Stereo sucks ducks!☹️

[Obijack]

Right. Freedom to not buy a lariat and wish you do and spend money to make it closer to a lariat.

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[DHH]

The amount of bass is good...

Sorry, but I tuned out ( ) at this point.
I have the B&O with the "subwoofer" and the bass, as you would say, "sucks ducks"

 

[DHH]

Even back in the day when my friends were clamouring over each other to get the latest Craig Power Play system...

You know you're showing your age by admitting this.

I haven't heard Craig Powerplay in years. I use to install audio systems around that time and in the spirit of revealing ones age; I use to go to car dealerships and install the "optional" AM radio.
Or in luxury cars, I'd remove the AM and upgrade it an AM/FM.

 

[Chris M]

Right. Freedom to not buy a lariat and wish you do and spend money to make it closer to a lariat.

I'd be more inclined to say we're all making these trucks more personal to suit our particular tastes/needs. Not all of us wanted a Lariat, obviously, as many of us could have certainly bought one had that really been what we wanted.

That said, sometimes people just do the best they can with what they have at the time, and just add things they'd like to have as they can afford them. And that's why we all come here to this forum...for (mostly) friendly help, tips, and ideas to help us enjoy our investments just a wee bit more.

 

[Trigganometry]

You know you're showing your age by admitting this.

I haven't heard Craig Powerplay in years. I use to install audio systems around that time and in the spirit of revealing ones age; I use to go to car dealerships and install the "optional" AM radio.
Or in luxury cars, I'd remove the AM and upgrade it an AM/FM.

It’s the optional 8 track player that’s the real tip-off. Later was the cassettes ?

 

[BassRanger]

Is this happening with the radio, line in, bluetooth? There has to be a problem with your stereo. I've never had guts enough to go get up to max volume because it feels like I'm going to push the cones out of the speakers. Not only that but there are tweeters in the A pillars aimed straight at your skull. I'd go to a dealership and sit in another XL/XLT to see how it sounds compared to yours. Either that or you are suffering from some severe hearing loss.

 

[NickTheEnforcer]

My XLT has the upgraded 6 speaker system, and while its not top-shelf with some adjusting it will suit my needs. My advise is fine tune all the menu items and I've found that when linked to my phone I can use the phone's equalizer as a pass through way to further adjust the sound to my taste.
JMO.

 

[Bomlodr]

I'm just going to throw this out there, obvious as it may be.

Coming into the Ranger from a 2015 Mustang GT, I can say the factory Ford head unit is pretty damned good. The same head unit that was installed in my Mustang was the same installed in the Lincoln with the 80 speakers, dsp, amps, and subs. The issue is that a vehicle, any vehicle, is a horrible environment to reproduce any sound stage. That said, there are subtle improvements and some not so subtle to improve your listening experience.

First thing, upgrade your speakers. You ain't rolling a Lincoln, Benz, or Bentley. The sound engineers that worked on the Ranger weren't working with an unlimited budget like those aforementioned manufacturers. The speakers in your Ranger were designed for the sole purpose of reproducing sound within the confines of speaker location, longevity, and parts availability with sound quality being secondary to all of that. You can improve on the factory installed equipment and doing so usually nets significant gains in sound quality that are sufficient for most listeners. If it's not, you can go on from here with DSPs, amps, subs, soundproofing, etc...

Also, don't follow the crowd. Just because someone else is running certain gear, doesn't mean you can't do better. Broaden your focus beyond Best Buy. I'm partial to Hybrid Audio speakers and JL Audio amps. Both are quality gear that can be had used for a great price and IMHO, far superior in every measurable than popular Best Buy brands.

In the Mustang, there is a harness and Forscan setting that activates the RCA outputs to install external DSPs and amps. No need for line level converters. I'm sure this exists for the Ranger, it's just going to take someone to experiment and bring those features to the Ranger. Adding a DSP to the equipment list will absolutely afford the listener to control all aspects of the soundstage and how it's reproduced.

 

[Eric]

Pretty sure I've not gone past 15 on my XLT. I'm pretty happy with my stock set up.
Can't for the life of me imagine what 30 might sound like!

Distorted

 

[Rangerwig]

I'm less than impressed with the stereo in my XLT. The amount of bass is good but the highs are none existent.
I got the treble all the way up but the only way to get the highs is to back off the bass. And at Vol 30, it's just weak as hell.
I got the position almost fully to front drivers side cuz any adjustments to even it out makes the pass side over power the whole sound. I seriously thought the drivers side were blown.
It's really bad how far I have to have it to the front and over towards drivers side to get any satisfaction. Worst stereo I've ever had.
Any simple suggestions to maybe upgrade the tweeters or put some more power behind the whole thing? Must be kinda easy, I'm not very good at
stereos, speakers are easy, but amps and stuff are confusing to me.

There is also a surround setting . I use that and it helps alot! I had an additional amp added and put a pair of hertz 6-9 speakers in small enclosures and put them on the back seats lol. I don't have many passengers they have extra length wires so I can move them if needed. Sounds excellent now! Had a sub in a box but the engine noise comes thru the sub when you turn it up so I removed it there is no fix for that and that is straight from ford engineers no forscan solution. I'm 60 years old and still like my music loud lol.

 

[Rangerwig]

Sorry that I can't directly relate, but I have the B&O system in my truck and I think the Stereo setting sounds much better than Surround. I have played with the EQ settings in the truck and I can say that the biggest factor without a doubt is the device or software supplying the music. What I mean is, Apple music sounds significantly better than Spotify and Amazon Music HD sounds even more amazing. Maybe worth a try for you before investing a bunch of money in speakers. Just my $.02. It made a huge difference for me.

It also helps to use equalizer on your phone works great with mine but not if I use android auto.

 

[Thrillhouse]

For the first 2 months I wasn't impressed with the B&O system in my Lariat as I was only listening to the free trial XM/Sirius. But once I popped in a USB drive with high quality audio files I've been loving that stereo.

 

[Rigwright]

My B&O system jams. Plenty of bass, good clarity, and I can't imagine why you would need it to go any louder. I'm extremely happy with it and the XM Radio.
J.D. Power seemed to like it a bunch. ?
"I’m a big fan of Bang & Olufsen sound systems, and while B&O Play doesn’t use the same high-end components that you’ll find in a luxury vehicle, this might be my favorite thing about the Ranger Lariat." -J.D. Power

 

[egilbe]

There is also a surround setting . I use that and it helps alot! I had an additional amp added and put a pair of hertz 6-9 speakers in small enclosures and put them on the back seats lol. I don't have many passengers they have extra length wires so I can move them if needed. Sounds excellent now! Had a sub in a box but the engine noise comes thru the sub when you turn it up so I removed it there is no fix for that and that is straight from ford engineers no forscan solution. I'm 60 years old and still like my music loud lol.

Check the Forscan thread. You can now disable the engine noise and all the other background noises that some engineer felt was necessary.

 

[Zaph]

Noticed some photos on this site with the shell of a crew cab. Looks like a spot to mount subs with a little metal work. I’m in a Scab so got to see if they’re in mine too!

Honestly, that looks like a legit place to put a tuned port for an upfiring sub in that volume if a proper port length and volume could be worked out. Haven't seen those pics before.

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