Full B&O sound system upgrade(Update)

[Dk0ta]

Hey everyone,

First time posting here, but I’ve had my 2023 4dr OBX w/Lux and B&O for a little over 6 months now. While i havent been unhappy with the sound system, I wouldn’t say I’ve been impressed, so I’ve started dumping money into it.

So far I’ve got the 6.5 SSV Pods with the kickers. (Great upgrade, well worth the money.)

I have on hand 3 JL C2 400x for my dash that I haven’t installed yet.

I ordered a JL 8w1v3 to replace the factory sub as well as some polyfill, not installed yet.

And yesterday I bought the mobridge dsp/amp kit to hopefully power it all and get it sounding properly impressive.

My questions are, is there anything else I may need to buy/do? Will I need any other harnesses to make the speakers work? My goal is little to no factory wire splicing. I’d prefer to buy harnesses. I have the metra harnesses for the dash, but I am unsure of how the mobridge sends the sub signal, is it through the factory wires or do I run wires from the mobridge to the sub enclosure?

I also purchased some kill mat for the sub enclosure area to rid some of the rattle as well as cloth tape for all the wires.

Sorry for the long post, I’m newish to this and just want to ensure I’m doing things properly.

Thanks,
Dakota

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[thenewjs]

You're going to need the the plug an play wiring between the factory wiring and aftermarket speakers.

Unless you just plan to cut and splice.

 

[Dk0ta]

You're going to need the the plug an play wiring between the factory wiring and aftermarket speakers.

Unless you just plan to cut and splice.

If im not mistaken, the mobridge kit, the $1859 version, is plug and play, or am i wrong?
mObridge Ford Bronco Amplifier Plug-N-Play - mObridge

 

[mObridge]

That is the plug and play version yes. Everything is included needed for the amp install, down to the 10mm nut for the battery post

 

[thenewjs]

If im not mistaken, the mobridge kit, the $1859 version, is plug and play, or am i wrong?
mObridge Ford Bronco Amplifier Plug-N-Play - mObridge

Yes it is.

It plugs into the main harness that branches out to each speaker. Once you unplug the factory speakers, you will either need to splice the connection or purchase adapters connect the JL's.

https://www.crutchfield.com/S-7JDTH...15tW1-PVdEymgeqkBvaG94S_nNGH45EwaApJMEALw_wcB

 

[Dk0ta]

Yes it is.

It plugs into the main harness that branches out to each speaker. Once you unplug the factory speakers, you will either need to splice the connection or purchase adapters connect the JL's.

https://www.crutchfield.com/S-7JDTH...15tW1-PVdEymgeqkBvaG94S_nNGH45EwaApJMEALw_wcB

Oh i see what you were talking about, i thought you were talking about the mobridge.

I have the metra adapters.

For a minor update, i went ahead and threw in the C2s in the dash and it was a relatively simple process. They are clear and crisp but they definitely are underpowered from the factory amp, the SSV Pods are overpowering them quite a bit.

 

[thenewjs]

Oh i see what you were talking about, i thought you were talking about the mobridge.

I have the metra adapters.

For a minor update, i went ahead and threw in the C2s in the dash and it was a relatively simple process. They are clear and crisp but they definitely are underpowered from the factory amp, the SSV Pods are overpowering them quite a bit.

Yeah, I put the same in my Braptor. I was going to upgrade the C2's, but I ride with the top off alot and Ive been rained in a few times. No need of putting anything more expensive, just to get ruined.

 

[ilostmydrink]

A calibration microphone.
I can't recommend this enough - a REW UMIK-1 or equivalent and REW.

While you're selecting the electrical crossover using the mObridge DSP, the response of the speaker also includes the acoustical dampening that may increase the curve.

For example, I have installed the Memphis Audio MJP6 in the kick panels. If I select a 24 dB slope at the crossover point of 100 Hz, the acoustical response in my vehicle is actually 48 dB. This is important for the subwoofer crossover point which then has to be sloped at 48 dB to be in phase.

Plastic Clips
I'd also recommend purchasing some of the plastic clips that hold the rear quarter-panel to the vehicle. They're easy to break. I can't find the post at the moment but a user had identified some stronger than the OEM clips that have made a difference.

Additionally, if you're finding it difficult to reapply the quarter-panel, ensure you have read the directions fully. I ran into issues and snapped a few clips this way.

USB Extension Cable
This will allow you to sit in your back seat and connect a laptop to the unit with everything buttoned up.

Heavy Duty Velcro
I placed velcro on the computer end of the USB cable interconnecting the computer to the amplifier. It works perfectly to hold the USB cable at the plastic quarter-panel without having to hide it or it fall down without access.

Patience
I love my mObridge amplifier but have not been wholly satisfied with my tune. About every month I completely tune the system again because of some thing that just irks me. When I do this, I update the firmware and the DSP software... sometimes to frustrating results. One of the recent updates changed the mapping of the speakers so all of the saved calibration files were no longer valid.

If you have any questions about my experience please PM me!

 

[mObridge]

A calibration microphone.
I can't recommend this enough - a REW UMIK-1 or equivalent and REW.

While you're selecting the electrical crossover using the mObridge DSP, the response of the speaker also includes the acoustical dampening that may increase the curve.

For example, I have installed the Memphis Audio MJP6 in the kick panels. If I select a 24 dB slope at the crossover point of 100 Hz, the acoustical response in my vehicle is actually 48 dB. This is important for the subwoofer crossover point which then has to be sloped at 48 dB to be in phase.

Plastic Clips
I'd also recommend purchasing some of the plastic clips that hold the rear quarter-panel to the vehicle. They're easy to break. I can't find the post at the moment but a user had identified some stronger than the OEM clips that have made a difference.

Additionally, if you're finding it difficult to reapply the quarter-panel, ensure you have read the directions fully. I ran into issues and snapped a few clips this way.

USB Extension Cable
This will allow you to sit in your back seat and connect a laptop to the unit with everything buttoned up.

Heavy Duty Velcro
I placed velcro on the computer end of the USB cable interconnecting the computer to the amplifier. It works perfectly to hold the USB cable at the plastic quarter-panel without having to hide it or it fall down without access.

Patience
I love my mObridge amplifier but have not been wholly satisfied with my tune. About every month I completely tune the system again because of some thing that just irks me. When I do this, I update the firmware and the DSP software... sometimes to frustrating results. One of the recent updates changed the mapping of the speakers so all of the saved calibration files were no longer valid.

If you have any questions about my experience please PM me!

The hunt for the perfect tune is a long journey for sure. high quality speakers make this journey significantly shorter, the more linear the speaker the less Eqing needed!

This week we released an update to mObridge DSP that has fixed that bug where old tunes were not loading correctly with the new DSP version. Update mObridge DSP with the latest on our website and you'll see you can now load all your old tunes back!

 

[Dk0ta]

A calibration microphone.
I can't recommend this enough - a REW UMIK-1 or equivalent and REW.

While you're selecting the electrical crossover using the mObridge DSP, the response of the speaker also includes the acoustical dampening that may increase the curve.

For example, I have installed the Memphis Audio MJP6 in the kick panels. If I select a 24 dB slope at the crossover point of 100 Hz, the acoustical response in my vehicle is actually 48 dB. This is important for the subwoofer crossover point which then has to be sloped at 48 dB to be in phase.

Plastic Clips
I'd also recommend purchasing some of the plastic clips that hold the rear quarter-panel to the vehicle. They're easy to break. I can't find the post at the moment but a user had identified some stronger than the OEM clips that have made a difference.

Additionally, if you're finding it difficult to reapply the quarter-panel, ensure you have read the directions fully. I ran into issues and snapped a few clips this way.

USB Extension Cable
This will allow you to sit in your back seat and connect a laptop to the unit with everything buttoned up.

Heavy Duty Velcro
I placed velcro on the computer end of the USB cable interconnecting the computer to the amplifier. It works perfectly to hold the USB cable at the plastic quarter-panel without having to hide it or it fall down without access.

Patience
I love my mObridge amplifier but have not been wholly satisfied with my tune. About every month I completely tune the system again because of some thing that just irks me. When I do this, I update the firmware and the DSP software... sometimes to frustrating results. One of the recent updates changed the mapping of the speakers so all of the saved calibration files were no longer valid.

If you have any questions about my experience please PM me!

Thanks for all the advice!
I will definitely look into the microphone, no point in doing all these upgrades to not do it properly.
And great call on the clips, while I’ve been lucky thus far working on the bronco, it’s only a matter of time before I break one.

How do the C2s sound with the mobridge? I reached out to Fraser and he said he doesn’t have a tune on hand for them (however I have no doubt we can get them sounding good). Just curious what your experience with them has been, not a lot of us pick the C2s.
When I was searching for what speakers to put in the dash, I did the compare tool on Crutchfield and compared the C2s to the Hertz and I liked the sound much better, sounded “warmer” and less harsh.

 

[ilostmydrink]

Thanks for all the advice!
I will definitely look into the microphone, no point in doing all these upgrades to not do it properly.
And great call on the clips, while I’ve been lucky thus far working on the bronco, it’s only a matter of time before I break one.

How do the C2s sound with the mobridge? I reached out to Fraser and he said he doesn’t have a tune on hand for them (however I have no doubt we can get them sounding good). Just curious what your experience with them has been, not a lot of us pick the C2s.
When I was searching for what speakers to put in the dash, I did the compare tool on Crutchfield and compared the C2s to the Hertz and I liked the sound much better, sounded “warmer” and less harsh.

From an amplifier standpoint, the m0bridge will power everything you throw at it. It hasn't had a problem with any of the speakers I've tried. I've listed some of them below.

I can't say I have direct experience with the C2's but I'm sure they'll sound great. Some things to think about:

• The RMS of the C2 from JL is 10-50 watts RMS and the peak handling is 105 watts. The mObridge amp outclasses the speaker, 75 watts RMS and 150 watts peak. Frasier was very responsive to my questions about limiting the power to each channel and I'd recommend you engage them to protect your speakers.
• The silk dome tweeter of the C2 will be softer than a metallic tweeter. This is what you want because the reflection of the highs off the glass can be quite harsh. You should be able to EQ that with no problem in comparison to my experience with Audison AP4X detailed below. I can't find a curve for the speaker.
• Based on the frequency response, I wouldn't set the crossover of the 4" speaker lower than 300 Hz and on a 24 dB curve. There's a great Audiofrog tuning guide available but it's only a starting point: https://testgear.audiofrog.com/wp-c...Process-and-Some-Notes-About-Why-it-Works.pdf
• Speaking of crossovers, I've experimented with many setpoints between the kickpanels and the corner speakers. Right now I'm using 300 Hz as the corner speaker setpoints because the kickpanels have some additive characteristics at 130 and 180 Hz that I've not been successful in taming. I have the kick panel speakers turned down at the moment because of it and will be working on that again soon.
• I bandpass the rear speaker, setting the lower setpoint to the same as the front speaker setpoint and slope and the rear speaker's upper setpoint to not overlap the tweeter in the front. Because this speaker has a 3/4" tweeter, that's likely around 2.5 kHz. There's a number of DIY Mobile Audio articles talking about rear speaker setups for sound quality you may want to read.

Speakers I've Tried

• Audison APX4 - From 300 Hz to 2.2 kHz, this speaker sounds fantastic. The treble is SO harsh reflecting off the front glass that I couldn't tame via DSP and have the remainder of the speaker sound good. You can see the frequency response here: https://static.audison.com/media/2022/10/AUDISON_Prima_APX4_Tech_Sheet.pdf
• Audiofrog GS42 - I didn't like that these speakers didn't fit the mounting holes for the bronco. They're fantastic speakers if you want to head that direction. However, for me the dispersion of the lows and mids was off. I may have had some measurments incorrect.
• Morel Temp Ultra Integra 402 MKII - These are probably the most natural sounding speakers I've tried in the bronco but they... don't really fit (they're too tall!). They have a wide soundstage and the 1" tweeter made for some great imaging.
• Hertz CX100 - Love these speakers. The movable tweeter makes initial setup interesting but it sounds great. For some reason my right speaker has a harsher response but stereo imaging is out of this world.
• Audison AP4 - This is what I have installed in the rear and think they're fantastic. Upper crossover point is set to 2.2 kHz.

 

[ilostmydrink]

The hunt for the perfect tune is a long journey for sure. high quality speakers make this journey significantly shorter, the more linear the speaker the less Eqing needed!

This week we released an update to mObridge DSP that has fixed that bug where old tunes were not loading correctly with the new DSP version. Update mObridge DSP with the latest on our website and you'll see you can now load all your old tunes back!

I saw that bug was fixed, thanks, Frasier!

 

[thenewjs]

Thanks for all the advice!
I will definitely look into the microphone, no point in doing all these upgrades to not do it properly.
And great call on the clips, while I’ve been lucky thus far working on the bronco, it’s only a matter of time before I break one.

How do the C2s sound with the mobridge? I reached out to Fraser and he said he doesn’t have a tune on hand for them (however I have no doubt we can get them sounding good). Just curious what your experience with them has been, not a lot of us pick the C2s.
When I was searching for what speakers to put in the dash, I did the compare tool on Crutchfield and compared the C2s to the Hertz and I liked the sound much better, sounded “warmer” and less harsh.

I have the C2's in my Braptor and they sound fantastic. I was going to go C7's but I get caught in the rain with the top off too often and I've had to replace the dash speakers twice. I removed the center, its not needed.

 

[Dk0ta]

I have the C2's in my Braptor and they sound fantastic. I was going to go C7's but I get caught in the rain with the top off too often and I've had to replace the dash speakers twice. I removed the center, its not needed.

I may look into disabling the center channel as well, the majority of the sound from the dash sounds like it comes from that speaker.

 

[Dk0ta]

From an amplifier standpoint, the m0bridge will power everything you throw at it. It hasn't had a problem with any of the speakers I've tried. I've listed some of them below.

I can't say I have direct experience with the C2's but I'm sure they'll sound great. Some things to think about:

• The RMS of the C2 from JL is 10-50 watts RMS and the peak handling is 105 watts. The mObridge amp outclasses the speaker, 75 watts RMS and 150 watts peak. Frasier was very responsive to my questions about limiting the power to each channel and I'd recommend you engage them to protect your speakers.
• The silk dome tweeter of the C2 will be softer than a metallic tweeter. This is what you want because the reflection of the highs off the glass can be quite harsh. You should be able to EQ that with no problem in comparison to my experience with Audison AP4X detailed below. I can't find a curve for the speaker.
• Based on the frequency response, I wouldn't set the crossover of the 4" speaker lower than 300 Hz and on a 24 dB curve. There's a great Audiofrog tuning guide available but it's only a starting point: https://testgear.audiofrog.com/wp-c...Process-and-Some-Notes-About-Why-it-Works.pdf
• Speaking of crossovers, I've experimented with many setpoints between the kickpanels and the corner speakers. Right now I'm using 300 Hz as the corner speaker setpoints because the kickpanels have some additive characteristics at 130 and 180 Hz that I've not been successful in taming. I have the kick panel speakers turned down at the moment because of it and will be working on that again soon.
• I bandpass the rear speaker, setting the lower setpoint to the same as the front speaker setpoint and slope and the rear speaker's upper setpoint to not overlap the tweeter in the front. Because this speaker has a 3/4" tweeter, that's likely around 2.5 kHz. There's a number of DIY Mobile Audio articles talking about rear speaker setups for sound quality you may want to read.

Speakers I've Tried

• Audison APX4 - From 300 Hz to 2.2 kHz, this speaker sounds fantastic. The treble is SO harsh reflecting off the front glass that I couldn't tame via DSP and have the remainder of the speaker sound good. You can see the frequency response here: https://static.audison.com/media/2022/10/AUDISON_Prima_APX4_Tech_Sheet.pdf
• Audiofrog GS42 - I didn't like that these speakers didn't fit the mounting holes for the bronco. They're fantastic speakers if you want to head that direction. However, for me the dispersion of the lows and mids was off. I may have had some measurments incorrect.
• Morel Temp Ultra Integra 402 MKII - These are probably the most natural sounding speakers I've tried in the bronco but they... don't really fit (they're too tall!). They have a wide soundstage and the 1" tweeter made for some great imaging.
• Hertz CX100 - Love these speakers. The movable tweeter makes initial setup interesting but it sounds great. For some reason my right speaker has a harsher response but stereo imaging is out of this world.
• Audison AP4 - This is what I have installed in the rear and think they're fantastic. Upper crossover point is set to 2.2 kHz.

Thanks for the thorough response! You have way more knowledge on all of this than I do!
Im beginning to wonder if the C2s were the right choice

Are the kick speakers that much of an improvement after replacing them? Ive gone over multiple build guides and it seems 50/50 on if its worth it.

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