Stereo build log - second edition, 2023 stock headunit, non jbl

Hello all, this a documentation of the second stereo upgrade I have done on my 2023 without JBL, and still keeping the dreaded stock headunit. Feedback is appreciated.

In the original install that was done when I bought the truck 2 years prior, which can be found in subwoofer setups forum or on my profile, I installed Focal Flax FXE 2 way components up front, 2 10" L7T's behind the rear seats, and disconnected the factory rear speakers. I also relocated the tweeters to the sail panels. I used an Audiocontrol DQ-61 for factory integration. I will post some before and afters in this thread.

In this install I kept the focal 2 way components and the subs. I built new tweeter pods for the sail panels for better aim, and added Dayton Epique 7" 'extended range subs' to handle midbass and mounted with the focal mid-woofer in door pods made from custom speaker pods. I also added memphis sxrp62wt horn coaxials in the rears. I replaced the Audiocontrol DQ-61 with a JL fix-82 and a helix dsp.2. Toolbox speakers are still in progress, and I will add to this thread when they are finished up. I posted the original plans about a month ago and made some small changes thanks to the help of @soundman98 and tweeter pod inspiration from @Corny Taco.

After 2 years of ownership, I realized several issues I wanted to overcome, with a lacking mid bass being one of them, but most important was clarity and tunability. The previously installed Dq-61 was lacking a lot of adjustability for the system. It served me well for my experience level at the time and allowed for basic time alignment and minor frequency control, but it was not a fully active system that allowed crossover points and only had 7 bands of equalization. Additionally, it did not fully flatten or restore the crappy factory stereo eq, which is volume variable. I replaced this unit with a JL fix 82 to convert the high level inputs and ran a digital output to the Helix DSP.2. Using the digital output was inspired by @dolbytone threads as he said it increased clarity a lot, not to mention it is converted from analog to digital one less time. This combination seems to have fixed the clarity issues entirely and allow a fairly even tunable signal. The only drawback is I now have the head-unit volume set at the same level at all times, and use the URC remote with the helix to control master volume and sub volume.

Here is the original install:

and here it is with the Helix DSP.2 and JL fix:

I still have some cable management to do once I am certain nothing will be swapped and will also improve the look of the Helix mounted on the rear wall to look a bit more professional. The JL amp is powering the Flax FXE components. I am using 2 channel input to 4 channels and using the included bi-amp crossovers. It makes them quite easy to tune for someone who is new to pc tool and also frees up 2 channels on the helix. The PRV amp is not the best but sufficient for the purpose, and I am using it for the Dayton epique 7's and the rear fill. The Epiques are 4ohm DVC and wired at 2ohm.

To ensure proper power supply with the newly added PRV amp to the system, I went from a 4ga from the battery to a 2ga wire and aftermarket battery terminal. I am waiting on arrival of a battery post adapter to make the factory harness more secure, but the knukonceptz terminal did not require any factory wires to be cut. I also added an additional battery body ground wire as suggested by @soundman98 which was the right call.


The 2 gauge wire is divided into two 4 gauge by a fuse in the kick panel (not pictured) which then run to a set of fuse blocks under the amp rack, and even added a small one from blue sea systems for the processors. Put down some carpet as well even though this isn't visible- peace of mind I guess. Here it is mid-install:



The door pods turned out ok. I gave up the stock look and they did require some trimming around the hood release, and for those 2 reasons, I can't even recommend them. Overall I am happy with the solution they provided to be able to put the additional driver up front, and I don't plan to resell the vehicle anytime before 300k miles so value isn't a concern. Perhaps a leather textured finish offered by custom speaker pods would have looked better, but I wanted to go for something that matched the other trim since it would be a bolt on look regardless.



I opted to do this instead of a 3 way with a 3 inch in the dash because I enjoy good midbass response, and the vocal range is still strong in clarity from the focal 6.5 which has good off axis frequency response up until the crossover point. Elevating the focal woofer off of the floor also improved the sound stage a tad and when time aligned the image seems centered on the dash as opposed to the steering wheel. I am still in the tuning process and there is some dips created particularly around 500hz in having the off axis and low midrange, but so far I have been able to overcome all the major drawbacks with the pc tool software.


I added a lot more sound deadening to all doors and on the door pods themselves, and this made an immense difference in install. The buzzing is minimal and only at high volumes with the added midbass frequencies from the Epique Drivers.


For the new tweeter pods, I used the included focal mounting pods that came with the component set, and used some bondo and bed liner spray to try to blend them in with the interior. They have some cosmetic imperfections, but the aim is ideal.

Here is before and after on the driver's side:


In testing the aim of the tweeters, it does reveal more detail on axis even with the good dispersion of the TAM tweeter.

What remains to be done to the system hardware wise is mounting a pair of marine speakers in the toolbox with a leftover 2 channel amplifier and cleaning up the wiring in the amp rack and back wall now that it is all in place.

I have played with tuning for about 2 weeks now and will post another update with some curves once it is more refined, but what I have settled on so far is:
Kicker L7T's crossed at 70hz -24db butterworth
Dayton Epiques band-passed at 80hz -36db butterworth and 250hz -12db linkwitz
Focal Components HPF at 250hz linkwitz -12db and using included crossovers for tweeter/woofer
Rear fill band-passed at 200hz-3khz and using differential signal (50% L - 50% R and vice versa)

Also created a mode that opens up the rear fill for when there is passengers, selectable by the URC remote. The horn coaxials are turned way down for the rear fill as they are very loud speakers. The other purpose in selecting these is to open the rear doors for tailgating since the frequencies travel a long way.

I will continue to post the next updates here now that the bulk of the install is complete. Any tuning tips or recommendations on crossovers is more than welcome, I am still new to Helix and PC tool software, but it is already sounding better than it did before by a long shot.

Overall, I am pleased with how the second phase of my stereo turned out. The door pods although gaudy add a bit of fun, especially being able to see the wonderful excursion of the Epique drivers. The midbass is much stronger, warmer, and immersive and the sub-bass more tasteful being crossed at a lower frequency. The biggest improvement was clarity achieved from the new processing units. I think this is the first time in this vehicle the focal flax components have been able to sound as natural and clear as advertised.

 

Let’s gooooo! Glad you got around to posting up this thread. Looking forward to the updates.

Props for deadening the actual door cards. So many people just do the outer doors and call it a day. I don’t blame them though because the door cards were absolute hell when trying to get majority coverage. I spent several weekends just to get them done.

Also, it’s awesome you got those tweeter pods all rebuilt. They look much better than before.

I do have a question though. I’m in a second gen so I don’t know the engine bay wiring setup in the 3rds, but did you also swap out the stock Batt to ground cable? I see the Batt to body and Batt to block in the pic plus that little wire with the blue connector. Is that the one?

You’re really making me motivated to finish things up myself this summer so I can get my own build thread going lol.

 

@Corny Taco the little blue wire is actually a ground for a replacement horn that was installed. I did leave the factory body ground installed though, mostly to retain the harness as factory and since its all bolted on the terminal. I added another one the same length going to the same location. It didn't end up being a very high wattage total, probably around 1500rms and I do not often run that loud, so I didn't do a full big 3 (or 4, or 5 lol) and after research it didn't seem like it would improve much for the stock alternator. Just wanted to ensure the ground had an easy path like soundman98 had suggested to me in an earlier thread. If I do something else in the future, id probably add a high output alternator with new wiring and an AGM battery or dual battery kit at the same time I add a winch and want more capacity for camping/offroading accessories like a compressor or lights.

Im always down to follow more build logs, id strongly encourage ya! I got most inspiration from other's builds and listening to pssound rather than what is recommended as standard, since it is unconventional. Some things don't have a 'how to', gotta get creative and improvise, and that is always what I liked about forum communities.

 

when doing any power wiring upgrading, the rule of thumb is to always add over the top of the factory wiring, never to replace it.

the prevailing reasoning is that the oem wiring is sized for the vehicles electronics. when we're adding/altering power for the audio system, we're really only sizing for the added audio system power requirements. by running the additional wire parallel to the oem wiring, it's ensuring that the factory systems have the appropriate unaltered power paths they need, but also building out our audio system needs as a physically-separate entity within the vehicle.

and also, if one were to change power wiring throughout the vehicle, the risk if reliability comes up. very few people have issues with the factory power wiring over the entire life of the vehicle. but once we start cutting or altering it, the core-vehicle functionality has the potential to become unreliable. which is less than ideal in the majority of situations...

 

Looks like Focal k2 Frak Tweeters?
Ive got them in my 24..
If so, they definitely shine more, on axis....

 

These are the Focal TAM tweeter, and yeah I was surprised how much brilliance range I was missing off axis once I started to test them on axis.

 

I gotcha, that makes sense. Thanks dude!

 

I agree with ya on that. For most people, even with an upgraded system, the factory wiring is perfectly fine. I myself know I’ll add a crap ton of electronics down the road as I continue to build the truck so I went ahead and replaced everything. Bypassed the stock alt fuse since I have a 240amp mechman.