Sillybibbles
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Mr. Person
- Joined
- Apr 8, 2023
- Threads
- 2
- Messages
- 59
- Reaction score
- 39
- Location
- USA
- Vehicles
- Mach E 2023 Select RWD
- Thread starter
- #1
TLDR: Added a sub, tapped signal from rear left speaker and power from 12v in trunk, swapped rear door speakers. Sounds GREAT!
We all know the entry level speakers are terrible - a tiny magnet & voice coil and no bass under 100hz. I wanted a decent sounding system, but didn't need anything massive - I just want a smooth, full range music production with a bit of punch on the low end. But long gone are my days of massive subwoofers filling the trunk and destroying eardrums. (likely the same with most Mach-e buyers, who tend do be men around 30-50). So I set out to create nice sound while keeping everything looking stock and clean. I also wanted to keep weight and wattage reasonable for obvious reasons. This involved three main steps:
1. Swap rear door speakers
2. Find a signal and power for a sub (the non-B&O has no sub to run from)
3. Add sub
First, I went with some Kicker 2-way 6.5" speakers. I got them from Crutchfield because they seem to do the best car-fitting accessories and instructions. Here's the link, I highly recommend these speakers. They have a bit better low end, but far better high end than the stock speakers- and they are low profile enough to fit. (Crutchfield said I needed to cut some of the door panel surround, and I did for one door, but then found I didn't need to so I didn't on the second door. You can't see any signs of change on the outside). All told, the instructions from Crutchfield also made finding door panel screws and pull pins MUCH easier, so nothing broke (I used a mini-panel pry tool made for this). When done, the sound was much more crisp and clear, but still lacked much punch.
Next, I decided on a sub. As mentioned I wanted a tight bass, but not intersection shaking sound. So I went with a very small, fully enclosed Pioneer sub specifically made for EVs and small cars. It's a 50RMS/120 Max Pioneer TS-WX101A. It's made for low wattage uses like an EV, and it says you can install it in a foot well, but I went with the trunk. It's so much smaller than the subs of 20 years ago, but then we've all seen how much smaller most speakers have gotten while improving performance - I can just say it has bass as good as my Sonos system at home.
Then the most uncharted part -I had to source signal for the sub and decide a location. I went with the back trunk, mostly because the sub happens to fit perfectly and the 12v power supply was right there. Yes, I used the cigarette lighter as a power source, which works when the draw is less than 100 watts RMS. I put in a 10 AMP fuse on the aftermarket 12v heavy duty plug, and it has never had any problems or blown any fuses. For the signal, I tapped into the rear door left speaker signal. I opened the column's panels, and unwrapped the wire bundle. [Sorry, I forgot to take pics!] I found the two wires that matched the speaker's colors, carefully stripped them, and then soldered on a new 2-strand wire. I ran that under panels and under the seat to the back left of the trunk. There I met the sub with RCA cords, and pulled it all together. The sub sounds great, and the signal is, I can confirm, full range. (They don't filter any bass out of the signal to the rear door speakers with a digital high-pass filter function - if they did, then it would not work as a subwoofer input source.)
Then I did one final and optional step - I 3D printed a little cover and added matching felt so that the sub looks very subtle and almost invisible if you don't know what you're looking for. I'm really happy with the final result.
We all know the entry level speakers are terrible - a tiny magnet & voice coil and no bass under 100hz. I wanted a decent sounding system, but didn't need anything massive - I just want a smooth, full range music production with a bit of punch on the low end. But long gone are my days of massive subwoofers filling the trunk and destroying eardrums. (likely the same with most Mach-e buyers, who tend do be men around 30-50). So I set out to create nice sound while keeping everything looking stock and clean. I also wanted to keep weight and wattage reasonable for obvious reasons. This involved three main steps:
1. Swap rear door speakers
2. Find a signal and power for a sub (the non-B&O has no sub to run from)
3. Add sub
First, I went with some Kicker 2-way 6.5" speakers. I got them from Crutchfield because they seem to do the best car-fitting accessories and instructions. Here's the link, I highly recommend these speakers. They have a bit better low end, but far better high end than the stock speakers- and they are low profile enough to fit. (Crutchfield said I needed to cut some of the door panel surround, and I did for one door, but then found I didn't need to so I didn't on the second door. You can't see any signs of change on the outside). All told, the instructions from Crutchfield also made finding door panel screws and pull pins MUCH easier, so nothing broke (I used a mini-panel pry tool made for this). When done, the sound was much more crisp and clear, but still lacked much punch.
Next, I decided on a sub. As mentioned I wanted a tight bass, but not intersection shaking sound. So I went with a very small, fully enclosed Pioneer sub specifically made for EVs and small cars. It's a 50RMS/120 Max Pioneer TS-WX101A. It's made for low wattage uses like an EV, and it says you can install it in a foot well, but I went with the trunk. It's so much smaller than the subs of 20 years ago, but then we've all seen how much smaller most speakers have gotten while improving performance - I can just say it has bass as good as my Sonos system at home.
Then the most uncharted part -I had to source signal for the sub and decide a location. I went with the back trunk, mostly because the sub happens to fit perfectly and the 12v power supply was right there. Yes, I used the cigarette lighter as a power source, which works when the draw is less than 100 watts RMS. I put in a 10 AMP fuse on the aftermarket 12v heavy duty plug, and it has never had any problems or blown any fuses. For the signal, I tapped into the rear door left speaker signal. I opened the column's panels, and unwrapped the wire bundle. [Sorry, I forgot to take pics!] I found the two wires that matched the speaker's colors, carefully stripped them, and then soldered on a new 2-strand wire. I ran that under panels and under the seat to the back left of the trunk. There I met the sub with RCA cords, and pulled it all together. The sub sounds great, and the signal is, I can confirm, full range. (They don't filter any bass out of the signal to the rear door speakers with a digital high-pass filter function - if they did, then it would not work as a subwoofer input source.)
Then I did one final and optional step - I 3D printed a little cover and added matching felt so that the sub looks very subtle and almost invisible if you don't know what you're looking for. I'm really happy with the final result.
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