Is The B&O Unleashed really this bad?

I have noticed my 2026
speaker system is waaaay better than my 2023s even though they “are the same”
 
That's good to know, MCE. But I don't want my truck smart. I don't want voice commands. I don't want listening habits recorded. I don't want braking events and acceleration logged.

My problem is, I can't get 2026 levels of performance with the intrusive tech of 2006. Ford doesn't even give me the option to have the system "play dumb". And I would gladly snip & tinfoil the ends of the wires on any and all antennas, 4g/5g, GPS, etc--if I knew how and that it wouldn't brick something totally unrelated, but Ford decided to punish me for anyways.

p.s.
I used to use a USB 3.0 Thumb Drive. Problem was, it would superheat to the point of boiling water--when I was writing to it. IDK what it is about thumb drives, but they always get stupid hot. Never have that issue with SD anything.
 
StockHeightIsBest said:
That's good to know, MCE. But I don't want my truck smart. I don't want voice commands. I don't want listening habits recorded. I don't want braking events and acceleration logged.

My problem is, I can't get 2026 levels of performance with the intrusive tech of 2006. Ford doesn't even give me the option to have the system "play dumb". And I would gladly snip & tinfoil the ends of the wires on any and all antennas, 4g/5g, GPS, etc--if I knew how and that it wouldn't brick something totally unrelated, but Ford decided to punish me for anyways.

p.s.
I used to use a USB 3.0 Thumb Drive. Problem was, it would superheat to the point of boiling water--when I was writing to it. IDK what it is about thumb drives, but they always get stupid hot. Never have that issue with SD anything.
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Do you use ford pass on your phone? Their entire system is easily disabled, but you lose functionality. Behind the rear seat os the communication module. Disconnect and go on with life.
It will break Ford pass, any OTA update in the future etc.
 
NEOHIO said:
Do you use ford pass on your phone? Their entire system is easily disabled, but you lose functionality. Behind the rear seat os the communication module. Disconnect and go on with life.
It will break Ford pass, any OTA update in the future etc.
Click to expand...

So do I have to disable this thru the app? Or am I physically unplugging something?
 
StockHeightIsBest said:
So do I have to disable this thru the app? Or am I physically unplugging something?
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It's a black box with bunch of wires hidden at the back wall of the cab, hanging just below the rear window.

To access it, lower passenger rear back rest and pull off sound insulation mat. It's usually held by one plastic push pin per side and edge is tucked in behind C pillar. May require pulling up and towards you to wiggle it out. Nothing else has to be removed or unbolted.

If it feels stuck lower the other back rest to access the whole thing, sometimes they have 3 push pins.
 
securityguy said:
I have no issues with my B&O...100X better than the Bose in my 24 Chevy 2500 High Country.
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I had no issues with it until I ended up on a few days road trip in my car with nothing special Harman Kardon. When I got back in Ford I thought something was bricked. Over processed non existing bass and stupid sound stage (all the voice and highs comes from the windshield area)

Ended up with sounds good stereo behind the seat setup. Sound deadening rear wall, inside and outside doors skins + block off plates and new speakers in doors. Now the bass can be felt and heard even on low volumes. No more chasing best source with FLAC usb or wired phone.

Installed two way speakers in front doors hoping to get highs around me. It still works as a bass only speaker, looked online and apparently stock amp send only low signal there 😅. Already spent $4500 more than I wanted so gave up there. Listening on stereo setting helps instead of using surround.

Only two issues with sounds good stereo. Signal for their amp comes from stock bass setting. If it's lowered in the truck setting it'll be low in new sub as well, doesn't matter where the Kicker knob is at. The same goes for adjusting front to back zone. If it's dialed all the way back only rear speakers work.

The other issue was with the placement of the new amp rack. Had to modify the bracket so it doesn't pushes hard against the rear wall, pinching TCU module behind the insulation.

Oh and new cheapo Alpine rear speakers give more sound than this stock contraption.
 

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It’s a slippery slope

Did you add an aftermarket amp/dsp?

I’m down roughly the path as you. A week spent sound deadening the entire cab, all new speakers, and SGS sub behind the seats.

It’s shocking how much better it sounds, but I still get a little urge to replace the amp and get it tuned.
 
Avslash said:
It’s a slippery slope

Did you add an aftermarket amp/dsp?

I’m down roughly the path as you. A week spent sound deadening the entire cab, all new speakers, and SGS sub behind the seats.

It’s shocking how much better it sounds, but I still get a little urge to replace the amp and get it tuned.
Click to expand...
Everything else is stock, that's why it's still pushing the"front stage" setup.

Some people online are defending it as in when you're watching the concert sound comes from front. Well, I'm not watching live concert, I'm listening music while driving. Want to hear drums, guitars and voice around me being split only in left and right channel.

Currently I'm satisfied, it sounds clean even at max volume, shaking whole cab including outside mirrors. Occasionally needs just minor adjustments, mostly on bass setting in the truck, sometimes it gets too much depending on the music.
 
Listen to this. You'll love the lyrics:

 
Optimus🤖 said:
Listen to this. You'll love the lyrics:

Click to expand...
A bit hard to understand, also doesn't help having shitty Metallica's St. Anger drum sound 🤣
I prefer more 80s sound as this 🤠

 
Thou shall not talk shit about Metallica EXCEPT for: enter the sandman and anything on St. Anger. 😂
 
No highs no lows gotta be Bose. My GM was terrible.
 
I enjoy Metallica, I don’t care their politics. Of course i’m not going to watch a youtube on anything so there’s that.
 
Optimus🤖 said:
Actually, if your SYNC system is 'choking' or re-indexing the USB drive every single time you start the truck, that’s a sign of a hardware or file issue, not a Ford problem.

SYNC is designed to build an index database the first time you plug a drive in. On subsequent startups, it simply checks for changes and boots up almost instantly, right where the song left off. If it’s starting the indexing process over every time, it means the system is failing to complete and save its initial index.

This almost always happens for one of three reasons:

1. Wrong Formatting: The drive should be formatted to exFAT (Master Boot Record). Using NTFS or an improper FAT32 partition often causes the system to hang.

2. Hidden or Corrupt Files: If you loaded the FLAC files using a Mac, it invisibly drops metadata files (like .DS_Store or ._ files) into the folders. SYNC tries to read these as media files, hangs up, and fails the index. Bad ID3 tags or embedded album art that is too large will do the exact same thing.

3. Slow Hardware: Using an older, cheap, or slow USB 2.0 thumb drive will cause the system to time out when reading larger FLAC libraries.

If you use a high-quality USB 3.1+ drive formatted in exFAT with clean, properly tagged FLAC files, it works seamlessly. It’s not that Ford is behind; it’s just that the system requires a clean storage environment to build its database.
Click to expand...
OK. Brand new 3.2 gen 2 drive formatted in exFat. Survey says....

"USB Charge Only" when I plug it into the truck.

Any other genius ides?
 
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