B&O 10" sub replacement guide

[SuperGoose15]

pioneer ts-a250d4 vs ts-d10d4
$81 vs $115

Is the latter worth the extra $34 ??

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[Bigred911s]

I only paid $87 shipped for my REDLINE SW Series 300W 10-Inch Subwoofer EOL (D4)RL-SW10-D4 EOL

 

[Fruitstang]

pioneer ts-a250d4 vs ts-d10d4
$81 vs $115

Is the latter worth the extra $34 ??

Both need comparably much power to be loud, the 10d4 is slightly more efficient.
If you want improvement also at lower volume I'd choose something with more sensitivity/efficiency than the 74 or 76 db/W that the Pioneers make (DD Audio Redline make 86 db at 1 W).

 

[Gregs24]

Both need comparably much power to be loud, the 10d4 is slightly more efficient.
If you want improvement also at lower volume I'd choose something with more sensitivity/efficiency than the 74 or 76 db/W that the Pioneers make (DD Audio Redline make 86 db at 1 W).

It does of course depend what you want sound wise. The lower sensitivity of the Pioneer can be a good thing as the OEM setup is quite bass heavy in the standard setup. The Pioneer helps to balance things up a bit whilst adding control to the sound. Plus it can play notes other than 60Hz which the OEM sub cannot!

Depends on the music you listen too, the source of that music and what you like.

 

[Bigred911s]

Installed the Redline and I must say the bass is night and day better than stock. Much tighter not boomy.

 

[steveo1960]

Thanks to everyone in this thread and the associated sub threads.. I have a 2024 with the B&O and will be replacing the sub and this thread has been a wealth of information... Cheers to all !

 

[Joe Gonsalves]

I know I'm late to this party, but I do have some useful information I would like to share with the group. I have read nearly all the posts on this site regarding the B&O system. There is a lot of good information and I also found some misconceptions as well. I lived with the stock system for a year to give it a good listen before doing anything. I do agree that the B&O subwoofer in the trunk of my 21 GT/CS is a POS. The same can be said of the A pillar tweeters. Now my tastes will differ than yours and that's all part of finding what makes you happy. So I decided to tackle the subwoofer first since I could no long stand the muddy boomy sound coming from it. There was one member on here that measured the car's cabin resonance at ~ 65hZ. This was very inciteful since I attributed the boom to this frequency. He also measured the subwoofer's resonance at around the same frequency, reinforcing the boom. Clearly Ford was getting free bass loudness without spending the watts to do so. Now being an electrical engineer, I wanted to retune the subwoofer so that it wouldn't excite the cabin resonance. Meaning swapping the speaker out to shift the subwoofer resonance away from 65hZ.
This is were I differ with some of the members that went the Pioneer speaker route. While it seems like the least amount of modification to the stock enclosure, it's db rating at 74 kills it for me. Let me explain, that speaker will play lower at all the bass frequencies where only the 65hZ needs taming. While it sounds good because you killed the boom by shifting the resonance away, you're missing the lowest octaves.
I looked at a lot of DVC subwoofers, and again a member here had a list with ones that would fit without much headache. Now that list overlooked the Polk Audio units which I was leaning quite heavily towards until I took a longer look at DD audio's RL-SW10A. That unit met all of the criteria that I was looking for. It's loud with the stock amp at 86db. Built like a battleship. Cheap at ~$80. Fit in the whole in the enclosure. And only required some small box mods.
Let's face it people, once you start down this road there is no going back, so trying to preserve a stock appearance or minimize holes drilled goes out the window.
So once you pull out the stocker and with the enclosure empty Dyno-mat all sides and back of the box. You don't need to wrap the corners, just the larger flat surfaces that will vibrate. Double up on the largest sections. Leave the front alone for appearance. Now you'll have an acoustically dead box. With a flat blade screwdriver snap off the 12 o'clock plastic tab and clean off with a sharp blade. Use foam weather stripping and go around the mounting hole. Next stuff the box with fiberglass insulation not the poly-fill crap. The glass just performs better. Use Metra 72-6514 speaker harness to extend the wires to reach the binding posts on the woofer. Makes installation easier. Also note the wire color on the 72-6514 is backwards Black is the positive and Red is the negative once plugged onto the stock harness. I also removed the rubber trim ring from the speaker and dropped in in the hole. Drill new holes and use #8 self tapping screws to hold it down. Now if you're handy, use about 1.5 inch wide weather stripping and line the inner edge of the stock outer trim ring to extend it down, this allowed me to put it in place, hide the screws and use the bar grill to hold it down.
If you buy the woofer directly from DD Audio they also sell a 10" bar grill that fits nearly perfectly. You have to trim the lower right mounting bracket of the grill to clear the enclosure's mounting foot, but it's quick work with a hacksaw.
A few words on the stock grill, while it does offer the most protection, it also impedes the air movement in front of the woofer. The whole point of the woofer is to move air. That's why when you see competition systems they use zero grills. That air movement is what you feel as well as hear, so don't choke it off.
I will admit the RL-SW10A does require a break in period before you can appreciate it's full potential. Having said that, this thing with the stock amp hits. No boom, no mud, deep tight punchy bass all the way down as low as low can go. I listen to heavy metal and it's so hard to get the kick drums to hit and sound right, but I nailed it.
I could not be happier with the sub woofer I chose. Some of you made the same choice and I thank you for leading me in that direction. The efficiency of the Redline driver is awesome. You'll be surprised how loud it will play with the stock amp. People will think you're running 1000Watts back there. Bottom line in all this is, no matter which Subwoofer you chose, shifting it off the cabin resonance is the magic formula to get at least the bass response of the B&O system better.
I'll address the tweeters in another post. I've chosen them and just need to install them.

 

[Evolvd]

I know I'm late to this party, but I do have some useful information I would like to share with the group. I have read nearly all the posts on this site regarding the B&O system. There is a lot of good information and I also found some misconceptions as well. I lived with the stock system for a year to give it a good listen before doing anything. I do agree that the B&O subwoofer in the trunk of my 21 GT/CS is a POS. The same can be said of the A pillar tweeters. Now my tastes will differ than yours and that's all part of finding what makes you happy. So I decided to tackle the subwoofer first since I could no long stand the muddy boomy sound coming from it. There was one member on here that measured the car's cabin resonance at ~ 65hZ. This was very inciteful since I attributed the boom to this frequency. He also measured the subwoofer's resonance at around the same frequency, reinforcing the boom. Clearly Ford was getting free bass loudness without spending the watts to do so. Now being an electrical engineer, I wanted to retune the subwoofer so that it wouldn't excite the cabin resonance. Meaning swapping the speaker out to shift the subwoofer resonance away from 65hZ.
This is were I differ with some of the members that went the Pioneer speaker route. While is seems like the least amount of modification to the stock enclosure, it's db rating at 74 kills it for me. Let me explain, that speaker will play lower at all the bass frequencies where only the 65hZ needs taming. While it sounds good because you killed the boom by shifting the resonance away, you're missing the lowest octaves.
I looked at a lot of DVC subwoofers, and again a member here had a list with ones that would fit without much headache. Now that list overlooked the Polk Audio units which I was leaning quite heavily towards until I took a longer look at DD audio's RL-SW10A. That unit met all of the criteria that I was looking for. It's loud with the stock amp at 86db. Built like a battleship. Cheap at ~$80. Fit in the whole in the enclosure. And only required some small box mods.
Let's face it people, once you start down this road there is no going back, so trying to preserve a stock appearance or minimize holes drilled goes out the window.
So once you pull out the stocker and with the enclosure empty Dyno-mat all sides and back of the box. You don't need to wrap the corners, just the larger flat surfaces that will vibrate. Double up on the largest sections. Leave the front alone for appearance. Now you'll have an acoustically dead box. With a flat blade screwdriver snap off the 12 o'clock plastic tab and clean off with a sharp blade. Use foam weather stripping and go around the mounting hole. Next stuff the box with fiberglass insulation not the poly-fill crap. The glass just performs better. Use Metra 72-6514 speaker harness to extend the wires to reach the binding posts on the woofer. Makes installation easier. Also note the wire color on the 72-6514 is backwards Black is the positive and Red is the negative once plugged onto the stock harness. I also removed the rubber trim ring from the speaker and dropped in in the hole. Drill new holes and use #8 self tapping screws to hold it down. Now if you're handy, use about 1.5 inch wide weather stripping and line the inner edge of the stock outer trim ring to extend it down, this allowed me to put it in place, hide the screws and use the bar grill to hold it down.
If you buy he woofer directly from DD Audio they also sell a 10" bar grill that fits nearly perfectly. You have to trim the lower right mounting bracket of the grill to clear the enclosure's mounting foot, but it's quick work with a hacksaw.
A few words on the stock grill, while it does offer the most protection, it also impedes the air movement in front of the woofer. The whole point of the woofer is to move air. That's why when you see competition systems they use zero grills. That air movement is what you feel as well as hear, so don't choke it off.
I will admit the RL-SW10A does require a break in period before you can appreciate it's full potential. Having said that, this thing with the stock amp hits. No boom, no mud, deep tight punchy bass all the way down as low as low can go. I listen to heavy metal and it's so hard to get the kick drums to hit and sound right, but I nailed it.
I could not be happier with the sub woofer I chose. Some of you made the same choice and I thank you for leading me in that direction. The efficiency of the redline driver is awesome. You'll be surprised how loud it will play with the stock amp. People will think you're running 1000W back there. Bottom line in all this is no matter which Subwoofer you chose, shifting it off the cabin resonance is the magic formula to get at least the bass response of the B&O system better.
I'll address the tweeters in another post. I've chosen them and just need to install them.

Pics or it didn’t happen

 

[Bigred911s]

I know I'm late to this party, but I do have some useful information I would like to share with the group. I have read nearly all the posts on this site regarding the B&O system. There is a lot of good information and I also found some misconceptions as well. I lived with the stock system for a year to give it a good listen before doing anything. I do agree that the B&O subwoofer in the trunk of my 21 GT/CS is a POS. The same can be said of the A pillar tweeters. Now my tastes will differ than yours and that's all part of finding what makes you happy. So I decided to tackle the subwoofer first since I could no long stand the muddy boomy sound coming from it. There was one member on here that measured the car's cabin resonance at ~ 65hZ. This was very inciteful since I attributed the boom to this frequency. He also measured the subwoofer's resonance at around the same frequency, reinforcing the boom. Clearly Ford was getting free bass loudness without spending the watts to do so. Now being an electrical engineer, I wanted to retune the subwoofer so that it wouldn't excite the cabin resonance. Meaning swapping the speaker out to shift the subwoofer resonance away from 65hZ.
This is were I differ with some of the members that went the Pioneer speaker route. While is seems like the least amount of modification to the stock enclosure, it's db rating at 74 kills it for me. Let me explain, that speaker will play lower at all the bass frequencies where only the 65hZ needs taming. While it sounds good because you killed the boom by shifting the resonance away, you're missing the lowest octaves.
I looked at a lot of DVC subwoofers, and again a member here had a list with ones that would fit without much headache. Now that list overlooked the Polk Audio units which I was leaning quite heavily towards until I took a longer look at DD audio's RL-SW10A. That unit met all of the criteria that I was looking for. It's loud with the stock amp at 86db. Built like a battleship. Cheap at ~$80. Fit in the whole in the enclosure. And only required some small box mods.
Let's face it people, once you start down this road there is no going back, so trying to preserve a stock appearance or minimize holes drilled goes out the window.
So once you pull out the stocker and with the enclosure empty Dyno-mat all sides and back of the box. You don't need to wrap the corners, just the larger flat surfaces that will vibrate. Double up on the largest sections. Leave the front alone for appearance. Now you'll have an acoustically dead box. With a flat blade screwdriver snap off the 12 o'clock plastic tab and clean off with a sharp blade. Use foam weather stripping and go around the mounting hole. Next stuff the box with fiberglass insulation not the poly-fill crap. The glass just performs better. Use Metra 72-6514 speaker harness to extend the wires to reach the binding posts on the woofer. Makes installation easier. Also note the wire color on the 72-6514 is backwards Black is the positive and Red is the negative once plugged onto the stock harness. I also removed the rubber trim ring from the speaker and dropped in in the hole. Drill new holes and use #8 self tapping screws to hold it down. Now if you're handy, use about 1.5 inch wide weather stripping and line the inner edge of the stock outer trim ring to extend it down, this allowed me to put it in place, hide the screws and use the bar grill to hold it down.
If you buy he woofer directly from DD Audio they also sell a 10" bar grill that fits nearly perfectly. You have to trim the lower right mounting bracket of the grill to clear the enclosure's mounting foot, but it's quick work with a hacksaw.
A few words on the stock grill, while it does offer the most protection, it also impedes the air movement in front of the woofer. The whole point of the woofer is to move air. That's why when you see competition systems they use zero grills. That air movement is what you feel as well as hear, so don't choke it off.
I will admit the RL-SW10A does require a break in period before you can appreciate it's full potential. Having said that, this thing with the stock amp hits. No boom, no mud, deep tight punchy bass all the way down as low as low can go. I listen to heavy metal and it's so hard to get the kick drums to hit and sound right, but I nailed it.
I could not be happier with the sub woofer I chose. Some of you made the same choice and I thank you for leading me in that direction. The efficiency of the redline driver is awesome. You'll be surprised how loud it will play with the stock amp. People will think you're running 1000W back there. Bottom line in all this is no matter which Subwoofer you chose, shifting it off the cabin resonance is the magic formula to get at least the bass response of the B&O system better.
I'll address the tweeters in another post. I've chosen them and just need to install them.

I agree with you given I installed the same sub. The stock amp drives it with no problem. I also agree with you it now has nice deep tight punchy bass compared to the stock crappy woofer.

 

[Joe Gonsalves]

For the doubting folks that needed proof I did the mod. Here's a pic. Notice I reused the stock trim ring to dress it up a bit. In retrospect I should have used thicker weather stripping to cover the mounting screws more, but I digress. There is no rattel from it, but should that happen I'll drill and drive a screw from the bar grill to the trim ring tabs that the grill is holding in place. it's well broken in now and it continues to impress me. DD Audio got this woofer right. They say it's obsolete but the web site says it's been superceded by the RL-SW10A and obviously they still sell them. The only difference is the silkscreen on the woofer has changed from Redline to the DD Audio logo. By they way, I drove with the windows down today and this subwoofer sounded even better. It hit a new lower octave. Did not expect that since the stock B&O subwoofer sounded hollow if that makes any sense.

 

[S550HPP]

Very clean install few can get the trim ring off cleanly.

I used a mesh JL cover and it's messed up already, but I use my trunk so much it feels like a small pick up truck.

 

[Evolvd]

For the doubting folks that needed proof I did the mod. Here's a pic. Notice I reused the stock trim ring to dress it up a bit. In retrospect I should have used thicker weather stripping to cover the mounting screws more, but I digress. There is no rattel from it, but should that happen I'll drill and drive a screw from the bar grill to the trim ring tabs that the grill is holding in place. it's well broken in now and it continues to impress me. DD Audio got this woofer right. They say it's obsolete but the web site says it's been superceded by the RL-SW10A and obviously they still sell them. The only difference is the silkscreen on the woofer has changed from Redline to the DD Audio logo. By they way, I drove with the windows down today and this subwoofer sounded even better. It hit a new lower octave. Did not expect that since the stock B&O subwoofer sounded hollow if that makes any sense.

I didn’t doubt you, was just being funny because you didn’t post any pics. Good work!

 

[2021GT500]

Great thread. How do I remove the stock trim ring without cracking it or breaking pins off?

I’m looking at trying a Skar 10 dvc 4 ohm. Sensitivity is 84 db, cost is $50 onAmazon, it’s only 4.85 inches deep

https://a.co/d/4sQ93rC

 

[5.0not5-0]

Installed DD RL-SW10-D4 a couple weeks ago as well. Absolutely love the outcome. I got the Amazon 10” bar, but I think I would prefer the DD Audio one Joe above me bought directly. Looks to be a bit more coverage. Lucky for me mine is a weekend warrior and hardly anything ever goes in the trunk, but would be something to think about if you used the trunk often.

 

[Joe Gonsalves]

Great thread. How do I remove the stock trim ring without cracking it or breaking pins off?

I’m looking at trying a Skar 10 dvc 4 ohm. Sensitivity is 84 db, cost is $50 onAmazon, it’s only 4.85 inches deep

https://a.co/d/4sQ93rC

Check on here there are a bunch of posts with pictures. Also if you are going to a bar grill than trying not to break any clips is a moot point. Trust me once you mod the box you are not going back. Also check the Skar fitment. It may not fit the 9" hole in the box. There is a reason people on here went with the Pioneer and DD Audio woofers, they fit. Also the Polk Audio DB1042DVC will fit and it was on my list. At ~$80 and 85db it was a strong contender for me. After looking over the DD Audio I liked the magnet structure much better.

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