Simple B&O upgrade and sub solution.

[22Lariat]

So, I went through this elaborate breakdown of my B&O system upgrade, installation, research, and results only to have it disappear before I could post it. Wasted a couple hours. Not doing that again so here's a quick rundown of what I did.

I had a bad door woofer, so rather than have the dealer put in another crappy speaker under warranty, I decided to upgrade.

Rockford fosgate prime 6.75 components in front doors with corresponding tweeters in dash. Crutchfeild $75. Hoel wire harnesses for tweeters $14. This made a dramatic difference. Louder, added clarity, punch and a lot more bass. This is where I realized how bad the factory speakers are, and that the B&O amp was actually pretty good. So down the rabbit hole I went...

Next, was Rockford fosgate prime 4" two ways in rear pillars. $53 on Amazon. Hoel wiring harness $14. These added more clarity, and Imaging.

So here I've replaced six speakers, with only two left. The new speakers completely buried the already inept factory subwoofer so that was next.

After an embarrassing amount of research hours, learning enclosure design, subwoofer design, researching the space I had to work with, and understanding what B&O was trying to do with the factory sub, I made an adapter plate and the experiments began.

I didn't want to add an amp or under seat sub except as a last resort. Been there, done that. I wanted to keep it as original, inexpensive, and simple as possible.

After a couple tries I found the solution. The Dayton Audio DCS165-4 6 1/2" classic subwoofer. $69 on Amazon.The Maverick comes with a wiring harness for bed customization that also works with the subwoofer plug for the amp. It plugs in inside the enclosure.

I know this may not be what everyone is looking for, but it's perfect for me. It works the way the upgraded B&O should have worked from the factory. It's loud, clear, deep, easy, inexpensive and works way better than I thought I would ever get without an additional amp and sub. And It only bothers other drivers at a red light a little bit. Lol. I've had 8 inch powered subs in the past that didn't perform this well. Shakes my rearview... All that from the factory B&O amp, and I didn't splice a single wire, or break a single clip.

Also added sound deadening to the front door skins and chased down all the annoying Maverick rattles. The cleaner and louder the stereo got, the more small rattles I found and fixed. I painted the adapter plate with plastidip, added sound deadener to the underside of the adapter plate, and addaed rubber seals between the plate and subwoofer enclosure, and between adapter plate and subwoofer.

I have the subwoofer grill on order. And in the process of finalizing the remaining center channel. I approached the center channel a little different than others have, so if interested, stay tuned...

Thanks for reading.

UPDATE: It appears Ford changed the amp in later Mavericks. Mine is early 22 build. It is labelled B&O on the amp. Later models are not the same. Others are reporting less than satisfactory results with with the new amp. I read that Ford was experiencing blown speakers with the old amp. I had a blown speaker that led to my upgrades. I suspect when Ford and changed the amp, they changed the frequency output too.

Also, I will reiterate that sound quality is a preference thing. What sounds great to me may not sound great to you. However, upgrading the cheap paper speakers in the Maverick regardless of amp, really should only improve quality. But DO NOT expect miracles.

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[lavaspill]

So, I went through this elaborate breakdown of my B&O system upgrade, installation, research, and results only to have it disappear before I could post it. Wasted a couple hours. Not doing that again so here's a quick rundown of what I did.

I had a bad door woofer, so rather than have the dealer put in another crappy speaker under warranty, I decided to upgrade.

Rockford fosgate prime 6.75 components in front doors with corresponding tweeters in dash. Crutchfeild $75. Hoel wire harnesses for tweeters $14. This made a dramatic difference. Louder, added clarity, punch and a lot more bass. This is where I realized how bad the factory speakers are, and that the B&O amp was actually pretty good. So down the rabbit hole I went...

Next, was Rockford fosgate prime 4" two ways in rear pillars. $53 on Amazon. Hoel wiring harness $14. These added more clarity, and Imaging.

So here I've replaced six speakers, with only two left. The new speakers completely buried the already inept factory subwoofer so that was next.

After an embarrassing amount of research hours, learning enclosure design, subwoofer design, researching the space I had to work with, and understanding what B&O was trying to do with the factory sub, I made an adapter plate and the experiments began.

I didn't want to add an amp or under seat sub except as a last resort. Been there, done that. I wanted to keep it as original, inexpensive, and simple as possible.

After a couple tries I found the solution. The Dayton Audio DCS165-4 6 1/2" classic subwoofer. $69 on Amazon.The Maverick comes with a wiring harness for bed customization that also works with the subwoofer plug for the amp. It plugs in inside the enclosure.

I know this may not be what everyone is looking for, but it's perfect for me. It works the way the upgraded B&O should have worked from the factory. It's loud, clear, deep, easy, inexpensive and works way better than I thought I would ever get without an additional amp and sub. And It only bothers other drivers at a red light a little bit. Lol. I've had 8 inch powered subs in the past that didn't perform this well. Shakes my rearview... All that from the factory B&O amp, and I didn't splice a single wire, or break a single clip.

Also added sound deadening to the front door skins and chased down all the annoying Maverick rattles. The cleaner and louder the stereo got, the more small rattles I found and fixed. I painted the adapter plate with plastidip, added sound deadener to the underside of the adapter plate, and addaed rubber seals between the plate and subwoofer enclosure, and between adapter plate and subwoofer.

I have the subwoofer grill on order. And in the process of finalizing the remaining center channel. I approached the center channel a little different than others have, so if interested, stay tuned...

Thanks for reading.

What is the adapter plate made out of?

 

[Bobbydontchaknow]

So, I went through this elaborate breakdown of my B&O system upgrade, installation, research, and results only to have it disappear before I could post it. Wasted a couple hours. Not doing that again so here's a quick rundown of what I did.

I had a bad door woofer, so rather than have the dealer put in another crappy speaker under warranty, I decided to upgrade.

Rockford fosgate prime 6.75 components in front doors with corresponding tweeters in dash. Crutchfeild $75. Hoel wire harnesses for tweeters $14. This made a dramatic difference. Louder, added clarity, punch and a lot more bass. This is where I realized how bad the factory speakers are, and that the B&O amp was actually pretty good. So down the rabbit hole I went...

Next, was Rockford fosgate prime 4" two ways in rear pillars. $53 on Amazon. Hoel wiring harness $14. These added more clarity, and Imaging.

So here I've replaced six speakers, with only two left. The new speakers completely buried the already inept factory subwoofer so that was next.

After an embarrassing amount of research hours, learning enclosure design, subwoofer design, researching the space I had to work with, and understanding what B&O was trying to do with the factory sub, I made an adapter plate and the experiments began.

I didn't want to add an amp or under seat sub except as a last resort. Been there, done that. I wanted to keep it as original, inexpensive, and simple as possible.

After a couple tries I found the solution. The Dayton Audio DCS165-4 6 1/2" classic subwoofer. $69 on Amazon.The Maverick comes with a wiring harness for bed customization that also works with the subwoofer plug for the amp. It plugs in inside the enclosure.

I know this may not be what everyone is looking for, but it's perfect for me. It works the way the upgraded B&O should have worked from the factory. It's loud, clear, deep, easy, inexpensive and works way better than I thought I would ever get without an additional amp and sub. And It only bothers other drivers at a red light a little bit. Lol. I've had 8 inch powered subs in the past that didn't perform this well. Shakes my rearview... All that from the factory B&O amp, and I didn't splice a single wire, or break a single clip.

Also added sound deadening to the front door skins and chased down all the annoying Maverick rattles. The cleaner and louder the stereo got, the more small rattles I found and fixed. I painted the adapter plate with plastidip, added sound deadener to the underside of the adapter plate, and addaed rubber seals between the plate and subwoofer enclosure, and between adapter plate and subwoofer.

I have the subwoofer grill on order. And in the process of finalizing the remaining center channel. I approached the center channel a little different than others have, so if interested, stay tuned...

Thanks for reading.

The upgrade you did worked with the factory amp?

 

[22Lariat]

What is the adapter plate made out of?

I had some cabinet grade hardwood 3/4 inch plywood laying around so I used that.

 

[22Lariat]

The upgrade you did worked with the factory amp?

Correct. And It cranks

 

[colinl]

This is where I realized how bad the factory speakers are, and that the B&O amp was actually pretty good.

agreed with that. there has been some discussion lately about the necessity of replacing the B&O amp. but I think for many, it will perform very well with replacement front door & dash speakers.

regarding your 6.5" sub - I see it's mounted in the B&O 6x9 enclosure with an adapter plate. is the rest of the enclosure stock and it is still an infinite baffle vented to the air under the truck?

btw where/how did you do your research? I don't really recall seeing any discussion from you here previously. the only other post I've seen even close to this is that @Darnon made a spacer for a 6x9 sub of some kind and also retained the rest of the B&O 6x9 enclosure. I am not sure if he did some testing with only that replacement sub, though, because he is/was also running a powered sub.

 

[F-050]

So, I went through this elaborate breakdown of my B&O system upgrade, installation, research, and results only to have it disappear before I could post it. Wasted a couple hours. Not doing that again so here's a quick rundown of what I did.

I had a bad door woofer, so rather than have the dealer put in another crappy speaker under warranty, I decided to upgrade.

Rockford fosgate prime 6.75 components in front doors with corresponding tweeters in dash. Crutchfeild $75. Hoel wire harnesses for tweeters $14. This made a dramatic difference. Louder, added clarity, punch and a lot more bass. This is where I realized how bad the factory speakers are, and that the B&O amp was actually pretty good. So down the rabbit hole I went...

Next, was Rockford fosgate prime 4" two ways in rear pillars. $53 on Amazon. Hoel wiring harness $14. These added more clarity, and Imaging.

So here I've replaced six speakers, with only two left. The new speakers completely buried the already inept factory subwoofer so that was next.

After an embarrassing amount of research hours, learning enclosure design, subwoofer design, researching the space I had to work with, and understanding what B&O was trying to do with the factory sub, I made an adapter plate and the experiments began.

I didn't want to add an amp or under seat sub except as a last resort. Been there, done that. I wanted to keep it as original, inexpensive, and simple as possible.

After a couple tries I found the solution. The Dayton Audio DCS165-4 6 1/2" classic subwoofer. $69 on Amazon.The Maverick comes with a wiring harness for bed customization that also works with the subwoofer plug for the amp. It plugs in inside the enclosure.

I know this may not be what everyone is looking for, but it's perfect for me. It works the way the upgraded B&O should have worked from the factory. It's loud, clear, deep, easy, inexpensive and works way better than I thought I would ever get without an additional amp and sub. And It only bothers other drivers at a red light a little bit. Lol. I've had 8 inch powered subs in the past that didn't perform this well. Shakes my rearview... All that from the factory B&O amp, and I didn't splice a single wire, or break a single clip.

Also added sound deadening to the front door skins and chased down all the annoying Maverick rattles. The cleaner and louder the stereo got, the more small rattles I found and fixed. I painted the adapter plate with plastidip, added sound deadener to the underside of the adapter plate, and addaed rubber seals between the plate and subwoofer enclosure, and between adapter plate and subwoofer.

I have the subwoofer grill on order. And in the process of finalizing the remaining center channel. I approached the center channel a little different than others have, so if interested, stay tuned...

Thanks for reading.

That is a fantastic walk through. My B&O system is ready for a makeover. Thank you

 

[SpaceCowboy]

So, I went through this elaborate breakdown of my B&O system upgrade, installation, research, and results only to have it disappear before I could post it. Wasted a couple hours. Not doing that again so here's a quick rundown of what I did.

I had a bad door woofer, so rather than have the dealer put in another crappy speaker under warranty, I decided to upgrade.

Rockford fosgate prime 6.75 components in front doors with corresponding tweeters in dash. Crutchfeild $75. Hoel wire harnesses for tweeters $14. This made a dramatic difference. Louder, added clarity, punch and a lot more bass. This is where I realized how bad the factory speakers are, and that the B&O amp was actually pretty good. So down the rabbit hole I went...

Next, was Rockford fosgate prime 4" two ways in rear pillars. $53 on Amazon. Hoel wiring harness $14. These added more clarity, and Imaging.

So here I've replaced six speakers, with only two left. The new speakers completely buried the already inept factory subwoofer so that was next.

After an embarrassing amount of research hours, learning enclosure design, subwoofer design, researching the space I had to work with, and understanding what B&O was trying to do with the factory sub, I made an adapter plate and the experiments began.

I didn't want to add an amp or under seat sub except as a last resort. Been there, done that. I wanted to keep it as original, inexpensive, and simple as possible.

After a couple tries I found the solution. The Dayton Audio DCS165-4 6 1/2" classic subwoofer. $69 on Amazon.The Maverick comes with a wiring harness for bed customization that also works with the subwoofer plug for the amp. It plugs in inside the enclosure.

I know this may not be what everyone is looking for, but it's perfect for me. It works the way the upgraded B&O should have worked from the factory. It's loud, clear, deep, easy, inexpensive and works way better than I thought I would ever get without an additional amp and sub. And It only bothers other drivers at a red light a little bit. Lol. I've had 8 inch powered subs in the past that didn't perform this well. Shakes my rearview... All that from the factory B&O amp, and I didn't splice a single wire, or break a single clip.

Also added sound deadening to the front door skins and chased down all the annoying Maverick rattles. The cleaner and louder the stereo got, the more small rattles I found and fixed. I painted the adapter plate with plastidip, added sound deadener to the underside of the adapter plate, and addaed rubber seals between the plate and subwoofer enclosure, and between adapter plate and subwoofer.

I have the subwoofer grill on order. And in the process of finalizing the remaining center channel. I approached the center channel a little different than others have, so if interested, stay tuned...

Thanks for reading.

Be really cool if you had a who parts breakdown list with model numbers and price for people to piggy back off this post with.

 

[dags1207]

Great write up!

There are actually quite a lot of adapters on Amazon that I've used in the past on other vehicles. Glad to see this works on the Maverick. This one seems like it would do the trick to all of us non-skilled enough to do such a good job at making a plate from plywood lol. See affiliate links below

Will definitely try it when I get my Maverick

Adapter: https://amzn.to/3scdNL8
Subfoower: https://amzn.to/46Ij0Jz

 

[22Lariat]

agreed with that. there has been some discussion lately about the necessity of replacing the B&O amp. but I think for many, it will perform very well with replacement front door & dash speakers.

regarding your 6.5" sub - I see it's mounted in the B&O 6x9 enclosure with an adapter plate. is the rest of the enclosure stock and it is still an infinite baffle vented to the air under the truck?

btw where/how did you do your research? I don't really recall seeing any discussion from you here previously. the only other post I've seen even close to this is that @Darnon made a spacer for a 6x9 sub of some kind and also retained the rest of the B&O 6x9 enclosure. I am not sure if he did some testing with only that replacement sub, though, because he is/was also running a powered sub.

I worked in an R&D lab for many years. I learned a lot from reading this forum. I just didn't register to post until I had something of value to say. Also read a lot from other forums, manufacturers data sheets, my own metrics, trial and error,... Etc.

I was going to build a custom enclosure if I didn't get satisfactory results from the factory one. I purposely bought and tried subs that I thought would perform in an "externally coupled subwoofer" enclosure (ECS). And I tried sealing it too, but that did not go well.

I concluded that B&O did their job pretty well, then Ford dropped in cheap crappy speakers.

 

[22Lariat]

Great write up!

There are actually quite a lot of adapters on Amazon that I've used in the past on other vehicles. Glad to see this works on the Maverick. This one seems like it would do the trick to all of us non-skilled enough to do such a good job at making a plate from plywood lol. See affiliate links below

Will definitely try it when I get my Maverick

Adapter: https://amzn.to/3scdNL8
Subfoower: https://amzn.to/46Ij0Jz

Yeah I noticed those on Amazon. I needed to step it out a little too so the magnet would clear the enclosure, and not change the spacing between the back of the seat and the sub. 3/4 inch kept it as close to original B&O design as I could get. It's about 1/4 inch taller than original sub. I also had the materials on hand and didn't want to spend the cash on an experiment If it didn't work. If I had to do it again I would definitely buy one that was already spaced appropriately.

 

[dags1207]

Yeah I noticed those on Amazon. I needed to step it out a little too so the magnet would clear the enclosure, and not change the spacing between the back of the seat and the sub. 3/4 inch kept it as close to original B&O design as I could get. It's about 1/4 inch taller than original sub. I also had the materials on hand and didn't want to spend the cash on an experiment If it didn't work. If I had to do it again I would definitely buy one that was already spaced appropriately.

This one is 1/2” thick. So it should fit if my math is right.

I was just sharing for other folks. Great job on that fitment with what you had!

 

[22Lariat]

This one is 1/2” thick. So it should fit if my math is right.

I was just sharing for other folks. Great job on that fitment with what you had!

Its perfect for the spacing behind the seat, not sure if it would clear the magnet.
I was going to try this https://www.ebay.com/itm/1661860437...Zg04_usTYG&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

[AutobahnSHO]

I concluded that B&O did their job pretty well, then Ford dropped in cheap crappy speakers.

Gotta save those pennies!!

 

[colinl]

I was going to build a custom enclosure if I didn't get satisfactory results from the factory one. I purposely bought and tried subs that I thought would perform in an "externally coupled subwoofer" enclosure (ECS). And I tried sealing it too, but that did not go well.

I pulled my B&O 'sub' out completely. The air volume is tiny, because it's infinite baffle. If it were sealed it would need to be at least twice the size, and ported around 3 times the size. It also would need more power.

I would like to hear yours sometime, or someone that follows the template that you've established. I would expect it to perform relatively well in the ~85 dB reference listening range, but I doubt it has the power to really keep up with the door speakers when you get to volume 25-30. It's also crossed over at ~35hz, so it definitely is not going to hit the lowest bass.

I think what you did is a good affordable option and now that you know how it's done, it's a lot less costly than any decent powered sub. The question I have, is if it compares to a good powered sub like a Kicker HS10.

I don't have much expectation that it would compare to a custom enclosure with a 8" sub and 300-500w amp, which is what I have.

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