Is the factory B&O "premium" sound system salvageable?

[ImTheBrian]

Hi All, first post so please be gentle =)

Just purchased a 2023 ST and I'm quite unimpressed with this B&O abomination. My 2020 Grand Cherokee sounded infinitely better in an older $20k cheaper vehicle (bone stock, not the upgraded system with the sub either) with nice defined highs and a nice thump at the bottom end.

Can this garbage heap of a stereo system be saved if I throw some quality components at it? I don't need ear-bleeding volume nor do I want to rattle windows 12 blocks away - I just want clean sound with some bottom end to it instead of the Fisher-Price audio mud experience I'm currently suffering through. I've read through a ton of audio threads on this forum before posting and I'm seeing a lot of mixed messages between the "good enough" and the "sound competition with money to blow" crowds.

So here's the million dollar series of questions: Is the culprit the really really horrible DSP tune from the factory, the 3rd world country level components, or a combination of the two? Can I put in quality drivers in the factory locations, continue to run them from the factory amp, have a custom 10" box built for an aftermarket sub and dedicated amp in the factory location for reasonable sounding results? Will that money be thrown away by the still horrible tune or will the infinitely better components step up to the plate and fill in the gaps (i.e. will the factory sound settings be so bad that it can't be helped without a 3rd party DSP to undo the work of Ford engineers without ears)? Does the factory install use any type of crossovers, or is everything full range with maybe a choke on the tweets and sub? I'm also curious about reports of the factory sub output ramping down as the volume increases - some say it's happening while others don't. I personally can't even tell if the factory sub is doing anything at all as the bass output of the entire system seems to come from mid-bass in the doors so I'm unable to determine - the "sub" frequency response must be absolutely terrible. If I tap into the sub input for a line-level converter for a dedicated amp, will it too be affected by this ramping (assuming it exists and is coming from the head unit and not the amp itself)? Will the noise cancelling and / or fake exhaust cause real problems?

I don't really want to gut the whole thing if I don't need to, but at the same time I can't stand what I'm currently stuck with. Ford should be embarrassed, I know I am. lol

 

[I Bleed Ford Blue]

I've had fords my entire adult life and about 20 years ago I started buying higher end vehicles with the best sound system ford had to offer in that vehicle. My 2010 explorer with the factory nav and primitive sync is infinitely better than the system in my 23 ST and my 23 mach 1. The 2010 has no DSP, just speakers, sub, and a factory amp and sounds about 10 times better. As time progresses, ford sound systems are getting worse. The mach system in my 17 mustang wasn't that great but it was better than the body odor system in the ST or the mach 1.

 

[GearHead_1]

^^^ Agreed, the Sony system in my F150 is much better than the B&O system in my Exploder.

 

[Gadgtfreek]

My wife and I have been through about 11 cars in the last 10 years. While the B&O with sub isn't the best, it ain't the worst by a long shot. On my 2019 PP2 Mustang, I went in and spent $4000 on JL everything. Speaker replacements included adding the preformed sub box in the trunk with an RF amp. Marginal improvement in sound. Way overspent.

For the normal person, these are fine, and my Edge ST had excellent bass. I put my 2025 in surround mode, increased the mids and bass some, and haven't looked back. If it ain't for you, it's time to visit the car stereo shop or Crutchfield. And BTW, I'm 48 and have been on car and AV forums since I was 20. People bitching about OEM sound has been a thing since then, and will continue to be a thing when we are dead. I say that, but these kids now are happy with an iPhone speaker for the TV viewing, where I have a 77" OLED and surround sound in my living room, LOL. They may care less than we do.

 

[SadWedding]

We recently traded in a 2026 Buick Enclave Avenir for our 2025 Explorer, and holy hell, the sound system is a significant downgrade. The Bose system in the Enclave was the best factory system I’ve ever heard.

I’ll be watching this thread for suggestions, and I also plan to call Crutchfield at some point…

 

[bluesnake01]

My older 18 Explorer Sport had a better sound system as well, speakers werent cheap paper cone's either. Not sure why Ford decided to dropped that system.

Far as making this system better, changing the DSP and adding sound deadening, the sound deadening definitely helped on the bass for me with the stock sub

Most people say changing the audio EQ to Surround vs Stereo makes a difference, so maybe than can help?

 

[WaferTech]

I use my Bluetooth linked phone with a audio app that has a 11 band eq, also has adjustable preamp and bass settings, can set eq for each song or Album. Makes a huge difference.

 

[UNBROKEN]

I use my Bluetooth linked phone with a audio app that has a 11 band eq, also has adjustable preamp and bass settings, can set eq for each song or Album. Makes a huge difference.

What you just wrote is most of the problem…Bluetooth. Once you have trash in…you will always have trash out. Same applies to low bit rate wired streaming, satellite radio or any other low res source.

 

[bluesnake01]

What you just wrote is most of the problem…Bluetooth. Once you have trash in…you will always have trash out. Same applies to low bit rate wired streaming, satellite radio or any other low res source.

Agreed.

I use my Bluetooth linked phone with a audio app that has a 11 band eq, also has adjustable preamp and bass settings, can set eq for each song or Album. Makes a huge difference.

You want high quality stuff? Use USB drives with FLAC or other lossless formats. Or, plug in your phone directly USB via carplay/android auto and turn off the bluetooth audio streaming on your phone. If you're still streaming 192 kbps or MP3's, you're still lowering the quality.

 

[UNBROKEN]

Agreed.


You want high quality stuff? Use USB drives with FLAC or other lossless formats. Or, plug in your phone directly USB via carplay/android auto and turn off the bluetooth audio streaming on your phone. If you're still streaming 192 kbps or MP3's, you're still lowering the quality.

Tidal wired in at 24 bit/192 kHz is as good as you’ll ever need. We do audio competitions at that level.

 

[WaferTech]

What you just wrote is most of the problem…Bluetooth. Once you have trash in…you will always have trash out. Same applies to low bit rate wired streaming, satellite radio or any other low res source.

Tried USB drives, Blutooth sounds better, not a fan of android auto. Not sure if you can do any better with music from the 60's and 70's.

 

[UNBROKEN]

Tried USB drives, Blutooth sounds better, not a fan of android auto. Not sure if you can do any better with music from the 60's and 70's.

Sorry, but that is demonstrably false.

 

[WaferTech]

Sorry, but that is demonstrably false.

What part?

 

[UNBROKEN]

What part?

That Bluetooth sounds better. You take the same track in a high res/lossless format, play it through a wired connection and play it through a Bluetooth connection and the wired will measure and sound better.

 

[SadWedding]

Welp, this thread went off the rails.

The audio format is not the primary issue with the B&O system…

 

[UNBROKEN]

Welp, this thread went off the rails.

The audio format is not the primary issue with the B&O system…

It is a contributing factor in many cases though.

 

[WaferTech]

Welp, this thread went off the rails.

The audio format is not the primary issue with the B&O system…

That's why I made a Comment about using my smart phone audio app to tweak the system.

 

[ImTheBrian]

I use my Bluetooth linked phone with a audio app that has a 11 band eq, also has adjustable preamp and bass settings, can set eq for each song or Album. Makes a huge difference.

Good call and thanks for the tip - I have no idea why I didn't think of trying that earlier, my frustration was based from using the XM radio source. Playing 320kbps MP3's through the phone yields halfway decent results after dialing down the overpowering mid mud and bringing in more treble and deep end bass (well, attempting to anyway) from the app's 10 band EQ - by no means audiophile quality but it's a vast improvement over where it started. Just enough to get me by until I rip this dumpster fire completely out and build something proper from the gound up.

I'm still a bit frustrated with how horrible the factory tune is and the overall poor quality of the components considering the premium price tag. I've experienced better fidelity as a bored child trading farts back and forth with my idiot cousin through a set of tin cans and string. lol

 

[jeffreybehr]

Hi All, first post so please be gentle =)

Just purchased a 2023 ST and I'm quite unimpressed with this B&O abomination. My 2020 Grand Cherokee sounded infinitely better in an older $20k cheaper vehicle (bone stock, not the upgraded system with the sub either) with nice defined highs and a nice thump at the bottom end.

Can this garbage heap of a stereo system be saved if I throw some quality components at it? I don't need ear-bleeding volume nor do I want to rattle windows 12 blocks away - I just want clean sound with some bottom end to it instead of the Fisher-Price audio mud experience I'm currently suffering through. I've read through a ton of audio threads on this forum before posting and I'm seeing a lot of mixed messages between the "good enough" and the "sound competition with money to blow" crowds.

So here's the million-dollar series of questions: Is the culprit the really really horrible DSP tune from the factory, the 3rd world country level components, or a combination of the two? Can I put in quality drivers in the factory locations, continue to run them from the factory amp, have a custom 10" box built for an aftermarket sub and dedicated amp in the factory location for reasonable sounding results? Will that money be thrown away by the still horrible tune or will the infinitely better components step up to the plate and fill in the gaps (i.e. will the factory sound settings be so bad that it can't be helped without a 3rd party DSP to undo the work of Ford engineers without ears)? Does the factory install use any type of crossovers, or is everything full range with maybe a choke on the tweets and sub? I'm also curious about reports of the factory sub output ramping down as the volume increases - some say it's happening while others don't. I personally can't even tell if the factory sub is doing anything at all as the bass output of the entire system seems to come from mid-bass in the doors so I'm unable to determine - the "sub" frequency response must be absolutely terrible. If I tap into the sub input for a line-level converter for a dedicated amp, will it too be affected by this ramping (assuming it exists and is coming from the head unit and not the amp itself)? Will the noise cancelling and / or fake exhaust cause real problems?

I don't really want to gut the whole thing if I don't need to, but at the same time I can't stand what I'm currently stuck with. Ford should be embarrassed, I know I am. lol

First, TYVM for serving.

I had '20, '22, and '23 Explorer STs with the 10-speaker B&O system, and while they never sounded horrible or unlistenable, they never sounded very good and never had any audible bottom-octave energy.. I've had several 2019-era (chassis designation 9Y0) Cayenne Turbos with the premium Bose systems, and while they, too, never sounded unlistenable, they had no bottom-octave bass in spite of that largish 'subwoofer' in the spare-tire area, and I was never happy with them.

I bought a '25 ST...

...with the 14-speaker B&O system (that was one of my requirements while searching for this car) a month ago and am quite pleased with its overall performance.. The 'soundbar' across the instrument panel has the orchestra in front of me now rather than somewhere around my knees, and the music never sounds low in quality.. The only thing I plan to do with the sound system is to add some 'sub'woofer system to have some bottom-octave energy.

Good luck in your quest; I hope you 'get there' without spending thou$and$.