Question: Front Door Speakers on B&O non-unleashed

[Bob Violence]

I am considering replacing the front door speakers on my B&O non-unleashed setup.

From my research, it appears those speakers are NOT full-range, as I'm guessing Ford is sending the highs to the A-pillar tweeters, and the mids/lows to the speakers in the door.

The question: If I were to replace the front door speakers with a full-range 2-way speaker, would it be a waste, as the DSP isn't going to send a full-range signal to them? I was unsure if they were being sent a full-range signal, and the OEM speaker just had some type of resistor (or whatever) attached to it to filter out the highs.

Also, it appears the A-pillar tweeters are powered by the ACM head unit, not the DSP.

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[Porpoise Hork]

You'll still get significantly improved clarity with installing 2 or 3-way speakers for both front and rear doors over single cone speakers. If you are not planning on running an amp then The Kicker CS and DS speakers 6x9 and 6.75" rounds for front and rear are a great choice because they will respond very well to factory amp power levels

You'll also want to consider changing the following codes in the ACM. This will vastly improve the audio quality especially for the rears. The rear was set to speaker only on mine and changing them to 2 really brought the rears to life.


Fronts

727-01-01

xx*x

xxxx

xx--

2 =	FSS Internal Amplifier • SO Speaker and Tweeter

Rear doors

727-01-01

xxxx

*xxx

xx--

2 =	RSS Internal Amplifier • SO Speaker and Tweeter

Then move the fader towards the rear 2-3 steps from center to balance the sound stage.

Also if you have not done so already get a set of door block off plates from Sounds good stereo. These make a HUGE improvement to mid-bass performance. So much so you almost don't need a sub depending on the audio source. Provided you are not wanting a lot of boom that is.


Wait...

Scratch that you're on a B&O.. Thought it said non B&O... oops. lol

Still want to check the ACM for the rears to sww what it's set to. The B&O is supposed to have 2-ways on both F&R doors if I'm not mistaken.

 

[Bob Violence]

To clarify, it is the 8 speaker B&O (non-unleashed).

I have already replaced the factory sub with a HS10.

I have already replaced the rear door speakers with JL Audio 2-way speakers, and powering them with a 2 channel JL audio amp.

I have not made any audio related changes to Forscan.

Everything works perfectly, so I'm ready to tackle the front door speakers.

Here is what I want to do next: replace the front door speakers and swap the 2 channel JL audio amp to a 4 channel JL audio amp (to include the front door speakers). From my research, the front doors on the B&O non-unleashed are strictly mid/lows, but wanted to verify that before I purchase the speakers.

 

[Spaced25]

To clarify, it is the 8 speaker B&O (non-unleashed).

I have already replaced the factory sub with a HS10.

I have already replaced the rear door speakers with JL Audio 2-way speakers, and powering them with a 2 channel JL audio amp.

I have not made any audio related changes to Forscan.

Everything works perfectly, so I'm ready to tackle the front door speakers.

Here is what I want to do next: replace the front door speakers and swap the 2 channel JL audio amp to a 4 channel JL audio amp (to include the front door speakers). From my research, the front doors on the B&O non-unleashed are strictly mid/lows, but wanted to verify that before I purchase the speakers.

How’d you go about your HS10 install? Did you install a KEYLOC or something similar? Been thinking about swapping the factory sub and trying to keep it simple.

 

[Bob Violence]

How’d you go about your HS10 install? Did you install a KEYLOC or something similar? Been thinking about swapping the factory sub and trying to keep it simple.

HS10 is fed from the stock sub output wires behind the rear seat. Works pretty well IMO. There is still the bass roll-off issue at high volume levels (seems like anything over 25), which is one of the reasons I am going with the amp to power the door speakers. In theory, I can get more volume without turning the head unit up anywhere close to 25.

I am far from an audiophile, so while this setup is probably not the ideal way to go about it, it will be close enough.

 

[rugedraw]

For the fronts, I replaced the front door speakers and a-pillars with a set of components to mimic what was already there, but with something of decent quality. I would recommend something low wattage so the ACM/DSP don't struggle to push it. I did notice an improvement in sound quality; particularly at high volume, but I would not say it made it much louder.

 

[Bob Violence]

For the fronts, I replaced the front door speakers and a-pillars with a set of components to mimic what was already there, but with something of decent quality. I would recommend something low wattage so the ACM/DSP don't struggle to push it. I did notice an improvement in sound quality; particularly at high volume, but I would not say it made it much louder.

Here is what I'm leaning towards:

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_136C2650/JL-Audio-C2650.html?tp=105

Since the front door speakers are fed by the DSP behind the rear seat, I will power them with a 4-channel JL Audio amp (replacing my current 2-channel amp that only feeds the back doors). So far, I can find nothing to support that the door speakers in my setup are full-range, just mid/lows.

The tweeters that come with the package will replace the existing A-pillar tweeters. Since these are powered from the head unit (I think), they will just receive the stock power.

Also, since both speakers are getting power from separate sources, I won't use the included crossover.

If anyone sees any glaring flaws with this logic, please let me know.

 

[rugedraw]

Here is what I'm leaning towards:

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_136C2650/JL-Audio-C2650.html?tp=105

Since the front door speakers are fed by the DSP behind the rear seat, I will power them with a 4-channel JL Audio amp (replacing my current 2-channel amp that only feeds the back doors). So far, I can find nothing to support that the door speakers in my setup are full-range, just mid/lows.

The tweeters that come with the package will replace the existing A-pillar tweeters. Since these are powered from the head unit (I think), they will just receive the stock power.

Also, since both speakers are getting power from separate sources, I won't use the included crossover.

If anyone sees any glaring flaws with this logic, please let me know.

You will need a harness to run a separate amp for the front door speakers. The rear speakers are fine since they are powered the by the ACM, but to repower the front speakers, you need to go a different route, and at that point, you might as well go full aftermarket.

Those JL's are very nice. Pricey, but nice. My original plan was to swap out the fronts with components and if I was not satisfied with the improvement, I was just going to rip out the OEM DSP, say good bye to the overhead and headrest speakers and go full aftermarket. Fortunately for my bank account, I was happy enough with how it sounded and left it alone.

Edit: I swapped out the rear door 2-ways with a set of components powered by the ACM and that made a nice improvement, too.

 

[Bob Violence]

You will need a harness to run a separate amp for the front door speakers. The rear speakers are fine since they are powered the by the ACM, but to repower the front speakers, you need to go a different route, and at that point, you might as well go full aftermarket.

Those JL's are very nice. Pricey, but nice. My original plan was to swap out the fronts with components and if I was not satisfied with the improvement, I was just going to rip out the OEM DSP, say good bye to the overhead and headrest speakers and go full aftermarket. Fortunately for my bank account, I was happy enough with how it sounded and left it alone.

Edit: I swapped out the rear door 2-ways with a set of components powered by the ACM and that made a nice improvement, too.

According to this, it shows the front door speakers (not pillar tweeters) are powered by the DSP behind the rear seat, which is where I tapped my current 2-channel amp to feed the rear door speakers.

Am I missing something?

 

[rugedraw]

I don't have the technical knowledge to explain it to you the way it was explained to me. What I don't understand is why you didn't tap into the ACM for the rear door speakers to get the same signal that was intended for the rear speakers and amplify that instead.

Maybe someone with more knowledge on this can chime in.

 

[Bob Violence]

I don't have the technical knowledge to explain it to you the way it was explained to me. What I don't understand is why you didn't tap into the ACM for the rear door speakers to get the same signal that was intended for the rear speakers and amplify that instead.

Maybe someone with more knowledge on this can chime in.

The rear speakers are not fed by the ACM according to the diagrams; they are fed by the DSP. At least this is the way I interpreted the diagram. There may be a harness that I can use with the ACM that allows that, but unsure. My logic was if I was able to tap the wires for the rears coming in/out of the DSP, then I should be able to do the same for the fronts (sans pillar tweeters).

 

[rugedraw]

The rear speakers are not fed by the ACM according to the diagrams; they are fed by the DSP. At least this is the way I interpreted the diagram. There may be a harness that I can use with the ACM that allows that, but unsure. My logic was if I was able to tap the wires for the rears coming in/out of the DSP, then I should be able to do the same for the fronts (sans pillar tweeters).

Oh sh*t......my bad.....you're right. Got mixed up with mine that has the unleashed.

This sounds like something maybe the guys at @SoundsGoodStereo can explain better than I can.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

Here is what I'm leaning towards:

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_136C2650/JL-Audio-C2650.html?tp=105

Since the front door speakers are fed by the DSP behind the rear seat, I will power them with a 4-channel JL Audio amp (replacing my current 2-channel amp that only feeds the back doors). So far, I can find nothing to support that the door speakers in my setup are full-range, just mid/lows.

The tweeters that come with the package will replace the existing A-pillar tweeters. Since these are powered from the head unit (I think), they will just receive the stock power.

Also, since both speakers are getting power from separate sources, I won't use the included crossover.

If anyone sees any glaring flaws with this logic, please let me know.

Not sure why Crutchfield still seems to think that the front doors are 6.5 rounds when it has 6X9's. The rears are 6.5's but can easily fit 6.75's. When I installed 6.5's in the front it absolutely killed the mid-bass, so I returned them for 6x9's.

 

[rugedraw]

Not sure why Crutchfield still seems to think that the front doors are 6.5 rounds when it has 6X9's. The rears are 6.5's but can easily fit 6.75's. When I installed 6.5's in the front it absolutely killed the mid-bass, so I returned them for 6x9's.

Interesting. I swapped my fronts for 6.5" with adapters and didn't notice that. I guess it would not make a difference in my case with the pair of 12" underseat subs I have. lol

 

[Porpoise Hork]

Might not be as big a hit to the B&O systems as it is for us with non B&O setups. There's no sub to fill in the low end so the 6x9's do all the heavy lifting.

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