Stereo upgrades

Meanderthal

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Did you have the B&O setup, it looks like the standard stereo speakers?
B&O, the speakers aren’t any different on the “upgraded” stereo. Total ripoff and the same thing that every other car manufacturer does when it partners with a hi-fi company. Yes, it has more speakers in other places but the speakers are not made by the hi-fi company.
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pocket_geek

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B&O, the speakers aren’t any different on the “upgraded” stereo. Total ripoff and the same thing that every other car manufacturer does when it partners with a hi-fi company. Yes, it has more speakers in other places but the speakers are not made by the hi-fi company.
I was under the impression that the B&O setup used a slightly better front door speaker and that the non B&O setup had the same speakers with the quarter sized magnet in all four doors. Mine (with B&O) came with better speakers in the front doors than the rear doors.

🤷‍♂️
 

Meanderthal

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I was under the impression that the B&O setup used a slightly better front door speaker and that the non B&O setup had the same speakers with the quarter sized magnet in all four doors. Mine (with B&O) came with better speakers in the front doors than the rear doors.

🤷‍♂️
That may be, but slightly better front door speakers is really only slightly. I don't know that I have seen a direct comparison. I posted a picture of the speakers from my BS with B&O, but I have not seen anyone post a picture of the non-B&O speakers. Either way, they are not speakers made by B&O and they are pretty much the cheapest speakers you could imagine. I'm not even sure you could buy such a cheap speaker in the aftermarket, even if you only spent $20 for a pair.

Let's be clear here, I like music and at times in my life I started to go down the "audiophile" path but I'm not expecting perfection here. I will listen at elevated volumes some times but generally the volume is in the 10-15 range. I just want reasonably clear sound that engages me with the music and does not distract me with distortion and/or rattles. I don't think that Ford did that for me, even after paying for a "better" stereo system.
 


seoden88

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From what I have seen, the speakers in a BS with the B&O system are no different than those without the B&O. Here is a comparison photo I took of the stock speakers (bottom left & right) versus the PowerBass.
Ford Bronco Sport Stereo upgrades 1685535788293


You can see the difference in magnet sizing. Just look at how small the magnet in the back speaker is (bottom left). The front is only marginally better. What you can't see is how much better the cone is and the surround. I think just about any aftermarket solution would be a major upgrade from the garbage Ford supplies.
non B&O gets speakers like on the bottom left for all doors. B&O systems get speakers with larger magnets.
 

Meanderthal

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non B&O gets speakers like on the bottom left for all doors. B&O systems get speakers with larger magnets.
But apparently the larger magnet speakers in the B&O systems are only in the front doors.
 

SgtT11B

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B&O, the speakers aren’t any different on the “upgraded” stereo. Total ripoff and the same thing that every other car manufacturer does when it partners with a hi-fi company. Yes, it has more speakers in other places but the speakers are not made by the hi-fi company.

Actually that's not true. The B&O speakers do have larger magnets and are of a different impedance.

I don't get audiophile quality in a car. Whats the point? The road noise, engine noise and all the other noises cancel out what you are trying to achieve. That is what my home audio system is for.

That being said the B&O speakers are better than the regular speakers. Maybe by not the margin you are hoping for and there definitely is more amplification.
 

Mark S.

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I don't get audiophile quality in a car. Whats the point? The road noise, engine noise and all the other noises cancel out what you are trying to achieve. That is what my home audio system is for.
I think the point is acceptability. I like music, especially well-recorded, well-produced music. I don't need audiophile quality to appreciate it, but it does need to be acceptable. I'm in the camp that OEM speakers are so bad that I'd rather not listen to music with them at all. Replacing the OEM speakers with a modest upgrade such as the Powerbass option brings the listening experience into the range of acceptability.
 


Meanderthal

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Actually that's not true. The B&O speakers do have larger magnets and are of a different impedance.

I don't get audiophile quality in a car. Whats the point? The road noise, engine noise and all the other noises cancel out what you are trying to achieve. That is what my home audio system is for.

That being said the B&O speakers are better than the regular speakers. Maybe by not the margin you are hoping for and there definitely is more amplification.
As covered earlier, the front door speakers are "upgraded" in the B&O system but they are still essentially paperweights. The B&O does have more speakers and you are correct that the amplification is also more and probably better quality. In the end, I'm left questioning the $1k (or whatever it was) cost of the B&O and thinking that just going to aftermarket from the beginning might have been the better option.

I don't think that I said I was looking for audiophile sound quality. I was just intending to say that I have had leanings in that direction during my life but not expecting that now.
 

SgtT11B

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I think the point is acceptability. I like music, especially well-recorded, well-produced music. I don't need audiophile quality to appreciate it, but it does need to be acceptable. I'm in the camp that OEM speakers are so bad that I'd rather not listen to music with them at all. Replacing the OEM speakers with a modest upgrade such as the Powerbass option brings the listening experience into the range of acceptability.

Mark I found that playing with the tone controls greatly improved the sound quality of the B&O. It was so bass heavy and it muddied everything up. A buddy who is heavily into car audio brought out his spectrum analyzer and I dropped the bass down to just 20% and it cleaned it up a ton.

In the Mustang I have just the base 6spkr system and it was horrible. I did the Forscan mod and removing the bass drop off and the built in equalization and it helped a lot. Its just with the Mustang I am more into listening to the engine than I am audio especially since its going through a set of Ford Performance by Borla aggressive mufflers and a Borla Switchfire Xpipe. :D

I leased the BS, and if I do keep it, which I plan to do as of now, I will upgrade to the PowerBass speakers. If you don't have the B&O though, the PowerBass speakers aren't as efficient and it can drive the amp to clipping trying to reach sound levels that some people like. I have heard the PowerBass units in a Mustang and it was definitely and improvement in the Mustang. Can't speak on behalf of the BS.
 
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SgtT11B

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As covered earlier, the front door speakers are "upgraded" in the B&O system but they are still essentially paperweights. The B&O does have more speakers and you are correct that the amplification is also more and probably better quality. In the end, I'm left questioning the $1k (or whatever it was) cost of the B&O and thinking that just going to aftermarket from the beginning might have been the better option.

I don't think that I said I was looking for audiophile sound quality. I was just intending to say that I have had leanings in that direction during my life but not expecting that now.

It was included for me with the Premium Package, if it wasn't with the package I definitely wouldn't have ponied up for the upgrade. That being said I found with playing with the tone controls helped immensely with the sound. One other thing, is trying to add a subwoofer to the base stereo so it looks clean and still have the unfettered cargo area is another big plus for the B&O.
 

SgtT11B

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I wanted to add, if you plan on moving on to the PowerBass units. The tweeters that Ford uses are actually pretty good. A lot of folks in the Mustang world keep the OEM pillar mounted units and just swap out the door units. The PowerBass units can get shrilly and they beam.
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