Speakers upgrade only - is it worth it?

[Sykopat]

Having as a second car a Fusion Titanium with the Sony sound system, it quickly became evident while daily driving my Fiesta ST that something had to be done with its OEM sound system. Especially considering that even if it does sound OK, the Sony sound system in the Titanium Fusion is far from the best sounding system on the market.

Since the Fiesta ST is supposed to be our "budget car", I do not want to invest tons of money in a better sound system.
I was wondering if I would replace only the speakers, without adding an amplifier or a subwoofer, could I still get a decent sound out of my car? Would you consider the upgrade worth it? Or without an amp or a sub, it simply will not make enough of a difference? I do know that sound deafening is lacking in the Fiesta, especially compared to the Fusion, so that must play a big role in the audio problems.

Thanks for your input.

 

[Bluedrank]

I've wondered about this myself.

 

[kivnul]

In for answers. My sons 14 FiST (stock) sounds much better than my 16 for what it's worth. There are some songs that I have to cover the drivers tweeter it hurts my ears so much.

 

[TyphoonFiST]

I've been asking this same question for awhile....There are a couple of threads on it currently for bettering the stock system without replacing the headunit...but none have came to fruition with good solid replacements with a sub installed....I have tweeters and front door speakers from Crutchfield I have yet to put in due to time constraints at work and actually wanting to accomplish something when I'm off other than just chill and lay around and do lawn work.

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[Blinkie]

I've got the Sync 3/Sony combo and it sounds pretty good, not great but good.
Listening to Focal and IASCA demo discs shows decent imaging and depth, wimpy bass output but that's to be expected.

I can't begin to comment on the non-Sony system as I don't think we get the base stereo as an option in Canada.

I'm currently working on installing an AudioControl LC2i which will allow me to add an 8" sub and 300 watt Kenwood KAC-M3001 amp, you could replicate this for $350-450 USD. Buying used or using different equipment could reduce the cost a fair bit.
Eventually I expect I'll be doing a full amps+speaker replacement but who knows when, maybe next week, maybe next year.

 

[Clint Beastwood]

Hm - don’t really want to add an amp and sub, bought the car because it was light. I’d be interested in speaker only replacement as well- though I rarely listen to music while driving. Too bad it’s illegal to drive wearing noise filtering iems, I’ve got a huge collection of headphones and custom mold my own iems lol.

(Iem is in ear monitor)

 

[Dpro]

My car came with the Sony system as well its pretty damn decent. I guess they did not always offer it with the Sony System?

 

[kivnul]

Mine is sony. Its junk =( don't think they are consistently good or bad.

 

[Turbo1]

I'm running an ARC xdi 4 channel amp bi amped to power a front pair of CDT coaxial speakers at 2 ohms. Sounds great! Way better than factory speakers. No need for speakers in the back. Just connect the factory speaker lines from the headunit to the amp and then run new wires from the amp to the new speakers.

 

[MeeLee]

The radio and surprisingly woofers are of okay quality.
I found out the only issue on my ST, is what they call 'BBC dip'.
The point at where the tweeters and woofers are crossing over.

I remember faintly reading a post a while ago, about the tweeters being tuned to run without the housing.
The housing (door handle), is actually amplifying certain frequencies making it sound harsh.

Due to a backlog of work, I haven't gotten around it.
But there are some options I was thinking of studying, you could consider:

1- Carefully remove the tweeter from the housing, and use small spacers, separating the tweeter from the housing, and leaving a small gap.
When the tweeters have a space where the sound can return behind the housing, this might solve the harsh sound.
On the other hand, it could make things worse for the bass waves coming through the space between the tweeter and housing.

2- If the above doesn't work, I was thinking of installing a capacitor in series with the tweeter. This will act as a high pass filter. The problem with this, is finding the right capacitor size.
You could easily buy a capacitor pack of different sizes for like $20, and through trial and error, find the right one. It would be a cheap fix, that can be tuned to the volume levels you mostly listen to; and would work well, save for too loud or quiet volume levels might distort the audio a bit.

3- Third option is just replacing the tweeters. Not a lot of info about tweeter systems that fit in the Fiesta. It'll basically be a hit or miss.
I think the woofer doesn't particularly need to be swapped out; it works well for what it's designed for.

4- Buy a crossover. I think this is the most difficult step, as you need to find a power wire, and wire both woofer and tweeter to the same crossover, and mount it somewhere in the door panels.
Active crossovers are often more expensive than tweeters, and are a pain to set up.

 

[TyphoonFiST]

I guess ill be the one who will replace the front speakers and the Tweeters here coming up and let you all know how well it works out. I love this shit......no body ever comes up with what works well or that didn't work well proven data from exp. I have the Sync/Sony system....mine is a 2015. My right side has been getting staticky/ Fuzzy.... then its fine again. I'm just gonna do the Tweeters and the fronty speakers. I cant remember what brand but I will post it here when I'm done.

 

[Dpro]

I guess ill be the one who will replace the front speakers and the Tweeters here coming up and let you all know how well it works out. I love this shit......no body ever comes up with what works well or that didn't work well proven data from exp. I have the Sync/Sony system....mine is a 2015. My right side has been getting staticky/ Fuzzy.... then its fine again. I'm just gonna do the Tweeters and the fronty speakers. I cant remember what brand but I will post it here when I'm done.

It would probably help to find out the stock wattage of the Sony system.

 

[TyphoonFiST]

I'm pretty Sure its a 200watt System....But don't quote me on that.

 

[GAbOS]

Another biggy in any system is to add a little sound deadening in the door, especially behind the woofer. This will help eliminate any additional frequencies created by the door vibrating. Adding some padding or dampining behind the door card to keep it from rattling also helps. They sell foam rings you can cut down to size to place around the front of the woofer that wedges between the door card that work great.

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[danbfree]

Surprised this hasn't been brought up yet as I thought there were other threads on this too or maybe it was just the FB groups but starting in '16 they started using DSP to help protect the speakers, that's why when someone mention their son's '14 sounding better there is truth to that... So this DSP can be disabled in ForScan and at that point speaker upgrades would probably indeed be worth it, there are the 6 3/4" components for like $75 on Crutchfield with needed adapters... Also sound deadening in doors wouldn't hurt at all either with that 6 3/4" driving bass, I just wonder if some light stuffing type stuf would work or would have to go with Dynamat/equivalent lining.

 

[Sykopat]

Thanks to all for the great info, very interesting. TyphoonFiST, let us know how it goes after your install!

 

[Azmodeus]

there are the 6 3/4" components for like $75 on Crutchfield with needed adapters...

I had some cheapo Kicker 6.5" 3 way, from Frys electronics, laying around so I fabricated them to the front stock speaker bezels. A lot of work for just a tad more sound, not quite worth it IMO. Spend the $ for decent "component" ones for sure!

 

[joesiris]

I too think the sony unit is just ok, a lil blah, but its crisp enough. I like the whole range of sound. Im not a bass junkie or anything, but a little would be nice. The dealership says they cant install a sub and amp without voiding warranty, but if you look on the ford website there is an owners tab where you fill find an accessories tab. in that are all kinds of things for the fiesta. among them is an all in one sub/amp box but only for the sedan. And I know they offer a kicker item similar for the focus. So why not for the ST? this is what I really want to know. the unit would provide just enough bass while remaining small enough to keep weight down. Just some thoughts to ponder

 

[danbfree]

I had some cheapo Kicker 6.5" 3 way, from Frys electronics, laying around so I fabricated them to the front stock speaker bezels. A lot of work for just a tad more sound, not quite worth it IMO. Spend the $ for decent "component" ones for sure!

Yeah, was thinking about these as they come with the bracket and wiring harness for only $5 more than Amazon.... https://www.crutchfield.com/p_575R1675S/Rockford-Fosgate-R1675-S.html

 

[XanRules]

When I first got the car I took it to a nice audio shop for a quote - I ultimately balked at the price, but that was for a full overhaul. Let me see if I can find the parts they recommended, I know there was a set of speakers on the list.