Speaker Only Upgrades

[Forty61]

Ok so I figured it would be easier to ask the experts here than spend hours Googling to figure it out..

I need to pull my door panels off to get all the crap out of the inside of my doors and clean the drain holes so I’m thinking while I’m in there I may throw in some cheap (but better than factory) speakers. What size is direct replacement? I thought I read somewhere about it being a hassle to find any that fit right in there but maybe I’m wrong?

Don’t want to spend much, hell I’ll go to Walmart if need be, but a minor upgrade would be nice. I already did away with the Shaker headunit but everything else is factory. The exhaust is plenty loud so the stereo does not need to be award winning, just a little nicer.

 

[Juice]

Ok so I figured it would be easier to ask the experts here than spend hours Googling to figure it out..

I need to pull my door panels off to get all the crap out of the inside of my doors and clean the drain holes so I’m thinking while I’m in there I may throw in some cheap (but better than factory) speakers. What size is direct replacement? I thought I read somewhere about it being a hassle to find any that fit right in there but maybe I’m wrong?

Don’t want to spend much, hell I’ll go to Walmart if need be, but a minor upgrade would be nice. I already did away with the Shaker headunit but everything else is factory. The exhaust is plenty loud so the stereo does not need to be award winning, just a little nicer.

Stereo/speaker update used to be a "must do" a while ago. (80's and 90s) I am more than satisfied with the sound quality of even the basic systems nowdays. Would not mind a bit more power though. lol I have a few sets of aftermarket speakers pulled from cars I sold or had crushed for scrap. But still rockin' the base v6 single cd system as I have not felt the urge to fix something that isn't broke. Only use the aux input anyway. And cd occasionally, but very rarely.
Sorry, do not know the door speaker size. Rear deck speakers appear to be 6x9". Wire splicing required for speaker swap.

 

[Forty61]

Stereo/speaker update used to be a "must do" a while ago. (80's and 90s) I am more than satisfied with the sound quality of even the basic systems nowdays. Would not mind a bit more power though. lol I have a few sets of aftermarket speakers pulled from cars I sold or had crushed for scrap. But still rockin' the base v6 single cd system as I have not felt the urge to fix something that isn't broke. Only use the aux input anyway. And cd occasionally, but very rarely.
Sorry, do not know the door speaker size. Rear deck speakers appear to be 6x9". Wire splicing required for speaker swap.

Splicing is fine, just don’t want to go to the effort of pulling wires or running new stuff. I’m pretty content with the quality since I swapped the headunit but I kind of was looking at it as a ‘while I’m in there’ kind of deal.. I mean those factory ones are 13 years old and I’m sure Ford didn’t put the best ones in there to begin with!

 

[Juice]

I have not had good luck with aftermarket HU. Put one in my van, android. Sounds ok, but the stock radio sounded a little better. Probably need to match speakers to it. But I gained nav and backup camera. lol

 

[mustanger]

The door speakers are 6x8's. Pretty sure the rear deck speakers are the same. However 5x7's will fit as well. I think 6x8 and 5x7 are basically interchangeable. I first replaced all my speakers with a set of Pioneers. This was over 10 years ago so I forget the specific model. I think they're something like a TS-6874 maybe? They were around $80/pair. Anyways, they sounded good, but then I later replaced the stock HU with a Kenwood, and then I was blown away by the improvement. The extra power from the HU along with the better speakers really helped the system out.

 

[RED09GT]

5x7 or 6x8 is a drop-in replacement.
I went with a set of Alpine Type-S 5x7's that I got on black Friday in my focus that had the "audiophile" system and the sound difference is undeniable. I had put in a Kenwood digital media receiver and could no longer stand the sound of muffled vocals and the dull highs from the factory speakers. You don't realize how shitty the stock system sounds until you upgrade-especially when you are replacing a 10+ year old paper cone speaker.
I've always hated the sound of the Mach 500 system but just ended up not upgrading as I haven't had the budget to do what I wanted.

 

[FredB66]

Check out Crutchfield.com if you haven't already. They have an excellent fitment guide. I got my Sony HU from them.

 

[tabstang]

I agree with @Juice - I've tried many setups in this car, and using aftermarket speakers with the stock radio doesn't work very well, cuz the stock radio doesn't make enough power to drive them. If you want to upgrade the sound IMO you need more power, either through an aftermarket head unit or an "add-on" amp. The factory radio and speakers are specifically matched, and the factory subs in the doors are driven by class d amps (separate from the radio) which are surprisingly good.

I had a pretty high-end setup in my last S197 (4 JL component speakers with remote tweeters in the doors and rears, driven by a 4-channel, 1000 watt JL amp, plus JL 8" subs in the doors, driven by a 1000 watt JL mono sub amp). It would play pretty dang loud but I never could get it to sound "balanced" the way the factory unit did. Bottom line, I'm not willing to go through all that work and $ again for marginal, if any, improvement.

If the factory speakers aren't blown I'd just keep 'em.

 

[tabstang]

BTW I added a $5 bluetooth receiver through the aux plug in the console to enable connection to cell phone for music apps, phone and nav (google maps). Out of sight and works and sounds great.

 

[Juice]

BTW I added a $5 bluetooth receiver through the aux plug in the console to enable connection to cell phone for music apps, phone and nav (google maps). Out of sight and works and sounds great.

You do lose sound quality w/bluetooth due to compression.
Just sayin'. lol

Also, mp3 files are total crap on high end systems.

 

[Forty61]

Check out Crutchfield.com if you haven't already. They have an excellent fitment guide. I got my Sony HU from them.

That’s where I got my headunit from originally, I did like how they listed all the necessary connectors and stuff to mount it.

I agree with @Juice - I've tried many setups in this car, and using aftermarket speakers with the stock radio doesn't work very well, cuz the stock radio doesn't make enough power to drive them. If you want to upgrade the sound IMO you need more power, either through an aftermarket head unit or an "add-on" amp. The factory radio and speakers are specifically matched, and the factory subs in the doors are driven by class d amps (separate from the radio) which are surprisingly good.

I had a pretty high-end setup in my last S197 (4 JL component speakers with remote tweeters in the doors and rears, driven by a 4-channel, 1000 watt JL amp, plus JL 8" subs in the doors, driven by a 1000 watt JL mono sub amp). It would play pretty dang loud but I never could get it to sound "balanced" the way the factory unit did. Bottom line, I'm not willing to go through all that work and $ again for marginal, if any, improvement.

If the factory speakers aren't blown I'd just keep 'em.

I have the aftermarket headunit in it already, kind of another reason I figured some newer speakers may be worth the relatively low dollar investment.

 

[blackjack07]

Pro tip: add Dynomat to the doors and deck.

 

[Robert Larimer]

I agree with @Juice - I've tried many setups in this car, and using aftermarket speakers with the stock radio doesn't work very well, cuz the stock radio doesn't make enough power to drive them. If you want to upgrade the sound IMO you need more power, either through an aftermarket head unit or an "add-on" amp. The factory radio and speakers are specifically matched, and the factory subs in the doors are driven by class d amps (separate from the radio) which are surprisingly good.

I had a pretty high-end setup in my last S197 (4 JL component speakers with remote tweeters in the doors and rears, driven by a 4-channel, 1000 watt JL amp, plus JL 8" subs in the doors, driven by a 1000 watt JL mono sub amp). It would play pretty dang loud but I never could get it to sound "balanced" the way the factory unit did. Bottom line, I'm not willing to go through all that work and $ again for marginal, if any, improvement.

If the factory speakers aren't blown I'd just keep 'em.

Sorry but I disagree. Have you seen the stock speakers in the doors of a shaker system? They are plastic frames with paper cones and sound muddy as hell. I put $50 JBL's from Crutchfield in and the clarity is much improved. The woofers are fine though.

 

[JEWC_Motorsports]

KSC680, i have them in my Mustang, Lightning, and Colorado. Thats how much i like them.

 

[Dan07]

BTW I added a $5 bluetooth receiver through the aux plug in the console to enable connection to cell phone for music apps, phone and nav (google maps). Out of sight and works and sounds great.

I ended up getting a Echo Auto and connecting it to the Aux jack. Now it works like Alexa and I can make phone calls. Paid only $40 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VTK654B

 

[Laga]

My 18 year old speakers are starting to sound like crap. I’m looking at the Alpine or Kickers mentioned above. I have an aftermarket Pioneer HU that I got more for the backup camera than sound quality.
Couple of questions,
Do the door panels have to come off?I had them off one time and know it’s not a big deal. And, is just a matter of splicing in new wires for the speakers? I think the last time I changed speakers, it was the 80’s. I also see wire adapters are available. Are these required or make install easier?
Edit; found YouTube videos on installation. Looks like NP.

 

[redfirepearlgt]

One word - CRUTCHFIELD

 

[JC SSP]

I have front & rear 5x7/6x8 Polk Audio DXI 517 2-Way speakers w/wire adapter harness (rear speakers have foam baffles) all from Crutchfield. Also, I did sound deadener behind front speakers, on rear deck and lower floor pans.

Speakers sound good with stock MACH radio but interested in a future head unit upgrade.

 

[MADGT]

Check out Crutchfield.com if you haven't already. They have an excellent fitment guide. I got my Sony HU from them.

My go to folks for all things audio.

 

[Cum Grano Salis]

Crutchfield has good selection and recommendations, think they were just starting out early 80’s. Ran across this and I can’t recall but probably went with larger speakers just because. Putting these in those back panels on either side of rear seat. To shorten this story the factory speakers were better than what I was putting in. The magnets were huge on the OEM compared to new speakers I just bought. Meaning with applied signal/voltage to conical wire the cone is going to deliver better hi-fidelity as cone will flex with more zest due to larger applied magnetic field/fluctuation

Point being you may want to keep what’s there and add individual attached amplifiers.Usually sound bad or breakdown due to signal being distorted/chopped as radio/etc in use (before signal even reaches speakers) doesn’t have enough preamp stages within itself. Probably just as easy to add those, one for each speaker next to (umbilical) it in doors. May spend all that money and time with non-sat results with speaker only change?

Not telling anybody what to do, just would look into that option. May be pleasantly surprised. Still fan of the antique now Pioneer Tune-Up speakers lol.

Edit update: I looked and looked for attachment amps direct linkup to individual speakers in place. Found nothing! What was up with Bose, my C4 Corvette had smaller speakers to start with and each had integral amplifier… This not my brainstorm to start with but nothing as such on market 15 or more years late???? I could go for something as above myself. So the Bose I could crank up full volume and could not detect any distortion, yup… too loud for me, even then.