B&O Sound System Upgrade Tip

[kvec]

How did you mount the tweeter in the dash? Did you need some type of adapter?

I'm just testing it out, so I fashioned a retainer out of Tesa tape sitting on a bed of poly fil. It works fine for a few weeks.

I'm debating upgrading my components from the Focals to something nicer. I've actually been impressed by the Focal woofers, but the tweeters leave a lot to be desired. They feel cheap and sound tinny.

Once I figure out which tweeter will go there long term, I'll get a pair of these.

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[Larsf]

OP, can you relay your tips for the center dash grill removal? Thx.

 

[Westbayou]

Took your advice and swapped out only the 4-corner 4" speakers with 2 sets of Kicker 46CSC44 speakers. It really brightened up the sound, and now it doesn't sound like ALL of the music is coming out of the center channel. For $150 including the Hoel wiring harnesses I'm fairly pleased with the result. The sub is still pretty meh.... so I may end up messing with that some.

 

[dmhalka]

I Have the Lux package and the B&O system. Although I found it adequate I've done light modifications to the sound system in almost all of my vehicles so I couldn't leave well enough alone. If you aren't going to do a full upgrade including a new DSP consider my experience carefully.

I planned to upgrade the main 5 speakers that most people complain about. Front Left, Right and Center on the dashboard and the rear Speaker Pods. I also stuffed those 5 spots and the Sub with polyfill and added some foam to reduce rattles near the sub.

I used 2 Focal ACX (https://www.focal.com/en/car-audio/.../performance/auditor-new/coaxial-kits/acx-100) speakers in the Right and Left Front channels and 3 Kicker KS4s (https://www.kicker.com/47KSC40) for the rear pods and center channel. Here is where I went wrong. The front Center channel doesn't seem to have a low pass filter on it. After installing a two way speaker with a tweeter I got tons of hiss and almost painful highs. This was super noticeable on Audio books when the reader would pronounce an S. I had to run the system in Stereo mode for a few weeks because the highs from the center channel were so annoying.

So just this weekend I replaced my center channel with a PRV Audio 4" Mid (https://prvaudio.com/products/4mr60-4/). The improvement is hard to overstate. It sounds radically better with a strong front center stage now. Almost all of the high end hiss is gone. Additionally this speaker is much louder and allows me to listen at a lower volume while still getting good mids.

If I could do it all over again I think I might even get 3 of these PRV speakers for the Center and Rear channels and use the Kickers in the Front side channels. The Kickers just sound better than the Focals to me and the PRVs produce huge sound at low volumes.

TLDR; Don't put a 2-way speaker in the center channel of the B&O system unless you are adding a DSP.

Hi I know this thread is a little old, but I just got my Lux Badlands, and am shocked how disappointed I am with the "upgraded B&O sound system", that being said, with a few months in the rear view, I'm interested in your thoughts on what you've done. Anything you'd do differently? if I'm reading correctly, all you did was swap speakers? Did you do anything with the speakers in the kick panels? I'm looking for something that's easy, I really don't want to get into adding amp, bypasses, crossovers, etc.

 

[ATLBronco75]

I still have some annoying highs and sibilance, but I’ve kind of gotten used to it. If I could do it all over again, I would start with just swapping the center speaker because it does most of the work in the front.

I never swapped the kick panel speakers, and I have kicker brand in the rear, which seem better for the B&O DSP than the Focals I have in the front.

I still sometimes think about moving the kickers to the front corners and buying two more PRVs for the rear. The rear doesn’t get full range so I’m still on the fence.

 

[ATLBronco75]

OP, can you relay your tips for the center dash grill removal? Thx.

sorry, I somehow missed this reply. The only good tip I have is that you can pry the large portion of the dash toward you into the cabin. Because it’s so long it’s actually pretty flexible and this relieves the two tabs that are on the speaker grill stuck under the dashboard.

 

[kvec]

Hi I know this thread is a little old, but I just got my Lux Badlands, and am shocked how disappointed I am with the "upgraded B&O sound system", that being said, with a few months in the rear view, I'm interested in your thoughts on what you've done. Anything you'd do differently? if I'm reading correctly, all you did was swap speakers? Did you do anything with the speakers in the kick panels? I'm looking for something that's easy, I really don't want to get into adding amp, bypasses, crossovers, etc.

I’ve finally settled on a config that doesn’t make my ears hurt from disappointment or sibilance. It’s surprisingly simple.

Buy 1 set of component 6.5” speakers. I bought the Focal RSE-165. I would skip Focal as a brand if I did it again, in favor of Morel or AudioFrog. Replace the 6.5s in the kick panels as a straight drop in replacement. Put the tweeters and inline crossovers in the dash corners. Remove the Center channel altogether.

That will remove all sibilance. Your highs will sound right and your mids and lows will be a little underpowered, just because the tweeters are at chest height and your woofers are at your feet. Compensate for it by using the EQ in the head unit, decreasing treble and increasing mid and bass until it sounds right.

The low bass will still be lacking. The fix for that is to swap the sub and add a kicker 500.1. You need the 500.1 to fix the roll-off that the factory DSP adds to the sub, and to be able to set the crossover a little lower so you don’t get booming that happens between 100-200 hz. I would do this 10 times out of 10 again, because it adds the warmth that you need for it not to sound wrong. That said, it’s definitely step 2 and not quite as impactful as just swapping out the front speakers.

Swapping the rears for fill works fine but is really a nice-to-have in my opinion. I did what many others here did and used Focal ACX-100s. It‘s challenging to get any meaningful sound out of the rears in a B&O system.

 

[Bigmoose]

I’ve finally settled on a config that doesn’t make my ears hurt from disappointment or sibilance. It’s surprisingly simple.

Buy 1 set of component 6.5” speakers. I bought the Focal RSE-165. I would skip Focal as a brand if I did it again, in favor of Morel or AudioFrog. Replace the 6.5s in the kick panels as a straight drop in replacement. Put the tweeters and inline crossovers in the dash corners. Remove the Center channel altogether.

That will remove all sibilance. Your highs will sound right and your mids and lows will be a little underpowered, just because the tweeters are at chest height and your woofers are at your feet. Compensate for it by using the EQ in the head unit, decreasing treble and increasing mid and bass until it sounds right.

The low bass will still be lacking. The fix for that is to swap the sub and add a kicker 500.1. You need the 500.1 to fix the roll-off that the factory DSP adds to the sub, and to be able to set the crossover a little lower so you don’t get booming that happens between 100-200 hz. I would do this 10 times out of 10 again, because it adds the warmth that you need for it not to sound wrong. That said, it’s definitely step 2 and not quite as impactful as just swapping out the front speakers.

Swapping the rears for fill works fine but is really a nice-to-have in my opinion. I did what many others here did and used Focal ACX-100s. It‘s challenging to get any meaningful sound out of the rears in a B&O system.

so with the tweeter setup you mentioned you would be leaving two channels unconnected(dash corners) since the B&O amp powers these separate from the kicks, correct? Any issues with this aside from ACM codes?

 

[kvec]

so with the tweeter setup you mentioned you would be leaving two channels unconnected(dash corners) since the B&O amp powers these separate from the kicks, correct? Any issues with this aside from ACM codes?

You’d leave just the C channel disconnected. The corners would be wired to the old 4” dash corner channels, just using the passive crossovers that come with the speakers to set the Tweeter crossover.

No issues with codes. The factory amp doesn’t seem smart enough to send that info back to the system (luckily).

 

[Bigmoose]

You’d leave just the C channel disconnected. The corners would be wired to the old 4” dash corner channels, just using the passive crossovers that come with the speakers to set the Tweeter crossover.

No issues with codes. The factory amp doesn’t seem smart enough to send that info back to the system (luckily).

sorry if I’m a little slow here. So if I read that right you are still driving the tweeters from the dash corner amp channel and using the crossover to set the high pass for the tweeter. You are not running the tweeters off the kick with the crossover (like you would do in the non B&O system).

by C channel you mean center channel? If so why would you do that?

 

[kvec]

sorry if I’m a little slow here. So if I read that right you are still driving the tweeters from the dash corner amp channel and using the crossover to set the high pass for the tweeter. You are not running the tweeters off the kick with the crossover (like you would do in the non B&O system).

by C channel you mean center channel? If so why would you do that?

Correct on both.

The short answer on the C is that it was just adding way more mid than I needed, throwing off the frequency response. I also think it has a peak, which was adding some ringing.

Longer answer is: I played around with several different configs. At some point I’ll list them out in a build post. I was getting way more upper-mid than I wanted and the system was ringing in the 3-4 kHz range (IIRC). Also, I couldn’t get the bass to fill properly, even after swapping the sub and adding the amp. It was sounding fine but just not quite right.

On a whim, I covered up the C with a scarf that was sitting next to it on the dash and immediately the system came together. It was wild how big a difference it made. After that, I just pulled the C and it really started to work. You still have to EQ it, but it’s sounding more and more like a real stereo. Imaging didn’t suffer in any meaningful way (the pros would say it got better, but to each their own).

For the record, I play music on Stereo mode, not Surround. If you play it on Surround and you pull the C, you‘re gonna have a bad time.

 

[Bigmoose]

Appreciate the response. Trying to decide to either go your route or just swap the dash speakers (2 co-ax and 1 mid 4”)

 

[kvec]

Appreciate the response. Trying to decide to either go your route or just swap the dash speakers (2 co-ax and 1 mid 4”)

Many threads have owners who are completely satisfied that have gone that route. In particular, you see the JL C1-400x a fair amount.

If I were to do it again, I wouldn't. I didn't use a DSP to bring down the levels, though. It's likely with a proper DSP, that 3-way setup could rock. I actually have an extra Focal ACX-100 if you want to try out that setup for yourself.

Just keep in mind how much volume 3 4" speakers are pumping out in the range that they play, and how much fill you'd require from the 6.5s and the sub to fill out the lower ranges. Now put the 4s up at your chest and the 6.5s at your feet, and put the wimpy sub behind a plastic panel in the back.

 

[Ft. Worth Rob]

I’ve finally settled on a config that doesn’t make my ears hurt from disappointment or sibilance. It’s surprisingly simple.

Buy 1 set of component 6.5” speakers. I bought the Focal RSE-165. I would skip Focal as a brand if I did it again, in favor of Morel or AudioFrog. Replace the 6.5s in the kick panels as a straight drop in replacement. Put the tweeters and inline crossovers in the dash corners. Remove the Center channel altogether.

That will remove all sibilance. Your highs will sound right and your mids and lows will be a little underpowered, just because the tweeters are at chest height and your woofers are at your feet. Compensate for it by using the EQ in the head unit, decreasing treble and increasing mid and bass until it sounds right.

The low bass will still be lacking. The fix for that is to swap the sub and add a kicker 500.1. You need the 500.1 to fix the roll-off that the factory DSP adds to the sub, and to be able to set the crossover a little lower so you don’t get booming that happens between 100-200 hz. I would do this 10 times out of 10 again, because it adds the warmth that you need for it not to sound wrong. That said, it’s definitely step 2 and not quite as impactful as just swapping out the front speakers.

Swapping the rears for fill works fine but is really a nice-to-have in my opinion. I did what many others here did and used Focal ACX-100s. It‘s challenging to get any meaningful sound out of the rears in a B&O system.

@kvec I learned a new word today. Sibilance. Thanks for that. After living with my ASE 165 Focal components (I went cheap figuring the Bronco wind/road noise is high anyway) and made a plate to mount the tweeters in the 4” dash location. They fire up and I’m not loving the harshness/excessive sibilance?Not sure if it’s the Mylar vs silk vs metal of a more expensive tweeter, the firing directly at the windshield, or a combination. The Kicker Key has done a good job with imaging.
How did you end up mounting your dash tweeters and are you happy with them? I may start messing with angling them toward the opposite riders’ inboard ear/roof liner versus straight up at the windshield to see if that cuts it.

 

[kvec]

@kvec I learned a new word today. Sibilance. Thanks for that. After living with my ASE 165 Focal components (I went cheap figuring the Bronco wind/road noise is high anyway) and made a plate to mount the tweeters in the 4” dash location. They fire up and I’m not loving the harshness/excessive sibilance?Not sure if it’s the Mylar vs silk vs metal of a more expensive tweeter, the firing directly at the windshield, or a combination. The Kicker Key has done a good job with imaging.
How did you end up mounting your dash tweeters and are you happy with them? I may start messing with angling them toward the opposite riders’ inboard ear/roof liner versus straight up at the windshield to see if that cuts it.

Focal is known for excessive peaks in their highs. If you check out the technical sheet from their site for the ASE-165, take a look at the almost 15 db peak just above 10k Hz, the ~7 db peak at 2k Hz, and the ~6 db peak at 2800 Hz. Those peaks create the harshness your ears are sensing from the tweeters. That's why I would skip Focal altogether if I were to do it again. They claim it's for accuracy. In my experience, it just creates a harsh, unpleasant sound.

You can correct for it by dropping your treble in the head unit down 4 or 5 notches. It won't fix the peaks, but it'll just lower the entire treble range enough to keep the peaks from being obnoxious.

You mentioned you're running a Kicker Key. Did you re-run the Key corrections after installing the new speakers? The built-in DSP in the Key is supposed to correct for peaks like that. I don't have firsthand experience with the 200.4 unit but I've read enough of others' experiences.

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