Before I bought my 25 ST, I knew the 14 speaker B&O sucked. It was distorted, bass heavy with no low bass at all, mushy mids, and harsh tweeters. I'm in the process of building an SQ system, but not intending to get involved in competition. That rabbit hole is too costly for me, and mine is still going to easily be over $5000. That doesn't start to compete. When replacing the speakers, stock are all stamped Fomoco. Cheap paper cones, plastic baskets, foam surrounds . . like a cheap $2.00 speaker should have. They can't make good sound. I pulled the factory sub out completely and noticed no difference in bass at all. That claimed 980 watts? Only 2 x 20 amps (40 total) fused for the B&O amp. Basic ohms law says "impossible". 500 watts would be near blowing fuses with no headroom.
I have followed UNBROKEN's build for ideas and am very impressed with his skills. The competition wins prove the skill is there. What I WILL do is listen to anything UNBROKEN has to offer. His experience in high end SQ is invaluable.
FYI: B&O actually did an amazing job tuning the ST just to get that garbage Ford put in to work. Swapping just the front stage with cheap Infinity Reference drivers gives a night and day difference over stock. And while there, sound deaden the doors. Then start pulling panels and do more. Sound treatment alone can be the difference between poor sound and great.