Another sound deadening and Focal speakers upgrade

[Buellsox]

Man either you know what you are doing or some serikus ball to take apart the headliner on a 60k truck

Ha thanks! Definitely didn’t know what I was doing, but after nearly 27 years in the Plumbers Union in commercial construction I’ve gotten myself mechanically savvy. And I’ve always figured if it can be put together by man than it’s something I should be able to take apart and get back together myself…..within reason. I’m not reassembling The Space Shuttle, but I’d try if it paid well. HA!
Strong attention to detail, slow down, pay attention, and think it through and it came out unscathed. Definitely was worth the 3/4 of a Saturday in the driveway. Plus it’s worth having all the other dudes in the neighborhood walking their dogs/kids asking “oh boy, what are you up to NOW?” and then telling them “just dropping the headliner to sound deaden the roof!” Then getting that look of either they have zero idea what that means, or your nuts, or WTF are your serious? Damn I wish I could do that! They’re the ones that gotta come up the laneway and get a look at it because they can’t believe it.

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[Dave8311]

I did Dynamat many years ago on a classic car that had the entire interior out for refurbishment.

Was able to do the entire interior and man did it make a huge difference.

Never again. Too old for that now.

 

[clarke]

@CaptAngry if you have a 3d printer, I made custom mounts for the rear speakers and I modified some I found online for the front doors. I can send you the files. The rear door mounts angle them correctly as well.

 

[CaptAngry]

@CaptAngry if you have a 3d printer, I made custom mounts for the rear speakers and I modified some I found online for the front doors. I can send you the files. The rear door mounts angle them correctly as well.

I do have a 3D printer and use it all the time for auto stuff

If you could send a link to those files (or an email), I'd appreciate it!

 

[RangerGrif43]

Sadly the truck hasn’t actually left the garage since I finished up, nor have I listened to more than a few songs with the speakers. But feeling better now so I’ll venture out tomorrow and test out all the sounds

I did get the Focals off eBay. Seller was extremeaudio_carhifi

I found the 165 on that sellers page but not the 690. You have a link by chance?

 

[CaptAngry]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/397148995253

 

[CaptAngry]

The one thing that I was very much NOT liking about the Focals was the harshness of the tweeters. They actually hurt my ears in certain songs. I experimented with various "dulling" methods and came to just putting some open cell foam I had in front of each tweeter. It is thin foam and helps to dull that high pitched sound just enough.

The Focal tweeters are also a bit of a loose fit, so I used some left over sound absorbing mat to stick them down and make sure they don't rattle.

While in the truck I also put some multi-layer speaker cloth on the center channel. If anything to keep dust out of there. Held on with some Tesa tape

 

[Watchdog62]

The one thing that I was very much NOT liking about the Focals was the harshness of the tweeters. They actually hurt my ears in certain songs. I experimented with various "dulling" methods and came to just putting some open cell foam I had in front of each tweeter. It is thin foam and helps to dull that high pitched sound just enough.

The Focal tweeters are also a bit of a loose fit, so I used some left over sound absorbing mat to stick them down and make sure they don't rattle.

While in the truck I also put some multi-layer speaker cloth on the center channel. If anything to keep dust out of there. Held on with some Tesa tape

Interesting. I think allot depends on the quality of media and how its mixed. I think with the factory headunit and amp they can only do so much. But some rescordings its amazing. I am very satisfied with the focals , sound deadening and a JL stealth box and amp. Might dive deeper with a helix and multi channel amp but my setup is rocking pretty hard for now.

 

[Alaska_Wolf]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/397148995253

I've been looking at these, but I wasn't sure that they'd be any cheaper that Crutchfield with the delivery fees and tariffs. How'd they come out?

 

[CaptAngry]

I've been looking at these, but I wasn't sure that they'd be any cheaper that Crutchfield with the delivery fees and tariffs. How'd they come out?

They worked out great. Even with the shipping (I think it was $90?) they were way cheaper than Crutchfield. FedEx sent me a tariff bill but I protested due to them being charged under Section 122 which is currently in court. Ultimately if I do need to pay it (~$48) they are STILL cheaper

 

[Alaska_Wolf]

They worked out great. Even with the shipping (I think it was $90?) they were way cheaper than Crutchfield. FedEx sent me a tariff bill but I protested due to them being charged under Section 122 which is currently in court. Ultimately if I do need to pay it (~$48) they are STILL cheaper Sponsored

Interesting, he only charged the one shipping fee for all four speakers?

 

[CaptAngry]

They bundled the shipping and gave me a discount (I think it was $60 each when I ordered)

 

[lancerdood]

I did the roof and all 4 doors with 2 layers of sound deadening. Dropping the headliner (DO NOT REMOVE) is definitely the biggest pain but very doable for a weekend project. No need to do the floors and even the back wall is an option but doesn't make a huge difference. I did a whole speaker / amp replacement in my 2025 RR. I went big. First of all, the most important item is the PAC AP4-FD32 (for the 2025) that allows you to keep the factory infotainment center with the factory chimes and gives you all the plug and play wiring harnesses needed. I added the Focal Utopia components in the front doors and mounted the Beryllium oval tweeters custom in the top corner piece of the doors and ran new wires for those. Also added some Focal full range speakers in the rear doors. These are wired up to the AP4-FD32, then connected to an AudioControl D.6.1200 DSP amplifier. This amp is the sweet spot with built in DSP. This eliminates the need for the super bulky huge crossover boxes that come with the Utopia speakers. The AudioControl does all the crossover frequencies and the DSP handles the delay and sound sync. For the bass I have the JL Audio stealthbox and JL Audio XMD300/1 amp. The amp is daisy chained off the AudioControl. I left the mid speaker in the dash and the stock tweeters unplugged/unused. These speakers are terminated at the head unit anyway and can be accessed there if needed but with my set up they are unneeded. The sound is incredible!!! All in all I have about $6500 invested and since I did all the work myself, including the sound deadening, I probably saved an additional $4k to $6k in labor costs that a high-end stereo shop would have charged.

I started with the Kicker HS10 hideaway and the Kicker KEYLOC - added some bass but still seriously lacking. Then I got the JL Audio Stealthbox & JL Audio XDM300/1 amp - still kept the Kicker KEYLOC. The bass was awesome but now the rest of the stereo sounded like a dime store radio. Keep in mind, I had a 2015 Audi S4 with a factory B&O system that sounded incredible, mostly because the car is built much better for sound; so i had something to compare the RR system to. This is when I knew I had to re-do the whole thing.

 

[Buellsox]

I did the roof and all 4 doors with 2 layers of sound deadening. Dropping the headliner (DO NOT REMOVE) is definitely the biggest pain but very doable for a weekend project. No need to do the floors and even the back wall is an option but doesn't make a huge difference. I did a whole speaker / amp replacement in my 2025 RR. I went big. First of all, the most important item is the PAC AP4-FD32 (for the 2025) that allows you to keep the factory infotainment center with the factory chimes and gives you all the plug and play wiring harnesses needed. I added the Focal Utopia components in the front doors and mounted the Beryllium oval tweeters custom in the top corner piece of the doors and ran new wires for those. Also added some Focal full range speakers in the rear doors. These are wired up to the AP4-FD32, then connected to an AudioControl D.6.1200 DSP amplifier. This amp is the sweet spot with built in DSP. This eliminates the need for the super bulky huge crossover boxes that come with the Utopia speakers. The AudioControl does all the crossover frequencies and the DSP handles the delay and sound sync. For the bass I have the JL Audio stealthbox and JL Audio XMD300/1 amp. The amp is daisy chained off the AudioControl. I left the mid speaker in the dash and the stock tweeters unplugged/unused. These speakers are terminated at the head unit anyway and can be accessed there if needed but with my set up they are unneeded. The sound is incredible!!! All in all I have about $6500 invested and since I did all the work myself, including the sound deadening, I probably saved an additional $4k to $6k in labor costs that a high-end stereo shop would have charged.

I started with the Kicker HS10 hideaway and the Kicker KEYLOC - added some bass but still seriously lacking. Then I got the JL Audio Stealthbox & JL Audio XDM300/1 amp - still kept the Kicker KEYLOC. The bass was awesome but now the rest of the stereo sounded like a dime store radio. Keep in mind, I had a 2015 Audi S4 with a factory B&O system that sounded incredible, mostly because the car is built much better for sound; so i had something to compare the RR system to. This is when I knew I had to re-do the whole thing.

Damn! KILLER setup!
You’re a step or 2 beyond what I’ve done. Likewise I 2 layered SD’d all 4 doors and the roof (not as bad as one would think it is), but WHAT a huge gain. Focal’s in the doors, but just the basic plug & play Inside sets for the Fords and swapped the CC for an Infinity 2-way. The sub had to go so that’s been jettisoned for a Hertz 10” shallow mount in the Stealthtech box pushed via a Rockford Fosgate Punch 300.1 downstream of the Kicker Keyloc. Like you I saved a ton by doing all the install myself and making sure it was up to my standards and 100% hidden.
Worth it, imo, to do it yourself and way more rewarding. Your setup looks top notch!

 

[lancerdood]

Damn! KILLER setup!
You’re a step or 2 beyond what I’ve done. Likewise I 2 layered SD’d all 4 doors and the roof (not as bad as one would think it is), but WHAT a huge gain. Focal’s in the doors, but just the basic plug & play Inside sets for the Fords and swapped the CC for an Infinity 2-way. The sub had to go so that’s been jettisoned for a Hertz 10” shallow mount in the Stealthtech box pushed via a Rockford Fosgate Punch 300.1 downstream of the Kicker Keyloc. Like you I saved a ton by doing all the install myself and making sure it was up to my standards and 100% hidden.
Worth it, imo, to do it yourself and way more rewarding. Your setup looks top notch!

Thanks man!!

Here is my spend so far:

1. Sound deadening - Siless from Amazon, both the Siless max 120 mil and the Siless 3in1 200mil - approx $160 (this part took the longest)
2. PAC AP4-FD32 - Creative Audio - $419
3. Focal speakers: - Creative Audio (gave me an awesome deal) -
- Focal Utopia 165-W-XP Component set (front doors) - List is $2199 - I got them for $1599
- Focal PC-165 SF 6.5 Coaxial Speakers (rear doors) - $509
4. AMPs and Sub speaker / box:
- AudioControl D-6.1200 - Amazon - $830
- JL Audio Stealthbox bundled with the JL Audio XDM300/1 amp - Creative Audio - $1640
5. Misc parts:
- Various RCA cables and connectors and speaker adaptors and tools - approx $250
6. Labor / time:
- Total hours invested - about 4 weekends of 6 to 8 hour days!!! - $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ saved!

I can't give enough props to Stinger Support for their help with the AP4 and the AudioControl DSP setup and tuning - great bunch of guys and super willing to help. I'm a lifelong fan now.

Items bought and but replaced:

- Kicker HS10 - Amazon - $310
- Kicker KEYLOC - Sounds Good Stereo - $290

Trying to sell both for $450

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