Red Rocket’s Full S650 Mustang Stereo Project (9 Speakers)

[D/\rK•650]

Very impressive indeed!!

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[RedRocket]

I don’t think you can easily add the B&O. I think the front tweeters and center go to the amp for B&O, but are not wired on the 9apkr or 7 speaker. Then the sub too.

 

[PhaseShift]

Excellent write up.

I am doing a full system in a '24 with the B&O OEM setup and will post a similar write up here when complete. That is likely to be a few more weeks, perhaps a month as I am going a bit deeper, but I am glad to see others doing the same.

Anything I 3D print, I will share the files with those interested, but they will be very specific to the drivers I use - and I work for a transducer manufacturer, so not a lot of wiggle room on that.

The factory speakers are some of the cheapest things I have run across, the center channel driver in particular.

 

[PhaseShift]

I don’t think you can easily add the B&O. I think the front tweeters and center go to the amp for B&O, but are not wired on the 9apkr or 7 speaker. Then the sub too.

Correct- and just running new cabling (speaker wires) is cheap and easy in this car, with the exception of the doors which is an entirely different matter. But looking at the total resistance of the speaker wire runs from the amp connector to the door, I found almost 2 ohm of resistance across the circuit in one of the drivers and well over 1 ohm on the others.

 

[glenng6]

Yea! What Stanzi said! Unfortunately, you lost me right after the equipment list! I've done stereo system upgrades and installs. Sometime before Ronald Reagan. It's great to know I made the right decision to stop! Your install is extremely impressive. I would just be happy to have a subwoofer I can hear. My last vehicle, Nissan Titan Platinum Reserve, had the subwoofer mounted under my driver’s seat, and you knew it. With my Stang, I have to get out and feel it to see if it's working. Enjoy your install and know there is at least one Mustang owner that is very jealous. Glenn

 

[RedRocket]

Thank you Glenn!

i was on the fence about taking this car on. I have a Volvo S90 with a bespoke Bowers and Wilkins stereo that is truly world class. The mustang on the other hand is somewhat adequate. But it is probably 6db too quiet for a convertible, and the bass through mid-bass is very underwhelming.

At first, I considered a simple plan. Swap the center with a better speaker, and Swap the two rears with 6.5” subwoofers and a 200w or so amp. Simple. Then just live with the volume deficiency.

Curiosity got the better of me and I started researching a whole system. My go to for basic info, Crutchfield, really had nothing. So I started with S550 information, since the cars are quite similar. Then I went down the rabbit hole on every technical aspect of the car’s audio.

i decided to try a simple speaker swap. That was a mistake, the ANC just cant handle it. The stock amp is garbage. And rally, it’s so low powered, it made things worse. (It’s actually amazing what ford cobbled together to make the stock system, where the parts are all shit, but actually work well enough.

anyways, i was already invested in this project and just went for it. I am well pleased. It’s not spectacular, but far better than the B&O. It was worth the trouble and expense.

 

[glenng6]

Thank you Glenn!

i was on the fence about taking this car on. I have a Volvo S90 with a bespoke Bowers and Wilkins stereo that is truly world class. The mustang on the other hand is somewhat adequate. But it is probably 6db too quiet for a convertible, and the bass through mid-bass is very underwhelming.

At first, I considered a simple plan. Swap the center with a better speaker, and Swap the two rears with 6.5” subwoofers and a 200w or so amp. Simple. Then just live with the volume deficiency.

Curiosity got the better of me and I started researching a whole system. My go to for basic info, Crutchfield, really had nothing. So I started with S550 information, since the cars are quite similar. Then I went down the rabbit hole on every technical aspect of the car’s audio.

i decided to try a simple speaker swap. That was a mistake, the ANC just cant handle it. The stock amp is garbage. And rally, it’s so low powered, it made things worse. (It’s actually amazing what ford cobbled together to make the stock system, where the parts are all shit, but actually work well enough.

anyways, i was already invested in this project and just went for it. I am well pleased. It’s not spectacular, but far better than the B&O. It was worth the trouble and expense.

I get it! And I am just wondering if I don't hear the subwoofer, so well, because my ears don't work so well? Maybe it's not my subwoofer, as much as my eardrums! Glenn

 

[Starship Enterprise]

Amazing conversion! Wow, a spare tire mounted subwoofer!

I bet it sounds awesome!

 

[RedRocket]

Yeah Glenn, I think the Active Noise Cancellation hinders a sub. Turning ANC off with Forscan is pretty easy. Worth a try.

 

[RedRocket]

Thanks Starship!

That sub was such an interesting Idea I had to give it a shot. It’s a full 12” sub, with the mount going through the dust cap, voice coils and down to the mounting point. It licks up great.

There are quite a few settings on the remote. Power is good. It’s not like having a really great sub and amp, but much better than many powered sub options I’ve seen. A good compromise.

 

[scoff82]

OP, really great post. I have added an aftermarket subwoofer and amp only so far, using a Kicker KeyLoc LOC. I was able to get rid of ESE with Forscan so I don't hear the exhaust through the sub anymore, but I am still getting a thump from my sub about 1-2 mins after I turn the ignition off. Are you experiencing this with the Maestro adapter?

 

[RedRocket]

I get no turn off thump from the Maestro or JBL.

if using an LOC, and you have a remote turn on lead on the amp, you can run a separate remote wire to the fuse box and tap a fuse that keys off the ignition. That could solve the issue.

 

[scoff82]

I get no turn off thump from the Maestro or JBL.

if using an LOC, and you have a remote turn on lead on the amp, you can run a separate remote wire to the fuse box and tap a fuse that keys off the ignition. That could solve the issue.

Great idea, thanks

 

[RedRocket]

Some Updates amd Pro Tips:

I have refined my JBL EQ settings a bit and wanted to share.

1. I was getting too much rear stage because the rears are so close to the front seats. Even lowering them 6db wasnt enough. So I set them to be woofers only. This let me up their DB to match the front woofers and added a lot of mid bass punch to the system. It’s quite nice.

2. Old audiophile trick. Use time correction to delay the front and rear speakers so the sub fires first. This allows the bass to appear to come fr the front of the car, blending in sound staging. I started with 12ms delay and worked to find the sweet spot.

3. I find 12db per octave on the cross over slopes work best on all of the speakers for proper roll off and blends.

Next I am going to wire in the center as a sum of Ch 1 and 2. It will lower it to 3ohm on average and will be within spec for the jbl. So, left and right fronts will both feed the center. I will let you know how it works out.

 

[buddyg]

Great work!

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