B&O and Base Speaker Size and Location

[Bogs]

I finally got my Bronco with B&O sound...

I'm pleasantly surprised to be honest. It's way better than the B&O in my wife's Explorer, closer to the F-150 as far as the overall balance and fullness. I'm less inclined to upgrade now.

It could definitely use more "thump" but that's expected. However, even the factory sub provides enough bump to rattle the crap out of the plastic panels... so maybe more isn't better.

Hi can you kindly please tell me where you bought complete B&O system kit. we have a black diamond bronco and want to upgrade everything to the oem B&O.

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[SpursFan]

Hi can you kindly please tell me where you bought complete B&O system kit. we have a black diamond bronco and want to upgrade everything to the oem B&O.

If you didn't order the B&O you can't, we'll I suppose you could but the cost would make zero sense.

 

[MKZoom]

Hi can you kindly please tell me where you bought complete B&O system kit. we have a black diamond bronco and want to upgrade everything to the oem B&O.

there likely is not wiring to support the B&O if you didnt get it from the factory. further the head unit wont be configured to work with the B&O if you didnt get it with B&O originally. lastly the rear quarter trim is different if you have the sub so that would need to be modified too.

A dealer can probably get the parts B&O has on their system but you will be paying a premium to buy them as service parts instead of from the factory

 

[RFMETZ]

I have a Helix V Eight DSP amp being installed in mine and am replacing every speaker with the Audio Frogs, including the sub. I'm very underwhelmed by the B&O system, I can't imagine how bad the base system must be, although I see plenty of negative comments about it.

Just curious how you like the Helix V Eight DSP amp? Anything in particular lead you to that amp specifically? I assume you had to get a NAV-TV ZEN-A2B as well? I’m looking at doing the same, still undecided on speaker replacements for the stock B&O.

 

[mortgagebruce]

Just curious how you like the Helix V Eight DSP amp? Anything in particular lead you to that amp specifically? I assume you had to get a NAV-TV ZEN-A2B as well? I’m looking at doing the same, still undecided on speaker replacements for the stock B&O.

It’s been great. What led me to it was a recommendation from my car audio guy who has it himself. The footprint of it fit the installation area since it’s not as large as some similar products. I’m very happy with the sound now as it’s massively better than the B&O system was.

 

[RFMETZ]

It’s been great. What led me to it was a recommendation from my car audio guy who has it himself. The footprint of it fit the installation area since it’s not as large as some similar products. I’m very happy with the sound now as it’s massively better than the B&O system was.

That’s great to hear- thanks. Did you need to get a separate amp for the sub or just have everything powered through the Helix V Eight?

 

[mortgagebruce]

That’s great to hear- thanks. Did you need to get a separate amp for the sub or just have everything powered through the Helix V Eight?

I did get a separate one for the sub.

 

[77Highboy]

I did get a separate one for the sub.

So, reading through this thread (lots of great info and varied opinions!), thinking about my current build order (2D w/Lux), here's where I'm coming out, opinions welcome please:

- B&O better / much better than base
- B&O is wired for 10 speakers including sub. So in terms of wiring, the key difference between base and B&O seems to be wiring in place for the center channel dash and for the sub. Otherwise, its a single pair to each of the remaining 6 speaker positions, and the B&O coaxials are fed via crossover at each speaker, meaning 2 wires in, 4 out, 1 pair each to the tweeter and the mid/wooffer.
- It sounds like several of you feel the B&O speakers have room for improvement so replacement to higher grade speakers in your plans, while others seem to be "wait and see, probably but maybe not".
- WIth the B&O as compared to base, you have a bit more power? true? so like 25w RMS B&O vs what, like maybe 10 or 12 from the base?
- So is this the correct take away?
1) If upgrading speakers only, B&O is pre-wired for Sub and center dash
2) If also upgrading amp(s), same as #1
3) If you don't mind the trouble or extra labor cost for your audio guy, and if you are upgrading amps and speakers, then the B&O offers no benefit...true? or, does the B&O head unit driving more channels provide a benefit, even when doing a setup like mortagebruce has done with the Helix DSP amp and Zen interface to the Ford digital audio bus?

About half way through this thread I was thinking of downgrading to Hi package, forego the B&O (and adaptive cruise and heated steering wheel), do my own audio system upgrade, but I think I'm now in the wait and see camp, stick with Lux and B&O, then go from there.

 

[77Highboy]

More on this, somewhat stating the obvious:

- Car audio design by the OEM is a compromise of space for speakers, proximity to humans, and price. Given said design constraints, the audio engineers have to achieve the "sweet spot" between constraints and performance.
- From this I would conclude the B&O guys are pros, contracted by Ford, and came up with a good design within the constraints they were given, ie placement, price point, performance targets, etc.
- Assuming a prior post is correct, the B&O head drives the front, rear, and center(?) speakers. The factory B&O amp drives the sub and front kick panel speakers.
- B&O engineer explains their thinking in this link which is pretty interesting and makes sense:
- This much I know, although not an accomplished audiophile: on the audio spectrum, lows (bass) are omni directional (or essentially non directional), which in the case of the Bronco, is what you want from the front kick panel and from the sub. Mid-range and hi's are directional, especially hi's, which is why placement is so important. Bass ranges are the power hogs, Hi's and Mid's not as much.
- So, it would stand to reason, for an upgrade, to a) change out the front dash and rear pods to higher end / higher efficiency speakers (which the B&O guys would have done were it not for cost constraints), and b) upgrade the kick panels and subs, PLUS, upgrade the amp + Zen interface, all for more sound pressure where it counts, which they also would have done, except for same reasons.

The question I have in all this: is the factory B&O head unit amp (since it drives the front and rear) "good enough", or, if those speakers upgraded, is a higher end amp the way to go? From the post by mortgagebruce (Helix DSP Amp), sounds like he upgraded amps for all....so basically, he's using the factory head unit and factory wiring, with all speakers upgraded, a Helix amp driving front, rear, center, and kick panels, + seperate amp for the upgraded sub, + Zen interface, + his own "seat of the pants tuning" vs what comes stock out of the Ford B&O system.

What am I missing?

Sorry, can't resist, just an observation....what a boon to the aftermarket industry the Bronco is....consider:

- The power is pretty good, but there are upgrades available to crank up boost, improve flow, cool sound, etc....$$$
- Off road capability is awesome with factory options / upgrades.... but if you want to go big (37s, more extreme off road capabilities, etc, wheels, tires, and suspension options at the ready...$$$
- Paint finish is awesome, but how about a film upgrade?....$$$$
- Sound system (Base OK, B&O pretty damn good) offers room for improvement ...$$$

If supply was such that we all just ordered and took delivery within a 3-6 month window, there would likely not be near so much analysis and "social media engineering" for upgrades going on here.

But hey, we are all learning and crafting our own mod./upgrade plans for the day when the sun rises and we get the VIN# email!

 

[Patriotic]

I've heard the B&O and while it sounds generally ok and has good volume, I found the front dash to be a little muddy. I generally prefer a 'warmer' sound but to my ears the B&O could use a little crispness in the front dash speakers. And those are the easiest to replace with the right connectors. Which 4" speakers would you recommend for this?

 

[mpeugeot]

To address a point above about 25w RMS speakers, yes, the factory B&O 4" speakers are rated for 25w RMS. I found that 45-50w RMS 4" speakers were much more up to the ability of the underlying system and much cleaner at higher volume levels.

 

[Patriotic]

Is there anything special about removing the B&O front dash speaker grilles, or do they pop off like the non-B&O's?

 

[MTmeterguy]

I swapped the front three with Morel Maximo Ultra Coax 402 Mk II, the kick panel speakers with Morel Maximo Ultra Coax 602 Mk II, and the rear speakers with Morel Maximo Coax 4 speakers. That's every speaker except the sub-woofer.

It's not as powerful as I might want, but it's clean sounding (by comparison to B&O stock) all the way to max volume. It's way better and has good thump without adjusting the tone controls, balance, or fader.

how tight was the clearance on the 6.5" with the Morel's? The ones I'm looking at are listed at 2.29 inches mounting depth -- still waiting on my BadSquatch but that won't stop me from planning

 

[Broncoder]

I swapped the front three with Morel Maximo Ultra Coax 402 Mk II, the kick panel speakers with Morel Maximo Ultra Coax 602 Mk II, and the rear speakers with Morel Maximo Coax 4 speakers...

Looking into going this route. 4" (dash and rear) go ok without any depth or grill bulging issues?

 

[vegetarianbarbarian]

Anyone just upgrade the sub itself and hear a benefit? Like without another amp?

I'm fairly clueless about this stuff.

So if I got on Crutchfield and there is a Rockford Fosgate P3SD2-8 or P3SD4-8, can I just plug in to replace the sub on my B&O system?

My Wrangler has the Alpine system and that subwoofer is killer and the sound is (at least to me), way better.

Thanks

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