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CrashOverride

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I don't know what chips they use internally, but I know that the amp used in my mopar head unit has a ST TDA-7563 chip, which is a class AB amp. This is an older head unit, so I would presume than the BO amp is either a class D or T which is more efficient, perhaps as high as 90%. But class AB amps are up to about 65% efficient according to what I've read. So simply taking a fuse value and multiplying it to 14.4v (Oft used to inflate numbers), defines what some may say the amp is capable of. Not true. While there are a million ways to rate power (1% THD, 1kHz, 20-20kHz, up to clipping, etc...) and you can rate it at 12v, 12v nominal, and others.

To give them the best fighting chance, let's use 14.4v and 90% for a Class D amp.

Subwoofer Amp = 20A x 14.4v x 90% = 259 watts. Now you're not supposed to drive the fuse at 100%, so let's use 75% as Littelfuse recommends for 25C ambient temp. This means the amp shouldn't be able to put out more than 194 watts.

Doing the same math for the main amp = 30A x 14.4v x 90% efficiency x 75% thermal rating = 292 watts.

The head unit shouldn't be added because presumably all channels will be powered through the amps. But, let's suppose that it is entirely an amp, and that every drop of current is used to amplify even more speakers. (We know this is impossible because of the tuner, other sound shaping stuff, motors and so on)

20A x 14.4 x 90% x 75% = again, 194 watts.

194 + 292 + 194 = 874 watts. Now this is the absolute best case scenario, not knowing the actual efficiency. And this is using the headunit as an amp, which is probably not the case. So I would argue it is really only putting out 194+292 = 486 watts.

Cross check. Let's use a CEA compliant amp as an example.

Alpine S-A60M (1x600w RMS @ 2 Ohm) has two 30A fuses. Yeah, but it's a monoblock amp - not the same comparison.

Let's try a multichannel amp. JL Audio XD600/6v2 is a 6-channel amp that puts out 6x100w RMA @ 2 Ohms. I couldn't find if this is CEA compliant or not, but JL audio is one of the better manufacturers out there and I'd trust it. Also, it is specifically noted as a class D amp. It is unfused, but a 50-amp fuse is recommended.

Note that the numbers are driving the amps as hard as possible with 2-ohm loads. If you drive them at 4 ohms, the power levels are quite a bit less, often halved.

So unless Ford is pulling power out of another fuse, your 1000w system is likely a 500w system.

But, it's entirely legal to use peak power and measure the half second burst provided by the caps in the amps and sure, you will get 1000w. Heck, you might get 5000w if the measurement is small enough.

Why did Ford do it? People don't know not to trust ratings. Most people don't realize that almost any rating, no matter what it is, has modifiers....

Decibels? At what distance?
Amps? At what temperature?
Torque? At what RPM, at what temp/humidity, dressed or not, octane, flywheel or drivewheel
Brightness? Candlepower, Lux, Lumens?
Pressure? At what head? and what volume? and what viscosity?
Viscosity? At what temperature
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Very good elaboration, CrashOverride. Thank you.
I can agree with you. Ratings can be presented in various ways, considering this and disregarding that.
And I know that wattage means nothing in high-end audio.
Good tube A class 20W amp can sound gorgeous with compatible and efficient (high sensitive) speakers.

... so I would presume than the BO amp is either a class D or T which is more efficient, perhaps as high as 90%.
I would be very surprised if B&O will not use one of class D ICEpower amp modules. This means close to 90% efficiency.

The head unit shouldn't be added because presumably all channels will be powered through the amps.
Agree. I suppose head unit includes only pre-amp section.
 

CrashOverride

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Good tube A class 20W amp can sound gorgeous with compatible and efficient (high sensitive) speakers.
10000% agree. I love the warm sound of tube amps. I play guitar and I have a small Pignose G40v (All tube -- 12AX7 and 6V6's) and it really sounds good. But even more than that, using a tube amp to play back pre-recorded music is fantastic. I will say with regard to playing into a tube amp vs a solid state amp, the tube amp sounds way louder for the same number of watts.

I also don't think people realize just how little power is used most of the time due to the logarithmic way that power and loudness are correlated. Even with some ~88 db/1w/1m speakers, it only takes 16w of power to hit 100db, and that's louder than a lawnmower. Of course having a lot of extra power for dynamic bursts of music (Kettle drum and so forth) is certainly nice.
 
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Sure no problem. I actually created a ForScan sheet myself when I did the Sync3 swap. This thread kind of shows how to use it. The module you want to look into is the "ACM" module, which starts with "727".

The F150 crowd has the most extensive listing of ForScan settings. This is the spreadsheet that has stuff for newer-than-2017 Fords (I have a 2015, so I didn't need it although the EQ setting appears to be the same).https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...iVSlDFGFHnfeuhb3RTMVz95730/edit#gid=338817466

If the URL didn't link you to the "ACM" tab on the bottom, click that one.

If you scroll down to row 82/83 (As of me writing this...it's a living document so it could change). You will find the heading as "727-01-02". The next set looks like "x*xx" and the last set looks like "xx". Using this nomenclature, the x's represent anything. Meaning that your car will be different than mine, and different than your neighbors and so on. The hexadecimal character of interest is the astericks. The spreadsheet shows there are nine different EQ settings. Presumably there are nine different eq settings Ford has developed for their vehicles based on the sound systems, and the acoustics of each vehicle. To try them, write down/take a screenshot/etc what you alread have. It will look something like 727-01-02 4356 A7. You are only interested in the asterisk, which in my example would be "3". You can change it to a 0,1,2,4,5,6,7,8,9 and get different EQ curves. "0" means no eq, and export a flat signal. Not that it matters, but mine is set at "1" which is the base package mustang EQ setting.

I'd recommend giving it a try. Change it, write it, drive around a few days, rinse and repeat. It's definitely worth the price of the Bluetooth OBD-2 adaptor. Hopefully, you can find an eq setting that helps! Also remember that, you still have the tone controls in the radio itself -- these ForScan "eq" settings are the hidden ones which are applied on top of your settings. So in addition to changing the eq setting in ForScan, you will still want to play around with the tone controls on the head unit itself.
Thank you so much for this info I finally got time to play with it. super easy once you know what to look for. If I may ask why did you personally choose setting 1? I found 1 to be very clear and the everything sounded nice and clear turned up but to my ears the highest sounded a bit too high. I then tried 9 and it sounded still nice but sorta muddy like everything was blured together a bit. These were the only two settings I tried as sitting still is not the best way to test sound I changed a setting and then drove around and changed a setting and drove around. Mainly I wanted to thank you for the info everything does sound better and seems I can turn it up more with less distortion. are there any other music setting in forscan other then the 727-01-02 ACM one that you know of?
 

CrashOverride

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Thank you so much for this info I finally got time to play with it. super easy once you know what to look for. If I may ask why did you personally choose setting 1? I found 1 to be very clear and the everything sounded nice and clear turned up but to my ears the highest sounded a bit too high. I then tried 9 and it sounded still nice but sorta muddy like everything was blured together a bit. These were the only two settings I tried as sitting still is not the best way to test sound I changed a setting and then drove around and changed a setting and drove around. Mainly I wanted to thank you for the info everything does sound better and seems I can turn it up more with less distortion. are there any other music setting in forscan other then the 727-01-02 ACM one that you know of?
When I did the initial read, my car had the default setting at 1, which is because my mustang has the base system. I'm guessing because of the poorer quality speakers, they jacked up the treble like you said, perhaps even cut some low bass for the same reason. When I put the amp in, I set it to zero I think because that it supposedly what the premium cars run (I can't remember the number because I'm not staring at it right now). Even though I left the speakers stock, because I installed an aftermarket amp, I needed to use ForScan to tell the head unit not to amplify the sounds (Basically the head unit runs low levels out the speaker jacks...that's also how it is done with the premium cars).

But after I did that, the volume and everything was great because of the line level outs, but I couldn't get the sound the way I liked, so I put it back to 1. So in affect, I still had the HU output line levels, but with the factory processing/eq'ing that came stock. To me, it sounded better that way. I didn't try the other numbers just because I was pretty happy with 1 and because I know there is only so much that can be done with the OEM base speakers.

Unless Ford changed things, the GT's do not have any fake engine noises pumped into the HQ. I know the Ecoboost's do, and I seem to remember the GT350's did (Surprising I know). I'm not positive about the 3.7. But I see you have a GT, so you are probably not getting any blasphemy through the speakers. Other than those three things (Head unit output level, eq, and fake engine noise) I am not aware of any other tweaks.

There are lots of other tweaks, such as having the startup animation be something different. I'm sure I will get flamed for this, but I switched the theme to the GT350 because my car is orange, and I feel like the red screen matches it better than the blue. But, you can do silly stuff like have the startup screen be one for a Lincoln. You can also (I think) do things like leaving your driving lights on when your brights are on. In my case, I changed the power port timeout to zero, so as soon as I turn off the engine, the power ports lose power. I also had to add drive modes because I converted from the base radio to a sync3 radio. Doing so requires using the premium bezel, and you can actually make some of the switches work in ForScan.

There are some guys that retrofitted the BLIS system, and one of the things they needed to do was poke around in ForScan.

It can become addicting actually, it's like a uber-advanced mode of car settings.

Glad to hear it helped out and definitely you are welcome. @HextallS550 and @Spart helped me out the most, so all the credit goes to them!
 

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When I did the initial read, my car had the default setting at 1, which is because my mustang has the base system. I'm guessing because of the poorer quality speakers, they jacked up the treble like you said, perhaps even cut some low bass for the same reason. When I put the amp in, I set it to zero I think because that it supposedly what the premium cars run (I can't remember the number because I'm not staring at it right now). Even though I left the speakers stock, because I installed an aftermarket amp, I needed to use ForScan to tell the head unit not to amplify the sounds (Basically the head unit runs low levels out the speaker jacks...that's also how it is done with the premium cars).

But after I did that, the volume and everything was great because of the line level outs, but I couldn't get the sound the way I liked, so I put it back to 1. So in affect, I still had the HU output line levels, but with the factory processing/eq'ing that came stock. To me, it sounded better that way. I didn't try the other numbers just because I was pretty happy with 1 and because I know there is only so much that can be done with the OEM base speakers.

Unless Ford changed things, the GT's do not have any fake engine noises pumped into the HQ. I know the Ecoboost's do, and I seem to remember the GT350's did (Surprising I know). I'm not positive about the 3.7. But I see you have a GT, so you are probably not getting any blasphemy through the speakers. Other than those three things (Head unit output level, eq, and fake engine noise) I am not aware of any other tweaks.

There are lots of other tweaks, such as having the startup animation be something different. I'm sure I will get flamed for this, but I switched the theme to the GT350 because my car is orange, and I feel like the red screen matches it better than the blue. But, you can do silly stuff like have the startup screen be one for a Lincoln. You can also (I think) do things like leaving your driving lights on when your brights are on. In my case, I changed the power port timeout to zero, so as soon as I turn off the engine, the power ports lose power. I also had to add drive modes because I converted from the base radio to a sync3 radio. Doing so requires using the premium bezel, and you can actually make some of the switches work in ForScan.

There are some guys that retrofitted the BLIS system, and one of the things they needed to do was poke around in ForScan.

It can become addicting actually, it's like a uber-advanced mode of car settings.

Glad to hear it helped out and definitely you are welcome. @HextallS550 and @Spart helped me out the most, so all the credit goes to them!
Too funny today I actually found a way on the GT to turn the fake sounds on LOL why? well because I can and it gave me something to do. I also changed my start up screen to the snake but the ford performance one. If anyone don't like it they can go be driven by uber instead of my bass ass mustang :) I think tomorrow im gonna change the setting that uses the fog lights as turn lights to see corners better. again thanks so much for your help.
 

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I bought my car with the base system. My choice had nothing to do with price, but with quality. Many old stereo brands have rested on their laurels of high end history. Once they made a name for themselves, they cut quality and kept the price high. This takes advantage of consumers who see the name and go off recognition. Meanwhile the company and its shareholders profit.

My first full-time job during college was at a car stereo shop. Pioneer is a very recognized brand. They make pro quality DJ equipment which is still considered the gold standard, but they also made the cheapest speakers we carried at $30 a pair. Never base your purchase of brand names or marketing gimmicks like celebrity or blogger (often paid behind the scenes) endorsements.

Having worked in the industry, I knew the factory setup would be lackluster at best, even with the upgraded options. The only thing that interested me was the driver sound setting and I got that with the base system. You'll have no argument from me that the chips used in the base headunit and amp are poor quality. In the past, I've replace every headunit first, but with the abundance of modern tech that goes through that piece, I've lost all entrancement over spending $1k to get all those features integrated back into the car with an aftermarket system. Proper time alignment with an aftermarket DSP can be very complicated and time consuming. I chose to keep that feature from Ford and make up for the low end chipset quality with the other functions of a DSP.

Taking that $900 expense from Ford, and doubling it on quality parts, then doing my own installation, I've got a stereo that sounds 100x better than stock. I tapped into the factory amp, ran it to a DSP, and flattened the digital EQ. The DSP runs to a 4 channel amp. Two channels are bridged and send 400W RMS to the subwoofer, which permeates well into the cabin with the crap rear speakers removed and leaving open air for the sound to travel into the cabin from the trunk. The other two channels feed 125W RMS each of the two passive crossovers (one in each door). The crossovers each feed 3-way speaker sets installed in the factory locations. Sound quality auto competitors almost NEVER use rear speakers as they mess up the stage of the music and make it less concert-like. With a properly powered amp and capable speaker, the sound fills the vehicle and I've never felt a loss from removing the rear set.

The line levels were tested with an oscilloscope for distortion, then the amp speaker level lines were adjusted to achieve the target wattages with the "driver" sound mode. The time alignment from the Ford "driver" setting makes the music come alive, while it used to only make it seem quieter. The surround setting is still a little louder, but makes the sound more ambient and less crisp, and also causes my amp to overdrive the speakers.

Some of you may be thinking, of course if you spend twice as much on parts and don't have to pay installation it's gonna sound better. Or, I don't know how to do the installations, so it could be 3x the price of the Ford upgrade for that setup. Don't fret; these upgrades can be done step by step. First, upgrade the door speakers and forget the rear ones for about $700 installed. That alone will sound better than the $900 Ford option. Next, add an amp and subwoofer for about $500 installed. Finally, if you even think it's still necessary (entirely based on whether you're happy with the EQ and crossover settings) add a DSP for about $600 installed.

I'm used to a little more bass, so my next step is to add sound dampening material to the trunk and doors. If I want to hear the car I can turn down the music or shut it off completely; however, with quality audio gear, I can hear my music clearly even at low volumes and hear my exhaust at the same time. I have an aftermarket exhaust, and with this setup I can raise the windows and only hear the stereo if I'm in a music mood. YMMV
 

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I bought my car with the base system. My choice had nothing to do with price, but with quality. Many old stereo brands have rested on their laurels of high end history. Once they made a name for themselves, they cut quality and kept the price high. This takes advantage of consumers who see the name and go off recognition. Meanwhile the company and its shareholders profit.

My first full-time job during college was at a car stereo shop. Pioneer is a very recognized brand. They make pro quality DJ equipment which is still considered the gold standard, but they also made the cheapest speakers we carried at $30 a pair. Never base your purchase of brand names or marketing gimmicks like celebrity or blogger (often paid behind the scenes) endorsements.

Having worked in the industry, I knew the factory setup would be lackluster at best, even with the upgraded options. The only thing that interested me was the driver sound setting and I got that with the base system. You'll have no argument from me that the chips used in the base headunit and amp are poor quality. In the past, I've replace every headunit first, but with the abundance of modern tech that goes through that piece, I've lost all entrancement over spending $1k to get all those features integrated back into the car with an aftermarket system. Proper time alignment with an aftermarket DSP can be very complicated and time consuming. I chose to keep that feature from Ford and make up for the low end chipset quality with the other functions of a DSP.

Taking that $900 expense from Ford, and doubling it on quality parts, then doing my own installation, I've got a stereo that sounds 100x better than stock. I tapped into the factory amp, ran it to a DSP, and flattened the digital EQ. The DSP runs to a 4 channel amp. Two channels are bridged and send 400W RMS to the subwoofer, which permeates well into the cabin with the crap rear speakers removed and leaving open air for the sound to travel into the cabin from the trunk. The other two channels feed 125W RMS each of the two passive crossovers (one in each door). The crossovers each feed 3-way speaker sets installed in the factory locations. Sound quality auto competitors almost NEVER use rear speakers as they mess up the stage of the music and make it less concert-like. With a properly powered amp and capable speaker, the sound fills the vehicle and I've never felt a loss from removing the rear set.

The line levels were tested with an oscilloscope for distortion, then the amp speaker level lines were adjusted to achieve the target wattages with the "driver" sound mode. The time alignment from the Ford "driver" setting makes the music come alive, while it used to only make it seem quieter. The surround setting is still a little louder, but makes the sound more ambient and less crisp, and also causes my amp to overdrive the speakers.

Some of you may be thinking, of course if you spend twice as much on parts and don't have to pay installation it's gonna sound better. Or, I don't know how to do the installations, so it could be 3x the price of the Ford upgrade for that setup. Don't fret; these upgrades can be done step by step. First, upgrade the door speakers and forget the rear ones for about $700 installed. That alone will sound better than the $900 Ford option. Next, add an amp and subwoofer for about $500 installed. Finally, if you even think it's still necessary (entirely based on whether you're happy with the EQ and crossover settings) add a DSP for about $600 installed.

I'm used to a little more bass, so my next step is to add sound dampening material to the trunk and doors. If I want to hear the car I can turn down the music or shut it off completely; however, with quality audio gear, I can hear my music clearly even at low volumes and hear my exhaust at the same time. I have an aftermarket exhaust, and with this setup I can raise the windows and only hear the stereo if I'm in a music mood. YMMV
I got the 9 speaker system with the GT Premium. I replaced the rear deck speakers with a set of Focal RCX-165 two way 6.5" drivers. That alone improved the overall sound quality immensely over the factory setup: Much better midrange and highs, and more sensitive (i.e., louder) speakers than factory. It gave a better overall balance, and took some of the emphasis from the overly loud front dash speaker, quality of which leaves a lot to be desired. If I ever feel like upgrading further, that would be my next step, followed by more sensitive/higher quality lower door woofers. Probably won't, though. It's decent enough for me now.

The frame on the OEM rear deck speakers are plastic(!), and they have the smallest magnet I've ever seen on a speaker with the exception of alarm clock radios. They sounded absolutely dreadful by themselves (fader set to full rear). Now, with the Focals, even though the bass is rolled off, the mids and highs are pretty decent, given the limitations of the factory amp.
 

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I got the 9 speaker system with the GT Premium. I replaced the rear deck speakers with a set of Focal RCX-165 two way 6.5" drivers. That alone improved the overall sound quality immensely over the factory setup: Much better midrange and highs, and more sensitive (i.e., louder) speakers than factory. It gave a better overall balance, and took some of the emphasis from the overly loud front dash speaker, quality of which leaves a lot to be desired. If I ever feel like upgrading further, that would be my next step, followed by more sensitive/higher quality lower door woofers. Probably won't, though. It's decent enough for me now.

The frame on the OEM rear deck speakers are plastic(!), and they have the smallest magnet I've ever seen on a speaker with the exception of alarm clock radios. They sounded absolutely dreadful by themselves (fader set to full rear). Now, with the Focals, even though the bass is rolled off, the mids and highs are pretty decent, given the limitations of the factory amp.
Focal is a great sounding brand. I had their 6K2P components in my last car with a total price of $8k for the entire system. Putting them in the rear deck is a total car audio faux pas though. That will pull your sound stage to the back and keep any subwoofer bass partially trapped in the trunk.

The high-end setups compete for sound stage as one of the factors. You want it to sound like the band is playing live music standing on the middle of your hood. Kind of hard to explain concisely when you don't know what you're missing. There's a reason Ford put the crappiest speakers in the back; they're not considered essential in a hi-fi setup. Like I said, I took mine out and can't hear that they're gone because my setup fills the cabin with sound from a good audio tune.

You're off to a good start with choosing quality parts, but I would recommend taking it in a different direction if you decide you need something more fulfilling. Fine to keep those there, but make sure you go with components in the front and not coaxials. 2-way or 3-way speakers use a very "affordable" crossover and you lose lots of power handling and tuning abilities.

My last car had a Focal 40KX subwoofer which is rated at 500 watts RMS. With proper tuning I ran the sub at 1050 watts with no distortion, overexcursion, or overheating, and MUCH better low-end response. My recommendations in the prior post are what I consider a mid-level setup and almost a bare minimum for a sound quality over quantity setup [although that doesn't mean it isn't loud when it's turned up]. The noise floor isn't really where I want it, and I hit RMS at about 3/5th on the dial before distortion hits from the factory headunit. Still 125 watts RMS per channel at 4 ohms is plenty for a coupe in my opinion.
 

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Focal is a great sounding brand. I had their 6K2P components in my last car with a total price of $8k for the entire system. Putting them in the rear deck is a total car audio faux pas though. That will pull your sound stage to the back and keep any subwoofer bass partially trapped in the trunk.

The high-end setups compete for sound stage as one of the factors. You want it to sound like the band is playing live music standing on the middle of your hood. Kind of hard to explain concisely when you don't know what you're missing. There's a reason Ford put the crappiest speakers in the back; they're not considered essential in a hi-fi setup. Like I said, I took mine out and can't hear that they're gone because my setup fills the cabin with sound from a good audio tune.

You're off to a good start with choosing quality parts, but I would recommend taking it in a different direction if you decide you need something more fulfilling. Fine to keep those there, but make sure you go with components in the front and not coaxials. 2-way or 3-way speakers use a very "affordable" crossover and you lose lots of power handling and tuning abilities.

My last car had a Focal 40KX subwoofer which is rated at 500 watts RMS. With proper tuning I ran the sub at 1050 watts with no distortion, overexcursion, or overheating, and MUCH better low-end response. My recommendations in the prior post are what I consider a mid-level setup and almost a bare minimum for a sound quality over quantity setup [although that doesn't mean it isn't loud when it's turned up]. The noise floor isn't really where I want it, and I hit RMS at about 3/5th on the dial before distortion hits from the factory headunit. Still 125 watts RMS per channel at 4 ohms is plenty for a coupe in my opinion.
The front speakers combined are still significantly louder than the rear, even with the Focals back there, and the sound stage is still front biased. It just cleaned up the muddiness coming from the rear, added some better defined highs, and is only a few dB louder than the factory speakers, not enough to move the sound stage to the rear. But with much better sound.

Regarding the fronts - I would definitely go with individual drivers if I were to ever replace them, because the lower door speaker is a woofer in the 9 speaker system, so I wouldn't put a two-way in that spot, I'd use a woofer driver. There's a mid-range driver in the upper door that would get replaced with the same size, and the satellite tweeter in the A-pillar.
 

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I'm always fascinated to read about people who spend thousands on car audio systems. I always hope these people enjoy their systems while parked in a very quiet listening area....especially in any car where wind, road, intake, and exhaust noise are going to compete with the super high-fidelity music experience. Trying to enjoy high-end car audio while driving is like trying to enjoy a top end OLED television through a welder's mask....IMHO. That said, I still preferred the ELS system in my 2010 Acura over the top audio option in my 2018 Mustang GT...and the Acura wasn't much quieter at speed...and the HK Pro Logic option in my 2007 BMW 335 had laughable "subwoofers" in the form of tiny speakers under the front seats.

What I have learned over my years is that ears and/or minds adjust opinion/perception to a certain extent, including how they can adjust to good marketing and how much you pay....and then there's the fact that ears lose ability to hear certain frequencies as they get older, which might change the perception of what "good audio" is today compared to that much better system that came standard in the car you bought 25 years ago when you could actually hear your wife complaining in the other room about something you did that annoyed her.
 

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2015 Mustang 2.3L, 2013 Ford Focus SEL, 2009 Kawasaki Ninja 650R
I'm always fascinated to read about people who spend thousands on car audio systems. I always hope these people enjoy their systems while parked in a very quiet listening area....especially in any car where wind, road, intake, and exhaust noise are going to compete with the super high-fidelity music experience. Trying to enjoy high-end car audio while driving is like trying to enjoy a top end OLED television through a welder's mask....IMHO. That said, I still preferred the ELS system in my 2010 Acura over the top audio option in my 2018 Mustang GT...and the Acura wasn't much quieter at speed...and the HK Pro Logic option in my 2007 BMW 335 had laughable "subwoofers" in the form of tiny speakers under the front seats.

What I have learned over my years is that ears and/or minds adjust opinion/perception to a certain extent, including how they can adjust to good marketing and how much you pay....and then there's the fact that ears lose ability to hear certain frequencies as they get older, which might change the perception of what "good audio" is today compared to that much better system that came standard in the car you bought 25 years ago when you could actually hear your wife complaining in the other room about something you did that annoyed her.
I could agree it's a bit laughable when people spend thousands for the highest end equipment when there are acoustic issues not only when driving, but just due to shape of the cabin. I was a lot younger and had a lot more money to throw around when I spent $8k (retail, but I got an employee discount) on parts for my competition-grade stereo. Still, just because it didn't sound AS good while driving around, I never had a passenger who wasn't impressed.

You're absolutely correct that people's hearing changes. That's yet another reason a DSP or at least a good equalizer can make all the difference to ensure the system plays adjusted to your individual biology and preferences (just like the way a professional audiologist calibrates hearing aids to the user).

I would never recommend someone spend more than 2-3k on a system in their car for typical use. To be fair, for the $1600 I spent on mid-grade components, and labor I did myself for free on my mustang, I can't hear any wind, road, intake, or exhaust if the volume is up. You're entitled to your own opinion, but insulation makes a huge difference and a couple thousand isn't really that much money to a lot of people, especially since...

I guess my main point was for that same $900 Ford charges for their "upgrade" you could have something far superior for the same amount or a few hundred more. If you want a nice stereo, spend it on good equipment with good recent ratings; if you're satisfied with the base-model radio from Ford, don't spend the money.
 

WW2

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I am not a super audiofile or anything. nor do I crank my stereos to ear bleed level. However, my 18 Ecoboost Premium with the 9 speaker system is one of the worst systems I have ever had in a car... Sometimes I think something is wrong with it....Sounds "honkey" and is extremely lacking low end....You would think the premium mustangs would have a sub included....The satellite radio signal sounds extremely compressed and "warbally"...much worse than on my other vehicles using the same SiriusXM signal.... I actually added a Rockford Sub and tapped off the rear speakers...That helped alot with some sources but honestly it still sucks.. If I could delete the high pass on the rear speakers, I feel the sub would sound much better...I dont want to tap off the door speakers as the fade gives me control over the sub....
 

m3incorp

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CD's oh oh.... I don't think I have bought one in the past 15 years. I do have about a thousand old ones back in my home in Colorado that I may have to grab the next time I go back to visit.

From worst to best; the worst stock stereos in my cars......Subaru WRX, ripped everything out except the head unit within one week of owning it, next in line was the Ford Fusion, just about as bad as the Subaru...fixed it with an entire setup that now makes it the best sounding of all the cars. Next is the Z06, haven't really done much to the stereo in it, but don't really drive it too much. The Mustang B/O would be a tie with the Z06 but I haven't played with the system much yet but wouldn't consider it to be that great.....and believe it or not the best sounding stock system is in the VW Golf with the Fender Audio system.

B&O is a name from a far distant past that made some good stuff like turntables. OP- 320 is still compressed lossy files. . Rip some CD’s onto a USB stick do try that. I have the stock stereo in my 18 GT and it’s ok. Sounds better than my Sony equipped Escape.
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