Why Your F-150's Factory Sound Is Worth Upgrading
The smartest way to upgrade an F-150's audio is in this order: front component speakers first, then door sound deadening, then an amplifier, and finally bass. That path works for both truck generations from 2015 to 2026, but how you tackle each step depends on which audio system your truck left the factory with.
The F-150 has a big cabin and plenty of tire and wind noise. To keep cost and weight down, Ford's stock speakers use paper cones and lightweight motors. They're fine for talk radio, but crank the volume and the cracks show: grainy vocals, thin midbass and buzzing door panels.
This guide covers the 13th-generation (2015–2020) and 14th-generation (2021–2026) F-150. As the engineering team at Diamond Audio, we don't recommend just swapping in any pair of speakers. Figure out what your truck has first, then build a system in stages so every dollar you spend is one you can actually hear.
Step One: Identify Your Truck and Factory Audio System
Before you buy anything, answer two questions: which generation is your truck, and which audio system did it ship with? Those two answers determine speaker size, whether you need adapter harnesses and whether a DSP belongs in the plan.
13th Gen vs. 14th Gen
When the F-150 was redesigned for 2021, non-B&O trucks kept essentially the same door speaker locations. One 14th-gen owner on the F150Gen14 forum reported that the Metra brackets and adapters he bought using the 2020 model as a reference fit his 2021 perfectly. In short, much of the install hardware carries over between generations, but B&O-equipped trucks need to be treated separately.
The Four Factory Audio Systems
|
System |
Model Years |
What You Get |
Upgrade Difficulty |
|
Base audio |
2015–2026 |
Head unit drives the door speakers directly; no factory amp |
Low |
|
Sony |
2015–2017 |
Factory amplifier and an under-seat woofer |
Moderate |
|
B&O Play |
2018–2020 |
Owner-compiled specs list 10 speakers and 675 watts |
Moderate |
|
B&O / B&O Unleashed |
2021–2026 |
Standard B&O: 8 speakers, 640 watts; Unleashed: 18 speakers |
Moderate to high |
The B&O figures come from owners on the F-150 Lightning forum and reflect community findings.
How to Tell Which System You Have
- Check the grilles: Door or dash speaker grilles on premium systems usually carry a Sony or B&O logo.
- Check the screen: Premium-audio trucks show the brand name in the touchscreen's audio settings.
- Run the VIN: A Ford dealer or an online VIN decoder can pull your original build sheet. This is the most reliable method.
F-150 Speaker Size Chart
With the right adapter, the F-150's front door opening accepts 6"–6.75" round speakers or 6x9" ovals, while the rear doors mostly take 6.5". Rather than memorizing a single "factory size," think of it as the opening plus the adapter.
|
Location |
Model Years |
Upgrade Sizes |
Hardware Needed |
Source |
|
Front doors |
2015–2020 |
6", 6.5", 6.75", 6x9" |
Vehicle-specific adapter, bolt-in with no cutting |
|
|
Front doors |
2015–2025 |
6"–6.75" |
Vehicle-specific adapter |
|
|
Rear doors (SuperCrew) |
2015–2024 |
6.5" |
Adapter, secured with factory 7mm screws |
|
|
Center dash |
2019 (King Ranch) |
3.5" |
— |
|
|
A-pillar / dash tweeters |
2015–2024 |
1" |
Tweeter mount adapter |
Sources disagree on whether 2021-and-newer front doors take a 6x9 without modification. Before you buy, confirm with a vehicle fit tool or pull the door panel and measure the opening and mounting depth yourself.
Nominal size is just the starting point. What really decides whether a speaker fits is its outer diameter, cutout diameter and mounting depth, which we cover next.
Fitment Essentials: The Keys to a Clean Install
A clean install comes down to four things: mounting depth, adapters, wiring and tweeter placement. Get any one of them wrong and you're looking at rattles at best, or a jammed window and a damaged speaker at worst.
Mounting Depth and Window Clearance
The window glass and its track take up a lot of room inside the door, so a speaker with a deep motor can hit the glass on the way down. Before you button things up, check window travel, door handle and lock operation, the door pocket, wire routing and door closure. That's the standard checklist Custom Speaker Pods gives F-150 owners.
When depth is tight, compare each speaker's published mounting depth against the measured space in your door, and leave some margin for the window.
Adapter Brackets and Baffles
Factory speakers are usually riveted or clipped to the door, so an aftermarket speaker needs a vehicle-specific adapter. We also recommend adding speaker baffles. They keep water running down the glass off the cone and cut down on backwave bouncing around inside the door.
Wiring Harnesses
Vehicle-specific speaker harnesses plug straight into the factory connectors, so you never have to cut the truck's wiring. Trucks with a factory amp (Sony or B&O) also need a plan for tapping the signal, which we cover in Stage 3.
Tweeter Placement and Aiming
F-150 tweeters typically live in the A-pillars or the corners of the dash. A component set's tweeters can go in the factory locations. Fine-tune the angle so both tweeters aim roughly between the driver and front passenger for a tighter, more stable image.
The Best Upgrade Path: A Stage-by-Stage Plan
Work through five stages: front stage, sound deadening, amplification, rear fill and bass, then flagship. Each stage delivers an improvement you can hear on its own and sets up the next one.
Stage 1: Upgrade the Front Stage
Most of what the driver hears comes from up front, so replacing the front door woofers and tweeters with a component set gives you the most bang for your buck. Because a component set's tweeter mounts separately in the A-pillar or dash, the soundstage rises toward eye level, vocals get clearer and imaging gets more precise.
We recommend the Diamond Audio DMDX65C 6.5" two-way component set. The DMDX line is built to punch well above its price, making it a smart first step for F-150 owners who want a real upgrade without overspending.
6.5" DMDX Series 2-Way Component Set - DMDX65C
Stage 2: Deaden the Doors
The F-150's doors are big and the sheet metal is fairly thin, so the speaker's backwave can make the panel ring like a drum. Sound deadening effectively gives the speaker a more solid enclosure.
- Owner feedback: A 14th-gen owner on the F150Gen14 forum said that after upgrading his speakers and applying deadening mat to the inside of the outer door skin, midbass improved noticeably and rattles and road noise dropped.
- Measured results: After treating an F-150 with deadening material, Crutchfield measured road noise roughly 9 dB lower in normal driving and about 16 dB lower on rough roads.
Do this while the door panels are already off for Stage 1 so you only take the doors apart once.
Stage 3: Add an Amplifier
A factory head unit or factory amp only has so much power, and that holds back a quality speaker. The common wisdom in the owner community is that on factory power alone, the gap between entry-level and high-end speakers shrinks dramatically, as discussed on the F150Gen14 forum.
- Base audio trucks: A four-channel amp can drive the front and rear speakers, with the signal taken from the head unit's speaker outputs.
- Sony and B&O trucks: The factory signal is usually already crossed over and equalized, so pair your amp with a DSP that flattens the signal before sending it to each speaker.
- Pro tip: Some 14th-gen owners report they couldn't find a remote turn-on lead. An amp with speaker-level auto turn-on gets around that.
A Note for B&O Unleashed Owners
The 18-speaker B&O Unleashed system is a different animal. A vendor who builds plug-and-play Ford kits explained on the F150Gen14 forum that the system's door speakers aren't full-range drivers, so for now he only offers a sub-and-amp add-on for it.
If you have Unleashed, we suggest starting with the bass. Leave the decision on the door speakers to an authorized dealer who knows the B&O architecture.
Stage 4: Rear Fill and Subwoofer
Rear door speakers are there to fill in the sound for rear passengers, not to carry the system, so coaxials are all you need. One SuperCrew owner on the CarAudio.com forum ran 6.5" components up front and 5.25" coaxials in back, and said components in the rear doors would be a waste of money. For the rear doors, we recommend the Diamond Audio DMDX65 6.5" coaxial.
For bass, under the SuperCrew's rear seat is the go-to spot. There are plenty of vehicle-specific enclosures available. For example, the Metra FD-F150-10 is a single 10" ported under-seat box for 2015–2025 SuperCrews, and 10" is the most common size for this location.
Stage 5: The Flagship Build
For owners chasing the best possible sound, the Diamond Audio DMDX6925C 6x9" three-way component set adds a dedicated midrange, so each driver handles a narrower band of frequencies. Pair it with a multichannel DSP and careful time alignment, and you can build a soundstage with clear layering and precise imaging in the F-150's roomy cab.
Coaxial or Component?
Components up front and coaxials in back is the best-balanced setup for an F-150.
|
|
Component Speakers |
Coaxial Speakers |
|
Design |
Separate woofer, tweeter and crossover |
Tweeter mounted in the center of the woofer |
|
Imaging |
Tweeter can go in the A-pillar for a higher, more precise image |
Sound comes from low in the door, so the image sits low |
|
Install difficulty |
Tweeters and crossovers need to be mounted |
Straight swap, easiest option |
|
Best location |
Front doors plus A-pillars or dash |
Rear doors |
The front seat is where you listen every day, so that's where a component set's imaging upgrade pays off most. The back seat is mostly about filling in the sound, and coaxials handle that just fine while leaving more budget for an amp and a sub.
Recommended Diamond Audio DMDX Builds by Budget
The DMDX series is Diamond Audio's high-value speaker line, with 6.5", 6x8" and 6x9" coaxials and components plus a three-way set, so it covers every speaker location in the F-150's front and rear doors. Start with the entry build and step up over time without starting over.
|
Build |
Stages |
Front Stage |
Rear Doors |
Other Components |
Best For |
|
Entry |
1–2 |
Front door deadening |
Daily drivers who want clearer vocals first |
||
|
Step-up |
1–4 |
Four-door deadening, four-channel amp (plus DSP for factory premium audio), 10" under-seat sub |
Work trucks and road-trippers who want fuller midbass |
||
|
Flagship |
All five |
Full-cab deadening, multichannel DSP amp, high-performance bass system |
Audio enthusiasts who want a complete, detailed soundstage |
The 6x9" front door builds apply to trucks whose front doors accept a 6x9" with an adapter, such as 2015–2020 models. On 2021 and newer trucks, confirm the front door opening first. If you want to add more tweeters, the DMDXTK 20mm tweeter add-on kit is also available.
Pricing is set by your authorized dealer. Labor varies quite a bit depending on your factory audio system and whether the door panels need modification.
DIY or Professional Install?
On a base-audio truck, swapping the door speakers is a very doable DIY job if you're handy. Once a factory amp, a DSP or door panel modifications are involved, we recommend handing it off to an authorized dealer.
Tools for a DIY Install
- Plastic trim tool set, so you don't scratch the interior pulling the door panels
- 7mm socket for the factory speaker screws
- Vehicle-specific adapters and speaker harnesses
- Deadening mat and a roller, if you're treating the doors at the same time
- Multimeter for checking polarity
When to Call an Authorized Dealer
- Your truck has Sony or B&O audio, especially B&O Unleashed
- You need a DSP installed and tuned
- The door panels need cutting or modification to fit larger drivers
- You want to keep every factory head unit feature and still get the best sound
A professional install gets phase, gain and crossover points dialed in correctly, and those details are often what separates a system that sounds good from one that sounds incredible. Contact your nearest authorized Diamond Audio dealer for an install plan built around your truck.
FAQ
What size speakers are in a Ford F-150?
On 2015-and-newer F-150s, the front doors accept 6"–6.75" or 6x9" speakers with an adapter, SuperCrew rear doors take 6.5" and the tweeters are about 1". Sizes vary slightly by model year and audio system, so check a vehicle fit tool before you buy.
Can I upgrade the speakers without replacing the factory radio?
Yes. On base-audio trucks, just use adapters and harnesses to swap them in. On trucks with a factory amp, we recommend adding a DSP so you keep the factory head unit and SYNC features.
Do I need an amp for aftermarket speakers?
It's not required, but we strongly recommend it. Factory power can't bring out the full performance of a quality speaker. With an amp, you'll get more headroom, better dynamics and noticeably clearer sound.
Will new speakers work with the B&O system?
The standard 8-speaker B&O system can be upgraded, ideally with a DSP. The door speakers in the 18-speaker B&O Unleashed system aren't full-range drivers, so we suggest upgrading the bass first and having an authorized dealer evaluate the doors.
Are 2015–2020 and 2021+ speakers interchangeable?
On non-B&O trucks, the door speaker locations are essentially the same, and owners report that the previous generation's Metra brackets and adapters bolt right into a 2021. B&O trucks need to be checked separately.
Is sound deadening worth it in an F-150?
Yes. Owner feedback and third-party testing both show that deadening the doors improves midbass, cuts rattles and lowers road noise. Do it at the same time as your speaker upgrade.
The Bottom Line
A great F-150 audio upgrade isn't about how much you spend at once. It's about doing things in the right order.
- Identify your truck's generation and factory audio system
- Upgrade the front stage with a component set first
- Deaden the doors while the panels are off
- Add an amplifier, plus a DSP on factory premium systems
- Round out the system with rear coaxials and an under-seat sub
Follow this path and you'll hear a difference at every step, without having to undo earlier work later. The Diamond Audio DMDX series covers every stage, from your first speaker swap to a full three-way build. Contact your nearest authorized Diamond Audio dealer to map out the right upgrade for your F-150.