Sony stereo system

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J_82

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has anyone upgraded their speakers on a 15-17 Sony premium system? Coming from a previous GM vehicle with the bose system I think the Bose is way better sounding. I think the Sony has some more to give if it just had better speakers. I think the system can sound better with just upgrading to higher wattage speakers. Any one of you all done that?
 

star-art

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I would agree and am watching this thread. I just got a '17 with the Sony system. The mid-range sounds very "muddy" to my ear. I think the door speakers need replacing at a minimum. Ford made a THX rated center channel speaker for the Navigator along with THX speakers for the rear "D" pillars. Having listened to that system, it's at least as good if not better than the B&O Play system in the new 2018s.
 

1955moose

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The factory system leaves little to like, I know I drive a ford transit for work. I looked it up, you've got 5x7 separates in the front door, and I think you have no rear Subwoofer. I'd concentrate on the fronts for now, their 70 percent of what you hear. Unless you've got the Audiophile option, from what you describe, I doubt you do. Personally I'd go for some of the top separates like Jl audio, or focal. You can look into lower priced separates, their are some good ones as well. These 2 are some of the best out there. They are a little pricey, but the sound difference is huge. Also you might want to add a bass tube, or if you don't need the rear room something bigger. A second option on the sub would be installing a factory sub and housing from the premium model. On a vehicle as new as yours that option might be tough as you might have to go oem Ford through dealer. Crutchfield is usually been my best bet on stereo. Nice to deal with, knowledge is outstanding, and you get 2 months to live with product. Let us know what you install, it will help others.

Sent from my N9131 using Tapatalk
 

star-art

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The '15-'17 Sony system is pretty thorough (and, as far as I know, it appears to be the same whether you have an XLT, Limited, or Platinum Expedition). It includes separate mid-range speakers and tweeters in the front doors, a center channel speaker in the dash, speakers in each rear door, a subwoofer, and speakers in the rear "D" pillars. I think you could do quite well by simply swapping the rear "D" pillar speakers with factory THX speakers from a Navigator, then replacing all the door speakers (either with Navigator THX speakers or really good aftermarket units). Since there was also a THX-certified center channel dash speaker in the Navigator, it would be interesting to see how easily that could be swapped into the center dash location.

Thinking about this has me curious now. I wonder if it would be possible to install the Navigator's THX sound system into our Expeditions? Having listened to that setup in a 2017 Reserve, I found it to be amazing. I believe the dash screen is the same, so there must be some programming that tells the unit to "activate" the THX functionality. In fact, according to the wiring diagrams for 2017 I can't see any obvious differences in hardware. It would not surprise me at all if Ford usedthe exact same wiring and hardware for both systems and the only difference was the speakers and software/programming in the Audio Unit and/or Audio DSP module.
 

G213

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Sorry to dig this back up; this is one of my two new projects. From what I can tell, the THX parts should be swappable with the Sony parts. Honestly the most difficult part so far has been trying to find salvage 15-17 Navigator parts. Pick-a-Parts near me don't have vehicles that new...so I've just been keeping an eye on eBay for random parts to come up. I've looked into buying a salvage Navigator, but I don't have a place to put it. Anyone have any ideas where I could also be looking?
 

powerboatr

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i find my sony system works very well with my music loaded on the usb stick. deep bass and great ranges. but the hd radio or sirius is tinny or high treble or over the top bass inputs that have no reason the be in the type of music i listen to
 

HawkX66

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I must be getting old. I think the system in my 17 Platinum sounds awesome for a stock system. Even cranking up some Metallica, Dion or Robert Mitchum Thunder Road.
 

Trainmaster

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You can look up the part numbers for a Premium's speakers and an XLT speakers on Tasca's site and find out if they are different. Same for the radios.
 

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