B&O stereo "upgrade" (save some money...)

[broncorik]

Crutchfield offers good information on the sensitivity of speakers and how they can affect how loud they are (posted below) I'm not certain of what the sensitivity of the factory speakers are, but I'm guessing they are very high (100 or so). If they factory units are 100 and the Kicker's you put in are 90, you are essentially losing 10dbs at the same volume on the radio knob. Aftermarket amps or speakers with higher sensitivity (if staying with the stock amp) will be the way to address these issues.


Sensitivity
A sensitivity rating tells you how effectively a speaker converts power (watts) into volume (decibels). The higher the rating, the louder your speakers will play with a given amount of amplifier power. Sensitivity is often measured by driving a speaker with one watt and measuring the loudness in decibels at one meter. Alternatively, you may see sensitivity measured by driving a speaker with 2.83 volts at one meter.

The chart below illustrates that a few dB in sensitivity can make a big difference (this example uses the one watt at one meter measurement):

Speaker	Sensitivity rating	Power needed to produce a given volume
Speaker A	85 dB​	100 watts​
Speaker B	88 dB​	50 watts​
Speaker C	91 dB​	25 watts​

A speaker with a sensitivity rating that's 3 dB higher than another speaker's only needs half as much power to deliver the same amount of sound.

The trick is trying to figure out what the specs are for our OEM speakers...that remains a mystery (unless someone happens to have that info)? I can confirm that my upgraded speakers ended up nice and clear but very quiet...so my 500 dollars ended up getting me to turn my volume up to 25 to get the same level of sound I used to get at 15 (I switched speakers back to OEM and kicked myself for not only spending the money but also for having thrown away the boxes...good thing I kept my OEM speakers, however...). Now I have a full set of speakers, which could technically be used with an amp down the road, but realistically in order to use a decent amp I would need to spend 800 bucks for the processor and then ideally purchase a really good amp and a decent DSP...but for now I'm just going to enjoy my OEM speakers and my improved subwoofer. YMMV.

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[Rwhite692]

Just ordered the B&O to Key 500.1 harness (spoke to Don at Sounds Good). I knew that if I used the sub high level inputs straight off the B&O amp that I would see roll-off of the sub signal at higher volumes and I was wondering how I was going to grab the front kick panel speaker signals as inputs without doing a ton of work....Thank you for sharing this information, it is greatly appreciated!

 

[broncorik]

Just ordered the B&O to Key 500.1 harness (spoke to Don at Sounds Good). I knew that if I used the sub high level inputs straight off the B&O amp that I would see roll-off of the sub signal at higher volumes and I was wondering how I was going to grab the front kick panel speaker signals as inputs without doing a ton of work....Thank you for sharing this information, it is greatly appreciated!

He has a lot of knowledge! Did you order the harness? Note that if you did you will have to grind down a bit of the OEM plug so that the new plug fits...Ford recently changed the plug housing design but the solution is a minor tweak. I believe Sounds Good is working on obtaining the new style but I'm the meantime the current one works. Last night when I installed mine I initially thought it was the wrong plug but then spoke with Sounds Good and they informed me about the plug modification. A bit of grinding with the Dremel and they slid right together. Much better than hacking into my harness.

 

[Rwhite692]

He has a lot of knowledge! Did you order the harness? Note that if you did you will have to grind down a bit of the OEM plug so that the new plug fits...Ford recently changed the plug housing design but the solution is a minor tweak. I believe Sounds Good is working on obtaining the new style but I'm the meantime the current one works. Last night when I installed mine I initially thought it was the wrong plug but then spoke with Sounds Good and they informed me about the plug modification. A bit of grinding with the Dremel and they slid right together. Much better than hacking into my harness.

Yes, ordered it. Thanks for the tip about the OEM plug!

 

[mdube72]

I've read most if not all of the threads on the forum about upgrading the B&O dash speakers and the pod speakers. From what I can interpret - it appears the way to go is with the Hertz DCX 100.3 speakers for all 4 of these locations. The Kicker and Focal counterparts are lower than 90 dB on the sensitivity rating which probably explains many people's comments about needing to turn the volume up over stock. Has anyone just updated the 4 corners (with and without the center speaker swap) that can comment on if this update alone is worth the money ? I am not asking anything on the Subwoofer discussion as this has been adequately covered. On Crutchfield, the Hertz is the only coaxial speaker that has at or above 92 db sensitivity that I can see. I have not searched other sites.

 

[Maxwellianation]

Looks like this thread has been silent for a while. I recently upgraded the speakers in my 2024 Badlands with the B&O system. I started with replacing the rear PODS and upgrading to 6.5" Kicker CS. I also upgraded the front dash speakers (3) with 4.5" Kicker CS. I drove it for a few days and then decided to make the recommended FORScan changes and that opened up the sound field like I was expecting after the speaker upgrade without replacing the kick panel speakers. The next upgrade I made was the subwoofer. I purchased the 8" Kicker CompRT and copied what the sub enclosure modifications made by Rangnar.Kon. I planned for the sub replacement to be more of a project, but it was relatively simple because of the time I spent researching. The only thing I did different for the sub was cut the OEM wiring harness and pull out the wiring leads just to have a little extra length...and it worked perfectly. With everything in phase I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome. Yes, the Kicker sub could use a little more power at lower volumes. I have only driven with the driver and passenger front tops off and windows down...no top off/doors off driving yet. Still shopping for door storage solutions...I have limited space and really want to make the wall hanger option work. I am impressed with the sound but am looking for a little more mid bass from the kick panel speakers so that will be my next move. I do not want to dump a lot of $ into the Bronco because it's a company vehicle. I am already considering purchasing the Bronco when it's time for a replacement (typically three years) to use for a Turo rental. I have not experienced the "fall off" of the sub at volumes of 15+ as mentioned earlier in this thread. I will add that I only listen to music streamed from the phone via Apple CarPlay. Sirius, Spotify, and Apple Music...the field of sound is SO MUCH bigger (especially the lows) over the head unit. Sportify even give a little extra fine tuning with an EQ in the app. I believe this to be a true budget upgrade. One more FORScan modification I made was turning off the fake engine sound. So, no engine noise now coming through the speakers. This also made a difference (small but noticeable to me) in the sound quality...no competing sounds coming from the speakers. and a noticeably less noise in the cabin especially when accelerating.

 

[mdube72]

Looks like this thread has been silent for a while. I recently upgraded the speakers in my 2024 Badlands with the B&O system. I started with replacing the rear PODS and upgrading to 6.5" Kicker CS. I also upgraded the front dash speakers (3) with 4.5" Kicker CS. I drove it for a few days and then decided to make the recommended FORScan changes and that opened up the sound field like I was expecting after the speaker upgrade without replacing the kick panel speakers. The next upgrade I made was the subwoofer. I purchased the 8" Kicker CompRT and copied what the sub enclosure modifications made by Rangnar.Kon. I planned for the sub replacement to be more of a project, but it was relatively simple because of the time I spent researching. The only thing I did different for the sub was cut the OEM wiring harness and pull out the wiring leads just to have a little extra length...and it worked perfectly. With everything in phase I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome. Yes, the Kicker sub could use a little more power at lower volumes. I have only driven with the driver and passenger front tops off and windows down...no top off/doors off driving yet. Still shopping for door storage solutions...I have limited space and really want to make the wall hanger option work. I am impressed with the sound but am looking for a little more mid bass from the kick panel speakers so that will be my next move. I do not want to dump a lot of $ into the Bronco because it's a company vehicle. I am already considering purchasing the Bronco when it's time for a replacement (typically three years) to use for a Turo rental. I have not experienced the "fall off" of the sub at volumes of 15+ as mentioned earlier in this thread. I will add that I only listen to music streamed from the phone via Apple CarPlay. Sirius, Spotify, and Apple Music...the field of sound is SO MUCH bigger (especially the lows) over the head unit. Sportify even give a little extra fine tuning with an EQ in the app. I believe this to be a true budget upgrade. One more FORScan modification I made was turning off the fake engine sound. So, no engine noise now coming through the speakers. This also made a difference (small but noticeable to me) in the sound quality...no competing sounds coming from the speakers. and a noticeably less noise in the cabin especially when accelerating.

What changes to Forscan did you do for the B&O ? Would love a link if you have it. Also, the key to getting the most out of the B&O amp is using speakers with the highest sensitivity ratings. Based on my research and others from the forum on the B&O system, the 2 suggested speakers are Infinity Reference REF407F and the Hertz DCX 100.3. I have not tested the CS series (and I am a huge fan of Kicker - especially their subwoofers) Bottom line if you are happy with your upgrade, that is all that matters. Here is a link to my write up with retaining the B&O amp as your primary amp if it helps any. (43) B&O System Speaker Upgrade Options - Back to basics and keeping stock amplifiers and subwoofer | Bronco6G - 2021+ Ford Bronco & Bronco Raptor Forum, News, Blog & Owners Community The only amp I have added is the Kicker Key 500.1 for the sub. I used the PlugnPlay harness before the B&O amp to send signal the the Kicker amp - this eliminates the rolloff you mentioned. Let us know if you move ahead on the Kick panel speakers. I tried the Memphis but went back to stock. I have also not heard glowing reviews on too many kick panel replacement speakers running off the B&O amp. There are other threads on the Hertx C165 and C165L but the consensus is they need more power than the B&O can deliver to get them moving. I am tempted to try the Hertx DCX 165.3 in the kicks (staying with the same brand and same sensitivity as my other speakers) but I worry I will come away unimpressed......

 

[Maxwellianation]

What changes to Forscan did you do for the B&O ? Would love a link if you have it. Also, the key to getting the most out of the B&O amp is using speakers with the highest sensitivity ratings. Based on my research and others from the forum on the B&O system, the 2 suggested speakers are Infinity Reference REF407F and the Hertz DCX 100.3. I have not tested the CS series (and I am a huge fan of Kicker - especially their subwoofers) Bottom line if you are happy with your upgrade, that is all that matters. Here is a link to my write up with retaining the B&O amp as your primary amp if it helps any. (43) B&O System Speaker Upgrade Options - Back to basics and keeping stock amplifiers and subwoofer | Bronco6G - 2021+ Ford Bronco & Bronco Raptor Forum, News, Blog & Owners Community The only amp I have added is the Kicker Key 500.1 for the sub. I used the PlugnPlay harness before the B&O amp to send signal the the Kicker amp - this eliminates the rolloff you mentioned. Let us know if you move ahead on the Kick panel speakers. I tried the Memphis but went back to stock. I have also not heard glowing reviews on too many kick panel replacement speakers running off the B&O amp. There are other threads on the Hertx C165 and C165L but the consensus is they need more power than the B&O can deliver to get them moving. I am tempted to try the Hertx DCX 165.3 in the kicks (staying with the same brand and same sensitivity as my other speakers) but I worry I will come away unimpressed......

Attaching screen shots of the guide I used to make changes.

 

[GA2Dr]

I've made these mods on ForScan and it's way better. I upgraded speakers all around to Alpine S-Type with the Trail Seven kit, no amp. I do not have the B&O and no sub. So just upgraded speakers and ForScan tweaks.

I set all speakers in ForScan to just "Speaker." Is there a consensus on whether just speaker or speaker and tweeter is the way to go? Each of the new speakers has a built-in tweeter but I did speaker only because at the time I did it I hadn't upgraded speakers yet and also because I believe I read that the speaker only setting sounded a bit louder. I've got plenty of volume now (for me), so wondering if it might be worth changing.

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