2021 STX Base Audio System Questions

[BigHead]

Hey everyone,

Just brought home a 2021 STX SuperCab. It has the Sync 4 Option base audio system. Doing my initial planning for an aftermarket audio upgrade and have some questions.

I see some people referencing a center speaker above the head unit, which my truck does not have. So how many speakers are in my stock audio system? 6? Two front doors, two rear doors, and two tweeters in the pillars?

Secondly, does anyone have the audio wiring diagram for my trucks sound system? I don't think I've seen it posted. I saw in other threads the diagram for the b&o and base systems with the front center speaker on XLTs but not the system that appears to be in my truck.

Also, what is the factory head unit output wattage per channel (RMS) out of curiosity? 15w?

My initial plans so far are to upgrade the 6x9s in the front with either the focal integrations, JL Audio C1-690s, or Kicker KS component sets. Any opinions on these three options?

If I go focal in the front, I'd likely go cheaper 6.5" 2-way coaxials in the rear doors for fill to offset the premium cost as I plan to run the rears off of the head unit, and bi-amp the front speakers and tweeters on an aftermarket amp. Currently looking at the kicker key 200.4 unless someone recommends a better option?

I want it to be as seamless as possible. No cutting or splicing of wires other than running power. The only option I see for that so far is the plug-n-play kit harness.

I like punchy, tight bass. So I'm thinking an 8inch sub as I don't like when the bass is overpowering. Either going to run a MTI single sub enclosure behind the rear seat, or build a custom box myself. MTI already said they can build one for an 8 inch sub for me.

Open to any comments or suggestions, but answers on the factory audio system and wiring would be amazing.

Thanks in advance for any help!

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[jamill]

If you get on Crutchfield and order speakers they include mounting brackets and the harness to plug directly in to to the Ford speaker harness on each door. If you get the speakers somewhere else, you might be able to get those harnesses off there anyway. I've always gone with them because they include stuff like that for free. Worked flawlessly when I installed all my Infinity speakers in my 2018 STX!

I've always had Infinity speakers and subs in my vehicles (2000 Silverado, 2006 GTO, 2016 Wrangler, and 2018 F150) and they have always sounded good. I worked at Best Buy in college, and would help out in the car audio section a lot, and while some people joke about Kicker I think they're actually pretty good.

I have some Kenwood Excelon speakers picked out for what I'm going to do with my current '21 Lariat. Have been wanting to try JL too just to change it up from having Infinity. I had those JL C1's picked out myself, but I think it's hard to really go wrong with any of the "big name" brand companies out there.

 

[BigHead]

@jamill

Thanks for your input. The thing with crutchfield is that they dont seem to have the fitment stuff figured out for the 2021 trucks yet. For instance they state the front doors take 6.5" speakers when in fact they are 6x9s just like the previous gen.

And for what its worth, Ive always been a fan of kicker stuff. The value is awesome for anything besides their very entry level stuff.

 

[jamill]

@jamill

Thanks for your input. The thing with crutchfield is that they dont seem to have the fitment stuff figured out for the 2021 trucks yet. For instance they state the front doors take 6.5" speakers when in fact they are 6x9s just like the previous gen.

And for what its worth, Ive always been a fan of kicker stuff. The value is awesome for anything besides their very entry level stuff.

Yeah I saw that when I first started looking which was annoying. Lol. I read somewhere that someone got confirmation that the speakers are the same in this generation as they were the last, so I put in 2020 to find my options and am going to go back and put in 21 to make sure I get the proper accessories.

Do you have any local stores that have displays set up where you can go in and listen? I haven't been to a Best Buy in years so I don't know if they still do that. We had a mom and pop shop that had some systems setup in the back of the store that I always looked at and JBL, JL, and Kicker always sounded the best to me in there.

It's hard to get a good opinion on speakers without listening to them yourself, which is the frustrating part about shopping for speakers.

 

[BigHead]

Anyone have insight on the base head unit questions? Wiring diagrams or wattage output?

 

[Jbravo]

Anyone have insight on the base head unit questions? Wiring diagrams or wattage output?

Did you ever get this done? I'm looking at the Kicker Key 200.4 as well for upgraded JL Audi 6x9 fronts, and 6.5" rears.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

Did you ever get this done? I'm looking at the Kicker Key 200.4 as well for upgraded JL Audi 6x9 fronts, and 6.5" rears.

I upgraded mine with Kicker 43DSC69304 D-Series 6X9 in the front and DSC650 DS 6.75 in the rear. Both fit perfectly with no clearance issues. I picked these two because they have a fairly low RMS and work well with lower power factory units. This mounting kit will work but you will need to add extension jumpers for the 6x9's if the ones you go with have the terminals on the end instead of middle.

I also put sound deadening material on the doors directly behind each speaker as well as Road Kill foam rings behind them to improve mid-bass response. When mounting the speakers use either tesa tape or speaker gasket tape between the door and mounting kit to eliminate rattles as well as wrap the connectors with tesa tape.

After it was all said and done, a few adjustments to Spotify's EQ and moving the fader towards the back a little to better fill the sound stage the difference was night/day. Very crisp mids and highs and respectable bass with no additional amp or sub. It's still lacking just a little low end punch, but can easily crank it with no distortion and minimal bass fall off (at least to the point where I had it.) Worth every penny and minute spent on this.

 

[Jbravo]

I upgraded mine with Kicker 43DSC69304 D-Series 6X9 in the front and DSC650 DS 6.75 in the rear. Both fit perfectly with no clearance issues. I picked these two because they have a fairly low RMS and work well with lower power factory units. This mounting kit will work but you will need to add extension jumpers for the 6x9's if the ones you go with have the terminals on the end instead of middle.

I also put sound deadening material on the doors directly behind each speaker as well as Road Kill foam rings behind them to improve mid-bass response. When mounting the speakers use either tesa tape or speaker gasket tape between the door and mounting kit to eliminate rattles as well as wrap the connectors with tesa tape.

After it was all said and done, a few adjustments to Spotify's EQ and moving the fader towards the back a little to better fill the sound stage the difference was night/day. Very crisp mids and highs and respectable bass with no additional amp or sub. It's still lacking just a little low end punch, but can easily crank it with no distortion and minimal bass fall off (at least to the point where I had it.) Worth every penny and minute spent on this.

So you ended up not using an amp? Just the factory head unit for powe?

 

[Porpoise Hork]

That's correct. I wasn't sure if I wanted to add any amps requiring extensive wiring or disassembly of the interior to hook it all up so that's why I picked those particular speakers. They are listed as working very well on as little as 10w. When I pulled the oem speakers they were stamped with 25w. Not sure if that meant their RMS or max power but I figured the stock output would be in the 20-25w range per channel. To my surprise they do a very nice job off the with no amp, but will happily accept more power if you want to go with say a 50-75w 4 channel amp. The only thing I am still on the fence about is adding a powered sub box like the kicker HS10 to fill in the low end a little more. It's been about 3 months since I did the upgrade and so far have not felt it needed anything more, but that's me. You may feel differently once you upgrade.

 

[SpaceWhiteF150]

Thanks, for the ideas. With the speakers you listed how did the wiring process go? How did the install go in the door cards?

 

[Jbravo]

That's correct. I wasn't sure if I wanted to add any amps requiring extensive wiring or disassembly of the interior to hook it all up so that's why I picked those particular speakers. They are listed as working very well on as little as 10w. When I pulled the oem speakers they were stamped with 25w. Not sure if that meant their RMS or max power but I figured the stock output would be in the 20-25w range per channel. To my surprise they do a very nice job off the with no amp, but will happily accept more power if you want to go with say a 50-75w 4 channel amp. The only thing I am still on the fence about is adding a powered sub box like the kicker HS10 to fill in the low end a little more. It's been about 3 months since I did the upgrade and so far have not felt it needed anything more, but that's me. You may feel differently once you upgrade.

I may do the same of just installing the speakers and seeing how it sounds. I originally wanted to do the Kicker Key 200.4 along with the Kicker 500.1 with a Kicker 10" slim sub behind the rear seats. Did you have any issues with sound deadening in the door and the smart key functionality?

 

[Porpoise Hork]

No issues with the smart key. Unlike my 20 Ranger where it was applied it to the entire door skin, I only installed the sound mat directly behind the speakers. Neither caused issues with the truck.

Thanks, for the ideas. With the speakers you listed how did the wiring process go? How did the install go in the door cards?

Door cards pop right off. There's only 6 screws holding them on. The only area to be careful with is the triangular cover panel at the top corner of the doors by the mirrors. They are held in with plastic clips and can easily get damaged so be gentle with those. Do yourself a favor, when reinstalling them, put a strip of tesa tape across the slots on the door where the clips seat. This eliminates the intermittent rattle from the top of the doors that sounds like it's coming from the window switch area.

Wiring was a snap with the adapters. It's mostly plug/play with the exception of having to make jumper extensions for the 6x9's. Took about 90 minutes to install everything, including the sound mat and foam.

 

[Jbravo]

Thanks for your response, I'll be installing the speakers this weekend along with some dynamat sound deadening behind the speakers. I'll have to go to the audio shop and get some tesa tape to dampening any plastic clips.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

Thanks for your response, I'll be installing the speakers this weekend along with some dynamat sound deadening behind the speakers. I'll have to go to the audio shop and get some tesa tape to dampening any plastic clips.

Np, and good luck with it. It's an easy job but a little time consuming depending on how methodical you are with the details. You can get the tesa tape from Amazon too.

Found it. My post with the 6x9;s installed.

https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/threads/speakers-best-bang-for-the-buck.12532/page-2#post-258305

While you have the passenger panel off, the black module under the speaker will rattle against the door at times. Take some of the left over sound foam (if you use it) and jam a bit between it and the door... I ended up having to pull the passenger panel off a couple times to locate the rattle when the bass would hit.

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