mObridge
Active Member
- First Name
- mObridge
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2024
- Threads
- 2
- Messages
- 35
- Reaction score
- 34
- Location
- Huntington Beach, CA
- Vehicle(s)
- 2024 Ford Ranger Wildtrak
- Occupation
- Engineer
- Thread starter
- #16
So we have a test ranger and this is exactly what we tried. We put our amp in and kept the stock speakers, we did a full microphone tune and the results were surprising.
With more power these factory speakers really open up a bit (they are still crap) dont get me wrong), there is significantly more mid bass, clarity was also much improved as now we have more DSP power and more headroom. The sub was still pretty disappointing as it just clipped and distorted whenever we pushed it so we had to dial the gain back. It would be the first thing after an amp swap that I would recommend as it is no doubt the next weakest link.
Here's why I would recommend an amp replacement first. The factory amp is heavily tuned to the factory speakers, so even after you replace the speakers you are still fighting the factory tune and in some cases your system can sound worse depending on component selection.
Let me give you an example: Lets say you swap the factory soft dome tweeters over with some hard dome tweeters. The frequency response between the hard and the soft will be completely different as will the sensitivity this will make the system sound very unbalanced and most likely sound worse. Even if you swap soft for soft, the characteristics of the tweeter will be very different and so will the response.
If you start with an amp you can always add components one at a time from that point forward and adjust the tune accordingly.
Previously before the world of DSP's I would absolutely agree that you always start with speakers but in todays modern systems this is not the case.
With more power these factory speakers really open up a bit (they are still crap) dont get me wrong), there is significantly more mid bass, clarity was also much improved as now we have more DSP power and more headroom. The sub was still pretty disappointing as it just clipped and distorted whenever we pushed it so we had to dial the gain back. It would be the first thing after an amp swap that I would recommend as it is no doubt the next weakest link.
Here's why I would recommend an amp replacement first. The factory amp is heavily tuned to the factory speakers, so even after you replace the speakers you are still fighting the factory tune and in some cases your system can sound worse depending on component selection.
Let me give you an example: Lets say you swap the factory soft dome tweeters over with some hard dome tweeters. The frequency response between the hard and the soft will be completely different as will the sensitivity this will make the system sound very unbalanced and most likely sound worse. Even if you swap soft for soft, the characteristics of the tweeter will be very different and so will the response.
If you start with an amp you can always add components one at a time from that point forward and adjust the tune accordingly.
Previously before the world of DSP's I would absolutely agree that you always start with speakers but in todays modern systems this is not the case.
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