Audio Experience

[curtisfinney]

I listen to both music and audiobooks in my car. I’m disappointed every day in how poor the audio is. With audible, I find the surround sound makes everything go out if the center speaker in the car. Turning on stereo for audiobooks is better, but it still isn’t great. Using the feature to move audio to a certain spot in the car also works poorly.

Why does such an expensive car have such a crappy audio experience. It’s not like it’s new tech.

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[Pushrods&Capacitors]

Audio preferences are very subjective, so, who knows why you feel the quality is bad, right? As far as Audible goes, I’d imagine in the surround setting the dialogue is being routed mainly to the center channel as it would in the surround setting of a 5/7/9.1 home theater processor/receiver. Makes sense to me. Also, there was an update to fix an audio sq issue way back in ‘21 but I’m not sure if that applies to your car.

I’ve been an audio enthusiast (not audiophile) since I was in H.S. in the early ‘90s and I’ve heard dozens upon dozens of automotive sound systems and put together a few of my own aftermarket systems as well. The B&O in the MME is decent in terms of dynamics, imaging and overall frequency response imo, maybe a 7-7.5/10. The mid/high range is slightly over exaggerated and the subwoofer rolls off pretty sharply after 40Hz or so, not really a “sub”. The tone controls allow a bit of fine tuning to help tailor the sound but that only goes so far.

 

[Mach1E]

I listen to both music and audiobooks in my car. I’m disappointed every day in how poor the audio is. With audible, I find the surround sound makes everything go out if the center speaker in the car. Turning on stereo for audiobooks is better, but it still isn’t great. Using the feature to move audio to a certain spot in the car also works poorly.

Why does such an expensive car have such a crappy audio experience. It’s not like it’s new tech.

The stereo is ok.

As mentioned “surround” is supposed to put dialogue out of the center speaker.

I’m confused about this statement: “Using the feature to move audio to a certain spot in the car also works poorly.”

Are you talking about balance and fade or something else?

As far as “why does such an expensive car…” question goes, the answer is- the money went into the drivetrain, not the stereo.

As far as upgraded stereos go, ours is fairly inexpensive and you get what you pay for.

 

[joes723]

If you're using wireless apple car play or Bluetooth audio, you are going to lose quality especially if your using standard or low-res audio formats. I use Apple CarPlay and almost everything in my library is Lossless or Hi-Res audio and tbh im not disappointed. Especially in surround mode since the B&O system is 6 channels (basically 5.1 surround) i can hear the music moving through the car. Audio and hearing music is highly subjective though, no two people are going to hear things the same.

 

[curtisfinney]

Sorry, I wasn't very clear. I'm not complaining about tone and bass - I don't touch those. I'm just speaking to an experience where you hear sound from the entire car and not just the front speakers. This is the first car I've purchased over $30k and my VW Jetta's and Volvo's had a more immersive audio experience than my 2023 Mustang Mach E. Its more on par with my Subaru Forester.

I listen to a lot of audiobooks and its just not a great experience in my Mach E. I just want to hear the book on all speakers.

 

[curtisfinney]

The stereo is ok.

As mentioned “surround” is supposed to put dialogue out of the center speaker.

I’m confused about this statement: “Using the feature to move audio to a certain spot in the car also works poorly.”

Are you talking about balance and fade or something else?

As far as “why does such an expensive car…” question goes, the answer is- the money went into the drivetrain, not the stereo.

As far as upgraded stereos go, ours is fairly inexpensive and you get what you pay for.

Yes, I was talking about balance and fade.

I'm just looking to her my audiobook on all speakers. Not asking for much.

 

[DRCal68]

Curtis, do you have the standard audio or the B&O premium? I don’t own a MME, just looking at the options in case I decide to order one.

 

[mpshizzle]

Yes, I was talking about balance and fade.

I'm just looking to her my audiobook on all speakers. Not asking for much.

This will put mono Auto (such as speech) on all speakers

Not sure if you have the B&O system, but in mine when listening to podcasts surround puts it ONLY in the center speaker. Stereo puts it on all speakers with center being slightly more prominent.

I've been very happy with my B&O system. 10% less boom than my 2016 F-150. But still great

 

[curtisfinney]

Thanks - I see this as a flaw in the user interface that could be improved by Ford. Its not an intuitive option.

I have to position the puck in the back seat to get it to sound on all speakers. They need to allow us to adjust the center channel independently.

I also see having a true surround sound like I have at home in my home theater as a low use case for this car. I didn't buy it to watch movies while driving.

 

[Guss-E 2021]

Sorry, I wasn't very clear. I'm not complaining about tone and bass - I don't touch those. I'm just speaking to an experience where you hear sound from the entire car and not just the front speakers. This is the first car I've purchased over $30k and my VW Jetta's and Volvo's had a more immersive audio experience than my 2023 Mustang Mach E. Its more on par with my Subaru Forester.

I listen to a lot of audiobooks and its just not a great experience in my Mach E. I just want to hear the book on all speakers.

I agree. The direction of the audio definitely has a bias towards the center dash speaker. It's to the point where I question if the other speakers are even working. Immersive audio was definitely an afterthought in this car. I recently drove my old 2011 Acura TSX and using Spotify via a BT connection in that car was a night and day difference in the Acura's favor.

I'm a bit of an audio snob and pretty sensitive to changes in the audio quality of the music I listen to. Not at all impressed with the MME. It's not intolerable but it is not something Ford can brag about to be certain.

 

[MG101]

Interesting. I know audio is highly subjective but I feel the biggest strength of the B&O system is the sound stage it presents. Everything is in front of you where (imho) it should be.

 

[Mach1E]

Interesting. I know audio is highly subjective but I feel the biggest strength of the B&O system is the sound stage it presents. Everything is in front of you where (imho) it should be.

Same, but the good news is you do have options-

Either fade it rear biased or go stereo and it turns the center channel off.

Drivers choice.

I remember another thread where someone complained they as the driver could hear the rear speakers.

Took pages and pages before the OP admitted they have bad hearing.

The rear door speakers and front door speakers are nearly identical in how loud they are……. The driver is just closer to the front ones.

The biggest problem with any car stereo is speaker placement. Unlike a home theater, where you sit makes a much larger difference in sound. It’s why some crazy 40 speaker car stereos have headrest speakers.

 

[the golden eel]

... I'm a bit of an audio snob and pretty sensitive to changes in the audio quality of the music I listen to. Not at all impressed with the MME. It's not intolerable but it is not something Ford can brag about to be certain.

I'm in 100% agreement with all of this. The B&O system is fine, nothing more, nothing less.

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