B&O Speaker Upgrade Recommendation

[Hanger51]

I've read just about every thread there is to on speaker upgrades for the F150 Gen13/Gen14 but am having a hard time finding a concensus on what to do next.

I currently have 2x blown rear speakers on a '21 F150 SCREW Lariat, B&O 8 Speaker (non-unleashed). Rather than replace with the same factory paper cone garbage I'd like to replace with something that will perform a little better (more mid bass, more clarity, more output from the rear).

At this time I don't have any interest in external DSP / Amps, and don't plan to upgade in the future. I think with high-sensitivity / efficiency speakers the 640 watts that the B&O Amp has should be enough for what I'm after (assuming ~35-50W per channel), and using FORScan to output a flat response should help some too. I'd like to spend under $1k for replacing all the speakers except the sub including door baffle panels and some sound deadening material.

Options that I'm considering

Rear Doors:
Coaxial 2-way
Kicker KS 6.5" or 6.75"
JL C2 6.5" (note: C3 doesn't seem to come in a 6.5" two-way, and I don't want to drill a hole for an external tweeter in the rear)

Front Doors:
Component 2-way with Tweeter installed in the A pillars
Kicker KS 6x9 or 6.5" or 6.75"
JL C3 6.5"
I'd ruled out the JL C2 6x9 3-way or the JL C1 6x9 2-way / 3-way because I thoght there'd be too much tweeter presence in the fronts.

Tweeters:
1" from front speaker sets - goal is to keep the existing trim and looks like I can make this happen with a modular / convertable tweeter like the JL C3
Run off existing harness. Add high-pass filter (use crossover filter, build my own, or the C3 Tweeter alerady has one built in)

Center:
Edit: Seems like my original plan won't work since the speaker is 8 ohm not 4 ohm. I might need to look at the Dayton Audio PS95-8 3-1/2". Althogh the sensitivity is much lower on the JL C2 and it *might* work out, I don't want to damage the factory amp expecting an 8 Ohm speaker.

3.5" Kicker KS or JL C2 Coaxial 2-way
The JL C2 seems to have much lower sensitivity (83 dB) than the other C2/C3 speakrs (90 dB) and the Kicker KS (88 dB). This might not be a bad thing considering how "present" the front is?

Questions:
- Are 6x9 really better / worse than 6.5's? It seems like yes they can output more mid-bass at the cost of distortion. How does this play out in the real world?
- Will 6.75's fit or shold I stick with 6.5's? Some say they're the exact same speaker with different brackets, so should I just stick with 6.5"?
- Does anyone have the harness information for the center 3.5" or 1" Tweeters? I'd like to track down factory connections and Cruthfield isn't a help here.
- Any other sensitive / efficient brands I shold be considering? Infinity Reference? Hertz? Morel? I'm no longer considering Focal's after some reviews that they're very bright / harsh / crisp - I think without a new sub this isn't going to be a good fit.
- Any other experience doing what I'm doing (B&O, stock amp, speaker upgrades) would be great!

Thanks

I had a factory speaker go bad in the back door. I ended up put them same kicker ks in all the way around it made quite a improvement.

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[Rozzly]

Is there a recommended route for someone with the B&O Unleashed (14spk) setup? Fairly new to audio with these trucks and I'm not sure if the Unleashed amp is significantly better than the one provided with the 8spk non-unleashed.

 

[Evolvd]

Is there a recommended route for someone with the B&O Unleashed (14spk) setup? Fairly new to audio with these trucks and I'm not sure if the Unleashed amp is significantly better than the one provided with the 8spk non-unleashed.

That depends on how much you want spend and what your goals are.

 

[Rozzly]

That depends on how much you want spend and what your goals are.

Let’s say $5-600, prioritized best bang for the buck for overall better sound quality. I don’t know the difference between 8spk and the unleashed 14/18spk aside from the number of speakers, so I don’t know if the above suggestions of an amp replacement will have as big of an impact. The door panels will likely make the list.

I likely will not be replacing the door speakers themselves.

 

[Evolvd]

Let’s say $5-600, prioritized best bang for the buck for overall better sound quality. I don’t know the difference between 8spk and the unleashed 14/18spk aside from the number of speakers, so I don’t know if the above suggestions of an amp replacement will have as big of an impact. The door panels will likely make the list.

I likely will not be replacing the door speakers themselves.

For $5-600 I would sound deaden the doors and rear wall of the cab. That will be the greatest bang for buck sound improvement you can make. Replacing the amp won’t do you any good, nor will just replacing speakers.

 

[Rozzly]

Replacing the amp won’t do you any good, nor will just replacing speakers.

Is this because the amp provided with the unleashed 14spk system is better than the one provided with the 8spk standard and is sufficient along with the speakers? I have not sat in an F150 with the standard audio, and I am not sure of the difference.

Based on previous replies-​

Kicker KEY 200.4 amp​

• Biggest noticeable improvement in quality and volume

I have no idea how this compares to the amp provided with the base package vs unleashed.

 

[Evolvd]

Is this because the amp provided with the unleashed 14spk system is better than the one provided with the 8spk standard and is sufficient along with the speakers? I have not sat in an F150 with the standard audio, and I am not sure of the difference.

​

Based on previous replies-​

Kicker KEY 200.4 amp​

• Biggest noticeable improvement in quality and volume

I have no idea how this compares to the amp provided with the base package vs unleashed.

The B&O Unleashed has 14 speakers that are all individually tuned and driven by the stock amp. Putting a 4 channel amp on those will not work. The stock system gets plenty loud.
To be fair the Unleashed system isn’t bad for a stock stereo. I’ve heard way worse.

 

[Los150]

The B&O Unleashed has 14 speakers that are all individually tuned and driven by the stock amp. Putting a 4 channel amp on those will not work. The stock system gets plenty loud.
To be fair the Unleashed system isn’t bad for a stock stereo. I’ve heard way worse.

They reduced the speaker count? I wonder which 4 they removed, although I would guess the ones in the headrest.

 

[Evolvd]

They reduced the speaker count? I wonder which 4 they removed, although I would guess the ones in the headrest.

If they have tweeters in the headrest I sure as hell can’t hear them lol.

 

[Los150]

If they have tweeters in the headrest I sure as hell can’t hear them lol.

That's odd. I can hear them clearly, so I know I've got them. Might need to turn your head and slide across the head rest to find them.

 

[Evolvd]

That's odd. I can hear them clearly, so I know I've got them. Might need to turn your head and slide across the head rest to find them.

Leave it up to Ford to mount speakers inside a headrest and then completely seal them in with vinyl and no perforations for the sound to pass through

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