B&O System - Looking to Upgrade

[604Bronco]

So before I potentially spend some money on a new sound system, I wanted some guidance on this. I know there's other posts on this, and I've read through a bunch of them which were very helpful.

I reached out to a local car audio place near me, who provided a detailed explanation of things and why simply replacing the stock speakers with something else, won't give a huge improvement. I reached out to a few places who also mentioned this, but they didn't go into the same detail. However, this stuff is above my head.

Curious if the below email response from them makes sense, if something seems like they're trying to upsell me something I don't need, or if something is missing.

Thanks!


Having worked on some of the new fords (not the Bronco yet) we are all too aware of the shortcomings of the factory B&O system including lack of headroom or output. Being totally honest, Changing just the speakers would actually make very little difference as we would still be working with the OEM amplifier and OEM power levels. As we get into newer and newer vehicles we are finding that even the average consumer is no longer happy with the audio output of the “premium” audio solutions. Now this is me purely speculating but. if the B&O system is anything like the solution in the newer trucks, this is a data based audio system and requires some pretty specific parts to start changing out the factory amplifier and to re-power the factory speakers.

Looking online at the Base B&O system this is what i’ve found. In your SUV there is at least a 7 speaker Plus subwoofer solution with the subwoofer appearing to be a dual voice coil sub or for simplicity sakes a 9 channel audio system. The way the system works is as follows: From the headunit there is no longer analog audio sent into the factory amplifier, everything is now in the digital realm and as such it’s not as easy as just removing the factory amplifier and installing a new one. There is now a digital decoding solutions for a lot of the newer vehicles that convert from this databus solution to either conventional RCA or to fibre. From there it would then be inputted into a Digital DSP amplifier (or a standalone DSP with external amplifiers).

Putting together a solution like this will be your absolute biggest improvement and would greatly improve the audio output and would even allow us with the addition of a controller to have a separate “tune” or calibration for top on/off.

Any feedback would be appreciated. As mentioned, this sort of audio stuff is above my head. I want a good setup, but I'm not trying to win a car audio sound competition either.

Thanks folks!

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[Mango&Moose]

following

 

[ALVA DUDE]

following

So before I potentially spend some money on a new sound system, I wanted some guidance on this. I know there's other posts on this, and I've read through a bunch of them which were very helpful.

I reached out to a local car audio place near me, who provided a detailed explanation of things and why simply replacing the stock speakers with something else, won't give a huge improvement. I reached out to a few places who also mentioned this, but they didn't go into the same detail. However, this stuff is above my head.

Curious if the below email response from them makes sense, if something seems like they're trying to upsell me something I don't need, or if something is missing.

Thanks!


Having worked on some of the new fords (not the Bronco yet) we are all too aware of the shortcomings of the factory B&O system including lack of headroom or output. Being totally honest, Changing just the speakers would actually make very little difference as we would still be working with the OEM amplifier and OEM power levels. As we get into newer and newer vehicles we are finding that even the average consumer is no longer happy with the audio output of the “premium” audio solutions. Now this is me purely speculating but. if the B&O system is anything like the solution in the newer trucks, this is a data based audio system and requires some pretty specific parts to start changing out the factory amplifier and to re-power the factory speakers.

Looking online at the Base B&O system this is what i’ve found. In your SUV there is at least a 7 speaker Plus subwoofer solution with the subwoofer appearing to be a dual voice coil sub or for simplicity sakes a 9 channel audio system. The way the system works is as follows: From the headunit there is no longer analog audio sent into the factory amplifier, everything is now in the digital realm and as such it’s not as easy as just removing the factory amplifier and installing a new one. There is now a digital decoding solutions for a lot of the newer vehicles that convert from this databus solution to either conventional RCA or to fibre. From there it would then be inputted into a Digital DSP amplifier (or a standalone DSP with external amplifiers).

Putting together a solution like this will be your absolute biggest improvement and would greatly improve the audio output and would even allow us with the addition of a controller to have a separate “tune” or calibration for top on/off.

Any feedback would be appreciated. As mentioned, this sort of audio stuff is above my head. I want a good setup, but I'm not trying to win a car audio sound competition either.

Thanks folks!

Im no expert, but having read certain thread/concerns I feel he is spot on...Ford built it so FORD CAN MAKE THE UPGRADES...of course.

I did read in a thread where someone had replaced the whole stereo/speakers/amp and how disappointed they were at the lack of difference and then they did this....
From what I understood there is something from FORScan (or similar) that can disable to audio parameters as well. Based on that that, the person in the thread felt felt he had gained full capacity of the newly purchased stuff.

Once I get some time, Ill browse thru here to see where I saw that. (I do recall that it was largely and Infinity component uppgrade!

Not REALLY helpful but Ill keep searching.

 

[ALVA DUDE]

following

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/base-audio-upgrade-and-forscan.28578/

 

[Ksjrb03]

Not all speakers go through the DSP/amp. Only the sub, kick panel, and front corners. You will need a separate solution for the center channel and rear pods.

 

[MrGreen55]

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/base-audio-upgrade-and-forscan.28578/

The problem with forscan right now is 22's are lockout of some stuff right at the moment

 

[JeepersCreepers]

"Sounds" about right. I'm not an expert either but.I have one on tap who has helped me upgrade the audio in several of my vehicles over the years. It has gotten progressively harder to "plug and play" a bigger/better amp, speakers, etc. The only easy vehicle to upgrade the sound on was my Jeep (seen in the picture) which got a lot better from stock after a close-to-top-dollar upgrade but still doesn't sound great, not surprisingly. Some of the issues we're experiencing are the vehicle itself and where the speakers are placed. This has always been an issue in car audio.

I wanted to do an audio upgrade in my F-Type but ran into some of the same issues we're seeing here -- to use an aviation analogy, the entire "avionics suite" is integrated nowadays in the vehicle so you're not often able to simply swap things out like you could in the old days. The audio is digital, too, which changes the way the audio is delivered to the speaker in the first place.

I don't really love the audio quality of the B&O. Paid for the best offering Ford had with the Badlands "Lux" but it still sounds just "okay." Probably upgrading the Bronco's audio quality from here will be quite an ordeal so I'm just not going to bother. It doesn't seem to be worth the trouble. Acoustics aren't great in any vehicle, but when you're running something with a removable hard/soft top it gets even more challenging.

This may be an unpopular statement but I've taken to wearing AirPod Pros in the Jeep. I can still hear the road and drivers just fine, and the audio quality is much better than any sound system which could be installed. The Airpod Pros let ambient noise "pass through" the ear buds electronically.

Off-road it might be nice to consider that JBL (?) sound bar offering but I don't like the way it blocks visibility out the back.

-JC

 

[604Bronco]

"Sounds" about right. I'm not an expert either but.I have one on tap who has helped me upgrade the audio in several of my vehicles over the years. It has gotten progressively harder to "plug and play" a bigger/better amp, speakers, etc. The only easy vehicle to upgrade the sound on was my Jeep (seen in the picture) which got a lot better from stock after a close-to-top-dollar upgrade but still doesn't sound great, not surprisingly. Some of the issues we're experiencing are the vehicle itself and where the speakers are placed. This has always been an issue in car audio.

I wanted to do an audio upgrade in my F-Type but ran into some of the same issues we're seeing here -- to use an aviation analogy, the entire "avionics suite" is integrated nowadays in the vehicle so you're not often able to simply swap things out like you could in the old days. The audio is digital, too, which changes the way the audio is delivered to the speaker in the first place.

I don't really love the audio quality of the B&O. Paid for the best offering Ford had with the Badlands "Lux" but it still sounds just "okay." Probably upgrading the Bronco's audio quality from here will be quite an ordeal so I'm just not going to bother. It doesn't seem to be worth the trouble. Acoustics aren't great in any vehicle, but when you're running something with a removable hard/soft top it gets even more challenging.

This may be an unpopular statement but I've taken to wearing AirPod Pros in the Jeep. I can still hear the road and drivers just fine, and the audio quality is much better than any sound system which could be installed. The Airpod Pros let ambient noise "pass through" the ear buds electronically.

Off-road it might be nice to consider that JBL (?) sound bar offering but I don't like the way it blocks visibility out the back.

-JC

Thanks very much for your insights!

I was also considering the JBL sound bar, however it sounds like it will work on the B&O system (even though the manual says differently) but the improvement is very, very minimal. Not worth it, from what I was reading. Too bad as I thought that would be the simplest way to go.

 

[bbrown1]

I'm getting an upgrade this weekend -- replacing the dash and kick speakers and possibly adding a soundbar and additional amp. I have the B&O, which is very underwhelming in my opinion. I'll report back as to what was done and what audio quality differences were made.

 

[shimmy825]

I’m not an audiophile but after getting my bronco and blasting Freebird full noise I am happy with the sound system.

 

[Jhuff]

I've been reading the opposite: that upgrading speakers inthe B&O is helpful. I don't doubt this, as higher quality & more sensitive speakers are available which will produce better sound than OEM even at the same wattage. Disappointment might arise if you buy a speaker with a much higher RMS wattage than what the Bronco provides and don't use the appropriate bass blockers.

While the standard system seems to benefit the most from upgrading the 4", I have seen (anecdotally) that upgrading the amplified B&O kickpanel speaker is the most bang for the buck for us. I'm not concerned about the sub yet.

I'm holding off til I get my Bronco delivered, but already have a list of speakers ready to purchase if I am unhappy with the OEM sound.

 

[Vtfakie]

Two points, of course an audio shop is going to try to upsell you on a full replacement, that is their bread and butter, and obviously going to be the best overall solution.
I, however, am one that replaced the front corners, kicks, and rear pods only and am quite happy with what I have now. My thought process was to replace those with quality speakers and if needed, add an amp in the future. My experience was that switching out the kicks gave the most significant improvement in the mid-heavy B&O system. FWIW, Focal PC100 dash and rear, Focal PC165 kicks.

Comparison B&O kick vs Focal PC165, with PC100 in 4 corners

Stock B&O


Focal PC100 dash corners only

Focal PC100 in 4 corners, stock kicks

 

[Vtfakie]

Also to note, the sound processing in stereo mode sucks, so I stick with surround

 

[mpeugeot]

I have done this and I can safely say that just about any speaker is going to sound way better than the factory speakers.

The factory left/right/center 4" dash speakers and 4" rear pod speakers are rated for 25w RMS, the 6.5" kick panel speakers are an unknown rating. Only the left and right dash speakers are 2 way speakers in the factory B&O system.

I replaced ALL of the speakers except the sub-woofers, and was significantly rewarded for my efforts. The 4" speakers were all replaced with 50w RMS rated 2 way speakers (the rear pods get signal all the way down to 150Hz in the B&O system). The 6.5" speakers were replaced with 80w RMS 2 way speakers.

On the whole, it sounds like a totally different (and way better) system. I leave the EQ flat and in "stereo" mode. The factory EQ and "surround mode" is generally useless to me; however that may be reflective of speaker choice as well. As the Focal speakers may be better than my Morell speakers (Maximo 402 MkII and Maximo 602 MkII).

 

[Vtfakie]

The factory EQ and "surround mode" is generally useless to me; however that may be reflective of speaker choice as well. As the Focal speakers may be better than my Morell speakers (Maximo 402 MkII and Maximo 602 MkII).

Definitely going to be a personal choice and change based on speakers, bit ai definitely fealt the sound was brighter in surround, while stereo leaves some of the the issues that caused me to replace the speakers to begin with. I need to replace my center channel but don't want to pay the focal prices for 1 speaker. I may drop my rears down a grade and move one to the center. They don't really fit properly back there anyway.

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