danielmiller82
Member
So I have (almost) replaced the entire factory Mach stereo system in my '02 EB.
I replaced the factory head-unit with a Kenwood DMX7704S double DIN head-unit. It includes CarPlay & Android Auto, dual USB ports with high speed charging, thumb-drive support for directly playing music and videos, as well as an A/V input and dual camera inputs (one for rear cam and one for front cam).
I have connected the rear camera and will be connecting a front camera soon. I used an Auto-Vox Cam6 License Plate camera I had purchased for my other vehicle and it works pretty good. Only issue is it's quite easy to bump and mess up the angle.
The headunit has adjustable grid lines so I can customize them how I like.
I connected the two USB cables to a 3' flush-mount USB extender mounted in the center console. The flush-mount was just abit too small to properly fit the hole were the CD changer wires used to run to the center console. It was about 1/4" larger than the diameter of the flush-mount so I had to improvise a quick solution, I cut a piece of plexiglass and drilled the correct diameter hole in it and it holds the mount in place. The cupholders just on the other side of the mount put a bit of pressure against the USB cables. While they SHOULD be fine, USB cables don't like being squished at 90° angles. I may revisit this later with a 3D printed piece that holds the ports out a little more, taking some of the pressure off of the cables. I also need to cut a piece of rubber mat for the bottom of the console and maybe install some LEDs for nighttime visibility.
The factory subwoofer surround was dry rotted and the sub amp was blown (fully shorted so it would pop fuses when power was fed to it). I replaced the sub with a Rockford Fosgate P3SD48 P3 Punch Shallow mount 8" DVC 4-Ohm Sub and the sub amp with a Kenwood eXcelon X501-1 Class D Mono Amp. I made an amp mount adapter with a piece of 8mm scrap laminate. It is taller, but narrower than the factory amp and and there is plenty of room for cooling. I can also adjust the crossover and bass boost if I remove the little cup/bin (whatever it is) next to the right rear passenger. The sub sounds OK.. but I would really like to replace the box one day with one properly designed and tuned specifically for this sub. It just bottoms out WAY too often when the volume is up.
I was under the impression that, like earlier Mach Stereo Systems, there was a separate amplifier for the door speakers so I spent half a day taking apart the dash, only to realize they are powered directly from the factory headunit, so if you have an '02 don't waste your time searching for one.
While the factory 5 1/4" door speakers are OK.. they were just lacking punch and sounded sorta muddy on the new headunit. At regular listening levels there the sound was muffled and lacking definition and when I turned them up they were louder, but didn't sound much better. I decided to replace the front door speakers with a pair of Kenwood KFC‑C6866S 6X8 2‑Way speakers (they were cheap but they are well reviewed.) The rear speakers will be replaced soon. I initially though these would be be temporary until I could add in a dedicated mids/highs amp, these sound so good on the headunit, I don't think I will need to. Especially as this vehicle is going to be used 90% for hauling around the family.
Aside from the front camera and the rear speakers, I will probably say this job is complete.
The only other thing left to do is to remove the rear audio control panel, I will probably just replace it with a couple sets of USB ports for charging the passengers tablets & phones.
I would consider mounting an overhead screen or two in the back seat area for the kids to watch movies on long roadtrips, but since all of the kids have their own tablets, it would probably never get used.
I replaced the factory head-unit with a Kenwood DMX7704S double DIN head-unit. It includes CarPlay & Android Auto, dual USB ports with high speed charging, thumb-drive support for directly playing music and videos, as well as an A/V input and dual camera inputs (one for rear cam and one for front cam).
I have connected the rear camera and will be connecting a front camera soon. I used an Auto-Vox Cam6 License Plate camera I had purchased for my other vehicle and it works pretty good. Only issue is it's quite easy to bump and mess up the angle.
The headunit has adjustable grid lines so I can customize them how I like.
I connected the two USB cables to a 3' flush-mount USB extender mounted in the center console. The flush-mount was just abit too small to properly fit the hole were the CD changer wires used to run to the center console. It was about 1/4" larger than the diameter of the flush-mount so I had to improvise a quick solution, I cut a piece of plexiglass and drilled the correct diameter hole in it and it holds the mount in place. The cupholders just on the other side of the mount put a bit of pressure against the USB cables. While they SHOULD be fine, USB cables don't like being squished at 90° angles. I may revisit this later with a 3D printed piece that holds the ports out a little more, taking some of the pressure off of the cables. I also need to cut a piece of rubber mat for the bottom of the console and maybe install some LEDs for nighttime visibility.
The factory subwoofer surround was dry rotted and the sub amp was blown (fully shorted so it would pop fuses when power was fed to it). I replaced the sub with a Rockford Fosgate P3SD48 P3 Punch Shallow mount 8" DVC 4-Ohm Sub and the sub amp with a Kenwood eXcelon X501-1 Class D Mono Amp. I made an amp mount adapter with a piece of 8mm scrap laminate. It is taller, but narrower than the factory amp and and there is plenty of room for cooling. I can also adjust the crossover and bass boost if I remove the little cup/bin (whatever it is) next to the right rear passenger. The sub sounds OK.. but I would really like to replace the box one day with one properly designed and tuned specifically for this sub. It just bottoms out WAY too often when the volume is up.
I was under the impression that, like earlier Mach Stereo Systems, there was a separate amplifier for the door speakers so I spent half a day taking apart the dash, only to realize they are powered directly from the factory headunit, so if you have an '02 don't waste your time searching for one.
While the factory 5 1/4" door speakers are OK.. they were just lacking punch and sounded sorta muddy on the new headunit. At regular listening levels there the sound was muffled and lacking definition and when I turned them up they were louder, but didn't sound much better. I decided to replace the front door speakers with a pair of Kenwood KFC‑C6866S 6X8 2‑Way speakers (they were cheap but they are well reviewed.) The rear speakers will be replaced soon. I initially though these would be be temporary until I could add in a dedicated mids/highs amp, these sound so good on the headunit, I don't think I will need to. Especially as this vehicle is going to be used 90% for hauling around the family.
Aside from the front camera and the rear speakers, I will probably say this job is complete.
The only other thing left to do is to remove the rear audio control panel, I will probably just replace it with a couple sets of USB ports for charging the passengers tablets & phones.
I would consider mounting an overhead screen or two in the back seat area for the kids to watch movies on long roadtrips, but since all of the kids have their own tablets, it would probably never get used.
