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I've been through this... and it's been a little bit painful, but not terribly so...

 

I understand you have a Limited, but I own a Sport, and am not certain as to the degree of differences in alternator output, system integrations, etc., so my input might not be accurate on all counts.

 

If you wish though, I would be happy to tell you how I worked around the Sync/My Ford Touch hurdles in getting a fairly respectable sound system.

 

FWIW, (and this is my opinion) the stock front center channel and rear "D-pillar" "surround" in the Edge "premium sound" package are completely worthless. For that matter, EVERY speaker in that entire configuration could use a serious upgrade, but upgrading speakers alone won't make your Edge sound good.

 

The D-pillar output is summed mono, and the center channel, well... just needs to be turned off, disconnected or trashed... trust me, I've studied the schematics.

 

So YES, the center channel and D-pillars are worthless and not worthy of spending money on.

Edited by X2E
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  • 3 weeks later...
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Since my last post here, I've removed the JL stealthbox and installed 4 10" JL10W3V3 woofers where my spare tire used to be (and then some)...

 

Since I'm playing the odds, and I'm hoping that it's a good trade, and I believe it is, since my back is in no condition to allow me to perform a roadside tire-swap, and since I have about 5 different ways to cover roadside assistance, I don't feel too bad in doing this...

 

On the audio side, my Edge is now of the status of "hammering". I've topped 140 Db SPL without taxing the system. In fact, I had to dial it back a bit since the "My Ford Touch" display seemed to get confused and blurry a bit with the SPL (it seemed to possibly be pushing everything on the screen at once), and whacked out the car's system to the point I had to reduce gains. My audio system is now more than my Edge can apparently handle. :(

 

On the technical side (perhaps this deserves a new topic?) I am curious about whether it's possible to dissect the Sony audio head in my Edge and locate the DACs (digital-to-analog converters) and replace them with something else, like a pair of Wolfson converters?

 

I've recently found that the Wolfson DACs used in reference recording and playback of so many of our most treasured tracks (I use them at home) are now much cheaper than they used to be, and damn, if I can feed the stock Sony's digital pickup feed into a pair of Wolfson DACs without a major rip-out, I'm all for it.

 

Anyone?

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi PrinzII... Sorry for the delay in response, I've been traveling a lot...

 

 

I have no capacitors (capacitors are, IMO, nearly worthless in most cases and can even be a severe detriment if you don't have the alternator output to keep them charged and waiting for very short term high current demands in addition to feeding the mean amperage demands of the system). If you cannot feed the mean amperage requirements of the system with your charging setup, no amount of caps or other power buffering gimmicks will make your situation any better, and quite possibly much worse.

 

What I do have is a large alternator (275 amps or so at 14.6 volts-roughly-available at idle rpm) and a couple of XS Power batteries to buffer short duration peak amperage demands. (I suppose a good rule-of-thumb is one of these per thousand watts?).

 

I experience no dimming whatsoever even at night (at idle) with lights and A/C on, and with the sound system warping the rear hatch. ;)

Edited by X2E
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My alternator is from Mechman. It's rated around 370 amps at normal driving rpm (where I've never measured, but I'm sure it's a fairly accurate specification), and it measures around 275 amps at idle rpm. I noted 275 at idle because that's what matters, when you're running the AC at night with lights on and have your foot on the brake, which is exactly where most sound systems are starving for power. www.mechman.com

 

They build a pretty efficient low-drag setup with quite high output. It wasn't a direct replacement, but not too difficult to achieve. It's cranking out some serious amperage, but I haven't noticed it affecting the overall performance of the vehicle at all...

 

For me, and since I'm running some large diodes and a couple of XS Power batteries, this charging system should be more than adequate for a 2000+ watt system (or 4000 watts, for that matter) in any mode of operation, as long as the engine is running.

Edited by X2E
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