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2021 ST Speaker Upgrade

JPrzech

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#1
Hi all,

I've had my 2021 ST for about six weeks and while I love driving it, I'd love driving it more if the sound was better. The stock speakers, even with the "Premium Sound Package," don't put out much volume before they start getting 'farty' and distorting. Has anyone found a good solution to this, either within the settings or via an upgrade? For context, I kept the bass level at even, turned the mids down 2 clicks and the treble up 2 clicks. Thanks in advance.
 

UNBROKEN

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#2
Stereo…not surround.
Treble up all but one
Midrange up 3
Bass even to +1
Fade to the front.

That’s the best looking RTA I could get when I measured mine.
Proper sound deadening treatments make more of a difference than swapping speakers. It’s labor intensive but the results are worth it.
 

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JPrzech

JPrzech

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Thread Starter #3
What sort of sound deadening treatments? I'm not familiar.
 

Cdubya

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#4
If you love bass, a powered sub is key. Without getting into full replacement of the system entirely, I recommend replacing the 3" and 6x9" drivers--can play reasonably loud (I usually max out at volume level of 12) while increasing sound quality significantly over stock. Also do some sound insulation to the doors and spare tire area. Set the sound to full fade forward and stereo mode. Here is what I did:

https://www.explorerforum.com/forums/threads/budget-b-o-front-door-upgrade.497898/
 

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JPrzech

JPrzech

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Thread Starter #5
If you love bass, a powered sub is key. Without getting into full replacement of the system entirely, I recommend replacing the 3" and 6x9" drivers--can play reasonably loud (I usually max out at volume level of 12) while increasing sound quality significantly over stock. Also do some sound insulation to the doors and spare tire area. Set the sound to full fade forward and stereo mode. Here is what I did:

https://www.explorerforum.com/forums/threads/budget-b-o-front-door-upgrade.497898/
Thanks for all the input. It's not so much that I love bass, but rather, in the words of Kiss, I love it loud!
 

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Amsterdam
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Ford Explorer ST PHEV MY22
#6
Stereo…not surround.
Treble up all but one
Midrange up 3
Bass even to +1
Fade to the front.

That’s the best looking RTA I could get when I measured mine.
Proper sound deadening treatments make more of a difference than swapping speakers. It’s labor intensive but the results are worth it.
How much fade to the front do you suggest?

Trying your settings now :) i used to have treble up 2 or points, mid down 1 and bass up 1
 

JMarr

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#10
Stereo…not surround.
Treble up all but one
Midrange up 3
Bass even to +1
Fade to the front.

That’s the best looking RTA I could get when I measured mine.
Proper sound deadening treatments make more of a difference than swapping speakers. It’s labor intensive but the results are worth it.
This helps quite a bit. Not bad now.
What type of treatments did you do?
 

UNBROKEN

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#11
This helps quite a bit. Not bad now.
What type of treatments did you do?
Pretty much everything that can be done as far as deadening but I’ve also replaced the entire audio system. I have build logs here for the deadening and also the audio install.
 



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