Ford Bang and Olufsen Sound System Reviews

[Dirty Bronco]

My old 2 door Wrangler had the 9 speaker Alpine system with the sub in it. One of my favorite things to this day was cruising with the top off while blasting my favorite tunes. I LOVED that sound system. Ford's premium sound system is the Bang and Olufsen 10 speaker system with a subwoofer. This is found on various Ford models and appears to only be available in the "LUX Trim" on the Bronco. I was curious to see what people thought of this sound system to figure out if it would be worth the investment. Initial reviews that I have found online have been extremely underwhelming. Many people are claiming that in the F150 the sound system is very quiet and lacks any bass. Does anyone know if this is limited to the F150 or does anyone have their own opinions of the system?

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[Bronco_99]

Curious about this too. Also hope it can be added al la carte if it’s worth the upgrade and not tied to just the lux package as it appears now.

 

[BroncoHooves]

I hope they put the subwoofer in a spot where it won't compromise on cargo capacity.

 

[Lindy08]

I hope they put the subwoofer in a spot where it won't compromise on cargo capacity.

Not sure how that will be possible if the seats fold flat. I'm not sure I'd trade cargo room for a subwoofer in a 2dr.

 

[Zinn]

Not sure how that will be possible if the seats fold flat. I'm not sure I'd trade cargo room for a subwoofer in a 2dr.

the way they do it in the mustang works well. it's just in the side wall of the trunk, i assume they could do the same with the cargo area.

 

[Spooled]

My buddy has the B&O in his Super Duty. It sounds decently OK. It's depends how much of an audiophile you are. It is worth it as a standalone option? Probably. Worth it if it's stuck to a package and you don't really care about the rest of the things that come in the package.... I'm gonna have to say no.

But then again maybe It's a Bronco spec B&O system and it actually kicks ass.

 

[conrfox]

I've been through the Alpine system in my old JK, JL, and now JT. My family members have the upgraded Bang and Olufsen package in both of their Ford vehicles. I would say the main difference is that I find the Alpine system projects bass through the sub primarily, while more bass is sound through speakers in the doors on the B&O systems. This results in a pretty harsh rattle in the body panels of the Ford vehicles under heavy bass/ midrange. It's almost as if the door speakers on the Fords make up for a lack of a proper subwoofer. Is it worth the upgrade? Yes, as the B&O system is much better than stock the Ford speaker system in terms of sound quality. But if the speaker system is optional, depending on price, going aftermarket wouldn't be the worst idea.

My favorite system was in the JK. The floor-mounted subwoofer was amazing - hard bass and no rattles!

 

[Paint]

My only experience with it is in a Raptor. And for a stock system, it was fantastic. One of the best I've heard.

However, you can build an aftermarket system that sounds better for less than what B&O costs. But do you want to?

 

[Dirty Bronco]

My only experience with it is in a Raptor. And for a stock system, it was fantastic. One of the best I've heard.

However, you can build an aftermarket system that sounds better for less than what B&O costs. But do you want to?

I knew I’d get the aftermarket suggestion. My question is, does this void any warranty items other than the stereo? also, I like having the sub wired and cut into the framework of the vehicle. I’m assuming the bronco will be similar to the wrangler where is is in the siding in the back.

 

[Dirty Bronco]

I've been through the Alpine system in my old JK, JL, and now JT. My family members have the upgraded Bang and Olufsen package in both of their Ford vehicles. I would say the main difference is that I find the Alpine system projects bass through the sub primarily, while more bass is sound through speakers in the doors on the B&O systems. This results in a pretty harsh rattle in the body panels of the Ford vehicles under heavy bass/ midrange. It's almost as if the door speakers on the Fords make up for a lack of a proper subwoofer. Is it worth the upgrade? Yes, as the B&O system is much better than stock the Ford speaker system in terms of sound quality. But if the speaker system is optional, depending on price, going aftermarket wouldn't be the worst idea.

My favorite system was in the JK. The floor-mounted subwoofer was amazing - hard bass and no rattles!

I’m anxious to see these 10 speaker locations. I know 2 are on the roll bar in the back. Considering the doors come off, I’d imagine ford tried to keep most of the speakers off the doors so that should get rid of door rattle issues.

 

[Paint]

I knew I’d get the aftermarket suggestion. My question is, does this void any warranty items other than the stereo? also, I like having the sub wired and cut into the framework of the vehicle. I’m assuming the bronco will be similar to the wrangler where is is in the siding in the back.

Probably voids anything remotely plugged in to the stereo. But eh. To each their own.

 

[rkj__]

My wife loves the upgraded Harman Kardon audio in her current vehicle.

To get the upgraded audio in the Bronco would add a handful of features she would not care about.

If it turned out that the B&O system is not a great upgrade, that could trim a lot of the fat out of the price of a possible Bronco for us, which would make it closer to achievable budget wise.

I'd never upgrade the audio on a new car. Dealers love to blame any aftermarket electrical components as the source of ANY electrical problem with the vehicle. It's not hard to Google up stories on forums of people having a hard time because they swapped a few incandescent bulbs to aftermarket LEDs.

 

[takethecannoli]

My wife loves the upgraded Harman Kardon audio in her current vehicle.

To get the upgraded audio in the Bronco would add a handful of features she would not care about.

If it turned out that the B&O system is not a great upgrade, that could trim a lot of the fat out of the price of a possible Bronco for us, which would make it closer to achievable budget wise.

I'd never upgrade the audio on a new car. Dealers love to blame any aftermarket electrical components as the source of ANY electrical problem with the vehicle. It's not hard to Google up stories on forums of people having a hard time because they swapped a few incandescent bulbs to aftermarket LEDs.

Pretty much this, I want to get the Lux mainly for the audio. It will really depend on the price, if it is 2-3k (CAD) more than the high I might go for it, any more and it’s a no from me.

 

[Jeka]

I used to do car preparation and third-party components installation for competitive car audio shows, so have some background.
Have B&O in my 2018 Expedition and can say it's pretty good, but lacks of bass on higher volume. Sound quality really depends on your source - if you play regular MP3, you might not notice a big difference to other stock systems, but if you get some high quality CD - that will be the whole different level. Too bad Ford dropped CD slot on 2019+ models (in Expedition lineup, not sure about others). I tried to play lossless FLAC files, the good thing they are playable, the bad thing I could not match CD quality even with higher bit and sample rates.
Bronco is terrible for audiophile car audio, removable panels, frame-less windows, internal roll bars, but I would still get upgraded audio, just because it's better than stock

 

[vrtical]

I used to do car preparation and third-party components installation for competitive car audio shows, so have some background.
Have B&O in my 2018 Expedition and can say it's pretty good, but lacks of bass on higher volume. Sound quality really depends on your source - if you play regular MP3, you might not notice a big difference to other stock systems, but if you get some high quality CD - that will be the whole different level. Too bad Ford dropped CD slot on 2019+ models (in Expedition lineup, not sure about others). I tried to play lossless FLAC files, the good thing they are playable, the bad thing I could not match CD quality even with higher bit and sample rates.
Bronco is terrible for audiophile car audio, removable panels, frame-less windows, internal roll bars, but I would still get upgraded audio, just because it's better than stock

I have a 19 F150 no CD slot and I dont have the sub higher option and I think its fine, IMO not worth going LUX to just get the stereo upgrade.

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