- First Name
- Mark
- Joined
- May 11, 2025
- Threads
- 4
- Messages
- 77
- Reaction score
- 177
- Location
- Pittsburgh
- Vehicle(s)
- 2025 Lariat Hybrid 4K
- Engine
- 2.5L Hybrid
- Thread starter
- #1
This weekend I upgraded the speakers in my 2025 Lariat hybrid. To start, the B&O system is probably the best sounding car EOM system I have heard. Now with the history of OEM car audio that isn't saying much, but the B&O system has decent punchy bass, and a high end that most every other OEM system lacks. With that said the B&O system has some shortcomings IMO. (Yes I am very picky about the sound of my music) The bass, even though punchy seemed to lack a fullness and smoothness for a wide range of music (From 60's & 70's pop and rock to fusion jazz to just good old rock and some heavy metal) The upper midrange/lower treble had a shrillness that could mask the high end and over power the rest of the song. If you can ignore its somewhat minor shortcomings the B&O system is one of the best I have heard in a non luxury vehicle.
So lets look at what I had to work with. Like I said, the bass had some punch so I wasn't looking to replace the sub right off. The literature I read on the B&O system rated the amp at 660 watts, nothing more than that. So I assumed that this spec is peak-to-peak power combined from all channels. There are 6 channels that the amp has. The wiring diagram for the B&O system shows the dash tweeters and front door speakers wired in parallel. so for L&R there's 4 channels, front L&R, then the L&R rear pillars, then the sub and center channel accounts for all 6. Again, assuming 100w to the 4 main L&R channels, 200w to the sub and 60 left for the center channel. Some quick math gives me 35w RMS to the main L&R channels, 70w RMS for the sub and just over 20W RMS for the center channel. 35W doesn't sound like much but it is very respectable for a car system. The only one that might be a bit lacking is the sub but I wasn't replacing the sub or center channel.
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_130TSA653C/Pioneer-TS-A653CH.html?tp=105
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_20646CC44/Kicker-46CSC44.html?tp=105
These are the speakers I selected. Both can easily handle 35w RMS and have good sensitivity and frequency response. I'm not promoting Crutchfield, but when you order from them they give you all the wiring and mounting adapters for free. I want to be able to revert this back to factory so I did not want to be cutting up the wiring harnesses or mounting panels.
These are the OEM drivers. As you can see they are typical paper cones, The 4" rear pillars sounded particularly bad and with no coax tweeter you can see why. The drivers that are the most respectful are the dash tweeters, they appear to be silk dome tweeters.
Before you start your project,
1. Get some panel removal tools made from plastic so you don't scratch up the interior plastic.
2. A magnetic parts bowl to put the screws in so you don't loose them.
3. A pair of shop gloves as the edges of the plastic panels and clips can be rather sharp and you will bleed.
The tweeters were the easiest to replace. There are several videos online to show you how to pull panels and replace them. The trick is how to make them fit into the factory mounting and that is primarily up to your own ingenuity.
The rear pillars came next. Again following an online video to remove about 4-5 panels and the new speakers screw right into the factory mounting positions. This is where is cut myself up the most and decided to put on my shop gloves.
The front doors came last and this took the longest. Once again, following some online videos, a total of 6 screws to remove, then you can pry the panel off the door. A word of caution; be very careful when you pry the panel off because there is a plastic part that holds the door lock and opening cables into the door handle assembly. This has a small tab that clips into the handle assembly. If you pull out too far or too fast you can break that small clip and then the door handle is useless. Ask me how I know. A little ingenuity and a lot of time fixed that but it is best to not have to do in the first place. The mounting brackets provided by Crutchfield needed a little modification to fit the woofers, but they were free so no worries. A little sound dampening material just for good measure and all the new divers were installed.
Lastly I put some sound dampening material in the rear doors. When I close the rear doors it sounds like I'm banging on the side of an oil drum. The dampening material helped a little but they still bang like an oil drum when closed.
After about 5 and a half hours I was done and cleaned up.
So how how does it sound? Smoother than the OEM drivers. The bass now has a fullness to it that wasn't there before and the kick of the bass is still there. The shrillness has been leveled off as well. The rear pillars still have no bass but they are only 4" drivers, but the high end from them is now there and they sound less like they came from a cheap AM radio. Pushing the fader all the way to the rear you can hear the very low bass the sub produces so I don't think I will need to replace or add an extra sub. I keep the balance/fader position centered right off my shoulder, kicked the bass and treble up and the midrange down a bit and the systems sounds damn good. Grover Washington Jr's Winelight sounds fantastic as does David Sanborn's Straight to the Heart album. Marcus Miller's slap bass sounds funky as ever and Hiram Bullock's guitar doesn't roar anymore. Shifting to some classic rock, The Eagles and Bob Seger sound fantastic. Going a little harder Kiss, The Cult and Metallica all did not disappoint.
So if you pick your divers well and are willing to spend a day I think you can come up with a smoother more balanced B&O system.
So lets look at what I had to work with. Like I said, the bass had some punch so I wasn't looking to replace the sub right off. The literature I read on the B&O system rated the amp at 660 watts, nothing more than that. So I assumed that this spec is peak-to-peak power combined from all channels. There are 6 channels that the amp has. The wiring diagram for the B&O system shows the dash tweeters and front door speakers wired in parallel. so for L&R there's 4 channels, front L&R, then the L&R rear pillars, then the sub and center channel accounts for all 6. Again, assuming 100w to the 4 main L&R channels, 200w to the sub and 60 left for the center channel. Some quick math gives me 35w RMS to the main L&R channels, 70w RMS for the sub and just over 20W RMS for the center channel. 35W doesn't sound like much but it is very respectable for a car system. The only one that might be a bit lacking is the sub but I wasn't replacing the sub or center channel.
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_130TSA653C/Pioneer-TS-A653CH.html?tp=105
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_20646CC44/Kicker-46CSC44.html?tp=105
These are the speakers I selected. Both can easily handle 35w RMS and have good sensitivity and frequency response. I'm not promoting Crutchfield, but when you order from them they give you all the wiring and mounting adapters for free. I want to be able to revert this back to factory so I did not want to be cutting up the wiring harnesses or mounting panels.
These are the OEM drivers. As you can see they are typical paper cones, The 4" rear pillars sounded particularly bad and with no coax tweeter you can see why. The drivers that are the most respectful are the dash tweeters, they appear to be silk dome tweeters.
Before you start your project,
1. Get some panel removal tools made from plastic so you don't scratch up the interior plastic.
2. A magnetic parts bowl to put the screws in so you don't loose them.
3. A pair of shop gloves as the edges of the plastic panels and clips can be rather sharp and you will bleed.
The tweeters were the easiest to replace. There are several videos online to show you how to pull panels and replace them. The trick is how to make them fit into the factory mounting and that is primarily up to your own ingenuity.
The rear pillars came next. Again following an online video to remove about 4-5 panels and the new speakers screw right into the factory mounting positions. This is where is cut myself up the most and decided to put on my shop gloves.
The front doors came last and this took the longest. Once again, following some online videos, a total of 6 screws to remove, then you can pry the panel off the door. A word of caution; be very careful when you pry the panel off because there is a plastic part that holds the door lock and opening cables into the door handle assembly. This has a small tab that clips into the handle assembly. If you pull out too far or too fast you can break that small clip and then the door handle is useless. Ask me how I know. A little ingenuity and a lot of time fixed that but it is best to not have to do in the first place. The mounting brackets provided by Crutchfield needed a little modification to fit the woofers, but they were free so no worries. A little sound dampening material just for good measure and all the new divers were installed.
Lastly I put some sound dampening material in the rear doors. When I close the rear doors it sounds like I'm banging on the side of an oil drum. The dampening material helped a little but they still bang like an oil drum when closed.
After about 5 and a half hours I was done and cleaned up.
So how how does it sound? Smoother than the OEM drivers. The bass now has a fullness to it that wasn't there before and the kick of the bass is still there. The shrillness has been leveled off as well. The rear pillars still have no bass but they are only 4" drivers, but the high end from them is now there and they sound less like they came from a cheap AM radio. Pushing the fader all the way to the rear you can hear the very low bass the sub produces so I don't think I will need to replace or add an extra sub. I keep the balance/fader position centered right off my shoulder, kicked the bass and treble up and the midrange down a bit and the systems sounds damn good. Grover Washington Jr's Winelight sounds fantastic as does David Sanborn's Straight to the Heart album. Marcus Miller's slap bass sounds funky as ever and Hiram Bullock's guitar doesn't roar anymore. Shifting to some classic rock, The Eagles and Bob Seger sound fantastic. Going a little harder Kiss, The Cult and Metallica all did not disappoint.
So if you pick your divers well and are willing to spend a day I think you can come up with a smoother more balanced B&O system.
Sponsored
Last edited:
.
