Upgrading the Maverick B&O Sound System - DIY Howto

[colinl]

Reading a little about sealed enclosures vs infinite volume. From what I'm reading a sealed enclosure makes the bass 'tighter' and more true to the original music while the infinite volume makes it more 'booming'. Since this threaded started out with discussion of the Dayton Audio DCS165-4 6-1/2" being retrofitted into the original 'infinite volume' Maverick enclosure I was wondering what would be the result of putting this speaker in a sealed enclosure. Several sites have recommended a enclosure volume of 0.2 to 0.25 cubic feet, which is small enough to fit in the original space behind the seat.

Need an audiophile to help explain the differences and if a sealed enclosure is better or worse for the Maverick.

That's a really long story, and probably the articles and forum posts you're already reading online have all the gory details, but they probably don't speak about the Maverick B&O specifically.

I believe that the reason the Maverick B&O 6x9 'sub' is infinite baffle is because of the power the amplifier produces and because of the space that Ford wished to allocate to it. If they used a sealed enclosure it would have to be significantly more volume to perform properly and it would need more power. Without knowing the B&O amp specs, I can't guess as to how much more, but let's just say it would take a bigger fuse and more expensive amplifier.

A subwoofer cone moves air to make sound. The larger the cone and the more excursion (travel) it has, the more sound pressure it can make. It takes more power, displacement and excursion to play lower notes that's why subwoofers are larger than midrange, and why a 15" woofer has advantages over an 8" woofer playing 20hz. (That's not to say an 8" can't play 20hz with good output. Properly designed, they can. Still, the 15" has advantages.)

Infinite baffle speakers take less power to move the cone, but they offer less output because the rear sound waves are completely lost -- unless you're laying under the Maverick where the port comes out, LOL.

If you replace the factory sub completely with a separate amp and subwoofer box, I cannot imagine any scenario where someone would get a better result with infinite baffle than you would sealed. Some of the sound you're hearing in a sealed enclosure is in fact coming from the rear of the speaker.

Ported enclosures require more air volume than sealed, and they have a port tuning frequency that makes their output less linear than a sealed woofer, but in that tuning range, their output is higher because the rear waves from the woofer cone are getting used more effectively. The main reason almost everyone has a sealed sub enclosure in a Maverick is the air volume required for ported.

(EDIT: I re-read this and made a bunch of edits because my original, hastily-typed reply was not clear on several points I was attempting to make. Hope it's useful now.)

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[haze10]

Thanks, that helps.
The reason I wouldn't just go to an 8" woofer in a sealed enclosure, is the required enclosure volume is larger than for the 6.5 and I want to locate the enclosure in the same location.
I did read that the sealed enclosure takes more power, and I have no idea of how much the BO amp produces. I've been search on the web some of the apps for enclosure design and the thiele small formula shows an enclosure of 0.13 ft3, and parts express recommendation is 0.25. The larger the enclosure the less amp power should be required, so I'm wondering if parts express is doubling the size to keep the Spl up. Wondering also, if the 0.25 enclosure would not place that much more power demand on the amp.

The things I don't know....

 

[colinl]

Thanks, that helps.
The reason I wouldn't just go to an 8" woofer in a sealed enclosure, is the required enclosure volume is larger than for the 6.5 and I want to locate the enclosure in the same location.
I did read that the sealed enclosure takes more power, and I have no idea of how much the BO amp produces. I've been search on the web some of the apps for enclosure design and the thiele small formula shows an enclosure of 0.13 ft3, and parts express recommendation is 0.25. The larger the enclosure the less amp power should be required, so I'm wondering if parts express is doubling the size to keep the Spl up. Wondering also, if the 0.25 enclosure would not place that much more power demand on the amp.

The things I don't know....

I haven't heard a swapped woofer in the B&O 6x9 infinite baffle, but I strongly feel it will be little gain replacing the sub. It actually could be a loss depending on the sub you choose because some of them have long excursion and want more power than the B&O amp will give; they're less efficient.

I firmly believe that ripping out the 6x9, slapping a piece of sound deadener over the hole, and installing a HS10 or whatever powered sub fits your budget will give a lot better result. *Then* if that still isn't enough, sell the powered sub and get an amp and buy/build a sub box for it to fit in the underseat tub.

 

[haze10]

I don't want to go the extreme of upgrading the sub, just want to change speakers. The success with the 6.5 in the 6.x9 original enclosure are all positive. So to just change speakers I would put the DA 6.5 on a pices of plywood over the factory enclosure and use it infinite volume. The only other option I would consider is the DA 6.5 is a small sealed enclosure...if it would work. I was hoping someone here had already tried, or, knew the sub parameters enough that they could make an educated judgement.

 

[mfergel]

Does anyone know if the B&O sytem in another vehicle has a larger amp that still performs the same functions? Would be nice to get one with double the power that is still plug and play.

 

[TruckPrius]

I don't want to go the extreme of upgrading the sub, just want to change speakers. The success with the 6.5 in the 6.x9 original enclosure are all positive. So to just change speakers I would put the DA 6.5 on a pices of plywood over the factory enclosure and use it infinite volume. The only other option I would consider is the DA 6.5 is a small sealed enclosure...if it would work. I was hoping someone here had already tried, or, knew the sub parameters enough that they could make an educated judgement.

I'm assuming an upgraded sealed box or ported into the cab will definitely help. There's plenty of bass escaping to the outside through that open port the stock enclosure is connected to at the back of the cab.

That being said, I believe it does make a difference just swapping out the sub alone and more so when getting a good seal around the sub to the enclosure. You could always see if it's enough for you to start, then swap it into another box later. You'd only lose out on whatever you rigged up for the plate to adapt to the current enclosure.

For myself, I think I'm sticking with just the swap and I do like things on the bassier side. For what it's worth, I have my audio settings to 0% treble, 50% mids, 100% bass, faded to behind the front seats and playing at 20-25 volume.

 

[Montana]

Got my 6.5" replacement for the 6x9, just waiting on the bracket/spacer to get here. No plans to do anything else, but I'm hoping this sounds a little better.

 

[Bohefus]

When you get old enough it hardly matters what you listen to. Stock sounds just fine.

At least that's what you tell yourself (age is a state of mind)

The 4" Pioneer g400s in the rear were barely better that stock.
I returned them to Bestbuy and replaced them with 4" Morels for $99 and they sound Much better.

Morel Maximo Coax 4 Maximo Series 4" 2-way car speakers at Crutchfield

Did you replace the B&O speakers in the back with the Morel's?

 

[Lone Star Proud]

At least that's what you tell yourself (age is a state of mind)

Did you replace the B&O speakers in the back with the Morel's?

I don't tell myself anything as it has zero to do "age is a state of mind". It has everything to do with loss of hearing fidelity as you grow older. Maybe it won't happen to you, but it does to most of us and spending a bunch of money on sound upgrades would be a waste.

 

[Bohefus]

I don't tell myself anything as it has zero to do "age is a state of mind". It has everything to do with loss of hearing fidelity as you grow older. Maybe it won't happen to you, but it does to most of us and spending a bunch of money on sound upgrades would be a waste.

I agree (I actually weren't going to reply), the quote and response was saved & I responded to another post & it did both of them.

 

[Gullzway]

At least that's what you tell yourself (age is a state of mind)

Did you replace the B&O speakers in the back with the Morel's?

Yes.
Also, replacing the front center speaker(and using a 4ohm resistor) made a hugh difference.

 

[wb5oxq]

Today I replaced the door speakers with Rockford Fosgate 6.75 speakers and I also replaced the center speaker with a Dayton 3.5 point source speaker. I jad no idea how much that would improve the sound. The door speakers look like cheap paper cone type with small magnet. The Rockfords are poly cone wo maybe more weather resistant. The adaptor that came with the speaker made installation very simple. Way more and deeper bass and much better stereo image now. I am very satisfied. Sub mods may come later. I did trim the lip off of the speaker grills so they would not touch the cones.

 

[Moosehead87]

Today I replaced the door speakers with Rockford Fosgate 6.75 speakers and I also replaced the center speaker with a Dayton 3.5 point source speaker. I jad no idea how much that would improve the sound. The door speakers look like cheap paper cone type with small magnet. The Rockfords are poly cone wo maybe more weather resistant. The adaptor that came with the speaker made installation very simple. Way more and deeper bass and much better stereo image now. I am very satisfied. Sub mods may come later. I did trim the lip off of the speaker grills so they would not touch the cones.

Which 3.5 Dayton did you use I was thinking of doing the same.

https://www.parts-express.com/Dayto...Source-Full-Range-Driver-8-295-349?quantity=1

Was it this one?

 

[Coupe68GT390]

I just finished sound deadening the front doors and installing Kicker KS 6.75 component woofers in my B&O truck. They sound much fuller and crisper than the stock 6.5s. I will be installing the tweeters in the dash along with a 3.5 Kicker CS in the center later this morning.

I've read through this entire string and can't see anything saying if it is a good idea to install the crossovers that came with the components or direct wire the tweeters. Are the tweeters on B&O already crossed by the amp and no need for the crossovers?

Thanks ahead of time for the help!

 

[Aaron F]

I just finished sound deadening the front doors and installing Kicker KS 6.75 component woofers in my B&O truck. They sound much fuller and crisper than the stock 6.5s. I will be installing the tweeters in the dash along with a 3.5 Kicker CS in the center later this morning.

I've read through this entire string and can't see anything saying if it is a good idea to install the crossovers that came with the components or direct wire the tweeters. Are the tweeters on B&O already crossed by the amp and no need for the crossovers?

Thanks ahead of time for the help!

The stock tweeters are run off of their own channel on the B&O amp. In the non-B&O systems, they are not. I can't remember if the stock tweeters have a bass blocker on them, or the factory system already cuts the low frequencies from them. If you install your passive crossover, you will just be using power from 1 channel on the factory amp instead of 2 (unless you only put the crossover in line with the tweeter to protect it).

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