know that we can hear down to 20 Hz? Yet your average 6.5″ car stereo speaker can only really effectively play down to about 60 – 80 Hz. Even then it’s typically not even at a high enough output level to overcome things like road noise and wind noise. That’s a pretty big gap in frequency range. This is why you need a subwoofer. To fill in that natural frequency range that is missing from your Bronco car stereo system.
Bronco subwoofer upgrade
The Bronco is tight. Most clients want to utilize the existing cargo space without any compromise. Thankfully Stinger makes a great little 400 watt 12″ subwoofer designed to mount right on the swing gate.
This low profile enclosure looks clean and sounds amazing. Powered by the MATCH UP 1FX shown below. Both amplifiers were mounted discretely under the driver and passenger seat using a vehicle specific amp mounting rack by Stinger Electronics.
With each speaker on its own dedicated channel perfectly tuned and dialed in, we don’t want to change the signal going to them by adjusting the bass level on the original radio. Instead, we leave that at 0 and have the Conductor control knob acting as a dedicated sub level control knob.
Conductor as a sub level control knob
The Conductor is a programmable illuminated control knob specific to the Helix/MATCH family of DSP products. It can be programmed to activate different listening presets such as one for driver, another for driver + passenger or, top up, top down, etc. In this application we used it solely as a sub level control knob.
Our preferred mounting location in the Bronco would be on the center console, but it was too crowded with the aftermarket Best Top power top switch so we mounted it right behind the 4-wheel drive control knob.
A true Bronco stereo upgrade requires the total package
This might seem a bit like an all or nothing approach, but the reality is, if you want to upgrade the audio in your Bronco, you need to address each weakness in the factory system:
- Lack of clean signal
- Lack of power
- Low quality original speakers
- Tiny rear speakers
- Lack of a subwoofer to reproduce any sort of bass
With this quality package of equipment expertly installed by our experienced technicians, this Bronco stereo is ready to be cranked and enjoyed. Doors off, top down, sun on your skin, warm air flowing though the cabin with excellent tunes fully enveloping you. That is my kind of summer. If you’re ready for a Bronco stereo upgrade, reach out to our shop Sounds Incredible Mobile. Call or text us today to learn more.