Upgrading the sound system with stock DSP/AMP

[omiga]

I want to upgrade my speakers while keeping the amplifier and head unit stock on Mustang S550 2020.
I'm wondering if I can replace the current base 9-speaker amplifier with B&O amplifier; is it "KR3Z18B849CG"? Also, does someone know how I can change the wiring? One of the connectors looks different.

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[Bassackwards]

Your best option is to ditch the oem amp and put a quality amp or two in the trunk.

 

[Evolvd]

They are not compatible without major wiring changes. Best option is to replace the stock amp with a DSR-1 and then run new amps.

 

[StangTime]

What they said.

 

[S550HPP]

For 9 speaker:

Audison DSP amp AP8.9 Bit, AF 8.9, AF-C 8.9, AF-M 8.14 will all fit in the OE amp kick panel location and direct wire plug and play with Idata HRN-AR-FO3 harness. From there run wire from amp to trunk.mono block amp to install used OEM sub ( midway mustang) with upgraded speaker, or aftermarket sub.

Run 4 gua power wire from battery through existing firewall grommet, to a splitter in passenger footwell, then to kick panel and trunk amp subs.

Kick panel OE ground location just left of amp. Mount it there and to amp before reinstalling modified bracket to fit Audison, and trunk OE ground location behind the panel covering tail lights center left.

Run separate speaker wires to tweeters for active tweets. Don't need to do rear speakers.

You can bridge 2 channels for sub if you want, and wait for mono block deal (400W+ @ 4ohm or 2 ohm) so get great bass at low.volumes as well as high.

AP 8.9.can be found fairly low price now used and works great.

 

[Jxp1962]

For 9 speaker:

Audison DSP amp AP8.9 Bit, AF 8.9, AF-C 8.9, AF-M 8.14 will all fit in the OE amp kick panel location and direct wire plug and play with Idata HRN-AR-FO3 harness.

AP 8.9.can be found fairly low price now used and work great.

I had the b&o 12 speaker system and scrapped it for Audison speakers/amp ect, and the sound is insane, my vote for Audison

 

[shogun32]

So beside the resounding NO to the question, what kind of money are you guys talking about?

 

[Bassackwards]

I think I have around $1200 in mine with careful shopping and timing of deals. I did all my own work including building the sub enclosure so that saved a bundle.

 

[MD18EcoStang]

All I did with my 9-speaker system was upgrade the tweeters, doors, and rears; added a small, powered sub; and disconnected the center. Now it at least sounds like what I thought an "upgraded" system in a Premium package car should sound like. Won't put it up against anyone's system with external amplification and such, but it makes me happy. Actually sounds pretty good to my ears. OEM speakers were pathetic and you could only sense bass when the car wasn't running...

 

[omiga]

Your best option is to ditch the oem amp and put a quality amp or two in the trunk.

Too much wiring change. I don't really see it valuable unless you really want loud speakers with a huger amount of power to put into them.

[/QUOTE]

They are not compatible without major wiring changes. Best option is to replace the stock amp with a DSR-1 and then run new amps.

I see. I thought that it is just one connector

For 9 speaker:

Audison DSP amp AP8.9 Bit, AF 8.9, AF-C 8.9, AF-M 8.14 will all fit in the OE amp kick panel location and direct wire plug and play with Idata HRN-AR-FO3 harness. From there run wire from amp to trunk.mono block amp to install used OEM sub ( midway mustang) with upgraded speaker, or aftermarket sub.

Run 4 gua power wire from battery through existing firewall grommet, to a splitter in passenger footwell, then to kick panel and trunk amp subs.

Kick panel OE ground location just left of amp. Mount it there and to amp before reinstalling modified bracket to fit Audison, and trunk OE ground location behind the panel covering tail lights center left.

Run separate speaker wires to tweeters for active tweets. Don't need to do rear speakers.

You can bridge 2 channels for sub if you want, and wait for mono block deal (400W+ @ 4ohm or 2 ohm) so get great bass at low.volumes as well as high.

AP 8.9.can be found fairly low price now used and works great.

That's the wiring I'm trying to avoid

All I did with my 9-speaker system was upgrade the tweeters, doors, and rears; added a small, powered sub; and disconnected the center. Now it at least sounds like what I thought an "upgraded" system in a Premium package car should sound like. Won't put it up against anyone's system with external amplification and such, but it makes me happy. Actually sounds pretty good to my ears. OEM speakers were pathetic and you could only sense bass when the car wasn't running...

Glad for you. I don't think I need a sub, and my senses are upgrading the speakers to focal will suffice for me as well. Especially as I do have a convertible, and there is no way I can fix all the acoustic issues with my trim to go for an extreme hi-fi system.

 

[omiga]

I was curious what the difference there was between the Premium 9 Speaker and Shaker "12" Speaker OEM amplifiers. As I expected, NOTHING. Just programing is changed. Boards have identical serials, components and paths. Here are the photos of the units opened.

So, after reading this post, I started thinking about it. I guess the two back chips on the right side of this picture are probably the controller and data processors. The two chips on the left should be the audio amplifier. It should have two or three channels, and that white residue on top can be the thermal paste for connecting them to the body heatsink. That inductor and capacitor should also be the crossover for their setup.

If that's the case, we are making a mistake in using the focal three-way speakers with this system, as there is one unnecessary filter in the middle with low-quality filters. Focal has a three-way filter with the pack; we can hide it in the door, and it has matched cross-over with air-core inductors and high-quality capacitors.

I plan to verify it, upgrade the chips, and rework the PCB while removing the x-over to put all the power on the front lower speaker connector. Then, get that high-power connector in the door to the focal x-over and let the focal device have power and bandwidth between all speakers.


But at the first stage, I wanted to know if I could start the modification while upgrading the system to B&O. It looked to me like one different connector, which should come from the head unit, and if that was the case, I was inclined to change that one cable as well.

Just to put more into this information, look at this one

This is a two-speaker drive from one of these typical chips. I guess that Ford has made it two-way in the amplifier to separate the power on the lower door woofer from the mid-range and Twitter (plausible guess), while we can change the configuration to something like this:

So basically, it gives us a high power output for driving the x-overs in the door.

 

[Bassackwards]

Extending the wiring is much easier than reengineering a subpar amp.

 

[Evolvd]

So, after reading this post, I started thinking about it. I guess the two back chips on the right side of this picture are probably the controller and data processors. The two chips on the left should be the audio amplifier. It should have two or three channels, and that white residue on top can be the thermal paste for connecting them to the body heatsink. That inductor and capacitor should also be the crossover for their setup.

If that's the case, we are making a mistake in using the focal three-way speakers with this system, as there is one unnecessary filter in the middle with low-quality filters. Focal has a three-way filter with the pack; we can hide it in the door, and it has matched cross-over with air-core inductors and high-quality capacitors.

I plan to verify it, upgrade the chips, and rework the PCB while removing the x-over to put all the power on the front lower speaker connector. Then, get that high-power connector in the door to the focal x-over and let the focal device have power and bandwidth between all speakers.


But at the first stage, I wanted to know if I could start the modification while upgrading the system to B&O. It looked to me like one different connector, which should come from the head unit, and if that was the case, I was inclined to change that one cable as well.

Just to put more into this information, look at this one

This is a two-speaker drive from one of these typical chips. I guess that Ford has made it two-way in the amplifier to separate the power on the lower door woofer from the mid-range and Twitter (plausible guess), while we can change the configuration to something like this:

So basically, it gives us a high power output for driving the x-overs in the door.

If that kind of tinkering is your thing I understand. But it’s way more work than is needed to have a better sounding system.
Running power wire and speaker wire are not difficult and you could get both done is an afternoon.

 

[S550HPP]

Too much wiring change. I don't really see it valuable unless you really want loud speakers with a huger amount of power to put into them.

I see. I thought that it is just one connector



That's the wiring I'm trying to avoid



Glad for you. I don't think I need a sub, and my senses are upgrading the speakers to focal will suffice for me as well. Especially as I do have a convertible, and there is no way I can fix all the acoustic issues with my trim to go for an extreme hi-fi system.
[/QUOTE]

Wiring from kick panel amp to trunk is easy. It's one run from amp down sill under rear seat to trunk. One power wire from passenger splitter down passenger sill, under rear seat into trunk.


I also have a vert, and tried just speakers and amp first. Sub with 400+ W 4ohm power transformed the whole system.

 

[omiga]

If that kind of tinkering is your thing I understand. But it’s way more work than is needed to have a better sounding system.
Running power wire and speaker wire are not difficult and you could get both done is an afternoon.

Not as clean as an OEM. I'm trying to keep it on the OEM side as much as possible...


I will post it later here if I succeed. This one takes some time to complete, but I was hoping to get B&O at the same time.

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