2021 F250 stereo upgrade SD 480p

installation tips for upgrading the amplifier and speakers of an 2021 f250 super duty pickup.
Custom Subwoofer and Audio Equipment
mtiacoustics.com/ Audio integrator where I purchased my system. Ask for James Skaggs, he's the best.
Focal 2-way speakers www.focal.com/...
Focal coaxial speakers www.focal-amer...
JL Audio amplifier www.jlaudio.co...
Wiring Harness to allow use of factory wiring catalog.pac-au...
Speaker Tester catalog.pac-au...
Sound deadening www.focal.com/...
Navtv replacement for factory AMP navtv.com/prod...
Rear Seat back release www.amazon.com...

[@petermontez9686]

You nailed it! Beautiful job. The great thing about DIY is that you can take your time to do it right! Thanks.

[@timothymatthews3894]

Thank you!

[@tom98vr4]

Man I really appreciate you sharing your video. It will be my baseline for when I do my stereo upgrade on my F150 Lariat B&O system. Great job!!

[@timothymatthews3894]

Thank you 🙏 let me know if you have any questions. Be glad to help.

[@jessehoward5208]

Man, what a great set up! You did an outstanding job!

[@timothymatthews3894]

Thank you!

[@baq8680]

Nice install. I like that you didn't have to disturb the floor in the rear of the truck and you could put everything behind the back seat. I'm going to do that as well with my new 2023. Thanks for sharing your experience!!

[@timothymatthews3894]

Thanks 👍

[@glovesguy1936]

Thank you!

[@rickyg152]

They make underneath seat box for our trucks if you need more bass I recommend it. Im running 4 ds18 zr6.2

[@zacharyorth4823]

Well done on keeping everything very stock looking. I'm impressed and may try and do something similarly on my 2022 Ford Lariat Diesel. Maybe not quite as in depth but I really want that exact same set up.

[@timothymatthews3894]

Thank you. Let me know if you run Across any issues..I’d be happy to help.

[@adonaya.1594]

looks like you did a very clean installation !!!!! I have a question for you and is if you found condensation behind the back seats? I did my install and one day for check the equirements I found a lot water condensation over them, not sure if I have to insulate the rear wall so Im searching more deep to figure it out 👍

[@timothymatthews3894]

I’ve never had condensation behind the seats. I’m wondering if the vents behind your seat might be dislodged. I covered mine with the acoustic stuff. The only side effect I noticed about that was the doors didn’t close as easily because it was more air tight. Not sure what else would let moisture in.

[@adonaya.1594]

@@timothymatthews3894 Thank you for your comment, I will check if the problem coming from the vents or something else 👍

[@SVTShane361]

Tuning you need to find out where your head unit clips at. Then place your volume at that which in my 2020 Ford F150 is 27 so I place my volume at 26 with the bass knob all the way up and then tune the amps.

[@timothymatthews3894]

Thank you for that. I’m going to do that. Navtv (manufacturer of the zen a/b unit), told me to turn up the head unit 100% and then tune. I’m curious to see if there’s any clipping.

[@SVTShane361]

@@timothymatthews3894 Odd, I have that unit as well. It is after the signal though so it won't be relative to what the head unit does. I'll see if I can find the video I used.

[@SVTShane361]

@@timothymatthews3894 kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z4Oagnhml9atqrM

[@Dmkjr]

What is the door "box" that you put in? Haven't seen that for our trucks yet.

[@gregorysimpson2475]

Tim, You did a phenomenal job on your install! I wish you lived in Texas so you could help me with mine. 😄 I would also like a spreadsheet showing a list of the equipment with pricing. I’d like to set my system up exactly like you have yours. Thanks in advance.

[@timothymatthews3894]

Thank you. I watched a lot of other guys on KZbin. Take your time and you’ll be fine. Send my your email and I’ll send you a spreadsheet with the parts I used

[@robis805]

@@timothymatthews3894 hello man I’m a lil scared of doing my truck but looks like it’s not to bad if you could also send me a spread sheet of the stuff you bought also I would appreciate it thanks

[@timothymatthews3894]

@@robis805 I would recommend having Mti audio put your parts list together. I watched a LOT of videos. Take your time and learn it 100% before you buy anything. I don’t want you to underestimate what’s involved.

[@timothymatthews3894]

@@robis805 but I’ll happily send you what I got

[@ericksonlopez9658]

Does the Zen unit provide leads going back to factory’s speakers to power the speakers with the new amp ?

[@timothymatthews3894]

No, the harness from pac audio connect (link in description) allows you to tie into the factory wiring harness that goes to the speakers. You plug it into the connector that used to be hooked to the factory amp, then other end goes to the speaker outputs on the new amp. The zen unit takes output signals from the headend and creates rca inputs that plug into the input side of the new amp.

[@timothymatthews3894]

Let me know if this makes sense

[@jerrys1248]

Awesome, build! Do you have a link for the subwoofer box? Everywhere I go the tell me I could only do under the seat enclosure. But I don’t want to get rid of the storage.

[@timothymatthews3894]

contact www.mtiaudio.com/. my person was Jim Skaggs Director of Social Media / Online Sales Mobile Toys Inc. / MTI Acoustics tel: [phone] [e-mail] they dont have a direct link to the custom subs. you tell them what you want, and he'll price it out for you.

[@markbest4230]

Really clean install! Do you plan on adding a DSP and do some tuning?

[@timothymatthews3894]

Thanks mark. No plans for a dsp. I really like the sound quality. I have nice highs, mids and lows. I’m following the path of, “ if ain’t broke…” 😂

[@samgoodroe4567]

Great video and explanation of everything. Curious if you’d be willing to share with me your budget for this build?

[@timothymatthews3894]

yes. i'll put together a spreadsheet for you. I can email it to you if you want. It wasn't cheap. the biggest expense was the speakers. plan on $3-5K depending on your choice of equipment!

[@stevebenoit1930]

Hi Tim, great job and great setup!.. if you put together that spreadsheet I would be interested if you wouldn’t mind email to me as well, I can given you my email address.. also, I hadn’t even thought to install the noise canceling acoustic panels in doors.. I have mud tires on mine and the hum of the tires on longer road trips can become annoying, thinking this would greatly reduce that road noise as well as help with the acoustics of Audio… Lastly. I’m assuming you connected all this to factory stereo, correct??

[@timothymatthews3894]

@@stevebenoit1930 hey steven, sorry i missed your note. if you haven't already done so, definitely install the acoustic insulation. you might think about doing the floor as well since you have extra noise from the tires. don't go cheap though. the thinner sound skin might not help that much. the roll of acoustics from focal cost me $400! i used all of it cover the doors and back panel. if you do the floors, you'll need more than i did. i have factory tires which are not noisy but i think for you, it's definitely worth doing.

[@Dub_Oul]

I have this same setup. My sound is really loud even when I have the volume on 1. Do you have that same problem?

[@timothymatthews3894]

The radio is a little louder on 1 but not when using pandora or tidal. It is a little weird though

[@petemilosevich1207]

Great job on the video! What is the part for the battery connection encased unit that you used for the nav tv to connect to?

[@timothymatthews3894]

Here’s a link to the brand I used . It’s called t-spec www.crutchfield.com/fg_715_FFBrand%7cT-Spec/T-Spec-Power-Distribution-Blocks.html

[@audiogod2929]

nailed it!

[@timothymatthews3894]

Thank you 😊

[@brentwatts4080]

Question on the carpet behind the seat. Once you move the box and the wires up, where you able to put the full carpet back or did you have to cut it where the sub is?

[@timothymatthews3894]

Hey Brent, I just put it back. I was going to cut it but found that I could just smash everything in there. The only spot where it looks a little funny is where they have a molded hump in the carpet that now gets pushed in. It behind the seat so it doesn’t matter much. Not sure if that makes sense.

[@lilflip416]

We need a sound demo

[@timothymatthews3894]

Any Suggestions on how to do a good sound demo? Using a phone doesn’t do justice

[@Droopypower]

very nice install

[@timothymatthews3894]

thank you!!

[@georgethacker6404]

Wow! This is great!

[@timothymatthews3894]

thank you! Well worth the money. no regrets

[@gorillaman08zx]

Nice job! Just curious, why doesn’t anybody replace the center channel in the dash? planning on upgrading my Sony system pretty soon.

[@timothymatthews3894]

From what I understand, the center channel is what the car manufacturer uses to create a sound stage. When you upgrade to a better system, the sound stage becomes better with the upgraded stereo systems, reproducing music the way it was recorded.

[@scotthenchel481]

Since you have 2 batteries in your SD, could you not wire to the battery on the DS? I’m getting ready to install my 1/0 wiring for my system and plan on running it down the driver side if possible.

[@timothymatthews3894]

Yes, you can. My super duty is the gas version (7.3L) so I only have one battery. You will save on cable since you have 2 batteries. you're lucky!

[@lilflip416]

Hey isnt the bass knob a bass boost and not gain control? I know jl has great amps but wont it clip turned all the way up?

[@timothymatthews3894]

Yes, you’re probably right however, I’ve played with different settings and found that turning gains all the way up allows me full control from front. With newer music with strong bass, I have to turn the knob down. It probably does clip if I don’t. With old music, I’m able to squeeze more bass out of it.

[@oside_ls3808]

Any way you can get the total length of the sub box? I have some spare MDF board and would like to build something similar. Your set up is clean!

[@timothymatthews3894]

Yes, III measure it tomorrow

[@timothymatthews3894]

hey Oside_Ls3, it is a sealed enclosure measuring 33 1/2 x 14 x 4 the cut out in the center is 10 x 5 x 4 Cost for box only - $220.05 The speaker is a JBL Audio - JL TW# 10 in thin line sub - $329.99

[@oside_ls3808]

@@timothymatthews3894 thanks!!

[@usmcwasson4076]

Also does it get hot back there behind the seat after you’ve had it on for a while?

[@timothymatthews3894]

No, it doesn’t seem too be an issue. I travel a lot and play the music loud for extended periods. No issues.

[@ghostinthetreeline]

Is that the "Shorty" amp board from MTI Acoustics?

[@timothymatthews3894]

Yes it is. They make a custom full length one too.

[@ghostinthetreeline]

@@timothymatthews3894 I'm interested in their single 10 behind the seat box for the 2020 F150 as well as the shorty board. I was curious if I was going to have trouble fitting an Audio Control DM608 and LC5.1300 on it, but after watching your video, I feel much better about that.

[@timothymatthews3894]

@@ghostinthetreeline yeah, you should be good. The other nice thing is that they give you brackets that line up perfectly with mounting points on your truck. It’s very secure.

[@paulmontegut7204]

I’m thinking about getting this same exact setup just so I can contact you with any problems i run into. Looks like a professional did it! Great work you did my guy! Any idea if this would be compatible with a 2020?

[@timothymatthews3894]

Thank you! Happy to help. If you have the b&o system then it should work. If you have Sony, it will be different. Check with Mti audio for a design

[@superduty67ful]

What did your upgrade cost total?

[@timothymatthews3894]

lol..not cheap. about $4k.

[@TheLawlessGang]

i went with an lc2i pro cheaper option im thinking of buying that amp rack hows it holding up.

[@timothymatthews3894]

Zero regrets! I took my time and addressed anything that might be an issue. No rattles. No loose connections. No distortion, great sound quality from lows to highs. Rack is top notch.

[@TheLawlessGang]

did u predrill holes did u use screws to hold the amps in and stuff or did you use inserts? i pulled the trigger on the same amp the shorty ha

[@timothymatthews3894]

@@TheLawlessGang I used screws for the equipment. I laid it out first before drilling anything. I made sure that the location of the equip didn’t hinder the seat going back. Then I drilled holes for the wires and dressed the cables in the back. I made sure I had enough long cables so I could take the board out and lay it on the seat for servicing

[@JagAss-ls7ie]

Good video.

[@timothymatthews3894]

Thanks!

[@robertfrangie8986]

Nice job. Gotta change the cheap head unit to get a better sound quality.

[@timothymatthews3894]

Yea, but I’ll lose all the integrated sounds like backup sensors, phones etc

[@robertfrangie8986]

@@timothymatthews3894 there is a nice dash kit from maestro that retain everything and also it can give you vehicle info. This is just a piece of advise.

[@timothymatthews3894]

@@robertfrangie8986 do you have a link for maestro?

[@robertfrangie8986]

iDatalink KIT-FTR1 Factory System Adapter

[@robertfrangie8986]

Pioneer DMH-WT8600NEX best radio

[@cedpage1]

Great job!!...

[@timothymatthews3894]

Thank you!!

[@usmcwasson4076]

Load and crisp? I’m thinking of doing this to my 22’

[@timothymatthews3894]

Yes. I noticed people tend to concentrate on lots of bass and never talk about the clarity and crispness of the other speakers. This turned out to be a full range stereo system. It has nice separation, the highs and mid ranges are excellent. The focal speakers are REALLY nice!

[@WrightPartyBus1]

What size subs

[@timothymatthews3894]

10 in sub. Has plenty of bass

[@donearl6675]

🥳🤩❗

[@drillsergeant623]

Damn you portrait mode, I can only imagine how many people are not gonna watch this.

[@nolanchance1]

No DSP?

[@timothymatthews3894]

Nope. No dsp. I don’t regret it either. The low level outputs that the navtv unit has, gives a nice clean signal for the amp. The highs and lows are all being reproduced nicely without a dsp.

[@JasonWW2000]

​@@timothymatthews3894The factory head unit has a built-in EQ curve to help the factory speakers give a smooth frequency response. When you change out the speakers the frequency response is it going to be a little out of whack. There's no doubt that a good DSP that's tuned for your particular speakers will elevate the sound quality to the next level. If you're satisfied with the sound quality you currently have then you're probably fine. If in the future you ever wanted to improve the sound, then consider adding a DSP and having it tuned by a professional. 👍

[@timothymatthews3894]

@@JasonWW2000 Jason, thank you for that response. Nobody has ever explained it to me like that. It makes a lot of sense. Although I’m very happy with my current setup, I do notice that some music that is,complex, has trouble being reproduced properly. The ability to reproduce a Full range of music from highs to lows is very important to me. I will try adding a dsp this summer. I’ll probably have to put it under the seat since I’ve used most of the real-estate behind the seat. Any recommendations on brand/model?? Thank you for enlightening me!!

[@JasonWW2000]

@@timothymatthews3894 This can get pretty complex. So far it looks like you are only using 5 channels total. Front L and R, rear L and R and sub. Assuming you want to keep things as they are using passive crossovers, then you only need a 6 channel dsp. These are the most common. You might want to talk to your installer to see what dsp they recommend. Find out if they can tune with an rta. If so, they can recommend one they are used to tuning. If they are not able to rta tune then you'll need to find someone who has the gear and knowledge to tune it. They might recommend a dsp they are familiar with. I know JL Audio has the TWK 88 which is an 8 channel dsp. I don't know much about that unit, but I've heard it's a quality unit. Runs about $550. You'd basically run the rca cables from the Zen to the dsp and then from the dsp to the amp.

[@JasonWW2000]

The tuner person is basically going to set up their microphone and RTA to analyze the sound coming from your speakers and can fine-tune your crossovers and equalization to eliminate any large peaks or dips in the frequency response. Once the response curve is looking and sounding really good you can go into the time alignment section. By taking some distance measurements you can add a time delay to the channels so that the image is best for the driver seat, the passenger seat or the front seat in general. I have a tendency to use two presets that are identical except that the time alignments are flipped. This allows me to use preset one for the driver seat and sounds amazing to me. If I want to give someone in the passenger seat a demo I switch to preset two which has the time alignment perfect for them. And then I might do a third preset that I can just play around with. That's the great thing about dsps. Most dsps have some type of controller that you can mount up front and use it for a variety of things. Some can be a master volume, subwoofer level or preset selector. I know the TWK 88 has a controller that's included. Most modern dsp are adjusted on a laptop. Some have phone apps. I've been using an Alpine dsp for the last 15 years. If I decide to replace it I'll probably go with a Helix unit. Other good brands are Audio Control and Arc Audio.

[@tadamb1]

For the love of God... Turn the phone sideways! Otherwise helpful and informative.

[@r_p_m7330]

Paying extra for the premium system in any vehicle is a waste of money if you really like loud booming music. Better off going aftermarket right away.

[@timothymatthews3894]

The premium sound package is included with the lariat luxury package on the ford. it included a lot of other upgrades for the truck

[@jayroc1502]

Man. You need to learn how to turn your phone to film, or get a normal camera.

[@timothymatthews3894]

Haha..thanks jay. Trust me, my daughters told me the same thing! But, it my defense…this was my first KZbin video! Since then, I’ve “learned” to turn the phone 😂

[@honkey_boy]

I’m doing the same setup on my 22. Did you get the ported box? And also is that a 10 or 8 sub? Great informative video.

[@timothymatthews3894]

It’s a 10” sealed box. It has plenty of tight bass. One thing I didn’t mention in the video was I found a lot of “rattle” points behind the seat. I put insulation around and under the screws and clips that could make noise. Bang on everything to see if it makes noise. If so, fix it. Rattles ruins the music!

[@jprozicki]

@@timothymatthews3894 Hi Tim . Thanks for responding. What is hall sensor that you mentioned?

[@timothymatthews3894]

@@jprozicki I show it in the video. It measures the amperage of your system and keeps the charging systems on your truck working correctly. It like a little black loop with ground wires running through it.

[@aryehcohen4403]

I would like to listen to it ❤

[@timothymatthews3894]

I’m not sure how to do a sound demo. I’ve had people ask for one but I don’t know how to record in high quality. It sounds horrible if I use my phone. Any suggestions?

[@honkey_boy]

Hey another question for ya. Did you run the one rca for the sub from the nav tv to the mono input on the sub channel on the amp? Also did you end up with 80hrz on your amp crossovers? Sorry for all the questions but I have the exact same truck and equipment

[@timothymatthews3894]

Not a problem. It’s fun stuff! Yes, I only used the single output from the Navtv to the left channel of the amp. I also left the crossover at 80hrz.

[@timothymatthews3894]

Send me some pictures of your setup when your done. I’d like to see how it turned out

[@honkey_boy]

Will do

[@honkey_boy]

How in the hell did you get those tweeter mounts from mti to fit?

[@timothymatthews3894]

@@honkey_boy haha… I had to make the speaker hole a little bigger. I just used a razor blade

[@honkey_boy]

What gauge speaker wire did you use for your tweeter’s and nav tv to amp?

[@timothymatthews3894]

I ran 14 gauge speaker wire for both. Tweeters don’t draw much at all. Nether does the Navtv unit (14 ga for ground). The amp is the one thing that needs 4 gauge cables. Also, the Navtv comes with 12 rca audio outputs that plug directly into the amp. I only used 4 of the 12 outputs. You can hook a laptop to the Navtv unit and tell it which outputs you are using.

[@honkey_boy]

Did you do anything with your center dash speaker?

[@timothymatthews3894]

No. But The nice thing about the wiring harness adapter is that allowed me to keep the wiring hooked up to the center channel and only amplify the new speakers. Music only plays through the door speakers and sub. I think the phone audio might come out of the center channel but im not sure.

[@HairExperience]

I really am having a hard time understanding this last statement. If you pulled the factory amp and installed the JL one. There is no “wires “ left to hook to. It would be the new amp or nothing at all. So how did you power the center channel?

[@timothymatthews3894]

I used harness adapters from pac audio. These adapters allow me to have access to factory wiring without cutting. Once I removed the amp, I plugged the factory harness from old amp into to zen a/b. The zen gives me the inputs to new amp. The pac audio adapters allows you a way to keep center channel connected however it does not run through my 5 channel amp. Sorry for late response. Hope that clarifies.

[@timothymatthews3894]

@@HairExperience i was reading your comment again and your right. no sound comes out of my center channel. the connector from pac audio has wires for the center channel and i did connect them to my center channel. but since there is no amplification for center channel, it doesn't do anything. when i was first doing the connections, i figured it couldn't hurt to connect them but after reflection, you're100% right. there's nothing to power the center channel. sorry for the late correction.

[@HairExperience]

@@timothymatthews3894 gotcha. I did the same exact thing. Mine sounds great