Simple B&O upgrade and sub solution.

[dc73pdsgt]

Ive read most of the posts related to the audio system on the Maverick and am somewhat confused by all the negativity toward the stock system. granted the speakers aren't the best in the world but last night I was driving home and tested the system. Im not seeing all the negativity in mine. I don't have the BO sound system either. Im no audiophile by any means so I found the system to be quite adequate for my listening needs. I may at some point replace the front speakers but won't by any means go to the extent some of you have in replacing the whole sound system.

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[22Lariat]

Did you us the fast rings on the front door and rear speakers?

No just the front door speakers. I used insulating foam tape from Home Depot for the rest of the speakers.

 

[22Lariat]

Ive read most of the posts related to the audio system on the Maverick and am somewhat confused by all the negativity toward the stock system. granted the speakers aren't the best in the world but last night I was driving home and tested the system. Im not seeing all the negativity in mine. I don't have the BO sound system either. Im no audiophile by any means so I found the system to be quite adequate for my listening needs. I may at some point replace the front speakers but won't by any means go to the extent some of you have in replacing the whole sound system.

If you're happy with it, go with it. Don't fix it if it ain't broke right? Mine had a bad woofer which is what started this whole thing.

 

[dc73pdsgt]

now that I can understand. And yea I agree if it ain’t broke….

 

[colinl]

Ive read most of the posts related to the audio system on the Maverick and am somewhat confused by all the negativity toward the stock system. granted the speakers aren't the best in the world but last night I was driving home and tested the system. Im not seeing all the negativity in mine. I don't have the BO sound system either. Im no audiophile by any means so I found the system to be quite adequate for my listening needs. I may at some point replace the front speakers but won't by any means go to the extent some of you have in replacing the whole sound system.

the Maverick B&O is not terrible, but it's the least powerful and least impressive of all Ford model B&O systems.

which really shouldn't be a surprise given that the Maverick is literally Ford's entry-level vehicle. the ecosport is gone, all the cars are gone except the Mustang, the escape costs more. Bronco Sport has 6.5" in the rear doors instead of the crappy 4" in the rear pillar we got.

what we've been discussing in this thread is just how much you can improve on the Maverick's B&O for ... well, looks to me like the OP has less than $300 in his. $250, maybe. that is a lot of bang for the buck.

 

[dc73pdsgt]

the Maverick B&O is not terrible, but it's the least powerful and least impressive of all Ford model B&O systems.

which really shouldn't be a surprise given that the Maverick is literally Ford's entry-level vehicle. the ecosport is gone, all the cars are gone except the Mustang, the escape costs more. Bronco Sport has 6.5" in the rear doors instead of the crappy 4" in the rear pillar we got.

what we've been discussing in this thread is just how much you can improve on the Maverick's B&O for ... well, looks to me like the OP has less than $300 in his. $250, maybe. that is a lot of bang for the buck.

Yea I’ve priced out some new speakers for the front, Kickers for around $80 plus install. So for about $150 I can upgrade the front speakers which is all I care about. Nobody sits in the back except my dogs on occasion and they don’t care how the radio sounds. I still haven’t decided to upgrade them yet but maybe…

 

[colinl]

Yea I’ve priced out some new speakers for the front, Kickers for around $80 plus install. So for about $150 I can upgrade the front speakers which is all I care about. Nobody sits in the back except my dogs on occasion and they don’t care how the radio sounds. I still haven’t decided to upgrade them yet but maybe…

Definitely do the door speakers first, and it's easy to do the dash tweeters as well.

I would not upgrade the rear. Mine are stock and I have:
1. Front doors & dash - Focal RSE-165 (latest model is ASE-165) $150-200
2. Center channel - Kenwood KFC X3 w/4 ohm resistor $90 for a pair; sell the other one on MTC
3. Rear - STOCK! Mine are faded low, but if you use the B&O sub output, it is linked to the rear fade.
4. Custom box with 8" Alpine R2 sub & Kicker Key 500.1 amp

 

[22Lariat]

Definitely do the door speakers first, and it's easy to do the dash tweeters as well.

I would not upgrade the rear. Mine are stock and I have:
1. Front doors & dash - Focal RSE-165 (latest model is ASE-165) $150-200
2. Center channel - Kenwood KFC X3 w/4 ohm resistor $90 for a pair; sell the other one on MTC
3. Rear - STOCK! Mine are faded low, but if you use the B&O sub output, it is linked to the rear fade.
4. Custom box with 8" Alpine R2 sub & Kicker Key 500.1 amp

I bet those focals are nice.

 

[dc73pdsgt]

Sounds like a nice system but more than I need. I don’t do heavy bass and don’t feel I need an amp in mine. Just gonna eventually upgrade the front speakers and leave it at that.

 

[colinl]

I bet those focals are nice.

I like them. They have a mylar (yes plastic) dome tweeter like your RFs.

In the Bronco community, a lot of people prefer the Focal Flax series which is 1-2 steps up (depends on if you consider the Ford IS drop-in an upgrade. I don't). the Flax have wonderful midbass and vocals, but I find the aluminum tweeter is harsh. Plus they're more than double the price of the Auditor (RSE / ASE) series.

I do like the Kicker KS series. I put a pair in the dash of my wife's Bronco and they're a big upgrade over the B&O 4" coaxials she had.

 

[SLingbarT]

Correct. And It cranks

the Factory sub does nothing that i can tell, what if I just replaced the Sub with this little 6 1/2" Dayton, big improvement?

 

[22Lariat]

the Factory sub does nothing that i can tell, what if I just replaced the Sub with this little 6 1/2" Dayton, big improvement?

It's not going to knock your socks off, it's just a 6.5. But it was an improvement. It really depends on what you're looking for. I like it.

 

[mfergel]

Yeah, I was disappointed in the B&O. I had the Shaker 1000 in my 2006 Mustang. While I didn't expect it to sound as good as that one, this system is lacking.

 

[OleFordGuy]

I think the OP has done the most sensible audio upgrade I've seen yet for the B&O that would probably meet the needs for the majority of its product owners. Practical, Affordable, Not a Huge Effort, etc. Well Done!!

 

[uh50]

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.

Another creative solution to upgrading the factory sound system.

Good choices on the Rockford Fosgate replacement speakers. I've always thought they were somewhat under appreciated. And speaking of under appreciated, Dayton makes some awesome speakers and using the B&O mount & amp with the Dayton sub is ingenious. I wish I could hear it. Good Job and thanks for posting.

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