Anyone underwhelmed by B&O system...

Ronald

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What is the update? I have both of these issues. Volume on 30 to hear phone conversations and I barely feel any bass from the sub.

I'd like to call my dealer and get this appointment scheduled
It is the latest update for the DSP (digital sound processor). Haven't got an update number, except the info from the dealer that the DSP update fixed the issue.
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MachTee

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What is the update? I have both of these issues. Volume on 30 to hear phone conversations and I barely feel any bass from the sub.

I'd like to call my dealer and get this appointment scheduled
It should be this one. I gotta get this done but it may take some convincing of the dealer service department. I hope they won't have to disconnect my 12V. I did that hoping that's all it'll take but nope. All it did was reset my GOM and trip meters which was annoying.
 

BMT1071

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It should be this one. I gotta get this done but it may take some convincing of the dealer service department. I hope they won't have to disconnect my 12V. I did that hoping that's all it'll take but nope. All it did was reset my GOM and trip meters which was annoying.
It may be that bulletin, though it does not say that it addresses audio quality. It is also possible that the update @Ronald got only applies in Europe. It is an interesting question though as several forum users with early builds have complained about poor bass response but I find that my late June built car thumps pretty good. Could be personal preference, too. @markboris, do you notice the issue with phone call volume?
 

Jeffvisor

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To be fair the B&W sound system in the Volvo is pretty much the top of the top. I haven't seen any single car review that states a better system than that upgrade on the Volvos which makes me really want to hear one. In fact I think its the only $3500 sound system that every reviewer says is a must have for the price, which is saying a lot.
I had the Volvo S90 with the upgrade B&W sound system. It was very good but to be honest I think the Mach-e sound system sounds great as well. Maybe because the sound of the car is so quite it makes the stereo sound good. But I would say not a big difference between the 2 cars. I have a June 26 build so maybe they fixed some of the issues in later builds.
 


Scarpia

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Got my B&O DSP software update today. Sound improved big time. This update needs to be done by Ford, currently not available as an over the air update.

Two tests to know if you need an update for the B&O system:
1. Volume of phone (bt connected) needs to be set at 30 to have a good conversation. If this is true you need the update.
2. Set volume to 25, play music with some bass, open trunk. You should really hear and feel the sub. If it is close to nothing, you need the update.

Both tests where true for me. After the update you can hear and feel the bass in the trunk and the standard phone volume of 20 is perfect for a phone conversation.
This is great to hear. I haven't checked the sub in the back, but I have to crank the volume all the way up for a phone convo, so it's obvious something's not right. Music sounds fine, but not enough gain - way less than any car audio I've ever had.
 

Ronald

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I had the Volvo S90 with the upgrade B&W sound system. It was very good but to be honest I think the Mach-e sound system sounds great as well. Maybe because the sound of the car is so quite it makes the stereo sound good. But I would say not a big difference between the 2 cars. I have a June 26 build so maybe they fixed some of the issues in later builds.
It is only a limited number of cars with the issue. So it can be yours is just fine.

Can check it, just play some music at high volume and check if you have any bass in the trunk as I said in my earlier post.

Got some good contacts at Ford NL, so maybe can get some more info about this particular DSP update.
 

leeman

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Most Name Brand systems are the highest quality audio that's available by the particular manufacture most the time it's something that's built specifically for that manufacture with a particular cost in mind which means that it may not be that great I listen to the bang in Olsen system in a demo car and it wasn't any worse than the Sony system in my Ford flex if that helps.
 

Al-E

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Maybe I’m sensitive but I find it nearly impossible to turn the volume up past 15 unless it’s classical music I’m airplaying over BT!
 

elrond

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I’m new to the forum but have the same experience as you guys. I have replied back to my dealer and informed them that the sound system in my opinion is underperforming due to an underpowered system where the DSP/amp is to small to drive a 10 speaker system and is not tuned/adjusted correctly. I also told them that the B&W system in my fathers XC90 sounded way better but has also matched DSP/Amp to deive the system with more than enough power. Got little response from my dealer and they could not tap in to the DSP to adjust the system either. Now I have contacted a top car stereo dealer here in Norway which have already changed the DSP to an Audison Forza Bit8.9 in another Mach-E. The sound got so much better that they didn’t do more on that car. My Mach-E will get the same DSP/amp upgrade and I will add an Audison 10 inch active woofer to the system to take care of the lower frequencies. In addition they will sound isolate/proof the front and rear doors (dynamat/ground zero). They said the soind should be very very good afterwards. I will ask them to take pictures of the process so I can post them here on the forum if that’s of interest for others.

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Dag from Norway
Pretty sure it's my car you're referring to.. :)

Got the upgrade done early july, after being massively disappointed by the B&O sound system.
The Audison amp/DSP was installed along with a new run of cable from the 12V battery as well as new, high quality speaker cables. The DSP was tuned by a technician.

I am very happy with the results. Sounds like a totally different car.
Highs are much less obtrusive, mids are clear and the bass hits hard. Really impressed by what the 6x9-inch driver in the back is able to do when fed enough power.

An extra feature of the Audison amp is the ability to tweak the volume and EQ of each individual speaker. That's what the USB connection in the picture is for.
Really nice if you wanna make those final touches to sound yourself.

Good luck with the upgrade. You're not gonna regret it ;)

20210825_171044.jpg
 

MachTee

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It may be that bulletin, though it does not say that it addresses audio quality. It is also possible that the update @Ronald got only applies in Europe. It is an interesting question though as several forum users with early builds have complained about poor bass response but I find that my late June built car thumps pretty good. Could be personal preference, too. @markboris, do you notice the issue with phone call volume?
My car was built in 3/2021, right at the end of the time frame of that SSM. Though I've never had the audio completely inoperative as described in that SSM, my car does have the different chimes that only comes through the instrument cluster. There is definitely nothing off with the audio system. Even at max volume 30 it is not very loud at all, plus there's barely any sound coming from the subwoofer. I literally have to put my ear right up against it to hear anything out of it. I'm not overly picky about audio quality, but in my car there is absolutely no punch to the sound at any volume.

This is the chime I heard from two other cars at the dealer, the one I originally test drove and the one on the showroom floor. The chime comes from the audio system. My car has just the dinky sounding beeps from the instrument cluster.
 

MyLittlePony2022

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Pretty sure it's my car you're referring to.. :)

Got the upgrade done early july, after being massively disappointed by the B&O sound system.
The Audison amp/DSP was installed along with a new run of cable from the 12V battery as well as new, high quality speaker cables. The DSP was tuned by a technician.

I am very happy with the results. Sounds like a totally different car.
Highs are much less obtrusive, mids are clear and the bass hits hard. Really impressed by what the 6x9-inch driver in the back is able to do when fed enough power.

An extra feature of the Audison amp is the ability to tweak the volume and EQ of each individual speaker. That's what the USB connection in the picture is for.
Really nice if you wanna make those final touches to sound yourself.

Good luck with the upgrade. You're not gonna regret it ;)

Ford Mustang Mach-E Anyone underwhelmed by B&O system... 20210825_171044
@elrond, glad you upgraded and like the sound. I appreciate your write up and picture. Did the Audison amp simple plug into the existing MME head in unit? Did you need to use an adapter and if so, from who and part number? Did you replace all the speakers?
 

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I’m sitting in my parked car right now waiting for my wife in a doctors appointment with XM First Wave channel cranked and the sound system sounds darn good to me.

It's funny I see 2 things here that don't usually go together for me..... XM and Sounds darn good!


Maybe it's just me, maybe it's just the satellite signals in my area but I've never found XM radio to be "sounding good". I've had it on 4 different cars now(as the purchase promotion) and on each, and even with adjusting the sound parameters, everything sounds canny on XM radio.... There's no natural feel to the music. On the MME, I listened to it on various channels for about an hour and my 3 month deal is almost over. I find that putting XM radios on car is a waste of time, effort and resources...it should maybe come as an option for those who want it, but not standard!!!
 

MyLittlePony2022

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It's funny I see 2 things here that don't usually go together for me..... XM and Sounds darn good!


Maybe it's just me, maybe it's just the satellite signals in my area but I've never found XM radio to be "sounding good". I've had it on 4 different cars now(as the purchase promotion) and on each, and even with adjusting the sound parameters, everything sounds canny on XM radio.... There's no natural feel to the music. On the MME, I listened to it on various channels for about an hour and my 3 month deal is almost over. I find that putting XM radios on car is a waste of time, effort and resources...it should maybe come as an option for those who want it, but not standard!!!
There are a few articles on why satellite radio sound quality is poor. Two words sums it up... low bandwidth.

I image that the car companies offer it as courtesy to people, as a perk. However, I assume that satellite radio is smart enough to work with the car companies to give the free trial, hoping they will get new customers. They got me for a year when I bought my MKZ. I finally pulled my head out of my... realized the sound was horrible and cancelled the service. On the flip side, if you are in the middle of nowhere and do not have good terrestrial radio and cell service for streaming, it would be a good solution.
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