System not performing up to expectations.

[Miguels]

How about installing an aftermarket unit that bypasses all the stock stuff. You can hide the Hu in the armrest or glove compartment

wants his controls and Sync system, from one of his replies to an earlier post.... pretty sure ..lol at this point I'm just spewing out what I want to do with my system since I don't care for the in-built but I'm willing to deal w/ and just add sub

read my post again and tell me where i say remove the stock unit.. im saying add and keep stock stuff connected so he can use it like he wants

you know.. install a hidden deck with the amplifiers and leaving the stock alone

[scooter99]

Madvibes, Does that retain the stock chimes and bluetooth signal etc for phone calls? I was reading somewhere that it needs to be on the digital side in order to have that all work still, which was why the JL Audio route was the best.

Just a question, since you have the experience with one. Sorry I overlooked your other post. I was reading this, googling, and reading DIYMA all at the same time. I went crosseyed at one point too I think............SQUIRREL!!! These newer cars with all the "technology and stuff" are becoming harder and harder to customize. Glad I still have an older one where I can say EFF it and do what I want.

[MADVIBES]

That is a very valid question, I have never used the blutooth talk feature only the stream feature which I hate due to poor sound q so I just have it hard wired, the chime works and the nav works. Once you indentify the analog inputs going into your amplifier just use a t tap and run a make shift head phone plug and put on a set of ear buds and see if you can hear all of that through the headset, if you can then all that stuff all the chimes..etc.... is located in your head unit and other parts of the car not your sony amp. Its worth a shot to get an unmolested sound. wont be too much trouble to find out either. I have some free time maybe I get lucky and can find a layout for you.

[scooter99]

Thanks for the explanation. Makes sense to me. Hopefully the OP can use all this info and get what he needs.

[Doxmia]

Hello all. I've been a long time lurker of SMD forums and I know there's a lot of smart people who chat things up here, so I figured I'd finally actually post with the issue that I am having with my current setup. My first post will be a bit long and I'll try to include as much detail as I can.

I have a 2014 F150 with the Sony 8" MyTouch setup (meaning the alpine x003-fd2 unfortunately is not an option as it is not compatible with the 8" setups). I went from a pretty high end custom setup in my Passat to wanting to go a little more "stock" in my F150 while still getting decent sound. Here's my equipment:

Processor: Mosconi 6to8 V8

Components: Focal SP 165FX (running active on the FPD 600.4)

Sub: JL Stealthbox (SB-F-150-SPRCRW/13TW5v2/BK)

Amps: Focal FPD 600.4 and Focal FPD 900.1

Nothing too terribly crazy but not the worst setup in the world, either. That being said - off to a rocky start to where I am now I've just never been fully happy with it. The system itself is capable of being louder but I'm running into limitations of integrating into the factory stereo. Essentially there's no way to bypass the factory sony amp, so it has to go from the sony amp into the mosconi. We've determined at what volume the system distorts (using the SMD DD-1 as to ensure not to go louder than that point). The problem is, I want to be able to go a bit louder than that.

Additional issues are certain songs may cause popping in the mids at what we found to be the "safe" volume, so I tend to keep things a bit lower. That may just be a x-over issue, though. There is also white noise at low volumes while fairly negligible but still bothers me and would like to eliminate that if possible.

The first shop I had working on it was great for the most part, I believe this was their first factory sony integration with this exact setup ('14 F150) and we worked through a few issues and got it to a point where it's significantly better than stock. I've since moved, however, and upon talking to a couple of local shops - their lack of expertise makes me hesitant to give them a try so I'm contemplating waiting till it warms up and just tackling it myself in my garage.

I'm not an expert when it comes to tuning systems. My previous system I ran the Pioneer dex-p99rs and I got pretty decent with time at adjusting it on the fly. With the new Mosconi 6to8 i haven't spent a ton of time since I have to bust out a laptop every time I want to make an adjustment. Mostly just make adjustments by ear to what I feel sounds good - I am not looking to compete, just want a stereo that I can enjoy listening to my music on.

So basically I am wondering: what my options are for possibly being able to increase the output level of my stereo? My gains are set about half on both amps, the bass is fine where it's at (though I'd have to adjust it a bit if I were to increase my front stage).

Someone suggested putting something like an AudioControl LcQ-1 in front of the Mosconi, but from what I understand that would be somewhat redundant (and might even have negative consequences). Can the AudioControl take more distortion? I'm not too sure what the reasoning behind that would be.

When it comes to my factory sony head unit, obviously I have all EQ disabled and flat with no volume adjustment while driving. The obvious answer is to bypass the head unit all together and control the volume from the Mosconi using the remote, but I'd prefer to retain all stock controls if possible.

Looking forward to any thoughts that you guys might have, really appreciate you taking the time to read my post.

Hi I have your solution, I explained it in another post but wasnt really listened to, hopefully you will keep an open mind. On the input of the sony amp there are a pair of wires, they are the unaltered full range signal from the deck. the deck sends out about 5volts of uncompressed clean unclipped signal, there are 4 additional wires that are digital that control the volume of the sony. You have to tap those analong inputs and use those as RCA inputs to your processor, the volume control will no longer function on the head unit. You will need a volume control, I am assuming the mosconi has one? I dont have the amp input schematic for your truck but I have the similar sony system in my SHO. Look at the forums. I think this would solve your issues and bypass all the crappy dsp's and limiters built into the factory amp.

Thanks for the tip - I did know about the signal that you can't control, but as I mentioned in my original post I want to retain factory everything and that includes volume control. I don't want to lose volume control at the deck and the steering wheel. I know I can get the volume control for my Mosconi, but there's a lot of other volume control things the deck does such as muting the music during reverse sensors or other notifications (such as GPS, etc).