Help with Ford Fusion aftermarket!

[pazmusik]

Hey all,

I have a 2014 Ford Fusion. It's the absolute base trim. 4-inch factory screen, no Sony. As many know, the factory stereo leaves much to be desired.

Decided to try and improve things first with speakers and amp, before going down the road of aftermarket head units and dash kits.

Installed: JL VX700/5i, Infinity Kappa components in front (left factory speakers in rear), JL TW3 10" sub in a sealed JL box. There is also a WavTec 6-channel feeding line level to the VX.

Sound is better, but obviously there are problems, chief of which is still awful DSP and EQ from the factory stereo. Plus there's a lot of noise-floor hiss, possibly exacerbated by WavTec and VX inputs (perhaps the gain trims are bumped too high; I didn't do the install, don't have the experience.)

I researched JL TWK units but I feel like just putting in a new head unit is going to go further to solve problems in one go. Researched Metra and the Chinese-built CarNaviPlayer kits. A local installer tells me a cornerstone of his business is taking out Metra kits because they've caused all sorts of problems with other electrical features in the car (A/C controls, etc.)

My A/C in the Fusion is totally manual, two dials, no "Auto" temp setting. Should I heed the installer's warning, or feel comfortable with a Metra kit? And has anyone had any experience with CarNaviPlayer?

Any other thoughts regarding the current problems and how to manage them would be greatly appreciated. I thank you in advance.

~ PAZ

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[Seth F.]

A new head unit rich in features or a good DSP will cost you about the same honestly. I opted to maintain my factory head unit in my '18 Tacoma and spend the money on an Audio Control DM-608 DSP. DSP's will fix the crappy signal coming out of the head unit and compensate for bass roll off and odd frequency manipulations car manufacturers use to keep the factory speakers from blowing. Pioneer makes a nice head unit with a built in DSP/EQ but again, its relatively the same price or more as a good DSP. Going with a DSP also has the added bonus that you wont have to spend extra money on an adapter to interface with your steering wheel controls, which for today's vehicles means another $200+ if you want to retain everything. If that WavTec is only a line output converter with channel summing then you are still at the mercy of the stock HU EQ and crossover and gain settings on your amps.

Also, make sure to ask your installer if they level matched the stock HU to the LoC and the set the gains properly on the amps to avoid clipping.

I haven't heard anything bad about Metra kits. There are others like Best Kits and PAC. Did they say specifically what the problem was with the Metra kits?

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

dang some people that actually understand how shitty the head unit, i actually shed a tear of joy lol.

question is are you attached to the idea of having to use the head unit? If you only care for audio, you can just stream directly to the dsp and bypass the head unit completely, it'll just be there for looks, nothing is done to it, just you'll have your new system managed through the dsp and audio played through the dsp.

 

[pazmusik]

Thanks so much, guys, for the prompt responses, and for being substantive and useful. FYI, the VX amp has onboard DSP, which is pretty robust, but sadly does not have a streaming feature (nor is one slated to be added.) So I'm still stuck on improving the source.

Seth, I will check with the installer on his process when installing the WavTec and matching level to the stock HU.

Jeff... I think I am firmly committed to replacing the stock HU. Although I'm a total newb when it comes to car audio, in real life I'm a sound engineer and studio consultant. An overriding principle in my field is to not unnecessarily stack DSP'ed audio with more DSP'd audio. I want to do whatever is necessary to get as close to a flat signal at the source before hitting the JL, and anyway the prospect of going in Toslink to the JL is too compelling. ;-)

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

Thanks so much, guys, for the prompt responses, and for being substantive and useful. FYI, the VX amp has onboard DSP, which is pretty robust, but sadly does not have a streaming feature (nor is one slated to be added.) So I'm still stuck on improving the source.

Seth, I will check with the installer on his process when installing the WavTec and matching level to the stock HU.

Jeff... I think I am firmly committed to replacing the stock HU. Although I'm a total newb when it comes to car audio, in real life I'm a sound engineer and studio consultant. An overriding principle in my field is to not unnecessarily stack DSP'ed audio with more DSP'd audio. I want to do whatever is necessary to get as close to a flat signal at the source before hitting the JL, and anyway the prospect of going in Toslink to the JL is too compelling. ;-)

Thats exactly what streaming to a dsp like the dayton dap 408 does. Pure aptx HD lossless stream to the high quality 24 bit dac and then goes straight to the amp. The wavetech you bought is a big waste of money. All you are summing up is a garbage heavily EQ'd signal and you are amplifiying it. With the dayton dsp bluetooth dongle, its just straight phone to dsp. All audio adjustments, active crossovers etc are done on the dayton app(download and play with it) that means a full flat strong signal without any stock head unit crap killing the SQ. Nothing will be connected to the head unit. All it needs is power, remote and ground and the dsp will be your head unit. I can vouch for the sound quality of aptx hd being on par with a CD played on the same system that even MECA sound quality judges cant tell apart in a blind test.

You sorta shot yourself in the foot by buying a dsp amp and basically a far overpriced line out convertor. Even if you dont have a direct bluetooth stream the dayton has signal summing and more advanced dsp capabilities than the JL dsp amp. You would have saved a lot of money and just gotten a non dsp amp and put more money to higher quality speakers along with acoustical treatments to the vehicle.

Also id delete the rears completely, they mess up the sound stage and hurt more often than help. Pretty sure you are running the components in active mode and getting rid of the passive crossover because passive crossovers in a car environment is like playing the lottery, either the crossover point works well with the car acoustics/resonances/reflections or more of the times you get mediocre or crap results.

 

[pazmusik]

Jeff.... I have no issues with starting all over, doesn't bother me. The JL and the WavTec are brand new; I could sell them and get some money back.

What would you recommend for an amp for the components & sub, assuming I was streaming through the Dayton?