OEM Stereo Upgrade: JL Audio or Alpine

[SRT82ECOBOOST]

I am still going to have the rear speakers powered by the stock amp for minimal rear fill.
I just never bought into the center channel application for car audio as more speakers and more processing is not always the best solution. The last build I did probably should have stopped after doing the front 2 channels and adding a subwoofer. Nothing as far as extra channels or processing improved the sound, yet cost me quite a bit of coin. If I start with the a minimalist build, more stages can always be added later if I think changes need to be made.

[Lanson]

I am still going to have the rear speakers powered by the stock amp for minimal rear fill.
I just never bought into the center channel application for car audio as more speakers and more processing is not always the best solution. The last build I did probably should have stopped after doing the front 2 channels and adding a subwoofer. Nothing as far as extra channels or processing improved the sound, yet cost me quite a bit of coin. If I start with the a minimalist build, more stages can always be added later if I think changes need to be made.

Just know you cannot do a processing step while leaving the rest of the system stock.  To do so would result in awkward time delay issues.  Any processing step creates delay, due to the way processors work (like a computer, really.)  The time it takes can be a few ms, or more.  Basically ANY processor needs to be either fully in control of all channels, OR some channels have to go.  In my '10 Flex, I had to give up the D-pillar rearmost speakers, and use just the 8 channels the processor could handle. 

To reiterate, if you go with a processor, it must be given full control of all channels that will continue to play.

[SRT82ECOBOOST]

@Lanson: Thanks for all the quality advice on this build. Hopefully it comes out as good as I expect.

[jim1274]

For those interested in keeping the Sub simple and out of the way there is the  JL Audio Ford Taurus Subwoofer Stealthbox - 94497   ......   Fits in the Spare tire well

FWIW, if you want this JL Audio Stealthbox for the Taurus wheel well, might want to grab one soon--item is discontinued.  There seem to be a few left at online vendors, but the best deal I could find was direct from JL Audio in their "closeout specials":

http://www.jlaudio.com/sb-f-taurus-13tw5v2-car-audio-stealthbox-94497

This is a nice discount price for a high quality and elegant solution to sub for the the SHO.  I ordered one last night so they are still available. 

I looked at this sub solution issue in depth about a year ago and the JL was the best "stealth" option IMHO.  Others have upgraded the rear deck speakers, but the choices are limited due to shallow mounting depth available without getting into cutting the trunk liner drop-downs bump outs for the existing speakers.

[SwampRat]

   
additional info from JL website :

SB-F-TAURUS/13TW5v2

Ford's big sedan combines advanced technology with solid design fundamentals to offer a compelling value proposition. Really great sub-bass just didn't make the cut, though. You could add a conventional subwoofer "box", rendering that big trunk a lot less useful. Or, you could sidestep that compromise completely, while adding world-class sub-bass performance to your Taurus with our purpose-engineered Stealthbox®. The Stealthbox® for the Taurus employs our advanced 13.5-inch Thin-Line Subwoofer in a super-slim enclosure that installs under the spare tire. Best of all, this Stealthbox® is specifically tuned for the Taurus by JL Audio's sub-bass experts, and is ready to serve as the centerpoint of your ultimate audio system.


The Hard Data: Contains one 13TW5v2-2 subwoofer in a down-firing, sealed enclosure. 600 watt power handling. Wired for 2 ohm mono. Installs in the bottom of the spare tire well; spare tire mounts to the Stealthbox®. The center of the trunk floor is raised slightly and will sit flush with the sides and the front of the trunk compartment after installation.

[SRT82ECOBOOST]

Just pulled the trigger on my order:
-(2)Boston Acoustics GT-2200 amplifiers
-(1) Boston Acoustics Pro50SE components
This is some older discontinued models, but I know that this stuff rocks.

[BiGMaC]

The JL under spare sub referenced by others is interesting. Has anyone here actually used one.... I'd be very interested in your opinion.

I don't want to rock the other cars at a stop light... just want some sub-base punch. If you have experience, what was the amp, it's feed, and performance inside the SHO?  Subs should be felt and not heard... usually like them passed at 50-60HZ using 12dB/octave. How does it move the air necessary when it's under the spare and the  spare cover? TIA

If it's any good I need to jump as I understand it is discontinued.

[Kolk1]

Did you notice that the JL box raises the whole floor, about 4-5 inchs supposedly. Says it makes it match the sides and front. If that's the case, I can easily build a false floor that only 5inchs tall myself, and put it on top of the spare tire. To where you just lift the box up to get to the spare.

[BiGMaC]

Good point!  I can build my own box... port it and use 2 subs firing through the back seat to hit lower and move the air without compromising any more trunk... and likely less than $700.

[SwampRat]

I personally have not seen this enclosure but the actual 13" sub that JL uses is KILLER . I've seen and heard a few installs with it . You would probably want the sticky sound deadening material strategically placed to eliminate any rattling issues ......

[Lanson]

To be fair, if it is raising the floor by that amount, you could definitely just build a false-floor subwoofer system with amp rack (I've made a bunch, this is my speciality...stealth)


If that box is under $500 though, you've got a good deal.  Something to start with, you could build a rack out of baltic birch ply (light and strong) around it for your amps, and cool them off with forced air flow.  Easy-peasy.

[Fast SHO]

If you don't actually have a full size spare it would be cheaper to build a basic box for the 13TW5 in the well.

[SRT82ECOBOOST]

AT $700 for just and enclosure and a subwoofer it opens up a lot of options. Really when it comes down to it, the trunk space is so large that putting an enclosure up against the rear seats really does not take away much useable space.

[Kolk1]

This was my old 2 10inch box. I now have basically the same, but its moved all the way to the right, so I can still use the drives side pass through. Besides needing the pass through for my snowboard, I have never even filled up a 1/4 of the trunk, to where I needed that front ledge that the box sits on.

[BiGMaC]

Nice looking work!  That's the kind of thing I was thinking about.