B&O Info Needed

[joe603]

So I'm just about ready to pull the trigger on upgrading my 21 GT's stereo. It came with the B&O, but it's just not doing it for me. I'm not sure if I'm just going to replace the sub with a pair of 12s and a high/low converter...or replace everything except the head deck. My last few cars I've just been swapping out the OEM sub with aftermarket and using the OEM speaker. But the B&O is pretty bad...I'm thinking I may need to do it all this time.

So my question is, DSP. How do you integrate a DSP from the head deck? I assume there's a wiring harness that goes between the deck and the factory amp that you plug in the DSP, then run RCAs from that to AMPs. Is that the way it's wired?

Next would be the speaker leads from the OEM speakers...do I need to run new speaker wire from each one to the amp or is there a way to use the factory wiring instead?

Last would be any suggestions for mid/high replacement speakers? The doors have a 3.5 mid driver...not sure there are many component sets that have that. The others seem pretty standard. Is the norm to just ignore them?

Thanks guys!!

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[m3incorp]

There are plenty of threads on what you are asking. Depending on your expertise it may not be nearly as simple as you are thinking. Not only do you have that 3.5 mid to deal with, but you also have some none standard ohms in those stock speakers to deal with, if you are looking to just drop in speakers. Now going the DSP/Amp route opens up doors to allow you to pick and chose from the many available options. Try the sub/s first and then decide from there, is my suggestion.

 

[Cathul]

So my question is, DSP. How do you integrate a DSP from the head deck? I assume there's a wiring harness that goes between the deck and the factory amp that you plug in the DSP, then run RCAs from that to AMPs. Is that the way it's wired?

The only correct way in my opinion is to use special integration devices for this.
I would ask idatalink, Pac-Audio, M0bridge or NavTV for their solutions for the 2021 as their websites are not always up to date unfortunately.

Next would be the speaker leads from the OEM speakers...do I need to run new speaker wire from each one to the amp or is there a way to use the factory wiring instead?

If using an idatalink integration device you get open speaker wire leads that are plugged into the factory connectors. This way you can reuse the existing wiring. I would always recommend to rewire the tweeters in the A-pillars though as there is not dedicated wiring in the stock connectors for them. Pac-Audio has them, too, but you have to pay an extra for them i think.

Last would be any suggestions for mid/high replacement speakers? The doors have a 3.5 mid driver...not sure there are many component sets that have that. The others seem pretty standard. Is the norm to just ignore them?

Most ignore them and go for a good 2-way set of component speakers.
If you absolutely want a dedicated midrange any 3 inch (or 80mm) midrange with not more than 40mm (sorry, i'm a metric guy ) of depth should work.

 

[Evolvd]

So I'm just about ready to pull the trigger on upgrading my 21 GT's stereo. It came with the B&O, but it's just not doing it for me. I'm not sure if I'm just going to replace the sub with a pair of 12s and a high/low converter...or replace everything except the head deck. My last few cars I've just been swapping out the OEM sub with aftermarket and using the OEM speaker. But the B&O is pretty bad...I'm thinking I may need to do it all this time.

So my question is, DSP. How do you integrate a DSP from the head deck? I assume there's a wiring harness that goes between the deck and the factory amp that you plug in the DSP, then run RCAs from that to AMPs. Is that the way it's wired?

Next would be the speaker leads from the OEM speakers...do I need to run new speaker wire from each one to the amp or is there a way to use the factory wiring instead?

Last would be any suggestions for mid/high replacement speakers? The doors have a 3.5 mid driver...not sure there are many component sets that have that. The others seem pretty standard. Is the norm to just ignore them?

Thanks guys!!

I just had this conversation with someone over PM so I’ll copy and paste my response to him.


I can give you a rundown of everything I’m doing but it’ll be a very long reply. But the short and sweet is I’m replacing all speakers, sound deadening the entire car, and adding two 12s in a sealed box.

My integration is done using the PAC Audio Amp Pro https://catalog.pac-audio.com/catalog/amppro-amplifier-interfaces/ap4-fd21
This part ties in between the ACM and stock amp and pulls a clean signal to send to your amps. I added the optional Toslink optical cable port so I only have to run one wire from the front to the back for signal input. You can find this product for much cheaper if you shop around. I got mine at Best Buy for half the price of MSRP.

The optical cable is going into my JL Audio Vxi hub https://www.jlaudio.com/collections...-audio-amplifiers-amplifier-accessories-98411
This will allow me to control all three Vxi amps using one as a master and the rest as slave units. It’s not required but makes DSP tuning simpler as all Vxi amplifiers have built-in digital signal processors.

For my signal out to the speakers I’m using this product https://catalog.pac-audio.com/catalog/amplifier-integration-harness/5238-aph-fd01
It’s not specifically listed for our cars but works just the same. You plug it into the stock amp speaker output harness and allows you to use the stock wiring to send your signals to the doors and/or the sub. So instead of running multiple new speaker wire bundles up the side of the car you only have one bundle that ties right in to the original wiring. The stock wires are 18ga and will handle 100 watts per channel easily with very low voltage drop so unless you’re going to do a competition build you don’t need to upgrade these. The only wiring you’ll need to do yourself is the A-pillar tweeters. The stock system has them running in parallel with the 3.5” midrange speakers. This is why the ohm loads are different on the stock mids and highs. With the harness I just talked about you can de-pin the tweeter wires and splice a new wire bundle that you can run up into the pillars. This will keep your amps happy running 4 ohms on all channels with even power to each.

For speaker integration I purchased these 6.5” adapter plates from Sounds Good Stereo https://soundsgoodstereo.com/collec...6-5-inch-speaker-adapters-fits-front-and-rear
And these 3.5” adapter plates https://soundsgoodstereo.com/collec...ge-adapter-for-aftermarket-mid-range-speakers
If you want to use them too I’d call them first and make sure they’ll fit whatever speakers you intend to run. They do fit the Focals and JL Audio C7 components.
Best of all they come with wired adapter harnesses so you don’t have to cut up the door wires. They also come with speaker gasket tape and mounting screws. The 3.5” wire adapters are hard to find so it’s nice they offer them. The 6.5 wire adapters can be found on Crutchfield. Don’t buy the plastic speaker baffles from Crutchfield, they are flimsy and most likely won’t fit once installed.

So that wire harness I linked from PAC Audio also comes with another harness with resistors tied in. This fools the stock amp into thinking it’s still outputting music and keep it from shutting down and throwing a fault code. The other harness is used to run the speaker outputs from my trunk into the stock wiring up front. I have a JL Audio Vx800/8i which will run my front mids and tweets as well as my rear coaxials. I have a VX600/2 which will run my door woofers. Finally I have a Vx1000/1 to run the subs. I’m completely eliminating all the stock speakers and amplifier and only using the wiring.
I’ve disconnected the center channel. The PAC Audio Amp Pro module will push the chimes and notifications to my new amp so I don’t lose any of that functionality.

 

[Evolvd]

I know that’s a ton of info and thanks the @Cathul and many others I’ve pieced together a system that should sound killer once finished.

If you want to keep it simple you can just run a PAC Audio Amp Pro (either full range or subwoofer version) and just upgrade the sub. If you intend to replace all the speakers and use new amplifiers get the full-range AP4-FD21.

Thankfully there’s enough info on the B&O system that we can upgrade without integrating electronic trickery like LoCs or Fix86 type options.

 

[joe603]

Thanks guys! I looked at the various threads and even used search. Just not much on the 12 speaker B&O system...most are shaker diagrams. I may just try to replace the sub first and see what it sounds like.

 

[Evolvd]

Thanks guys! I looked at the various threads and even used search. Just not much on the 12 speaker B&O system...most are shaker diagrams. I may just try to replace the sub first and see what it sounds like.

There’s really not much difference. The benefit of the B&O over the 9 speaker system is the ability to use products like the PAC audio. It allows you to use any amp and speaker set up without having to mess with the OEM one.

 

[Cathul]

You can use the DSR1/AR with the 9speaker setup.

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