18 Speakers/Head Rest??

[Nukem1040]

Stupid question; if I have the 18 speaker that includes the headrests, shouldn't I hear it in the headrests? This would be my first, so I'm ready to be Wow'ed.

Sponsored

 

[Jesse-Infotainment]

Easiest way to know if you have the unleashed 18 Speaker is to look in the headliner. If you have two silver B&O Speaker Grills then you have the 18 Speaker.. The headrest will also say B&O embossed the 8 speaker does not... the headrest is also perforated for the 18 speaker

 

[Buyer2021]

With a well-tuned digitally processed audio system having many speakers you should not be able to discretely perceive the sound emanating from any particular speaker. The ideal is to perceive the sound of instruments / musicians arrayed on a 'stage' in front of you enhanced subtly by delayed and attenuated ambient (reflected) sounds from the 'venue space' as in a live performance.

Not saying that Ford accomplishes that, but that's the goal of the audio system engineer. Thus the signals broadcast from the headrest and headliner among others may be very subtle and difficult to discretely perceive. Those signals may be limited to certain frequencies and/or sound levels that aren't always present in the source material.

I'm ready to be Wow'ed

You might want to temper that expectation .... the desired effect may not hold the 'Wow Factor' you expect. That doesn't mean it isn't there.

 

[Nukem1040]

Doing all this research with the massage seats, then hearing about the speakers in the seats, then my dumbass is putting my ear against the head rest, just to hear nothing.

 

[Nukem1040]

Am I supposed to be hearing anything from the headrests, with all those holes there?? I hear NOTHING

 

[Buyer2021]

Am I supposed to be hearing anything from the headrests, with all those holes there?? I hear NOTHING

That may well be a function / limitation of the source material you are using for your test.

There may be a speaker test routine you can trigger to create obvious audible output from each discrete speaker.

@Jesse-Infotainment would likely know if / how to invoke that test routine

 

[powerboatr]

Am I supposed to be hearing anything from the headrests, with all those holes there?? I hear NOTHING

its there, its just the way the system plays, it enhances the other sounds
yes there is a lot of bashing the system.
but get a copy of the B O demo and you will hear the real deal
fact is the radio, or xm or pandora or spotify does not play back the quality we need to really enjoy
at least for this deaf old guy
but the headrests do put sound out.

 

[Nukem1040]

I played with audio this afternoon. No such option, unless you know something I didn't see?

 

[Snakebitten]

Depending on what you are listening to, they can be heard very subtle. Very.

My Mazdarati (ND Miata) has headrests speakers that are much less subtle, but still very lightly participating. Until you receive a Bluetooth phone call. Then Mazda reveals just how good THAT use of speakers can be. It's amazing and everything with a convertible top and road noise should have them.

 

[Nukem1040]

its there, its just the way the system plays, it enhances the other sounds
yes there is a lot of bashing the system.
but get a copy of the B O demo and you will hear the real deal
fact is the radio, or xm or pandora or spotify does not play back the quality we need to really enjoy
at least for this deaf old guy
but the headrests do put sound out.

I'll trust you on this one then. I appreciate it. I'm just going to go with the quality is not all there for the systems named above.

 

[Buyer2021]

I played with audio this afternoon. No such option, unless you know something I didn't see?

If referring to the mentioned possibility of a speaker test routine, that would most likely be invoked by a special sequence of off-menu and un-publicized button-pushes (similar to the IPC 'engineering mode' display).

 

[Buried150]

At the suggestion of other forum members, the best way to maximize this system is to:

Ensure your audio settings are set to “surround”
Music source is lossless/spatial audio
Set the fade to be center, slightly behind center console

I did those things and definitely hear the headrests, although it will not blow you away. As others said, it aids the system as a whole.

 

[Nukem1040]

At the suggestion of other forum members, the best way to maximize this system is to:

Ensure your audio settings are set to “surround”
Music source is lossless/spatial audio
Set the fade to be center, slightly behind center console

I did those things and definitely hear the headrests, although it will not blow you away. As others said, it aids the system as a whole.

Surround and fade is all set. But what do you mean by "Music source is lossless/spatial audio"?

 

[Buried150]

Surround and fade is all set. But what do you mean by "Music source is lossless/spatial audio"?

It essentially refers to the quality of the music source. I am no audio expert by any stretch, but lossless and spatial audio is essentially premium sound. Search for it on Apple Music or other streaming service and you should find plenty of songs

 

[Snakebitten]

Download the Ford/B&O demo Playlist. (zip file)
Extract to a USB stick
One of the songs (7?) is a narrated demo and if that's how the Unleashed sounded most of the time, the $650 would be considered a bargain.

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AgD76uvVaskripNeWnvbvsxQBXSEgA

Sponsored