Custom Stereo Upgrade for Northampton Freightliner Coronado

A client from Northampton recently visited Mobile Edge to inquire about upgrading the stereo in his 2012 Freightliner Coronado Class 8 truck. He’d been researching audio upgrades on a few truck forums and groups. He had seen many truckers recommending Hertz speakers. After a quick dealer search, he found our shop and decided to stop in to see what we could do to improve his time on the road.

Client Consultation Ensures a Perfect Solution

After talking to the client about his goals for the upgrade, we inspected the truck’s interior. The front doors had small speaker locations at the bottom, and there was room under the bunk in the sleeper. We confirmed that a standard single-DIN radio would work in the dash and that the rear speaker locations in the upper bulkhead would accept standard 6×9-class upgrades. Armed with this information and an idea of the client’s budget, we put together an audio upgrade package that would deliver the clarity and output capabilities he wanted.

Big Rig Speaker Upgrade

The small factory speaker opening was enlarged to fit the new speakers.

The plastic panels were wrapped in matching vinyl.

The expert door modifications looked great.

The client had initially envisioned having a set of component speakers mounted in the truck’s front doors with the tweeters in the A-pillars. Without a digital signal processor in the system, the left tweeter would be very close to the listening position. We proposed using a set of coaxial speakers so that the left-to-right balance would be better.

While our plan was solid in concept, the stock speaker location presented an issue – it wasn’t deep enough. To mount a set of Hertz Mille Pro MPX 165.3 PRO 6.5-inch speakers properly, we created a custom spacer ring that would attach to the front of the trim panel. We cut the spacers out of a sheet of plastic so that we’d never have to worry about damage or warping from humidity or moisture. Once we confirmed the shape was perfect, we wrapped the new mounting panels in gray vinyl with a similar grain to the plastic door panel. The mounts were drilled and tapped to make it easy to install the Hertz speakers.

Upgrading the rear speakers was much more straightforward. We mounted a set of Hertz Dieci-Series DCX690 6×9-inch speakers in the bulkhead’s stock locations at the top of the sleeper. We didn’t need to do anything custom to get these to fit.

Custom Subwoofer Enclosure

The compact enclosure fit under the bed.

With the bed folded down all of the equipment was out of sight.

The next step was to work on the subwoofer system for the Freightliner. Our team created a custom sealed enclosure that would serve as a home to a pair of Audison APS 10 S4S 10-inch subwoofers. The enclosure is wrapped with a durable gray carpet with a front panel that was treated to the same vinyl that we used on the doors. We mounted the enclosure in the storage compartment under the bunk in the back of the truck.

Freightliner Stereo System Electronics Upgrades

The Sony radio was a solid choice for the audio upgrade source unit.

The amplifier was mounted on the bunk bracing, behind the enclosure.

Our technicians worked carefully around the existing truck systems.

With 5 channels of power, the Hertz amp powers all the system speakers.

The last step was to upgrade the electronic components in the system. We started with the installation of a Sony MES-GX620BT single-DIN CD receiver in the stock location in the dash. This radio includes both Bluetooth hands-free calling as well as audio streaming capabilities. The client can use his smartphone’s voice-recognition features to send text messages or make phone calls so that he can keep his eyes on the road.

The Sony radio output feeds a five-channel Hertz ML Power 5 five-channel amplifier mounted to the bunk storage compartment’s back wall. Our team made another of our trademark steel amp racks so that we could re-purpose some existing fastener locations to hold the amp in place securely. The amp provides up to 70 watts to each of the front speakers and an impressive 550 watts to the pair of Audison subwoofers.

Our team ran four-AWG power and ground cables directly from the amplifier to the battery box under the cab near the driver’s door to ensure that the amp would have the current it needs to perform reliably.

Lehighton’s Audio Upgrade Experts

After just over two days of fabrication, integration and configuration, we had the stereo system in this Freightliner Coronado sounding amazing. The client was thrilled with the improvement in clarity and output capability. If your truck needs a better audio system, drop by Mobile Edge in Lehighton or click the red button below to send us an e-mail.