Ford Bang and Olufsen Sound System Reviews

[Clump]

I have a Ranger and up until about 1 month ago also had a Mustang with the B&O system.

Disclaimer - I'm old (60) and have abused my ears with firearms, loud music, loud exhaust and more over the years. YMMV

I messed with the settings and had it sounding OK in both vehicles. Not great, but OK.

Many people disconnect the center speaker and report improved sound. The center speaker adds a harshness to the sound. There's a stereo mode and a surround mode. It's counter-intuitive, but turning on surround mode greatly reduces output from the center speaker and eliminates the harshness.

A guy on the Mustang6G forum who design speakers for a living and has the equipment did a bunch of measurements and came up with settings that produce a flat EQ curve for the B&O system.
https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/threads/how-i-improved-the-b-o-sound-quality-for-free.141052/

He found that the subwoofer level is 12 DB high.

I used his settings for a while and settled on bass up 1 notch, balance centered and surround on. It makes the system sound really good. You can hear the instruments and it's very articulate. The sound gets better with volume. If you want thumpy bass this won't do it for you. I can't speak for top off, but windows down is no problem, even with the Mustang exhaust in track mode.

Somebody else mentioned needing a good source and that's for sure. You can't make Sirius sound great - it's too compressed. 256KB MP3s sound really good with these settings.

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[MJJ]

I have a Ranger and up until about 1 month ago also had a Mustang with the B&O system.

Disclaimer - I'm old (60) and have abused my ears with firearms, loud music, loud exhaust and more over the years. YMMV

I messed with the settings and had it sounding OK in both vehicles. Not great, but OK.

Many people disconnect the center speaker and report improved sound. The center speaker adds a harshness to the sound. There's a stereo mode and a surround mode. It's counter-intuitive, but turning on surround mode greatly reduces output from the center speaker and eliminates the harshness.

A guy on the Mustang6G forum who design speakers for a living and has the equipment did a bunch of measurements and came up with settings that produce a flat EQ curve for the B&O system.
https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/threads/how-i-improved-the-b-o-sound-quality-for-free.141052/

He found that the subwoofer level is 12 DB high.

I used his settings for a while and settled on bass up 1 notch, balance centered and surround on. It makes the system sound really good. You can hear the instruments and it's very articulate. The sound gets better with volume. If you want thumpy bass this won't do it for you. I can't speak for top off, but windows down is no problem, even with the Mustang exhaust in track mode.

Somebody else mentioned needing a good source and that's for sure. You can't make Sirius sound great - it's too compressed. 256KB MP3s sound really good with these settings.

Very helpful information.

 

[chownd]

Same here... and in my opinion well worth the upgrade. Not to mention, B&O is one of the highest end audiophile/home speaker sound systems money can buy. They will not take on a project, if it compromises sound quality. https://www.bang-olufsen.com/en/speakers/filter/stereo

This used to be true for sure. But they've diluted their brand some in the past few years.

I think it's going to come down to how involved b&o is in the process. They could give Ford phenomenal speakers but if not tailored to the space of the vehicle, they'll sound just ok. My guess is that'll be the case here.

But that might be ok. Good enough components, power to drive them could over come some of the issues.

My biggest issue is jumping up a trim just for the privilege to pay for lux to get a stereo I've never heard (or at least someone else has heard and said this thing is great). That's like a 5k swing.

I'm sure a lot of people are in that same boat. Hopefully a good set of ears will have heard it before I order.

I know I could go aftermarket but I'd rather not if manufacturer supplied was good enough. I used to do installs a million years ago but that was before all systems got integrated and even simple mods now would scare me.

 

[bronc'o]

This used to be true for sure. But they've diluted their brand some in the past few years.

I think it's going to come down to how involved b&o is in the process. They could give Ford phenomenal speakers but if not tailored to the space of the vehicle, they'll sound just ok. My guess is that'll be the case here.

But that might be ok. Good enough components, power to drive them could over come some of the issues.

My biggest issue is jumping up a trim just for the privilege to pay for lux to get a stereo I've never heard (or at least someone else has heard and said this thing is great). That's like a 5k swing.

I'm sure a lot of people are in that same boat. Hopefully a good set of ears will have heard it before I order.

I know I could go aftermarket but I'd rather not if manufacturer supplied was good enough. I used to do installs a million years ago but that was before all systems got integrated and even simple mods now would scare me.

Thank you for the insight. It is a big cost jump to lux... but it includes a bit more than the B&O system. Attached a screenshot of the breakdown. I'm not a fan of adaptive cruise control, but the other features are really nice to have:

 

[MacHudson]

Are the B&O speakers going to be moisture hardened? What happens if your top is off and you get caught in a downpour?

 

[xXChartmanXx]

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

Sub is in the rear quarter panel on the passenger side. Appears to be 8".

 

[hef]

i have owned a lot of different cars. almost always get the high-end sound system in each car. i have a 2020 Jeep GC Overland with the HK 19-speaker system, and for a stock system, it is pretty good. however, my fav stock stereo of all time was the one in my MKII (2nd gen) Audi SQ5. it was a B&O. excellent low end and very clear stereo imaging. i am looking forward to hearing the one in the Bronco.

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