B&O sound system complete upgrade - Done ✅

[Cjensen651]

I started my overhaul of the B&O system a couple months ago, and finished buttoning it up this weekend. It’s been a long journey of trial and error, and parts returned or wasted, but I’m thrilled with the final results. I have contributed to many threads along the way, but wanted to consolidate it all into a completed build thread as I get many questions about what I’ve done.

I’ll start out with why I got started on this project. To put it bluntly, I think the B&O system is pretty bad for a “premium“ system. It’s pretty much lacking in every way, low power, muddy highs, boomy rattly bass, and really bad soundstage with most all of the sound coming from the windshield. The speakers are cheap, paper, and half of them are the same speakers used in the base system.

I would rate the system 4/10 stock, and 15/10 after upgrades. This rating is based solely on my expectations/experiences of a factory “premium” system with cost as a factor. From the factory it severely missed expectations, after upgrades it blows away my expectations, as it should. The sub kicks. I haven't had a system that can rattle the mirrors since high school. I won’t be rattling mirrors, but I could if I want

I will list the parts ”I” used. Wiring diagrams and shop manuals for removal/install are attached.

Parts

JL C1 4” - $99 pair x2
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_13699040/JL-Audio-C1-400x.html

JL C1 6.5” - $149 pair
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_13699042/JL-Audio-C1-650x.html

Focal ACX 4” - $109 pair
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_091ACX100/Focal-ACX-100.html

Kicker Comp R 8” 4ohm DVC sub - $89
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08NFHJZNP/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Kicker Key 500.1 amp - $270
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084HLH77B/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Kicker wired remote bass control - $39
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08D3TVFBX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

right angle extension wire for bass control knob - $11
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0793KZYXD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

25’ 8guage copper amp wire - $25
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B079RZF94M/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

8 gauge amp fuse/battery connector - $9
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071ZZZK5W/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s01?ie=UTF8&th=1

8 gauge ring terminal for ground - $7
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0747M3SYQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

4“ speaker wire harness adapter - x3 - $12.99 each pair
search Amazon

Kilmat sound deadening sheets - $35
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B082Q2J2T4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Total - $979.97

Dash Speakers

There are three 4” speakers in the dash. I used JL C1 for all three. I originally tried Focal ACX, but found them very “bright”. I ended up using the Focals in the rear pods and the JLs in the dash. This combination works great, as the bright Focal pods allow more rear fill, that was canceled out having Focals in the dash as well. This combination makes huge improvements to the overall soundstage, actually having some rear fill is an amazing improvement. Don’t skip the center channel! It’s is the workhorse up front, especially if you use surround mode.

Replacing these speakers is pretty straightforward, remove trim panel, unbolt speaker, attach harness adapter, reinstall. Shop manual attached if you need it. I highly suggest a nice set of panel removal tools so you don’t scratch up the plastic. I tossed some kilmat underneath each speaker, trying to make the hollow space underneath more of a pocket.

The center channel is a little tricky, you need to remove a screw on each side of the “accessory ready” bolt, remove that, then you can remove the speaker cover panel.

Kick Panel

I used JL C1s here as well. Honestly a 2 way speaker is not needed here in the kick panels. The DSP/amp filters out highs, this is a place you could cheap out a bit If you want. The C1s came with a trim ring mounting adapter that worked great. Crutchfield also sent a Metra adapter that I did not use, and also sent a wiring harness adapter that I did use, both free. I used Kilmat behind these speakers as well. Removing the panels is easy enough, but it’s kind of an awkward spot to work in. There is a foam section below the speaker housing you will need to make a slit in and feed the wiring through. Button everything up with zip ties. Shop manual attached.

Rear Pod Speakers

As mentioned before I used Focal ACX back here. They work great to provide some much needed rear fill. These are the easiest speakers to replace. Pop the cover off by squeezing both sides and it will pop right off. Unscrew speaker, install wiring harness, reinstall. I filled the entire cavity with kilmat again. Shop manual attached.

Sub/Amp

This is where things got interesting. I first tried to just swap the sub speaker, and long story short that was a huge fail. I tried two different subs. A $300 Rockford P3 that popped and clicked, underpowered to say the least. A $19 Pyle sub worked, but wasn’t much if any improvement over the stock sub. I took a pause here as life got busy. Then got re-interested by @cmcbronco and his great thread on installing the B&O sub enclosure on a base system. Lots of great info here.

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/b-o-sub-installed-on-base-bronco-…-sorta….37207/

I ended up going with a Kicker Comp R 4 ohm DVC sub and Kicker key 500.1 amp. I wired the sub parallel to get 2 ohm at the amp. The beauty of this amp is you can use the speaker wires going to the factory sub as high level inputs. This will also work for the power on, so no need to find a trigger on circuit. I called Kicker and confirmed the sub wires coming from the factory amp will work for high level inputs, no line output converter needed. They said this is exactly what this amp was designed for.

The Comp R sub fits the factory enclosure great, but you need to pry the plastic trim ring off with a screwdriver. No modification needed to the enclosure with this sub. Shout out to @SCTWNB for the great mounting location for the amp, I wouldn’t of thought of this location myself. It’s mounted to the roll bar, snugged in there next to sub enclosure. It is a bit tricky, but take your time, mark your holes, drill some pilot holes. Use double sided mounting tape to hold it up for install and cushion it from the body. If you plan to use this location pay close attention to where i have it, any higher and the PATS antenna mounted on the quarter panel will interfere. A right angle adapter is needed for the remote volume wire, which I installed under the HVAC controls. Wire runs down the passenger side wire channel, up kick panel, behind glovebox.

I ran 8 gauge power wire across the cargo area behind rear seats, down floor wiring panels under door, up front kick panels, and through grommet in the firewall. Fused at battery, and connected to one of the spare spots Ford gave us. Need an M5 or M6 nut here, depending which you use. Ground is wired To the factory ground found right above sub. I cut the factory sub wires that are sealed in the grommet in sub enclosure, and connected them to the high level inputs on the amp. Cut off the RCA ends, and connected them with butt connectors, make sure you get polarity correct! Wiring drawing below. I drilled holes in the same grommet to run 14g speaker wire to the sub. Apologies for the lack of installation pics on most of this, I will grab some and update later if needed.

I ended up stuffing the enclosure with PolyFil. This really helped, the bass is less boomy, hits harder and tighter if that makes sense. I had to re-adjust my preferred settings afterwards, it makes a difference. Someone that doesn’t want to bother with a sub/amp should try adding polyfil to the oem sub. I bet it helps alot.

Rattle Battle

Anyone with the B&O system knows the sub is a rattle machine at higher volumes. I had the rear panels off no less than 5 times prior to upgrade finding and fixing rattles. I had my doubts if it could ever be rattle free with an aftermarket sub and amp. I am declaring 98% victory on rattles. For my everyday listening music and volumes it’s 100% victory.

I did so much fighting rattles it’s impossible to remember and list it all. My method was simple, play certain 90s gangsta rap songs with repeated bass frequencies on loop that generate rattle everytime. Loud. When neighbors were out that turned to bass frequency sweeps and loops I found online. Play loud and go around using your ears to pinpoint and your hands to feel and absorb. What I ended up with is Kilmat in the entire cargo area, 3 rolls of cloth tape wrapping wires, connectors, insulating behind pins, wiring under rear seats, etc. Used Kilmat to insulate behind most things touching the body. Suspect panel clips were replaced (and several broken). Be diligent in your battle and you can win!

Panel clips and part #s

Wiring drawing

11/14/22 Edit to add modified drawing, showing wire changes color after the green connector

Shop Manuals for removing trim

First of all, I would like to thank you guys for all of this amazing information!!

I'm at the point where I have my 8" Kicker CompRT with the Key500.1 all hooked up. I spliced into the speaker wires from the factory B&O amp and I'm getting power, but its really low. I turned everything up on the amp, Inluding the bass knob and it's still pretty low. The bass it all the way up on the head unit and if I want to make the sub move, I have to crank it and it sounds like all the other speakers are ready to blow. Lol.

I believe I read through everything pretty thorough(several times), so I apologize if I missed it, but is there a step I'm missing to get this sub moving?

Any help will be greatly appreciated!!

Sponsored

 

[Ibuprofen3293]

First of all, I would like to thank you guys for all of this amazing information!!

I'm at the point where I have my 8" Kicker CompRT with the Key500.1 all hooked up. I spliced into the speaker wires from the factory B&O amp and I'm getting power, but its really low. I turned everything up on the amp, Inluding the bass knob and it's still pretty low. The bass it all the way up on the head unit and if I want to make the sub move, I have to crank it and it sounds like all the other speakers are ready to blow. Lol.

I believe I read through everything pretty thorough(several times), so I apologize if I missed it, but is there a step I'm missing to get this sub moving?

Any help will be greatly appreciated!!

Did you run the Key amp setup? I have the same Amp & Sub, but I used the PlugnPlay Kits harness rather than splicing into the existing harness.

 

[Cjensen651]

Did you run the Key amp setup? I have the same Amp & Sub, but I used the PlugnPlay Kits harness rather than splicing into the existing harness.

Kicker Key 500.1. I spliced into the B&O speaker wire out and converted to RCA to kicker amp. Getting power. But it's severely underpowered.

 

[mdube72]

KSR laid the groundwork for many of us to get comfortable with the B&O Upgrade. I've not swapped any speakers yet, as I wanted to address the soundproofing and sub rattles first. The panel removal instructions and new clips were helpful tips for this project. The stock sub, as delivered, is a rattle trap. It requires several areas of double adhesive and rubber busing to get rid of all the hard contact points.

Now that I've improved the stock sub tremendously, I'm ready to dive into the five 4" speakers.

Are the Hertz still seeming to be the best option for all five locations, or is there a better mix to produce the best sound?

I would go with the Hertz - Hertz DCX 100.3 Dieci Series 4" 2-way car speakers at Crutchfield
Woke up the factory B&O. Use them in the 4 corners with the Metra connectors and you will be very happy. Didnt touch the center channel for what its worth. Set the sound to Surround and you will notice the rear speakers much more now.

 

[derichio02]

Kicker Key 500.1. I spliced into the B&O speaker wire out and converted to RCA to kicker amp. Getting power. But it's severely underpowered.

I had this happen as well. Try switching the input level switch located in between the speaker connector and gain dial on the amp. Should work. I believe the input is different depending on where you spliced.

Also be sure to turn the gain and boost down before doing this. You don’t want it to start working correctly with everything turned up lol.

 

[Ksjrb03]

I had this happen as well. Try switching the input level switch located in between the speaker connector and gain dial on the amp. Should work. I believe the input is different depending on where you spliced.

Also be sure to turn the gain and boost down before doing this. You don’t want it to start working correctly with everything turned up lol.

Agree with this. Sounds like you have the line level input setting wrong. And definitely turn the gain down before correcting!

 

[Terrymo606]

Need a little info please. I bought everything on list for b&o system. On the sub to make it 2 ohm I’m just going from positive to positive on back of sub to positive on amp and same for negative? Run a 8 awg power and 8 awg ground separate? On the input side of the amp is the part I’m confused on what colors go to that connector? Is there a pinout schematic, video, or picture showing wires where they get spliced?
Thank you.

 

[Roofus]

Is there no way to upgrade the sub without adding a standalone amp for a better sub? Secondly, if the answer is no, is there no way to incorporate adjusting amp level into the oem system without the need for a separate volume control for the sub?

 

[Terrymo606]

First of all, I would like to thank you guys for all of this amazing information!!

I'm at the point where I have my 8" Kicker CompRT with the Key500.1 all hooked up. I spliced into the speaker wires from the factory B&O amp and I'm getting power, but its really low. I turned everything up on the amp, Inluding the bass knob and it's still pretty low. The bass it all the way up on the head unit and if I want to make the sub move, I have to crank it and it sounds like all the other speakers are ready to blow. Lol.

I believe I read through everything pretty thorough(several times), so I apologize if I missed it, but is there a step I'm missing to get this sub moving?

Any help will be greatly appreciated!!

I have the b&o system also. I’m trying to get familiar with everything I need to do while waiting for parts to come in. I’m doing all speakers, kicker 500.1, kicker 8” sub. I understand how to take 4 ohm sub and make it 2 ohm. What I’m having problem with is this. Could you explain what needs to be done since you have done the same thing. Thanks

 

[Ksjrb03]

Is there no way to upgrade the sub without adding a standalone amp for a better sub? Secondly, if the answer is no, is there no way to incorporate adjusting amp level into the oem system without the need for a separate volume control for the sub?

No and no.

I have the b&o system also. I’m trying to get familiar with everything I need to do while waiting for parts to come in. I’m doing all speakers, kicker 500.1, kicker 8” sub. I understand how to take 4 ohm sub and make it 2 ohm. What I’m having problem with is this. Could you explain what needs to be done since you have done the same thing. Thanks

Have you removed the panels and dug in yet? It’s pretty straightforward, those wires become your amp input wires.

 

[Roofus]

Anyone have a single JL C1 they want to sell?

Also curious if anyone used the JL's at all four corners versus the JL's up front and Focals in the rear and what your thoughts were. Or what about the Hertz for all 5 4" speakers?

 

[SCTWNB]

Kicker Key 500.1. I spliced into the B&O speaker wire out and converted to RCA to kicker amp. Getting power. But it's severely underpowered.

Don't convert to a low level. You can run hi level right into the amp. I used the Key 500.1 tone setup but axed it. I set it up to my ears. The output was too low using the setup method so I turned it up a hair. These are my settings and my sub sounds killer. Added some poly and sealed the port.

 

[jehines3]

Anyone have a single JL C1 they want to sell?

Also curious if anyone used the JL's at all four corners versus the JL's up front and Focals in the rear and what your thoughts were. Or what about the Hertz for all 5 4" speakers?

I just wrapped up all five of my 4” install. I ran a few songs and used a frequency app to determine what would go best where. The dash corners render a bit more highs than the center and the rear pods. I went with two sets of the Hertz Deci and one set of (cheaper) Infinity Reference to play with. I liked the Infinity in the dash corners better. I went with the Hertz on the center and rear pods. The construction of the Hertz being paper woofer concerns me. It was a nice upgrade but it’s not a game changer. I already did my killmat and sub seal with new clips to get rid of the rattle. I’m going to go after the 6” kick panel with the Hertz next just to get a high efficiency speaker in that location. I hate that all of the lows come from the rear, it really needs more lows from the kick panel area.

 

[Johnny Mo]

Thanks again to @Ksjrb03 and all the others who posted instructions and guidance on swapping out the speakers and upgrading the sound system! I completed part of my swap out last night by replacing my 4" speakers all around with Infinity Reference 407s. Definitely makes the system a bit cleaner and crisper sounding. I added poly fill in all the cavities. Special thanks to @RagnarKon for his great videos on speaker grille removal. I'm tackling my sub and amp this weekend.

 

[Roofus]

Just a heads up that Kicker Key amp is on sale for $223 on Amazon right now.

I’m looking for some guidance from those that have done the install. I’m about to install a WeBoost antenna amp and was planning to install where you guys are installing the kicker amp. Wondering if I will have room for both? Maybe there’s room on the drivers side?

This is the WeBoost amp with dimensions:

Any suggestions where I can stick this and still have room for the Kicker amp? I’d wire in to the rear aux switch for power.

Sponsored