Really looking into upgrading from 11 speaker to revel 14 speaker

[esqueue]

I am thinking upgrading my 11 speaker in my 2017 MKZ to a 14 speaker revel system. The only thing that makes this difficult is the lack of specs for everything. My first issue is the amount of speakers. I keep coming up with one short for the 14 speaker. 
Center Dash:                           Standard 1  Revel 2

Front Driver/Passenger:        Standard 4  Revel 4

Rear Driver/Passenger:         Standard 4  Revel 4
Rear Deck:                               Standard 2  Revel  3? Two 6x9 and one in the center. Where is the missing one?
Where are they located on the 14 speaker setup?

I am also looking to see if any of my speakers get kept. I don't want to buy lots of speakers if my current is the same. According to a few part sites, the Front door mid range speakers are the same between the 11 and 14 speaker setups. I really wonder is the other parts are the same but part numbers vary due to different mounting options. 

I know that the center dash speaker is completely different and a center rear panel speaker is needed, along with amps and wiring. I already have the ACU. I'll definitely have to purchase a wiring diagram to see what connectors are needed and needs replacement and adding. 

Any more suggestions?

[kramf411]

Center Dash: MidRange +Tweeter (2)

Front Doors: Tweeter, Midrange, MidWoofer (6)

Rear Doors: Tweeter, MidWoofer (4)

Rear Deck: Subwoofer (2)

[esqueue]

 

3 minutes ago, kramf411 said:

Center Dash: MidRange +Tweeter (2)

Front Doors: Tweeter, Midrange, MidWoofer (6)

Rear Doors: Tweeter, MidWoofer (4)

Rear Deck: Subwoofer (2)

Thank you. 

[fusionff]

[Multitask]

I think even if you can do it, I would think there is a bit of programming... just so your system knows you have 14 speakers....

[esqueue]

4 minutes ago, Multitask said:

I think even if you can do it, I would think there is a bit of programming... just so your system knows you have 14 speakers....

The programming using FORScan is actually the easy part. Some APIM and ACM programming should be all that's needed. Finding out that the front door has 6 instead of 4 is a bit discouraging though.

 

[Multitask]

What I do like about mine (14) is that Android Autos sounds come out of the front center.... 

Not sure if that works for the 10 as well...  ?

[TomV]

I would not recommend upgrading the 11 speaker system to Revel... unless perhaps you just use your Revel-ACM and investigate the iData Maestro options for aftermarket amps and speakers.

 

As you've probably seen, I have the thread of upgrading Revel from 14 to 20 speakers. That was only possible because most of the wiring, connectors and speaker placement were already in place.

 

To do the upgrade to Revel correctly, you'd need new door panels with the proper speakers and alignments. Then you'd need to run separate speaker connections for all 8 drivers up front and 4 in the rear. You'd also need the proper molex connectors, a Revel 14 channel amp and USB T cable to connect to the ACM. There is little to do in Forscan in the ACM section, but that would be the easy part. All of this work would cost too much (unless you had a donor vehicle) and you could build an aftermarket system that probably sound better.

 

My recommendation would be to upgrade your existing mids and tweeters speakers with something like these Focal Inside IS FORD 165  and run off the factory head unit for the time being. Since your system already has a separate subwoofer amplifier, it would be easy to replace with a better amp and subs. You'll also want to invest in the wiring diagram service manual if you plan to go beyond just a sub amp upgrade, in order to know all the pinouts of the ACM wiring harness.

[esqueue]

2 minutes ago, TomV said:

use your Revel-ACM and investigate the iData Maestro options for aftermarket amps and speakers.

I called them and they were very adamant to the fact that they do not support Lincoln. I then question whether they support the Ford Fusion as some of their MY 2017 Fusion and Escape has a very similar setup to ours. He said that they only support it if doesn't have an amplifier.  As I learned above, the revel 14 has more speakers in the doors and reading up seems that even putting them behind the grills will affect the sound quality.. Thing is I am okay with the sound quality but really want HD radio for the times when I listen to FM.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Audio-Video-Equipment-Radio-Amplifier-Receiver-2018-Fusion-Sku-2586996/312933041196?_trksid=p2485497.m4902.l9144
This shows the fusion ACM which is exactly like ours but with a CD player. It seems that the Fusion top of the line system uses a similar setup but uses a Sony amplifier. For a 12 speaker setup. If I can get this amp to work, my current speakers, that would resolve my initial issue. I mainly wanted to add HD radio. If I just need a sony amp, with my current speakers, The manual that covers both the fusion and Mkz will work. I'm sure that my current ACM will work once I properly configure the APIM and ACM

 

[TomV]

Yeah, iDatalink definitely doesn't support Lincoln Revel, but as you mentioned... it might work for the Fusion application. The Sony amp might be an option too, I'd have to research.

 

Their Maestro DSR1 adds Rockford Fosgate digital signal processing to most aftermarket amplifiers.  It uses a vehicle-specific T-harness to intercept the audio from a Fusion ACM, process it and sends it to aftermarket amplifier, then connects the the aftermarket amps speaker leads back to the vehicles speaker wires.

 

 

[kramf411]

@esqueue Do you plan on using OEM speakers for the conversion or go aftermarket?

 

Does anyone else here replaced/upgraded their speaker drivers on the Revel 14 or 20 speaker system? What did you use?

[TomV]

2 hours ago, kramf411 said:

Does anyone else here replaced/upgraded their speaker drivers on the Revel 14 or 20 speaker system? What did you use?

 

I've thought about higher end replacements, but not sure how different impedances and efficiencies would affect the Revel amplifier and equalization. Revel put in a great deal of engineering time to match the components. I'm sure they would have loved to have taken the system a step further, but had to work within the constraints set by Lincoln.

 

As far as the Revel speakers, the tweeters and midranges are good for what they do. The Revel lower door and rear deck woofers might benefit from a higher quality driver with more excursion and a rubber surround, such as the Focal set I pointed out above, but I probably won't try it unless I blow one of my OEM drivers. 

 

What the Revel systems really need is a true subwoofer and that's something I'm working on for next spring, hence my other thread.

[CDW6212R]

Interesting to read of upgrades, I like the ideas.

 

I'm starting to hunt an MKZ harder now that I have my trade in close to ready. I've learned how different the models are, and the 17-20's are my preference.

 

In the 2017-20, can you tell by the front door panels, which have the 14 speaker Revel system, versus the 20 speakers? It's tiresome reading lots of descriptions full of standard equipment words, only about 5% of what's written relate to optional features.

 

I've narrowed my hunt to a 2019 preferably, the V6's now have the torque vectoring built into them(optional in 2017/18). The Elements and Luxury packages seem to cover what I'd like, and I don't think those relate to the radio at all.

 

I'm not thrilled with the color choices available, and most are white or black, and half have black interiors. The best I've found is a new 2020 in FL, an Iced Mocha paint and the two packages mentioned, plus three speakers on each front door.

[esqueue]

14 minutes ago, CDW6212R said:

In the 2017-20, can you tell by the front door panels, which have the 14 speaker Revel system, versus the 20 speakers?

From my brief research, I believe that you can.  The 14 has 2 speakers per rear door while the 20 has 3.

[TomV]

Silver tweeters and speaker grilles indicate it's a Revel Ultima 20 speaker system, black is the 14 speaker.

[CDW6212R]

Thanks, I'm slowly learning the details.

 

I spent about an hour at the dealer yesterday and ended up looking at three cars. I wanted to see the interiors in person, and they didn't have many on that lot(big dealer with two large lots for just the new Ford and Lincolns). The trip was almost a waste(the five minutes at the cars was helpful), they told me they only saw 2 AWD 3.0's in their system, of all the dealers. That was the last thing they told me, before that it was that they couldn't find the existence of the one wheel I liked, on a 2020 MKZ. I knew I had seen tons of them online, I went there with the worry of colors, and what the interiors looked like, how they differed.

 

At home I saw tons of AWD V6 in the country, plus the good wheel on all models still. I just need to find one with a color I can live with, and a light colored interior(no all black versions). I like a new 2020 Iced Mocha MKZ I saw in FL, but a brand new car isn't what I had in mind.

 

I'll watch for the Revel 14 and 20 door panels in my hunting. It sounds like the 14 speaker system will get me going if I have to settle.

Edited October 8, 2020 by CDW6212R
spelling

[bbf2530]

4 minutes ago, CDW6212R said:

Thanks, I'm slowly learning the details.

 

I spent about an hour at the dealer yesterday and ended up looking at three cars. I wanted to see the interiors in person, and they didn't have many on that lot(big dealer with two large lots for just the new Ford and Lincolns). The trip was almost a waste(the five minutes at the cars was helpful), they told me they only saw 2 AWD 3.0's in their system, of all the dealers. That was the last thing they told me, before that it was that they couldn't find the existence of the one wheel I liked, on a 2020 MKZ. I knew I had seen tons of them online, I went there with the worry of colors, and what the interiors looked like, how they differed.

 

At home I saw tons of AWD V6 in the country, plus the good wheel on all models still. I just need to find one with a color I can live with, and a light colored interior(no all black versions). I like a new 2020 Iced Mocha MKZ I saw in FL, but a brand new car isn't what I had in mind.

 

I'll watch for the Revel 14 and 20 door panels in my hunting. It sounds like the 14 speaker system will get me going if I have to settle.

 

Hi CDW. In addition to the information TomV gave you about the speakers: The 20 speaker Revel Ultima system also has a plate on the center dash speaker that states "Revel Ultima".

 

Also, the 2017-2018 3.0T AWD model was only available with the Black leather w/white trim interior. And I believe the 2019 3.0T AWD models were only available with a black leather interior (but am not 100% sure).  That is why you are not able to find many 3.0T AWD MKZ's with non -black/light interiors.

 

Good luck with your search.

[CDW6212R]

36 minutes ago, bbf2530 said:

 

Hi CDW. In addition to the information TomV gave you about the speakers: The 20 speaker Revel Ultima system also has a plate on the center dash speaker that states "Revel Ultima".

 

Also, the 2017-2018 3.0T AWD model was only available with the Black leather w/white trim interior. And I believe the 2019 3.0T AWD models were only available with a black leather interior (but am not 100% sure).  That is why you are not able to find many 3.0T AWD MKZ's with non -black/light interiors.

 

Good luck with your search.

 

Thanks.

 

The 2017/18 models did have the black interior(striped) tied with the Driver's package, but it wasn't tied to the 3.0 engine. That's why I don't want a 2017 or 18, it would have to have the black interior. In 2019 and 2020 the AWD 3.0 includes the torque vectoring feature, and interiors aren't restricted to a package like that discontinued DP thing. I'll keep looking, these cars are not very old to turn up in huge numbers right now.

[esqueue]

What's fortunate is that the Electrical Wiring diagram is for both Fusion and MKZ.  This is great as I am researching the Fusion amp.  Manual should be here soon but in the meantime I'm looking for the sony amp with the harness cut which will make things a bit easier. I'm also look into 3D printing a female connector to avoid cutting anything. Fortunately the Fusion quite a bit of aftermarket support while the lincoln has nearly Zero.

 

[TomV]

They are probably molex connectors.

[bbf2530]

2 hours ago, CDW6212R said:

 

Thanks.

 

The 2017/18 models did have the black interior(striped) tied with the Driver's package, but it wasn't tied to the 3.0 engine. That's why I don't want a 2017 or 18, it would have to have the black interior. In 2019 and 2020 the AWD 3.0 includes the torque vectoring feature, and interiors aren't restricted to a package like that discontinued DP thing. I'll keep looking, these cars are not very old to turn up in huge numbers right now.

 

Hi CDW. However, for the 2017-2018 MKZ model years, the Drivers Package was tied to the Torque Vectoring system of the 3.0T AWD MKZ though. And I personally would insist on the Torque Vectoring handling system if I was purchasing a 3.0T AWD (and did when I ordered my 2018).

 

However, since you are avoiding the Ebony w/Touring White interior, the 2017 and 2018's are a moot point anyway.

 

Good luck with your search.

[JimF]

1 hour ago, bbf2530 said:

 

Hi CDW. However, for the 2017-2018 MKZ model years, the Drivers Package was tied to the Torque Vectoring system of the 3.0T AWD MKZ though. And I personally would insist on the Torque Vectoring handling system if I was purchasing a 3.0T AWD (and did when I ordered my 2018).

 

However, since you are avoiding the Ebony w/Touring White interior, the 2017 and 2018's are a moot point anyway.

 

Good luck with your search.

However CDW, if you look for a 2017-2018 MKZ Black Label with the Drivers Package and Cashmere Venetian Star interior, you will get White w/Ebony interior. there is currently a Diamond Black with Drivers Package and Cashmere Venetian Star interior available in PA. I realize you are not looking for a black MKZ, but it does give you another option to look for. 

And yes,  I thoroughly enjoy my 2017 MKZ Black Label with Driver's Package and Thoroughbred interior. ?

[fusionff]

8 hours ago, JimF said:

 

And yes,  I thoroughly enjoy my 2017 MKZ Black Label with Driver's Package and Thoroughbred interior. ?

 

 

As do I...although it's an 18.

 

Edited October 9, 2020 by fusionff

[TomV]

High jacked!!!! Sorry guys, need to keep this thread on track about audio. 

[bbf2530]

Hi gang. TomV is correct. Let the OP and those interested in the audio end of our MKZ's have their thread back. ?

 

Let's all please continue off-topic discussions in a new thread. Thanks! ?

 

 

Edited October 9, 2020 by bbf2530