Subwoofer Extremely Lacking in B&O System

[Jess1]

This thread makes me feel old. My first vehicle was a 1997 F-150 and I put a 12 inch Kicker Solo-Baric sub in the back. Now I have B&O with the same sub and setup many complain about and I’m like “volume 12 is fine”

Just wait until you start turning the volume down - to back into a space...

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[Ridn Dirty]

The B&O lacks power. Max volume isnt really all that loud. You aren't rocking the car next to you at a red light even with the windows down.

 

[ESBadlands]

This thread makes me feel old. My first vehicle was a 1997 F-150 and I put a 12 inch Kicker Solo-Baric sub in the back. Now I have B&O with the same sub and setup many complain about and I’m like “volume 12 is fine”

My brother had two 18” kicker comps in the bed of his Sonoma with a ten inch port from the bed to the cab. What!!!! Oh sorry, it’s become habit. My radio stays off most of the time now, I’ve had enough lol! Still, my wife’s BL has the B&O. She loves it. That’s all that matters

 

[jayzala]

Anyone have any write ups or pictures of how to take apart the rear right panel in the cargo area so that I can get to the subwoofer wiring? I don't even know where to start pulling panels lol

 

[Ivan Nigro Yague]

Anyone have any write ups or pictures of how to take apart the rear right panel in the cargo area so that I can get to the subwoofer wiring? I don't even know where to start pulling panels lol

I saw some videos n E-trailler channel on you tube, were they remove the side panels to install a tow hitch. May it helps…

 

[Ivan Nigro Yague]

Anyone have any write ups or pictures of how to take apart the rear right panel in the cargo area so that I can get to the subwoofer wiring? I don't even know where to start pulling panels lol

 

[RiotfunK]

So got my BS. Had some time so I Played with the settings and audio formats. Here’s what I’ve noticed in the newer upgraded sound systems in this B&O and my ELS 3D system in my RDX.
You need high quality files, lossless, FLAC, and 5.1 to get it to sound good. It’ll never be studio quality, but good. The system has a very warm sound. Think Polk audio bookshelf speakers. Almost neutral.
Use stereo mode on mostly all things you’re gonna play for music. The B&O won’t bump those deep low bass notes, but it wasn’t designed to.
Here’s where it shines. 5.1 FLAC files. You get nice full sound. Crisp clear. Reminds me of my studio monitors. Is a good thing. You guys should try it. I have a bunch of stuff that I’ll keep trying.
This isn’t perfect but far better than using the radio or Sirius. Satellite is like listening to a drive thru speaker. I was using a thumb drive for my music.

 

[Ivan Nigro Yague]

So got my BS. Had some time so I Played with the settings and audio formats. Here’s what I’ve noticed in the newer upgraded sound systems in this B&O and my ELS 3D system in my RDX.
You need high quality files, lossless, FLAC, and 5.1 to get it to sound good. It’ll never be studio quality, but good. The system has a very warm sound. Think Polk audio bookshelf speakers. Almost neutral.
Use stereo mode on mostly all things you’re gonna play for music. The B&O won’t bump those deep low bass notes, but it wasn’t designed to.
Here’s where it shines. 5.1 FLAC files. You get nice full sound. Crisp clear. Reminds me of my studio monitors. Is a good thing. You guys should try it. I have a bunch of stuff that I’ll keep trying.
This isn’t perfect but far better than using the radio or Sirius. Satellite is like listening to a drive thru speaker. I was using a thumb drive for my music.

Thanks…
Do you think that we could change the amp looking for more volume and change the sub for some deep bass? Or it will ruin all the B&O magic?

 

[RiotfunK]

You could probs change the sub, but again not gonna do a lot. The factory amp probs maybe puts out 50w max for that channel. You’d have to swap out the factory speakers in the doors with a good pair of component speakers. Use the 6” mid and 1” tweeter locations with the new ones in front and rear doors and then a dedicated sub in the rear. You need to come off of the head unit and bypass the factory amp and run your own powered setup. Going off the factory amp isn’t gonna help even changing out the speakers since the dsp settings it uses.

Basically your only option is to gut the doors, put new speakers in, new amp, sound insulation and new sub to get the sound you’re looking for. But you’re still limited with the factory head unit. I’d add an external eq also. To do it right anyway. Way too much effort honestly.

Or you could just run a loc to the door speakers and run an amp and external sub. Probs the easiest and is not a full interior gutting. That’ll give you bass.

 

[Mark S.]

Do you think that we could change the amp looking for more volume and change the sub for some deep bass? Or it will ruin all the B&O magic?

I believe the amplifier employs digital signal processing (DSP) to tune the system for the particular speakers. Using different speakers might net better results, but it also might not. If you want to change the sound of the system you'll have to bypass the DSP.

 

[jayzala]

Despite all of the tuning and turning up the bass in the settings, the sound wasn't enough for me, so I have time scheduled with a local installer to install a powered JL Audio subwoofer. Should sound much better for the type of music that I listen to.

 

[Ivan Nigro Yague]

You could probs change the sub, but again not gonna do a lot. The factory amp probs maybe puts out 50w max for that channel. You’d have to swap out the factory speakers in the doors with a good pair of component speakers. Use the 6” mid and 1” tweeter locations with the new ones in front and rear doors and then a dedicated sub in the rear. You need to come off of the head unit and bypass the factory amp and run your own powered setup. Going off the factory amp isn’t gonna help even changing out the speakers since the dsp settings it uses.

Basically your only option is to gut the doors, put new speakers in, new amp, sound insulation and new sub to get the sound you’re looking for. But you’re still limited with the factory head unit. I’d add an external eq also. To do it right anyway. Way too much effort honestly.

Or you could just run a loc to the door speakers and run an amp and external sub. Probs the easiest and is not a full interior gutting. That’ll give you bass.

Thanks for the explain. Looks so much effort to improve the audio. Better to accept the OEM sound system. I will try.
Tks again

 

[jayzala]

Got my JL Audio Sub installed, sounds awesome, it's small enough and blends really well with the existing B&O system. Bass is nice and smooth. Fills in the low end without being ridiculously loud and doesn't shake the whole car.

 

[Adam CW]

The OEM subwoofer in my 2019 Escape with the Sony system may as well not exist. Bass is almost exclusively handled by the woofers in the front doors.

The Sony system in a 2016 Fusion we had offered significantly more bass from the subwoofer and sounded better in general.

I haven’t had the opportunity to listen to the B&O system yet.

As other people have pointed out it is best to use a high quality source to listen to music in your car. Sirius sound quality is about as low as it gets and doesn’t sound good on any system. In fact, a genuinely good system will make it sound even worse.

 

[Jess1]

So true. S/XM compression is so bad...
FWIW, tuning any automotive sound system that can make that sound decent requires a great deal of effort ($$$) , especially if one wishes to have good results from better quality sources.
I note that auto sound designed away from S/XM tend to be a bit more responsive - esp in the low frequencies...

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