A customer came to WSS Westminster Speed & Sound from Baltimore, Maryland, with his brand-new 2015 Ford F150, looking to dramatically improve the sound quality of his vehicle’s audio system. He had read some of our articles about upgrades we had done to the last-generation F150, so he decided to make the drive out to see us. We went out to the truck with the customer, listened to the audio system with him and noticed that it had the top-of-the-line Sony system with navigation.
After sitting in the truck for a while and listening to its sound system, we both came to the same conclusion: It sounded lifeless and dull, and needed a major upgrade, so off to the sound room we went. We listened to several different products to determine what he liked the best. After doing the demos, we worked up what we felt was the best solution for his needs, and he liked what we put together. We set an installation date, and it was off to the races.
Sometimes Keeping the Stock Radio is The Right Choice
First and foremost, neither the customer nor WSS had any intentions of replacing the stock Sony navigation system. It works very well and looks great in the dash. What it did need was a sound quality overhaul, and that is what we gave him.
Audison Bit10D Handles Audio Signal Processing For This Baltimore F150 Client
The system starts with an Audison Bit10D processor. This is a unique device and, in the right hands, can do wonders for an audio system. The Sony system divides the musical signal into three parts: the subwoofer, front door woofers and front tweeters. In this instance, we were able to get a full range signal by summing the front door woofers and the tweeters. The Bit10D handles all of the summing for us. In simple terms, summing is where we take the musical signal that Ford divided up and put it all back together into one complete piece, giving us a good base from which to start.
The second thing the Bit10D does for us is de-equalize the music. Ford decided, in its infinite wisdom, to add an equalization curve to the music, to try to get its inexpensive speakers to sound better. When you do a nice audio upgrade, the equalization Ford added will hurt the sound quality, not help it. Now we have a full-range musical signal with no added equalization, just like the original recording.
Now that we have a good-quality musical signal to build upon, we use a powerful processor inside of the Bit10D to fine-tune the musical signal that will go to each speaker.
Sometimes Less Is More: Great Sound From Hertz And Audison Speakers
One of the saddest things happening in modern car audio systems is the use of way too many speakers. Car makers put dozens of speakers in a vehicle in the name of sound quality, when in reality, it is all about marketing. If you do a comparison online between two different trucks, all things being equal, what seems more impressive: the one with six speakers or the one with nine? I think you get the point. This F150 had 11 total speakers in it; when we were finished, it had five. Many, many times, less can be more and this was one of them. Thanks to proper design, installation and tuning, we made the truck sound significantly better with half the number of speakers.
In the front, we started by completely sound-deadening the front doors to eliminate any rattling or buzzing that could occur from the high-performance speakers being installed. The customer also has less road noise coming through the doors, which is a great thing. In the doors, we installed Audison AV65 6.5” woofers in custom speaker mounts. These speakers have incredible detail and realism, and pack a great midbass punch. Ford installed its tweeters in the A-pillars, and we chose to use that same location for the Hertz 25.4 tweeters. We chose these tweeters because they worked well with the limited space available in the factory locations and because they paired well sonically with the Audison woofers.
We wanted this vehicle to look as stock as possible, so we designed the installation around reusing the Ford speaker grills. If someone peeks inside the window of this truck, the stereo system looks completely original.
Big Bass From A Small Space From JL Audio Subwoofer
When it came time for bass, we went to our friends at JL Audio. They make an enclosure that holds a 10TW3, 10” subwoofer, in a very compact space. We managed to fit it perfectly underneath the rear seat on the passenger side. This particular JL subwoofer has sound quality that is in a league of its own. Kick drums and bass guitars now deliver the impact you would experience in a live performance, with the sound quality you would hear only in a recording studio. And it can do this in an enclosure about the size of two shoe boxes.
Big Power From A Small Amplifier From JL Audio
So now we have a great musical signal, and we have all of our speakers. For power, we went to JL Audio again, and chose their XD1000/5V2, a five-channel amplifier that puts out a clean 1,000 watts of power in an extremely compact footprint. In our application, it supplied each of the front speakers with 75 watts of clean power, for a total of 300 watts on the front stage and 600 watts for the subwoofer. Having this amount of power allows the customer to achieve concert-level output without straining, so every little nuance in the music comes through crystal-clear.
We installed the amplifier and processor behind the rear seat on a custom amp rack, completely hidden from view. We installed the controller for the processor to the left of the steering wheel in a convenient spot for the customer to access while keeping it out of plain view.
The Audio Tuning Experts At WSS Westminster Speed & Sound Achieve Incredible Results
What many people may not know is that what separates a good-sounding audio system from a great-sounding audio system is the tuning. This knowledge is what separates a great car audio shop from everyone else. WSS Westminster Speed & Sound has been tuning car audio systems for 25 years, and our highly skilled and expertly trained staff have thousands of dollars of test equipment at their disposal. We spend significant time on poring over every detail to extract every last ounce of sound quality that the customer deserves to get. In particular, the Audison Bit10D has a 31-band equalizer per speaker, along with dedicated crossovers, and digital delay settings. In the right hands, the results are incredible.
When you sit in this Baltimore F150 client’s truck, the sound can no longer be localized at every speaker location. You do not hear the majority of the sound coming out of the door closest to you. The sound is spread across the dash with each instrument properly placed, as though you were at an intimate jazz club.
We did leave the rear speakers intact, in the event sound is needed for rear-seat passengers. Under normal conditions, the customer just keeps the sound faded all the way to the front, as playing the rear speakers will muddy it up. A rear-seat passenger who is dead-set on hearing music out of those doors simply adjusts the fader to turn up the rear speakers.
We have to tell you that we were thrilled with the outcome of this vehicle, and the customer couldn’t believe the improvement in sound quality. He was thrilled, too!
WSS Westminster Speed & Sound, Your F150 Experts
If you own a new F150 and would like to improve the sound quality of your stereo system, we invite you to stop by WSS Westminster Speed & Sound with your truck. We will work with you one-on-one to design and install an audio upgrade that works best for your needs.
You can also contact us here for more information about any of our products and services.
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