Hot Wired (motor Mag)

[Guest blackout]

11 speakers:

2 x 2 ways in the back (that accounts for 4 speakers)

2 x 2 ways in the front doors (4 -

1 x 10" subwoofer (9)

2 x tweeters (11)

[Guest PaulST]

Yeah, its a pitty that Ford have lost the sales to the audio makers, although I think its a good move by them to force people into using there own gear. Although I don't under-stand why Ford doesnt start offering high-quality premium sterios?

Also, I reckon the audio system looks fantastic anyway with the green see-through bits which look very funky

[Guest Xr6Tas]

2 x 2 ways in the back (that accounts for 4 speakers)

Very misleading to describe a 2 way speaker as separate speakers (not blaming you personally, I realise Ford are doing this too). Using this logic my home theatre would have 14 speakers!! (In reality it has 6). A speaker is the final unit, whether it is 1 way or 15 way design doesn’t make any difference, it’s still producing sound from the same channel.

[Cam]

that's marketing for you!

And yes a speaker is a collection of one or more drivers - but that is techo speak.

In lay speak a speaker and a driver are interchangeable.

[Guest BAnter]

I have been researching this issue because I am considering an XR6T but I want to have a better quality audio system than Ford offer - as I always have in my cars. No, I am not a doof, doof lad but a boring old family person who loves high quality sound, and spends plenty of time in his car.

Many people would be happy with premium sound if they aren't into audio quality. But, while better than the standard system, which is fairly ordinary by today's OEM system standards, remium is unlikely to satisfy someone who likes quality audio.

There are a few problems with the Falcon system. Firstly, it is not a standard DIN or double DIN space, so you cannot slot in an aftermarket head unit - it appears the slot is also too short to fit a DIN unit flush with the dash, even if you make a new coverplate. I'm trying to get more info on this. Apparently a fitting kit is being developed, but who knows if it really will happen or how effective it will be.

Neither the premium system or the standard system have any pre-amp in or pre out facilities (most factory systems don't). The factory subwoofer (8 inch, not 10 inch as mentioned elsewhere) has an intergral amplifier and while adequate, again its not good quality and doesn't have sufficient power in its amp anyway.

I am not very keen on mounting a completely separate system in the car - there is little space to do so and it is clumsy. I also have plenty of good co0mponents anyway, so I don't want to throw those away and spend lots more money.

So here is what I need to do to get decent sound and retain the ford Head Unit for control and neatness reasons. First, pay for Premium sound to get their CD etc

I need to buy a pre-amp unit with a variet of inputs and outputs and find an accessible place to fiti it - about $500 plus fitting. Then run the Ford unit into the pre-amp from speaker outputs. Then have my crossover, speakers, amps and suboofer box fitted. The Ford head unit and CD are not brilliant, but I think I can live with them, provided the downstream components (the stuff I add) are good. Then I have a reasonably controllable system with good functionality, but I have had to spend $500+ extra as well as $900 on the Premium Sound which I don't want to make it happen. But I can then add other components such as a DVD system, satnav whatever.

Alternatively, I can buy a Mitsubishi Ralliart (one of the other cars I am considering) which has an excellent Fujitsu Ten Eclipse system in it already and add my own components (its a properly buildable system). I'll then get an excellent sound suystem with original functionality.

Or I could buy any number of other cars with standard DIN mounting slots and simply slot my existing system in place of the original and have really good sound.

So buyikng a Ford means I am up for an extra $1400 plus to get a sound system I am happy with - but not necessarily what I really want. Therein lies the problem of what Ford has done.

[Charliewool]

Spose it depends on what priorities you have?

Ie: whether you want a true performance vehicle OR a "mobile sound stage" ?

[Guest BAnter]

I want a true performance vehicle and I want a good sound system in it, because I enjoy both aspects of being in a car.

Should be easy, really.

[cdm]

But I can then add other components such as a DVD system, satnav whatever.

How would you run the DVD system? The Ford screen has all the HVAC controls on the display which is the big problem with it? The only way I could think of (and I don't even know if this is possible) would be to have some kind of switch for the signal to the screen, so that if you wanna watch a DVD you have to flick the switch to channel this to the screen and make the HVAC stuff dissapear without actually switching it off (so its still going, you just cant see it). Is this possible?

I know Ford don't want everyone playing with and modifying their great car, but just imagine if they made it easier to do this using the current screen, and to enhance performance without all this ECU drama's. The potential....and, probably, the waranty claims...oh well...

[Guest BAnter]

CDM

I probably didn't make myself clear on this.

You can't, as far as I know (at least without some electronics whizz doing something incredibly smart and charging heaps for it) send a DVD signal back into the Ford in-dash display. I was referring to having a separate screen and sending the sound into the (custom) system via the pre-amp, just as the Ford in-dash unit will also be an input to that pre-amp.

That way, you have preserved the Ford unit so it reads HVAC stuff on the screen, but you have a conveniently and discreetly mounted pre-amp and any other system inputs/outputs you want, all in one system. So you can add a DVD or Satnav if you want.

[Falchoon]

Why would you want to watch DVD in your car? :hiwelcome: