2025 Ford F150 Platinum Plus B&O Unleashed (the leash broke again) - System Upgrade - The Sequel

[Sonnie Parker]

Yep... I remember a couple of systems ago I said that was it. But then I broke the promise to myself and upgraded my 2023 F150. While I did skip upgrading my 2024 Ram Limited, here comes the 2025 F150... the sequel to the 2023. Just one more time... just one more time... just one more time... this is it, the final chapter of car stereo system upgrades.

I already have all the acoustic treatment material from ResoNix. I've ordered some door panels from SoundSkinz for additional treatment, as I liked those I used on my previous F150. The sub enclosure under the rear seat is coming from MTI Acoustics. I've used one of their boxes before, and they do a nice job constructing and finishing the enclosures. I'm currently using the Hertz MPS 300 S2 Mille Pro Series 12" shallow-mount 2-ohm drivers in the MTI Stage 1 enclosure, but that will change once I get the ResonNix GUS drivers.

The other equipment has been a cycle, and it continues. Initially, I went with the Audison Forza amps... the M12.14 bit DSP Amp (with Accordo) powering the doors, dash, and rear speakers, and the M1D Amp powering the subs. Great amps, but not what I was looking for with the sub control and Accordo. So I added the miniDSP C-DSP 8x12 DL with Dirac Live ... magical to say the least. But I wanted better center channel processing and better control of the bass, which I felt I would get going with the Helix Ultra S and Conductor. So... I swapped to the Ultra S, Helix P One MK2, 204 Direct, and 206 Direct amps, which all provided more power for the system. The PAC interface feeds the miniDSP, which feeds the Ultra S, which feeds the amps. All good there... happy with this setup.

The speakers... well... what seems like a never-ending cycle of changes. I started with the Hertz subs, and as stated above, I have the ResoNix GUS on order. I started with the Helix Ci5 8" midbass drivers in the front doors and swapped to Stereo Integrity TM8s... and not sure I may not swap to something else... still investigating and experimenting. The dash speakers started with the Blam MS3.55, and they were swapped for the OneAudio WB3.e widebands, which I'm fairly happy with. However, I am considering installing AMT tweeters in the A pillars, but that is yet to materialize... more investigating and more studying. Bottom line... it ain't finished... It's a work in progress.

This is a before-and-after pic of my Carbonized Gray 2025 Platinum Plus. Second pic is after removing rear blocks to lower the rear some (too much rake)... and OCD Tinting and Wraps wrapped it in the Xpel Stealth Matte PPF, as well as tinted the windows with the Xpel XR Plus ceramic tint.

I'm a huge miniDSP/Dirac Live fan, but this time around, I'm going a different route. I'll be using the Audison Forza AF M12.14 bit DSP amplifier. This will power the three dash speakers, the front and rear door speakers, and handle the DSP duties. 160 watts to each front door speaker and 60 watts to each of the other speakers. I don't plan to use the tweeters or the overhead speakers. The rear door factory speakers will be used for rear fill. The M12.14 includes the bit Drive 3.0 software with the Accordo 2.0 program similar to what Dirac Live does. It will no doubt be interesting how it compares. The one extra feature this system will have is the ability to create a center channel, thus, no more tuning for only one seat... both front drivers enjoy a tuned front stage. We'll see how it turns out.

Audison Forza AF M12.14 bit DSP Amp

The Audison Forza AF M1D Amp will be a companion amp to the M12.14 to provide 1200 watts to the Hertz subs. This will be connected using the Audison link cable.

The Audison DRC AC will allow adjustment of master volume, subwoofer level, and DSP presets.

The Audison gear was replaced by the Helix Ultra S, Helix P One MK2, 204 Direct, and 206 Direct amps.




I also have a ReKRAPEINNOS™ REFERENCE HARMONIC NOISE ISOLATOR unit that I'll be installing soon... more on this later.

The PAC AP4 FD32 will pass off the factory system to the M12.14... connected via digital optical cable. No RCA cables in this install.

The Blam MEDIUM S 3.55 wideband mids with a frequency response of 300Hz to 27kHz will be mounted across the front dash. These are the same as what I used in my 2023.

The Blams have been replaced with the One Audio WB3.e 3" wideband speakers.

For the front doors, the Helix Ci5 S200FM 8" Shallow Midbass drivers will be installed using a custom 3D-designed adapter (by Jon at ATA). I'm eager to see how these work on the front doors, although from what few I've learned were using them, they performed very well.

The Ci5s were replaced with the Stereo Integrity TM8 8" drivers.




Hertz MPS 300 S2 Mille Pro Series 12" shallow-mount 2-ohm drivers will be mounted in the MTI Stage 1 box. ***(Soon to be replaced by the ResoNix GUS 12" drivers.)

 

[Sonnie Parker]

The dash brackets allow me to know exactly what to trim in the dash. Remove the dash speakers, attach the brackets and trim the factory dash with my Dremel.

 

[Sonnie Parker]

Like a kid at Christmas!




Got the front of the amp board finished... mounting the PAC on the back.

From this:


To This:


Ferrules... great accessory to have handy for all this wiring.

 

[Sonnie Parker]

Here are some of the doors with the CLD, Guardian, SoundSkin, and block-off plates. I also put more of the sound absorption material in the back of the door panel where possible... as well as applied CLD to the rear and stuffed holes except for the vented area in the back (didn't want to mess up my AC and cabin pressure).

Blam dash speakers mounted - left side and center. Drop in except the center grill had to be removed from the speaker for the center cover to go back on... and on the right dash I had to remove part of the heat duct and reseal it. Maybe could have heated it and shaped it, but I was too worried about the heat melting some of the dash accidentally. I was able to control the Dremel tool much more easily. Of course, these have been upgraded to the OneAudio WB3.e widebands. See next post... AudioFrog GB40 mids have replaced the WB3.e widebands.



Sub box. Secured with screws thru the back of the seat brackets on each side and the middle.

 

[Sonnie Parker]

So... the WB3.e widebands are out. I'm finally going to split my front stage into a 3-way setup and add tweeters. Midbass will remain the TM8 for now... mids will be handed off to the AudioFrog GB40 that I installed today. Wasn't sure a 4" would fit, but it did... and I mean barely it did. Another 1/8", and it would not have worked. The AudioFrog GB10CF will handle the tweeter duties. I'm just now ordering those. I wanted to test the GB40 first, and it works perfectly, so I'm hopping like a Frog.

I dremeled out the opening and then somewhat sealed it with Raamat... then stuffed it with polyfil. Have no idea if that will help, just thought I'd do it.

I did some distortion measurements that I'll share later... they are impressive.