B&O - Center channel speaker

[Parrotheadad]

I have upgraded my B&O system front speakers to the Morel components. So far just the door speakers and doing the tweeters next. I have wondered myself if a resistor on the center channel speaker would pull it down some? Seems like the assignment of frequency and volume would be in the head unit as it is the one powering the center and rear speakers. Is it possible these settings could be in forscan? I’m hoping my Morel tweeters will be more efficient than the B&O tweeters and help the imbalance situation. I actually like the surround setting despite the center emphasis because I like live music and it makes it sound more “live”. Just a preference. I’m also using the Alpine sub setup that colinl uses with great results. I purchased adapters that are supposed to be specifically for the Maverick dash speakers and hope they are the right ones. We’ll see.

Sponsored

 

[bgn]

I have upgraded my B&O system front speakers to the Morel components. So far just the door speakers and doing the tweeters next. I have wondered myself if a resistor on the center channel speaker would pull it down some? Seems like the assignment of frequency and volume would be in the head unit as it is the one powering the center and rear speakers. Is it possible these settings could be in forscan? I’m hoping my Morel tweeters will be more efficient than the B&O tweeters and help the imbalance situation. I actually like the surround setting despite the center emphasis because I like live music and it makes it sound more “live”. Just a preference. I’m also using the Alpine sub setup that colinl uses with great results. I purchased adapters that are supposed to be specifically for the Maverick dash speakers and hope they are the right ones. We’ll see.

How do you like the upgrade so far?

 

[Parrotheadad]

I had no doubt a L pad would be better, but I didn't want another visible knob. You would definitely want to splice it into the ACM output to the center channel.

Instead I just took the easy route and am happy with a 4 ohm resistor.

Regarding music quality, I find Spotify ultra high quality to be sufficient. It's 320k bitrate. Tidal has 2 lossless quality modes but it uses a ton of data to stream in hifi or master quality.

https://www.headphonesty.com/2021/07/spotify-vs-tidal

Plus, I have a Spotify family plan.

How did the resistor work for you? How much of a difference did it make?

 

[Parrotheadad]

How do you like the upgrade so far?

The new door speakers are much better quality and provide more punch to the sound. Adding a real sub and sub amp was dramatic.

 

[colinl]

How did the resistor work for you? How much of a difference did it make?

I didn't listen with the replacement Kenwood center and no resistor, because it's 4 ohm.

However I have listened with the 4 ohm 50w resistor and I like it a lot. it's smoother than stock which is very noticeable at higher volume, say 20-30.

I don't know what frequency range the sync3 unit is sending to the center.

I use stereo mode. I did notice that with the B&O system the sub is linked to the rear for the fader. Which is terrible, but if you use the b&o sub output to feed a powered sub or amp and sub, you just need to set the gain and then not mess with the fader after.

 

[Parrotheadad]

I ordered those 4 ohm resistors thanks. I’m going to wait to see how efficient the Morel tweeters are and then decide whether to add the resistor to calm the center down some. I prefer the resistor to an L pad as most every L pad I’ve experienced through time gets dirty and noisy. I had to remote the Morel crossovers to be behind the seat with the B&O amp because they would never fit in the dash Lol. I do think their quality would be better than just a bass blocker. I think it was you that said you used a cutting board for mounting an amp? I used it for mounting the crossovers and modified the PAC APH-FD02 bypass harness to allow me to intercept the tweeter feeds from the B&O amp without cutting into the factory harness. It works like a champ.

 

[FordDiehard]

Good day!

I took delivery of my 2023 Lariat Lux on Monday last week and I've been fiddling with settings before I go and replace the speakers. The first 2 settings I found to be the most useful were enabling surround and pushing the fade toward the rear (3 ticks from the bottom) and these have made the sound quite a bit better. However, no matter how far back the fade is, the center channel speaker seems to be very prominent.

Has anyone found this to be similar in their Mav, and what have you done about it?

Thanks!

The center channel speaker seems more dominant when listening to sports or talk radio. It doesn't stand out nearly as much (to me) while listening to music. I noticed the sub is prominent and compliments the rest of the speakers. It's good enough for my tastes. I thought Ford had a relationship with JBL, wonder what prompted them to partner with B&O?

 

[colinl]

The center channel speaker seems more dominant when listening to sports or talk radio. It doesn't stand out nearly as much (to me) while listening to music. I noticed the sub is prominent and compliments the rest of the speakers. It's good enough for my tastes. I thought Ford had a relationship with JBL, wonder what prompted them to partner with B&O?

Ford and Harman International chose years ago to switch the branding from JBL to B&O.

When competitors have Bowers & Wilkins or McIntosh, I'm not surprised they wanted something with more a more premium image than JBL. Mark Levinson and Harman Kardon are already used by other car manufacturers.

Quote:
"Harman markets its products under various brands, including AKG, AMX, Arcam, Bang & Olufsen Automotive, Becker, BSS Audio, Crown, dbx, Harman Kardon, Infinity, JBL, Lexicon, Mark Levinson, Martin, Revel, Soundcraft and Studer."

 

[colinl]

EDIT: this is long since sold

Spoiler: old advert for extra Kenwood center channel

Hey all, I've been running the Kenwood kfc-x3 coaxial for a while now and I'm confident in it. Selling the other speaker of my pair with the same resistor I'm using. This is what I have in it, no profit.

https://www.mavericktruckclub.com/forum/threads/kenwood-kfc-x3-b-o-center-channel-upgrade.37274/

 

[TruckPrius]

I wonder if something like this would drop directly in?
https://www.parts-express.com/Dayto...m-Cone-Full-Range-Driver-8-290-226?quantity=1

I tried it out and got it to work, wasn't super easy but I'm mostly happy with the result

https://www.mavericktruckclub.com/forum/threads/taco-truck-prius-truckprius.40644/page-2#post-727307

 

[colinl]

I tried it out and got it to work, wasn't super easy but I'm mostly happy with the result

https://www.mavericktruckclub.com/forum/threads/taco-truck-prius-truckprius.40644/page-2#post-727307

That's some good work with your own bracket. Yes I agree, that basket shape is for home audio, a 3.5 for automotive use has the 2 mounts like the stock B&O (and I believe every other center people have tried in this thread).

Glad to hear it sounds good.

 

[haze10]

Looking to change out the center speakers with the ref-3032cfx. I'll add the 4 ohm 50W resistor. Question is do I need the supplied inline capacitor, or does the B&O system already supply a filtered output. If there isn't a capacitor on the OEM speaker, I'm thinking it must be a filtered output to protect the OEM speaker.

Sponsored