Mark VIII config questions

[LSCyaL8R]

I'm not a stranger to custom audio installs. I spent forever planning the stereo in my Firehawk and the results are fantastic. I have a full system in my saturn also and have been very happy with the results of all the installs i've done.

This also isn't my first Mark VIII. I owned a 97 from 2003-2008 but only ever put a sub in that one.

The 98 I just picked up has a blown sub driver in the front passenger side. After the successful installs i've done on my saturn and hawk I've decided that a full system replacement may be in order here. However, the JBL system is an almost completely different animal than the monsoon in my hawk. The monsoon had true tweeters in the doors and hatch. The Lincoln has sort of a mid/high driver in the tweeter location and this is the first dilemma i'm encountering in my journey to plan a system.

I like the imaging of the factory system. I think it presents a pretty decent sound stage and I know this is because of how the crossovers are set up between the mid/high and bass drivers. I was wondering what the frequency response of the factory mid/high driver is. I know of some tweeters that go as low as 2k hz but i'm sure the factory drivers go lower than that. What if anything could i do to upgrade the factory speakers without losing the factory sound stage. I'm afraid that the direction the bass drivers point would really muddy the sound if too much of the vocal range was coming from the area occupied by my knee.

Thanks for any help.

 

[chris2523]

lol. i like your name. LSCyaL8R. that's great.

What if anything could i do to upgrade the factory speakers without losing the factory sound stage.

is this the jbl system?
if so,
the main problem with the factory amp set up in the JBL system is the amp is carefully tuned the factory speakers. anything aftermarket messes it up.
do you plan to keep the factory amp?

after that, many of us have found the the amp is sort of a time bomb. i've lost two of them. and after the second i rewired everything head unit back.

edit, i see that it is in fact a jbl system.

 

[LSCyaL8R]

I just replaced two blown factory woofers with factory replacements. Still have buzzing. I think one of the rear "tweeters" is shot too.

I would like a high end system in this car. I did extensive installs in my other two cars. the Firehawk getting the best of the best. Pioneer Premier for everything. copper chassis head unit with time alignments and active crossovers, fully rewired, the best components pioneer made at the time with super high quality passive crossovers, competition grade premier sub and the two amps that make up the current "Stage 4" system. It's too bad the hawk can't really benefit from all that. too much noise from the engine lolol.

I don't think the Lincoln needs that kind of a crazy system, but I DO want a serious upgrade. I feel like the stock JBL system is one of the best factory systems i've heard. At normal listening levels it has amazing presence and with a sub added to it the thing sounds phenomenal. Once I was able to turn the bass on the factory head unit down (on my last mark) the factory system came to life.

I never got deeper than that on my last one for the same dilema i'm having now. I don't want to mess up the sound stage and regret trying to upgrade. I DO want to have a touchscreen with bluetooth in this mark so I know I need to do something. just not sure what.

 

[chris2523]

i think your amp or head unit is dying. many have experienced the buzz in a dying stock system before. i certainly have, changed amps, it went away.
amps aren't expensive. and if you want to stay stock, you will want a spare anyway.

 

[LSCyaL8R]

Lucky me... I still have my JBL amp from my 97 :-D

might just give that a shot. because i can't imagine a crackle coming from the rear tweeter

 

[LSCyaL8R]

I tracked down all the buzzing to trim panels. the factory speakers and HU and amp are working 100% as intended now.

I also did a little testing to see where the factory system crossover is set. It's a mighty low 500hz or so.

I am not aware of any woofer/tweeter component sets that cross that low. Lowest I've experienced is about 2k. leaves me wondering about the possibility of cramming a mid and tweeter into the area currently occupied by the mid/high driver. It'd require either a fancy pants head unit that i don't really want or a trick passive network to put 80-500 to the woofer 500-2k to a mid and 2k+ to a tweeter.

In a setup like that i'd only really be able to actively control the high pass filter on the woofers since everything above that is handled passively. I'm most attracted to this setup because it would preserve the factory sound stage entirely but would require a not insignificant amount of custom fabrication and a total of 12 speakers in the passenger compartment. add in a pair of 10 or 12 inch subs and the amps to power it all and this is looking like a REALLY big project just to keep the perceived sound field as high up as it currently is.

Ideas always appreciated and i'll be sure to add to this as the concept develops in my head.