S650 Aftermarket Sound System

[HWill]

Dont be spreading incorrect information there is nothing available today to grab the low level signal before the amp on the 2024 mustang B & O system. The NAV TV system was the only thing that could do it but it wont work on the 2024. You can use a plethora of things to grab a high level sign off the rear speaker or off the sub to add an amp and sub upgrade, but to do it correctly and with the best sound, you need to grab the signal right after the head unit and a way to do that in the aftermarket does not exist as of today.

Grabbing a high level signal is no better than listening to AM radio. Its junk, its always been junk and will always be junk. You cant get rid of the underlying Total Harmonic Distortion using a High Level signal. Sorry.

What makes you think it will not work? The NAV system is not listed for the 24 Mustang because it is not plug and play just like it was not when it first can out the F150....I know as I was one of the first to have it.
There are other A2B interface systems out there too.

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[JAM486HP]

I just uploaded a video of me upgrading my subwoofer in my new S650 with Skar Audio VS-10 D2 shallow mount 2 ohm subwoofer. In the stock subwoofer location. The bass Sounds amazing. I will be upgrading the rest of the speakers throughout the cabin.

Nice!! So you just swapped the sub, no additional amp?

You said run 500 watt RMS to the sub, and the OEM system has 1000 watts? How did you determine how many watts are going to the sub?

So Parallel, you just tapped the OEM positive/negative and ran a pos/neg to each positive terminal on the Skar?

How would I wire it if I get the 4 OHM version?

 

[LaMakina2]

Nice!! So you just swapped the sub, no additional amp?

You said run 500 watt RMS to the sub, and the OEM system has 1000 watts? How did you determine how many watts are going to the sub?

So Parallel, you just tapped the OEM positive/negative and ran a pos/neg to each positive terminal on the Skar?

How would I wire it if I get the 4 OHM version?

I went on the B&O website and looked up Mustang.

The speakers are 500 rms.
Can’t run a 4ohm cause it drops it to a 2ohm load. I’m not sure if the amp will take the load. If someone here knows about it. Actually I ran it in series. After looking at the writing giants on Skar website.
Skar has a wiring diagram here for the speakers.

https://help.skaraudio.com/article/...4JoB-IUyGqjzXhGaHTRaxM8CbWXEN32hoCXmsQAvD_BwE

 

[JAM486HP]

I went on the B&O website and looked up Mustang.

The speakers are 500 rms.
Can’t run a 4ohm cause it drops it to a 2ohm load. I’m not sure if the amp will take the load. If someone here knows about it. Actually I ran it in series. After looking at the writing giants on Skar website.
Skar has a wiring diagram here for the speakers.

https://help.skaraudio.com/article/...4JoB-IUyGqjzXhGaHTRaxM8CbWXEN32hoCXmsQAvD_BwE

Ok thought you said in the video you ran it parallel... The OEM amp is 4ohm correct?

So from the OEM sub wire, you spliced both pos together and ran the wire to the pos coil on the speaker, same with the OEM neg to the other coil and then a jumper wire (series)+ to- on the speaker?
TIA

 

[DCBuckeye]

wiring is different the colors don’t match from what you sent. I’ve been looking but I’ll get the full detail at a car audio shop tomorrow.

Don't suppose you ever found out. I'm in my trunk right now looking at this wiring bundle and can confirm it is different. Sigh.

Edit: I found what what looks to be the correct wiring. This guy was working on a 2024, his wiring looks the same as in mine. Link.

Blue-White = Left speaker +
Yellow-Green = Left speaker -
Brown-Blue = Right speaker +
Gray-Brown = Right speaker -

 

[Jrws1014]

Where did you get t

To say that the new B&O sound system in the 2024 Mustang GT Premium wasn’t very impressive would be an understatement. I was hoping that Ford stepped it up with all of the new electronic enhancements in the S650 but they did not. This system is basic to say the least and does little to excite you. No DSP and a basic 3 level eq for bass, mids, and highs. It would have been nice to have a separate adjustment for the subwoofer but it does not.

The only positive would be clarity. I did not hear any distortion and/or clipping at any volume. Again, the volume level does little to impress but it’s clear.

Metra, Scosche, PAC Audio, none of the manufactures are making wiring harnesses for the S650 yet. I am sure it won’t be long but as of this post they have nothing. Eventually I would like to replace all of the speakers in the S650 but for now I will just add subs and an amp.

For the most part it’s just like any S550 installation. A few of the trim panels are different but similar enough. One big difference, while not affecting the install, was no more battery box. The new battery is out in the open. See picture below:

I tapped into the factory subwoofer wiring for the input into the AudioControl LC2i Pro Line Output Converter. This will provide the desired low frequencies for the subwoofer amp. The factory sub is a dual voice coil sub with what I thought was left and right inputs. After playing around with fading on the screen and testing with a meter, I discovered that both of the voice coils of the factory subwoofer are feed with the same mono input. What does that mean? It means that you only need to tap into one of the pairs and not both. Here are some pictures of the factory subwoofer.

The bass roll off in the factory B&O system starts at volume level 22. You will hear no increase in bass out of the subwoofer after volume level 22. That is where the AccuBASE feature of the AudioControl LC2i Pro Line Output Converter comes into play. It will fill in the subwoofer bass after volume level 22.

I did not reconnect the factory sub. I just bolted it back into the factory spot so that you wouldn’t see the ugly cut outs in the carpet.

I also placed sound deadening material all around the trunk area to avoid any unwanted rattles and improve overall sound quality.

Here is a picture of the install:

I wish I would have taken more pictures during the install but at the time I was not thinking about writing a thread. Overall, the install was pretty easy with only a few issues.

Important take aways:

• You only need to tap into 1 of the leads feeding the factory dual voice coil subwoofer. Tap into the wiring behind the factory plug so that you can actually remove the factory sub box without affecting your connection.
• Run power and ground just like any S550 install.
• Bass roll off is at volume level 22 on the B&O system.
• Despite all the added sound deadening material, the rear deck lid behind the back seat rattled really bad! I had to resort to stuffing the cavity with scrap pieces of felt to stop.
• The deck lid behind the rear seats is a pain to remove with little room to maneuver. You have to first remove the two side panels between the window and deck lid. The deck lid is slotted and 2 prongs from these panels go into the deck lid. The deck lid also has 3 blue retaining pins holding it to the sheet metal. One left, one right, and one center. Easy enough to access from below but tricky to squeeze and push through. You also need to remove and/or loosen the side panels beside the back seats. This will give you access to remove the seat belt strap from the plastic guides built into the rear deck lid. Once you have all this removed, you can finally slide out the rear deck lid (plastic piece). Be careful when removing the deck lid!!! It will want to catch and snag the wires feeding the rear defroster. I almost pulled mine loose from the window. You can actually remove the wires from the terminals on the window first if needed.

Here is a list of the material used in the install:

Skar Audio SKv2-1500.1D Amplifier

2 Rockford Fosgate P3D2-12 Subwoofers

AudioControl LC2i Pro Line Output Converter w/ Remote

Stinger SSCap2M 2 Farad Digital Capacitor

Stinger SPD512 PRO Series Power Distribution T-Block

Stinger 1/0 Gauge Amp Kit (SK4201)

Dynamat sound deadening material

XS Power D4700 Battery

Where did you get the box?

 

[LaMakina2]

Don't suppose you ever found out. I'm in my trunk right now looking at this wiring bundle and can confirm it is different. Sigh.

Edit: I found what what looks to be the correct wiring. This guy was working on a 2024, his wiring looks the same as in mine. Link.

Blue-White = Left speaker +
Yellow-Green = Left speaker -
Brown-Blue = Right speaker +
Gray-Brown = Right speaker -

I decided to change it and run it in series to get the 4ohm load. Going to update the video.

Working- Black and green negative
Purple and yellow are Positive

My car is a 2024

Sorry for the late reply.
I did put the wires together and wired it in series.

Now I’m getting the amp so I can run it in parallel and run a 1ohm load.

 

[LaMakina2]

Im not sure what happened here when it comes to deciding what is and is not good audio, but SKAR is not it, SKAR is considered to be at the bottom of the food chain sorry, I think problem comes in where people hook a sub and say wow thats loud and it sounds awesome, and its easy to do unless you have been exposed to what exceptional bass sounds like. SKAR my friends is not it. IF spending money is a problem after buying a 60K car, and you want nice audio above what the factory had for subs, go to some middle ground like Alpine, Pioneer, Rockford Fosgate, Kicker, JL Audio, something anything but SKAR, please. That is right next to BOSS audio.

I want to add, and I think I said this before, I have been at this a very long time like a little over 40 years, having had 2 audio shops, had my car at the time written up in Car Stereo Review, Car Sound of Japan, Car Stereo of the UK, I was 100% sponsored by A/D/S and Pioneer. I competed Expert 601+ and judged sound quality for 12 years. Now, I moved more into Home Audio recently did a built where Alpine came out to listen to from CA. So, that being said, I have a clue as to what does and does not sound good. It doesnt mean you have to like it, and it doesnt mean it sounds good to you, but it sounds correct. As for the Ford B & O system, it lacks some low end extension. Low end extension does not mean MORE VOLUME, or more BASS, its a type of bass. Using the RTA its dropping off about 80 Htz and 80Hts is not even in the sub bass region. So a more defined sub with more power so you can cross it over at 60Htz, getting it to play down to 30 or so would be a perfect edition to the Mustang. Adding more subs does not guarantee better bass. Im an audiophile and not a bass head, and I have heard some of the absolute best car audio systems in the world, and have judged over 2500 vehicles, and have heard 1000's of the best home speaker systems in the world. Trust me when I say I am qualified to make this assessment.

Just adding speakers to this car will not fix it. You have to be able to grab the signal after the head before the amp. Insert a DSP, add your speakers, amps and such and retune. The technology to do this does not exist as of yet, Ford spend Millions tuning this vehicle, and for what it is, its not the best I have ever heard but it is nicely balanced, slapping a bunch subs in the back without though will just make the car obnoxious and boomy. You need to grab the signal at the back, preferably at the sub, use an audio control LCI, use a clean amp, like a rockford, alpine, audio control has some really nice sub amps, and get something like a rockford 10", something that will go in a small enclosure, 1 cube or less. Make sure its sealed do not do any ported crap.

That should solve your discomfort with the system. Replacing speakers without retuning is just dumb and you will not get any benefit out of it. The factory speakers if they are a lower ohm, it will just make the system sound louder, not better.

Yes your’re right I could’ve went with an Alpine type R or JL audio speaker system but I’m waiting to change the entire system. Speakers amps etc. If I could do it all over again I wouldn’t have purchased the B&O I would’ve spent the money on an aftermarket system.

Any subwoofer you put in is better than what I spent on B&O. Whether it’s a top of the line speaker or the bottom of the food chain. I know about sound systems. Just look at my recording studio. Nothing but the best.

You missed the point of the entire reason for the video.

 

[Fruitstang]

Besides ... no better way to check own music mixes /masterings than listening them on crappy stereo systems

 

[Bigemike]

Did you ever find out if that harness works for the base six speaker and where it’s located

Knowing that I would have to do a custom install featuring my AudioControl D-6.1200 DSP amp, I am considering my options for the 300A base 6 speaker audio in mine. The door panels actually have grilles molded in for the midrange driver location so they can stay. A set of Focal 165AS3 3-ways for the front and ACX 165 for the rear deck await…. I’ll skip center channel this time as I like how my car has a simple blank plate to cover that place in the dash. I suspect that the ACM in the 2024 Mustang has the new form factor for its plugs like that on the F150 2021+, both vehicles running Sync 4. The trucks use an ACM that mounts straight down into the dash, not a “slide-in” like old car stereos and the S550 cars. I wonder if Ford still has a “slide-in” form factor for the S650 ACM? I bought the harness linked below from Crutchfield for my 2023 F250SD (7.3 Godzilla, reg cab long bed 4x4, a beast!) and I plan to pull the ACM out of my new Mustang just to put eyes on it and confirm that it, too, is a non-amp new form factor audio head unit, for which this same harness might work.

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_541LPHFD31/PAC-LPHFD31-LocPro-Advanced-T-Harness.html

Crutchfield has yet to examine one of our cars so I may well be the one to send them photos If I do mine soon enough. I’ve also noticed that my car has two separate screens for dash and center display instead of one larger screen like I saw in a 401A car the other day. I wonder if the display quality is different between the two arrangements? Finally, I was able to install and code (Forscan) an ACM from a 2021 F150 to get XM Radio and HD Radio into my 2023 F250SD. If I can source the ACM for a 301A or better Mustang, I’ll try it here too. I can’t find diagrams or part numbers yet though.

 

[Bigemike]

Where is the factory harness for the radio located on the base model 6 speaker mustangs, I need to be able to get to the door and the rear speakers at one plug.
I have my system figured out and just need to work on the integration side. System Specs Audison Forza m12.14 DSP Amp Running a 3 way active front Hertz Mille Stage And I am going to use the DSP output to a kenwood 1000.1 mono block running two front firing Hertz mille shallow mount 12's Also does anyone with knowledge of the cars and the Audison Amps know if I will need resistors when using the high level inputs from the car? Thanks Mike

 

[Bigemike]

I wanted to add this to this thread too, this is the install info for location and pinout of the factory ACM for the 6 speaker car, its nice to have a ford tech I know use this harness https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C4VBMPTK?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

 

[98jfuentes]

You guys can use this PAC Bypass to remove the factory DSP/ Amp mounted in the left quarter panel & grab signal from the head unit to run to a proper 4 channel. This bypass retains all chimes and controls they @ a preset level. It also lets you use a aftermarket DSP or assign frequency values to the three adjustable settings on the radio. The only OEM DSP controlled speakers in the S650 are the doors & deck(subwoofer too). For a proper system, you’ll have to run wires from center speaker & pillars to the 4 channel.

going to attempt this project later this month. I’ll post pics once it is done

 

[Wiley Marmot]

@98jfuentes --STOP! You've intimidated me! I'm leaving mine alone except for maybe swapping out the sub. I can probably handle that without ing things up.....................maybe.

 

[Drewmandoo]

You guys can use this PAC Bypass to remove the factory DSP/ Amp mounted in the left quarter panel & grab signal from the head unit to run to a proper 4 channel. This bypass retains all chimes and controls they @ a preset level. It also lets you use a aftermarket DSP or assign frequency values to the three adjustable settings on the radio. The only OEM DSP controlled speakers in the S650 are the doors & deck(subwoofer too). For a proper system, you’ll have to run wires from center speaker & pillars to the 4 channel.

going to attempt this project later this month. I’ll post pics once it is done

Which "harness" ties back the aftermarket amp back to the factory wiring? I was trying myself to find out with this exact kit, but I couldn't sort out with their instructions and never purchased it.

I plan on swapping the factory amp and running a better one with a DSP, but no matter where I Look, I cannot sort how to tie the new amp back into the factory harness. Any luck with you install?

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