Is the B&O really that bad?

[Aman]

Let me know how it works out

Didn't help at all. See this post.

Last night I added Kilmat to the metal behind the enclosure and rubber washers between the enclosure and the mounting points. Unfortunately, by the time I was done, it was too late to test at a high volume. Will give it a try on the way home this evening.

If this still doesn't solve the rattle, I will pull the enclosure again and cover the outside of it with Kilmat.

Sponsored

 

[Tdifonzo]

It's decent, but would be much better in a sealed cabin without ridiculous wind noise.

 

[Norm A.]

Added a sheet of Kilmat to the interior of the enclosure and it still rattles like crazy!

Next step will be removing the enclosure and adding Kilmat behind it. I haven't had the rear panels in my rig for a while, so no place to jam paper towels like others have.

I guess I'll just keep the bass volume down for now until you figure it out lol

 

[Combustion_King]

Its not loud enough with the top off, while still keeping clarity and depth. its decent all enclosed, depending on your music.

i swapped out all the speakers except the sub, sound dampened, the entire sub, surrounding area, and i even sprayed sound stuff on the plastic panel before re-installing, did the trunk, the jack area, wheel wells, just need to do the driver side stuff. I poly filled every speaker spot, including the sub. added 300hz blockers to the speakers. sounds way better, but still i am going to get a new sub, and that new processing units (im drawing a blank on the name) that direct replaces the B&O so I can maximize my speaker RMS levels, where teh stock isnt putting out enough.

 

[Aman]

I guess I'll just keep the bass volume down for now until you figure it out lol

I believe I have finally killed the rattle. As I mentioned previously, installing Kilmat inside the enclosure did nothing. However, installing Kilmat on the metal panels, as mentioned in my other post has eliminated the rattle. I've tested it with a fairly wide genre of music and have not experienced any further rattling.

 

[Bojler]

I believe I have finally killed the rattle. As I mentioned previously, installing Kilmat inside the enclosure did nothing. However, installing Kilmat on the metal panels, as mentioned in my other post has eliminated the rattle. I've tested it with a fairly wide genre of music and have not experienced any further rattling.

Congrats and thanks for sharing!

 

[pakrat]

No. Not in the Bronco at least.

So much wind noise you can't really tell even when someone makes some serious upgrades, though I'm no audiophile. It's like wine tasting, everyone thinks they know what they are tasting but you put two-buck chuck and a $400 bottle of Opus One in a glass and make them choose, as often as not they would pick the cheap one. You can fool yourself all day long if you like. IMO, sound deadening will reap the biggest improvements but that goes for any sound system.

 

[timhood]

Yea, it's awful. Like seriously bad. It's unusable above 2/3rds volume. And can't even go that high without the "sub" going to shit.

2/3s volume! Damn, do you have any hearing left! Unless we're driving at freeway speeds, 8-10 is plenty loud. Usually, if I have it on 10 and am not alone, someone wants to turn it down to talk.

 

[sklnbnzaz]

In my experience, anything that is factory is going to be disappointing to an audiophile, that is why there are so many companies that sell aftermarket speakers and amps. For the regular guy (Like me) even the mid package system in my Bronco is adequate. I have a new one delivering in a couple weeks with Lux so I am sure I will be pleased with the upgrade

 

[Badlux]

22 BL, LUX w/B&O. I would say it lacks punch, at normal levels is just fine. Louder the first thing I notice is the sub cant keep up and distorts. I would say over all , the system does not have enough amp / power to do the job. That said, I mainly go the LUX for the adaptive CC , and other safety features. I will upgrade the sub/amp and speakers at sum point.

 

[Hossfire]

Coming from an audio background. B&O was never known as audiophile grade equipment. It was just a style of equipment. Fancy doors, moving parts and appearance. It’s just OEM garbage. Good enough for most people though.

The premium system (like in most car builds today) is made by Harmon. B&O is one of Harmon's many license agreements,

 

[Hossfire]

B&O is just a licensed name. Harmon designs and builds the system. Many, many "premium" car stereos are Harmon, regardless of the name advertised.

While Harmon has several quality aftermarket brands, these speakers don't get installed in the OEM packages.

The Bronco sounds worse than other cars with Harmon components because it has no door speakers, no A-pillar tweeters, and has poor setup for interior acoustics. Road noise is higher than most vehicles, so people will tend to play the stereo at higher volume settings---magnifying the deficiencies of the audio.

The best "bang for the buck" upgrade seems to be upgrading the dash left and right 4" speakers with efficient aftermarket 2-way speakers.

If bass is important to you, then an aftermarket amp and sub is the way to go. The B&O sub is not designed for deep bass.

I kept Lux for the Adaptive Cruise Control. If the non-audio features aren’t important to you but audio is important, the High package gets you the big screen and an audio setup that is easier to upgrade.

 

[Hossfire]

My OBX B&O simply isn’t loud enough when I am driving with the top off. Not Ford’s fault but after 27+ years in the Army, something had to give. I will say though that I do hear the Alpine system in my son’s 2018 JLU Sahara just fine.


Is it bad, no; but I have no problem making it a bit better.

The problem with the B&O system is mainly those that run soft top or take their hard top off. Most people will find it good with a hard top in place.

There was not enough consideration of reflective surface density and wave propagation to occupants. Speaker volumes are small and produce shallow tinny results. The dynomat and polyfill mildly help with sound dimensions. I'm sure designing a system with so much variance is problematic, but top off, this system is poor. Also, the MidWoofer and its enclosure rattle like crazy at any volume which is just being parts and design lazy/cheap.

B&O touts itself as a high-end producer of audiophile products. They partnered with Ford who set the price bar too low to succeed in final execution. It should have been a legitimate amplifier and subwoofer in this application. Noting new that can't be fixed, but the B&O system is anything but premium sounding with the top or doors off.

Honestly, I've heard better Harley bagger systems. Ford, get in touch with the Harley audio designers, they can make an open-air rumble machine sound great at 70MPH.

Harley partners with Rockford Fosgate. This should be the model for how car audio should be done.

 

[KAQ]

I find it depends greatly on the quality of the music, standard radio sounds like garbage. Lossless Apple music sounds good I'd say. Biggest complaint is the sub vibrations

 

[mhtucker78]

Is it bad enough for me to rip my car apart and dump another 2k into upgrades? No, but some simple speaker updates seem in order.

Sponsored