Very low volume from rear speakers

[Murse-In-Airy]

Rod,

I gave the speaker walk around test a try on my vehicle. You're right -- no guidance of any kind. This probably only means something to the test's author and that's all.

I will say, though, I definitely hear high pitched tones for speakers 7 and 8. The frequency sounds like 5 kHz.

Thanks for trying it out. In your. Ideo above I hear a white noise static for 7&8. 5 I hear nothing. I’m going to chalk that up to my hearing. (Army veteran with some decent hearing loss and permanent tinnitus)
There are several things in the world I can’t hear at all due to the frequency range. We just got a new blood storage fridge at work that alarms if it gets outside set temperature parameters. Apparently whatever frequency the manufacturer chose for that alarm is outside my hearing spectrum so I have to warn my work partners that it’s their responsibility to listen for it.
But regardless of the speaker test, there is a huge disparity between the front and rear speakers. I was looking at the paperwork my dealer’s tech sent home with me. He included photos of the backs backs of the speakers. These will never achieve the same sound output at the same volume. So I guess setting the fade almost all the way back is the only way to “center” the sound.

Sponsored

 

[Mach1E]

Thanks for trying it out. In your. Ideo above I hear a white noise static for 7&8. 5 I hear nothing. I’m going to chalk that up to my hearing. (Army veteran with some decent hearing loss and permanent tinnitus)
There are several things in the world I can’t hear at all due to the frequency range. We just got a new blood storage fridge at work that alarms if it gets outside set temperature parameters. Apparently whatever frequency the manufacturer chose for that alarm is outside my hearing spectrum so I have to warn my work partners that it’s their responsibility to listen for it.
But regardless of the speaker test, there is a huge disparity between the front and rear speakers. I was looking at the paperwork my dealer’s tech sent home with me. He included photos of the backs backs of the speakers. These will never achieve the same sound output at the same volume. So I guess setting the fade almost all the way back is the only way to “center” the sound.

Because of your thread, I started messing with my settings and yes, “most” of the sound comes from the front when sitting in the drivers seat.

I would say this is normal and as intended for a few reasons:

1. From the drivers seat you are closer to the front speakers
2. There are more front speakers
3. The windshield directs the front speakers towards you
4. Most “upgraded” factory sound systems seem to be directed towards the drivers position

I also had to fade way back to hear the rear door speakers well. But it didn’t make anything sound any better, just made everything quieter.

Only benefit I could see to centering everything is to satisfy some OCD itch (that is something my wife would definitely appreciate ?).

 

[Murse-In-Airy]

Because of your thread, I started messing with my settings and yes, “most” of the sound comes from the front when sitting in the drivers seat.

I would say this is normal and as intended for a few reasons:

1. From the drivers seat you are closer to the front speakers
2. There are more front speakers
3. The windshield directs the front speakers towards you
4. Most “upgraded” factory sound systems seem to be directed towards the drivers position

I also had to fade way back to hear the rear door speakers well. But it didn’t make anything sound any better, just made everything quieter.

Only benefit I could see to centering everything is to satisfy some OCD itch (that is something my wife would definitely appreciate ?).

Even from the driver’s seat, the sound still seems to come from in front of me. Not balanced. Even to my forward seating position in the driver’s seat. Maybe it is a me thing but with a “Premium Bang & Olufsen 10 speaker sound system,” one should expect to able to tune it a little more for the individual. But I’m over it. I had it checked to make sure it was working as designed, even if the design is pretty poor IMO.

 

[Mach1E]

Even from the driver’s seat, the sound still seems to come from in front of me. Not balanced. Even to my forward seating position in the driver’s seat. Maybe it is a me thing but with a “Premium Bang & Olufsen 10 speaker sound system,” one should expect to able to tune it a little more for the individual. But I’m over it. I had it checked to make sure it was working as designed, even if the design is pretty poor IMO.

Even from the drivers seat?

Again, I’m saying that’s how it’s supposed to sound. Look at the speaker placement. The front speakers much closer to the ears of the driver. The rear door speakers are back behind your butt.

But as you said, you can just slide the fade back if you like how that sounds. Do you not like how it sounds faded back?

 

[Murse-In-Airy]

What I’m saying is that with the fade/balance set to the center of the car, the sound should be coming from the center of the car. And it isn’t. It’s coming from the front center of the dash. Which is wrong by every other stereo I’ve ever used.

Yes I can make the sound come from the center of the car (or in this case to sound centered from the driver’s seat) But only by moving the balance/fade almost all the way to the back of the car. Which is wrong by every other stereo I’ve ever used.

If I ever wanted the sound to be biased to be coming from behind me, this is only possible by moving the fade all the way to the back which completely cuts out all the front speakers. Then I’m working with the rear door speakers only.

So this may be “as intended” but when the balance/fade is centered… the sound is NOT. The sound is clearly coming primarily from the front center speaker. So whomever “intended” that doesn’t know squat about balanced sound.

 

[Mach1E]

What I’m saying is that with the fade/balance set to the center of the car, the sound should be coming from the center of the car. And it isn’t. It’s coming from the front center of the dash. Which is wrong by every other stereo I’ve ever used.

Yes I can make the sound come from the center of the car (or in this case to sound centered from the driver’s seat) But only by moving the balance/fade almost all the way to the back of the car. Which is wrong by every other stereo I’ve ever used.

If I ever wanted the sound to be biased to be coming from behind me, this is only possible by moving the fade all the way to the back which completely cuts out all the front speakers. Then I’m working with the rear door speakers only.

So this may be “as intended” but when the balance/fade is centered… the sound is NOT. The sound is clearly coming primarily from the front center speaker. So whomever “intended” that doesn’t know squat about balanced sound.

I do understand what you’re saying, but by design (and physics) that just isn’t how it will work nor sound.

Centered balance should mean the power/volume to each speaker is the same.

I would bet if you center it and put your head next to the front door speakers and do the same to the rear door speakers, they will sound equally loud.

However, for the multiple reasons I listed already (more speakers that are closer to you and bouncing off the windshield) you hear more sound from the front.

I’ve never had a decent car stereo where I could hear the rear door speakers from the drivers seat.

You say they “don’t know squat about balanced sound,” that’s a pretty strong statement I will just have to disagree with. Just like with surround sound at your house or any decent movie theater, the sound stage should be set up to come mostly from the front. It’s also how your head (ears) are even designed.

 

[phidauex]

For what its worth, I just tested this on my 21 Job 1 Premium (all updates through 2.3.0 and the CSP) and the rear speakers sound “normal” to me, that is, a bit quieter than the fronts, but clear. I’d say they are 80% as loud as the fronts if I compare full-rear to full-front (when in Stereo mode). I didn’t notice any muffled sound from the rear speakers, or any odd drop-offs if I move the balance back.

 

[Spooky]

.

I’ve never had a decent car stereo where I could hear the rear door speakers from the drivers seat.
…

. Just like with surround sound at your house or any decent movie theater, the sound stage should be set up to come mostly from the front. It’s also how your head (ears) are even designed.

For what it is worth over the years I’ve had several more than decent car stereos….actually the premium stereo in my early 2000s Mustang was pretty decent from the factory, though I still had a car audio place add an amp and sub-woofer. If I remember correctly several of the factory speakers already had dedicated amps on them, something I doubt this Mustang has. . Just for clarity, amplifiers are not necessarily for making music louder but providing more rich and detailed reproductions. The same speaker amped or not can sound quite different at low to medium volume levels.

Stereo music is just left and right channel and on that note all you need is 2 speakers, but better systems add in more speakers to get a wider sound stage. This helps emulate hearing the band/music/voice/instruments spread out wider than if they were all in one position. For a B&O premium system with 10 speakers I would have expected a wide sound stage and not one focussed on the center of the front as mine seems to be.

I get the point about speakers closer to the ear/driver/front etc. however an awful lot of stereo systems for in the home and in the car sure seem to be designed to present a sound stage that provides spatial separation much more than this system does. They can purposefully design it so just because speaker A is closer to you it doesn’t overpower speaker C that is further away and in another direction.

But perhaps the designers did truly want this B&O Mach-E sound system to be like you are in a music hall with the band down in front on your dash, who knows. It is just different than several dozen systems I’ve had of which some were high end.

BTW, a good movie theater or surround sound will have the sound stage in front of you, beside you, behind you, above you, etc….the voices may be presented more in front but a lot should be going on around you as well. At least imo.

For what its worth, I just tested this on my 21 Job 1 Premium (all updates through 2.3.0 and the CSP) and the rear speakers sound “normal” to me, that is, a bit quieter than the fronts, but clear. I’d say they are 80% as loud as the fronts if I compare full-rear to full-front (when in Stereo mode). I didn’t notice any muffled sound from the rear speakers, or any odd drop-offs if I move the balance back.

Maybe when Mach-E’s are sitting on lots waiting to be test driven I’m gong to go listen to more to be sure, but what you describe would be better. Just tried and I’d say my rear’s are about 40% as loud as the fronts comparing full rear to full front. Jumping in the back seat full front vs full rear are oddly almost even sounding for volume level. I used to have a decibel meter, that would be interesting to use though I’m not sure to what end.

It does appear the stereo is functioning as intended with several of us having the same observations….just what was intended wasn’t what was expected by some, myself included. Not sure how to account for the variance of experience in different models though.

Edit: I will say though that the speakers do offer clarity of sound in the front, which is quite nice. I’d like to have a 5 band EQ though vs the treble/bass/mid that is offered up. Though I suppose I could try turning on the phone’s EQ settings if they apply to streaming CarPlay music. Hmmmm.

 

[Mach1E]

Just tried and I’d say my rear’s are about 40% as loud as the fronts comparing full rear to full front. Jumping in the back seat full front vs full rear are oddly almost even sounding for volume level.

And this is exactly what I’ve been trying to describe.

When sitting in the front seat, the rears don’t sound loud. In the rear seat….. you can tell they’re just as loud.

It’s just a matter of seating position and speaker placement.

If you open both doors and put your ears near the door speakers, the rear doors are actually LOUDER than the front doors (because they have both a mid bass and tweeter while the front doors only have a mid bass). The rear door tweeters seem equally loud as the tweeters on the side of the dash.

But what puts the front over the top? The center channel speaker. And the windshield directs that sound right at you.

Someone could play with a decibel meter to be sure, but those were my observations.

 

[Pushrods&Capacitors]

Audio enthusiast (not audiophile) here. The B&O system works as designed based on my listening in our 4X. Centering the sound in the fader does not make the sound “come from the CENTER”, it supposedly fades the f/r output to provide a stereo image at that location. The goal of a decent sound system is to provide a wide, deep soundstage in front of the listener because that is how music is mixed in the studio, or presented in concert. To varying degrees most oems get it ok these days. Imo the B&O is good not great.

On a related note, the rear door speakers are typically the lowest performing in OEM systems because the enclosure is the smallest/shallowest, so, you get a small driver with a small magnet. The maker could spec a lower impedance, higher sensitivity driver to make up for the lack of outright bass capability, at least the mid and high frequencies would seem better with output levels closer to the front speakers.

 

[Spooky]

.

It’s just a matter of seating position and speaker placement.

Except if it were mostly how close you are to the speakers when I’m in the back closest to the back speakers the front speakers shouldn’t on most cars sound just as loud as the backs when comparing full fades to the front and rear. Our other car, a 2002 Ford Thunderbird, doesn’t have rear seats to test this out but pretty sure that’d be odd behavior in a lot of cars in the past.

I think we are sorta saying the same thing….the front center speaker (and maybe reflections off the windshield) perceivable overpower the rear speakers such that the sound is in the front instead of center of the the car.

The difference is you are pointing out it is because of proximity and more speakers in front while I am comparing to other, past stereos and what i think it should have been.

Maybe it is because other cars I’ve had had larger rear speakers or were designed to compensate. I remember putting 6x9 rear speakers in cars yet only 2-3 inch front speakers….so maybe it is as simple as the designer chose to have more speakers in front w/o increasing the rear speaker size in the MME, leading to the front forward presentation……and reality vs expectation.

Seems obvious I guess looking at the diagram above that that is why it is the way it is, just seems to me it should have been different…. Bigger or more speakers in back for instance. But in the end it is what it is…as long as there isn’t a problem or flaw I’ll just get used to it.

 

[Mach1E]

Except if it were mostly how close you are to the speakers when I’m in the back closest to the back speakers the front speakers shouldn’t on most cars sound just as loud as the backs when comparing full fades to the front and rear. Our other car, a 2002 Ford Thunderbird, doesn’t have rear seats to test this out but pretty sure that’d be odd behavior in a lot of cars in the past.

I think we are sorta saying the same thing….the front center speaker (and maybe reflections off the windshield) perceivable overpower the rear speakers such that the sound is in the front instead of center of the the car.

The difference is you are pointing out it is because of proximity and more speakers in front while I am comparing to other, past stereos and what i think it should have been.

Maybe it is because other cars I’ve had had larger rear speakers or were designed to compensate. I remember putting 6x9 rear speakers in cars yet only 2-3 inch front speakers….so maybe it is as simple as the designer chose to have more speakers in front w/o increasing the rear speaker size in the MME, leading to the front forward presentation……and reality vs expectation.

Seems obvious I guess looking at the diagram above that that is why it is the way it is, just seems to me it should have been different…. Bigger or more speakers in back for instance. But in the end it is what it is…as long as there isn’t a problem or flaw I’ll just get used to it.

Part of it could be “what we are used to” based on the audio systems we owned previously.

For me, the Bose system in my Chevy SS was extremely similar.

Center channel in the dash. Tweeters mounted high in front of the driver. And ok door speakers. Way more sound from the front of the driver.

I ended up swapping out the door speakers in the SS for some aftermarket Infinity replacements but it honestly didn’t help much. Added some high end clarity but lost some mid bass.

For those coming from old stereos with just 4 total speakers (one in each door), definitely different expectations.

Same goes if you’re coming from a 28 speaker setup like in the top of the line Lincoln Aviator. A friend played that for me and it screams!

 

[Spooky]

.

For those coming from old stereos with just 4 total speakers (one in each door), definitely different expectations.

Same goes if you’re coming from a 28 speaker setup like in the top of the line Lincoln Aviator. A friend played that for me and it screams!

Now we are talking! 28 speaker setup does sound like it’d be worth of a premium sound name!

I’m sure the MME’s sound could be improved with some aftermarket additions, just not sure that is really worth it to me these days, more from the standpoint of interdicting something bad (rattle, hiss, whatever) and having to go w/o the MME while it is done. Sorta addicted to this car and always looking for an excuse to go drive it.

 

[Pushrods&Capacitors]

Part of it could be “what we are used to” based on the audio systems we owned previously.

For me, the Bose system in my Chevy SS was extremely similar.

Center channel in the dash. Tweeters mounted high in front of the driver. And ok door speakers. Way more sound from the front of the driver.

I ended up swapping out the door speakers in the SS for some aftermarket Infinity replacements but it honestly didn’t help much. Added some high end clarity but lost some mid bass.

For those coming from old stereos with just 4 total speakers (one in each door), definitely different expectations.

Same goes if you’re coming from a 28 speaker setup like in the top of the line Lincoln Aviator. A friend played that for me and it screams!

Agree on the SS Bose system. Decent, got much better when I added the 300W 12” RF Punch sub. Still, paper cone Bose tweeters are rubbish compared to good hard or soft domes. I think the B&O is better overall in the mid/high frequencies but not as good in the low frequencies.

Back to the stereo imaging thing. Imo the center speaker addition has been a great advance in OEM car stereos because it addresses the main issue that audio enthusiasts have - how can you create a good stereo image/soundstage when you are seated on the far left, and thus closer to the left speaker but off-axis from both the left and right? DSP can trick you to an extent but the center speaker solution is better. There’s a reason you sit in the middle of stereo speakers - it’s so you’re on-axis and receiving the sound from both l/r speakers at the same time. Move to one side or the other and the image shifts/collapses.

 

[ReelSweet]

Ok. I tried this. I found the DSP diagnostics/ speaker test. Everything on the test is very low volume. And I’m not sure if I’m just not hearing it or the tone is one that I can’t hear, but speakers 7 and 8 I can’t hear anything.
A diagnostic with no pass/fail instructions seems to be not helpful at all.
Do you have any insights?

Did you run the same process on the Red Premium MME and get a similar result?

Sponsored