Ford OEM Improvements ?

You hear in decibels, your tiny little internal amplifier in the E350 is really struggling to produce about 10-15 watts of power. So louder means that you need a speaker that is more efficient or you need a larger amplifier. Better sounding is going to mean better speakers and better installation. First off you drive a big metal gong. The first thing to consider is road noise. Is the vehicle undercoated? To attack the doors with a good amount of Brown Bread sound deadener is the place to start. Line the inside of the exterior door skin and then the interior door skin as well. This will minimize the loss of output in the midbass / midrange region of a new speaker (especially with more power). Next you can do this one of two ways. 1) add new coax speakers and call it a day. Buy speakers that your ears like the tonal response of. 2) add a amp, new speakers and a interface adaptor (crucial). Door#2 means that you will have more output at all volume levels, you will also have a much higher overall volume level. It is more than likely the path for you to travel down. By the sounds of it yuo are in this vehicle for a good amount of time and the stock system is almost as bad as the RX8 Bose system (which is the worst stock system I have ever heard). Find yourself the right interface adaptor for the system. I prefer to use a advanced LOC like the Audio Control LC6 for this. www.audiocontrol.com for info on it or ask me as well. A amplifier that is rated at 50w rms per channel is all you are going to need. It does not need to be top of the line by any means, just a respectable amp to get the job done. (no Audibahn, Kenwood or Sony please) A good set of coax speakers again is more than likely all you need or a good set of pointsource components will work as well. Expect more tonal accuracy from the components. With a little work in the doors of that vehicle, a oversize 6.5" component like the MB Quart Reference series will fit fine (with a adaptor plate). Otherwise a 6x8" type speaker is the factory replacement size. For rear speakers, I would not be too concerned with them at this time as it seems that as you are up front with the kids in the back listening to Clifford The Big Red Dog. Take it a step at a time. Buy the right speakers, get them installed. If it is not loud enough or seems lacking in response, add the amp and interface adaptor as that will bring the new speakers to life.Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.