Speaker comparisons for B&O upgrade

[Vtfakie]

Swapping the 4" definitely helped , but on the B&O system, I found the biggest gain when replacing the 6.5's.

Here is a sample, fade left: factory 6.5, fade right: Focal PC165. ( All other 4's are Focal PC100 except for the center, in this video)


I have since moved the PC100 from the rear and used 1 for the center channel and added Focal ICU 100 in the rear for better fitment.

Factory B&O


Focal PC100 front dash corners, factory everywhere else.


Focal PC100 dash corners and rear

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[Ksjrb03]

Audio stores usually have demos you can put your ears to the test. Best Buy had the kickers and alpines, didn’t like either one. Found a car audio shop that had demos of the top tier brands, JL, Focal, Morel. Huge difference in sound for not much more $, especially for these tiny speakers.

 

[ctandc]

Audio stores usually have demos you can put your ears to the test. Best Buy had the kickers and alpines, didn’t like either one. Found a car audio shop that had demos of the top tier brands, JL, Focal, Morel. Huge difference in sound for not much more $, especially for these tiny speakers.

I definitely recommend people listen to different speaker choices. Everyone is different. After years of having things going boom and bang all around me in the Army, then years of open headers, race cars, etc - my hearing doesn't exactly qualify me to even think about being a true audiophile.....LOL

A buddy of mine used to be big into installing / setting up competition quality car audio systems. He said every person was different in what they heard, what they thought sounded better etc. Essentially everything is subjective.

 

[BRBlue]

Thanks! Just checked out that video you posted. Was that a straight 1:1 speaker swap of the 4"-ers, no other changes when you recorded that? Seems night and day.

Yes. Just a straight swap. Made a big difference.

 

[teevan]

Swapping the 4" definitely helped , but on the B&O system, I found the biggest gain when replacing the 6.5's.

Here is a sample, fade left: factory 6.5, fade right: Focal PC165. ( All other 4's are Focal PC100 except for the center, in this video)


I have since moved the PC100 from the rear and used 1 for the center channel and added Focal ICU 100 in the rear for better fitment.

Factory B&O


Focal PC100 front dash corners, factory everywhere else.


Focal PC100 dash corners and rear

Like the song selection, and glad to hear the difference in the kick speakers. I didn't think I needed to upgrade those, but after listening, I think I need to do that also...already did all the 4 inch speakers and it is much better, but think that will be the next step.

 

[sphaller]

Yes. Just a straight swap. Made a big difference.

Welp, now I know what the next project will be...

 

[sphaller]

Swapping the 4" definitely helped , but on the B&O system, I found the biggest gain when replacing the 6.5's.

Here is a sample, fade left: factory 6.5, fade right: Focal PC165. ( All other 4's are Focal PC100 except for the center, in this video)


I have since moved the PC100 from the rear and used 1 for the center channel and added Focal ICU 100 in the rear for better fitment.

Factory B&O


Focal PC100 front dash corners, factory everywhere else.


Focal PC100 dash corners and rear

Curious now, since it seems people are conflicted on the 6.5"s.

That said, it sounds like it pulled that muddiness out that was bothering me in that low-mid range. That may be a big piece of the puzzle, clearing that area up and letting it breathe a little.

 

[Vtfakie]

Curious now, since it seems people are conflicted on the 6.5"s.

That said, it sounds like it pulled that muddiness out that was bothering me in that low-mid range. That may be a big piece of the puzzle, clearing that area up and letting it breathe a little.

I was surprised it made that much of a difference as well, especially after others saying it didn't make a big difference. The PC165 are 2-way coaxials, so adding that extra tweeter helps. If choosing a speaker thet only has the mid driver, it may not help as much.

 

[sphaller]

I was surprised it made that much of a difference as well, especially after others saying it didn't make a big difference. The PC165 are 2-way coaxials, so adding that extra tweeter helps. If choosing a speaker thet only has the mid driver, it may not help as much.

Yeah, for what we're working with, I was planning on going with coaxials. Can't imagine what the whole switcheroo will do for it.

 

[skyman]

I just picked up my Bronco last Tuesday. It was disappointing when I turned the sound system on for the first time since the B&O upgrade was the biggest reason why I stepped up to 314A. At least the guts are there, I guess.

I went with the Alpine S40's for the 4" locations and then a set of the Kicker 46CSC654 for the kick panels. Still unsure what to do with the sub. I like JL's powered & enclosed offerings, maybe in a 10".

 

[jimi1851]

Yes. Just a straight swap. Made a big difference.

Did you use any inline bass blockers on the 4” dash speakers?

 

[TABadlands]

Alright, so the brake controller, tailgate table, and various other accoutrements are installed and ready to head up camping this weekend. That said, on to the next one, as seems to be the case in these parts.

Factory B&O system, while seemingly a good bit ahead of the stock, is a little muddy for me in the mids/lows. I'm looking to replace some of the factory speakers with a plug and play-ish option avoiding replacing the sub at this point, but possibly dynamatting behind it (and likely everywhere else) to help it out a touch. Primarily listening to Dead/jam type stuff, with some 90s/00s punk/pop punk sprinkled in for good measure, so I'm sure that totally makes sense.

I've also been out of the car audio game for about 20 years, so when my brain immediately jumped to Alpine and almost immediately grabbed a few pair of S-S40s to change out the dash and pods to, I realized a lot of the game has changed over the years.

I see a bunch of threads referencing some the following for speakers on the mid-range end.

• JL C1s
• Kicker KSCs
• Alpine Type S's
• Focal ACX's

I'm not looking for anything insane, but is there a good compare/contrast between the pros and cons of these sound wise between these or other options in the $75-$125 range?

Do any of the 4" locations or the 6.5s in the doors tend to have more of a lasting impact on sound quality than others have seemed to at this point?

I don't have my Bronco yet, but I've read most of the threads about B&O speaker replacements, and made an educated guess about what makes the best sense for my listening preference. I've also rented Crutchfield's listen and compare headphones and compared all the speakers you mention, except the Focal ACX 100 4", because they weren't available for listen and compare on Crutchfield's website at the time. Probably still not?

I've bought a pair of Hertz DCX 100.3 4" speakers for the rear pods. I based my decision on the Hertz sensitivity of 92 dB (1W at 1 meter). The Hertz are a bright speaker and should play louder than most. I believe this will help balance the sound stage in the Bronco?

I plan to buy two pairs of JL C1-400x's for the dash corners and center channel, and will sell the single left over. The JL's sound good and are "warmer", with better mids in my opinion for a 4" speaker.

I'll put soundskins deadening behind each speaker with a little polyfill.

I also plan to replace the stock sub-woofer with a Kicker 48CWR82, if it will fit? And install a Kicker Key 500.1 amp. Of course I'll wrap the hell out of the stock sub-woofer enclosure with Soundskins, Dynamat, or Boom Mat. And polyfill inside.

Lastly I'll replace the 6.5 kick panel speakers with Rockford Fosgate R165-S component speakers, and not use the tweeters or the crossover.

I think this will make the B&O system good for me?

Another thing to try if you don't replace the sub-woofer? Is setting the B&O system to surround, and play with fading to the rear for more lows out of stock sub-woofer. Seems if you have too much front fade, the sub-woofer won't get much power?

Just my 2 cents. I'll find out when I get my Bronco and give all of this a try.

 

[BRBlue]

Did you use any inline bass blockers on the 4” dash speakers?

No need for them with the B&O as the DSP has active crossovers that block the low frequencies.

 

[mpeugeot]

Curious now, since it seems people are conflicted on the 6.5"s.

That said, it sounds like it pulled that muddiness out that was bothering me in that low-mid range. That may be a big piece of the puzzle, clearing that area up and letting it breathe a little.

Change them, it makes a big difference.

I upgraded the 4" front and rears first, then the center channel, and finally the 6.5's.

I used Morel Maximo Ultra Coax 402 Mk II across the front (including the center speaker), Morel Maximo Coax 4 in the back pods (can't tell the difference between the two models honestly), and in the kick panels I used Morel Maximo Ultra Coax 602 Mk II's.

Overall, very pleased with the improvement. I don't like the surround mode on the Bronco. I leave it in stereo, flat, with speed compensation on medium.

 

[sphaller]

Change them, it makes a big difference.

I upgraded the 4" front and rears first, then the center channel, and finally the 6.5's.

I used Morel Maximo Ultra Coax 402 Mk II across the front (including the center speaker), Morel Maximo Coax 4 in the back pods (can't tell the difference between the two models honestly), and in the kick panels I used Morel Maximo Ultra Coax 602 Mk II's.

Overall, very pleased with the improvement. I don't like the surround mode on the Bronco. I leave it in stereo, flat, with speed compensation on medium.

Sounds good. Think I'm going to end up going with the Hertz options.

Can't wait to see what the change brings.

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