2025 Bronco ‘Upgraded’ B&O Audio System, Detailed Review (by retired music industry guy)

[timhood]

“Flat” is good in the studio where you want to hear how a track really sounds, but most home systems juice things a bit...

Exactly this. People are so used to the sound from every device, from earbuds and headphones to Bluetooth speakers, car, and home audio systems mucking up the true sound. There's this expectation that the bass needs to rattle the windows or the sound system is "crap." I, too, have a preference hearing music the way it sounded when it was recorded. The Bronco challenges audio with the high levels of noise when traveling at speed, so no amount of money spent on a system is ever going to resolve that issue. I also have a 2-door, and I do believe that we are blessed with a slightly better audio experience than the 4-door vehicle.

Other than what you have done, I have adjusted the fade so that the midpoint is right at the front seat driver/passenger head location according to the on-screen adjustment display. I think this minor tweak helps improve the overall balance of the audio among all speakers. I would bet this would improve the sound in the 4-door even more than it does with the 2-door.

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[HalfmuleFarmer]

Exactly this. People are so used to the sound from every device, from earbuds and headphones to Bluetooth speakers, car, and home audio systems mucking up the true sound. There's this expectation that the bass needs to rattle the windows or the sound system is "crap." I, too, have a preference hearing music the way it sounded when it was recorded. The Bronco challenges audio with the high levels of noise when traveling at speed, so no amount of money spent on a system is ever going to resolve that issue. I also have a 2-door, and I do believe that we are blessed with a slightly better audio experience than the 4-door vehicle.

Other than what you have done, I have adjusted the fade so that the midpoint is right at the front seat driver/passenger head location according to the on-screen adjustment display. I think this minor tweak help improve the overall balance of the audio among all speakers. I would bet this would improve the sound in the 4-door even more than it does with the 2-door.

Agreed. I did this as well. Fade is moved back to maybe the back of the front row headrest. This is the only way you’ll notice the rear pods. And yes, the rear speakers are a lot closer to the driver in a 2DR. I haven’t been able to compare with a 4DR to see if that makes a big difference.

 

[5GENIDN]

Agreed. I did this as well. Fade is moved back to maybe the back of the front row headrest. This is the only way you’ll notice the rear pods. And yes, the rear speakers are a lot closer to the driver in a 2DR. I haven’t been able to compare with a 4DR to see if that makes a big difference.

I think the 4 door rear pods are at a slightly more downward projection as well... I may be wrong but I know the rear of the roll cage is definitely at a different angle. The vertical bars are more upright in the two door.

 

[irishkpo]

The first test was listening to a bunch of newly-released and highly produced recordings, each with a lot of dynamic range.

Second test was harder to reproduce stuff, like some boomy hip-hop and jagged industrial, electro.

Last test is a few classic albums long regarded as studio production high-water marks.

Test Track list please!

 

[DefNotBuddyLee]

I thought the forum had gone crazy when I first read this post and the following comments agreeing...until I realized Ford had made improvements to the sound system for 2025. I was thinking @HalfmuleFarmer meant "roadie with tinitus" when he said "music industry guy".

With that said, "improving" the previous setups was a pretty low bar to start off with. It is honestly one of my only hates on the vehicle. I have the kicker key amp setup and have changed out speakers to 4 brands trying to find something to excite me with no luck. It blew my mind that Ford put such as anemic stereo with 4" speakers in a top down vehicle.

 

[HalfmuleFarmer]

"roadie with tinitus"

Not *that* far off!!

 

[mjp2]

would you pay $2k for it though?

the b&o system is fine if it were the base. It’s not.

Considering that it costs more than $2k to upgrade the pre-'25 B&O system it's probably a reasonable number.

That said, the post-upgrade sound quality is pretty off-the-charts, but that's all speaker selection and mObridge technology.

It's nice to see Ford addressing the anemic sound quality of their premium sound system. It was sorely needed.

 

[YellaHEL940]

Glad to hear that they hopefully, maybe made it better. Had a 2023 Heritage Limited with the B&O and now have a 2024 Raptor with the B&O and both are rattling pieces of dung. I had it set up to swap all speakers amp and sub before we totaled the HLE and will probably do again for the Raptor.

 

[mpeugeot]

Thank you, brother. The B&O system was just something I worried about pre-purchase, and there’s really know way to know until after ... So I thought other folks in my position may appreciate it. Cheers!

I appreciate your review, however, I would love to see you compare this with the MoBridge setup in my 2 door. Maybe the 2025 system has improved that much, but I find it difficult to believe. The system in my 2021 was worse than the base system in a Honda CR-V EX-L (which actually isn't half bad).

Still it would be awesome to see you compare and contrast the current B&O with a properly tuned MoBridge and an alternate subwoofer box.

 

[Bronco Bax]

The 2025 B&O Sytem must be different than the 2021 because mine is a complete rattly pile of garbage system

 

[HalfmuleFarmer]

I appreciate your review, however, I would love to see you compare this with the MoBridge setup in my 2 door. Maybe the 2025 system has improved that much, but I find it difficult to believe. The system in my 2021 was worse than the base system in a Honda CR-V EX-L (which actually isn't half bad).

Still it would be awesome to see you compare and contrast the current B&O with a properly tuned MoBridge and an alternate subwoofer box.

I’m sure your system sounds amazing and is superior. The bottom line of my review was: With all I had heard (and read, here), I was very concerned that the 2025 upgraded B&O option would be awful, and a waste of my money. I’m pleasantly surprised that (to my ears), it’s not. Come to Utah and lets go for a ride!

 

[jtgensler]

The 2025 B&O Sytem must be different than the 2021 because mine is a complete rattly pile of garbage system

Clearly someone didn't read the thread.
Yes, the MY25 B&O system is upgraded from the 21-24 MYs...
The OP was specifically reviewing the 25 system

 

[Darren D]

I have the same opinion of the B&O system. At comfortable listening levels, it’s just fine. I don’t listen to much over the air radio. I mostly use Spotify. If one wants to fine tune the system to give it a bit more oomf or customize more to their own liking, Spotify has EQ in its settings. Not a lot of frequencies, but enough to be able to customize the sound. What I did was to slightly increase the bass frequencies, moderately increase the mids and slightly knock down the highs in Spotify. To me, the quality and clarity of the bass increased and seemed more rich and deep. Knocking down the highs made the system sound less “tinny”. In the vehicle sound settings i have it almost flat, with 6 on bass, 7 on mid and 4 on treble. I get great response from all types of music now without having to adjust the sound settings at all now. In fact, I haven’t touched them at all for over 3 months now. I listen to everything from prog metal, to classic rock to EDM to country. Just thought I’d throw in my $.02.

 

[MisterGreen]

Great review. I was getting nervous after reading all of the negative posts about the system, but now I'm hopeful.

 

[Valhalla]

Clearly someone didn't read the thread.
Yes, the MY25 B&O system is upgraded from the 21-24 MYs...
The OP was specifically reviewing the 25 system

I agree up to the point that the OP said he was worried based on all the negative comments on here. Now he is talking about 21-24 systems also, at least in my mind.

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