Rate the new Bang & Olson 18 Speaker stereo.

[David Gordon]

I don't think anyone has mentioned this yet..Have you gone into the options in your Sync4 system and turned your audio to 'Surround'? My was off when I took delivery, so if yours if off, turning it on will make a huge difference.

I'm also baffled at the volume others say they have their systems at. I only run mine at 7-8 is plenty loud (like 25% of total). I don't even know how you could sit in the truck with it any louder than 10...maybe I just have really sensitive ears...or these systems have some major quality issues.

Just got back on a 250 mile run to a funeral. Somber moment--At 7-8 we could not hear the words on any song, from FM to my pnone, blue tooth. You must have great ears. And be a boring guy to hang with.. Just saying, I am almost 60 and I still like to jam.

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[imnuts]

I run mine at 6 with the windows open, if it's a song I like, I may go to 7. Windows up, 4 is normal. If like to go to 3½, but that's not possible. I've had hearing tests for work and know I have slight hearing loss in both ears already, and I don't want to make it worse. I have no idea how people can hear themselves think listening to it over 10-15, and what you're doing for your long term hearing is horrible.

 

[Granch]

Test moving the fade to the rear a bit and it improved the quality for me and I could actually hear the head rest speakers.
With all the sw they should add more eq and music type options.

 

[12Lariat21]

Just got back on a 250 mile run to a funeral. Somber moment--At 7-8 we could not hear the words on any song, from FM to my pnone, blue tooth. You must have great ears. And be a boring guy to hang with.. Just saying, I am almost 60 and I still like to jam.

Ha, you nailed that, I am boring, so maybe that has more to do with it than the volume!

 

[David Gordon]

I run mine at 6 with the windows open, if it's a song I like, I may go to 7. Windows up, 4 is normal. If like to go to 3½, but that's not possible. I've had hearing tests for work and know I have slight hearing loss in both ears already, and I don't want to make it worse. I have no idea how people can hear themselves think listening to it over 10-15, and what you're doing for your long term hearing is horrible.

At 3-4 there is no sound at all. Even my wife cannot here the music at 4

 

[apMechorse]

At 3-4 there is no sound at all. Even my wife cannot here the music at 4

Then there is definitely something wrong with it. Turning mine up to 15 (1/2 total) is almost deafening (although no distortion, so I'm kind of impressed with that). I'm afraid I'll blow out a speaker if I turn mine up over 20.

I'll try to get a video of it later, however based solely off of the performance of mine, if you have to turn up over 5 just to hear anything, then something is wrong with your installation.

 

[Pioneer74]

Then there is definitely something wrong with it. Turning mine up to 15 (1/2 total) is almost deafening (although no distortion, so I'm kind of impressed with that). I'm afraid I'll blow out a speaker if I turn mine up over 20.

I'll try to get a video of it later, however based solely off of the performance of mine, if you have to turn up over 5 just to hear anything, then something is wrong with your installation.

You have a better chance winning the lottery than blowing a speaker by turning the volume up. There are too many software nannies built into the system.

 

[Jus Cruisin]

I'm pleased with the system. I keep the volume at a comfortable level that doesn't bother the cars around me. I hate when others have their volume so loud it can be heard a half dozen cars away when at a traffic light.

 

[David Gordon]

Then there is definitely something wrong with it. Turning mine up to 15 (1/2 total) is almost deafening (although no distortion, so I'm kind of impressed with that). I'm afraid I'll blow out a speaker if I turn mine up over 20.

I'll try to get a video of it later, however based solely off of the performance of mine, if you have to turn up over 5 just to hear anything, then something is wrong with your installation.

Hopefully I can take it in and have it fixed. My headrest speakers dont even sound like they are playing. I have to take it to the dealer for windnoise so I'll have them look at it them.

 

[David Gordon]

I'm pleased with the system. I keep the volume at a comfortable level that doesn't bother the cars around me. I hate when others have their volume so loud it can be heard a half dozen cars away when at a traffic light.

Ya there is no chance of that with mine. In my garage w/ closed doors at max it does not seem loud.

 

[apMechorse]

Hopefully I can take it in and have it fixed. My headrest speakers dont even sound like they are playing. I have to take it to the dealer for windnoise so I'll have them look at it them.

The way it was explained to me is that the headrest speakers are not designed for normal left or right channel output, but are more in line with "rounding out" the sound for the cabin space. I'm not exactly sure what channel "rounding out" falls under, but whatever. The only way I can specifically hear anything from my headrests is if I change the fade to the rear about 4 or 5 clicks and press my ear to the headrest. Then I can hear music coming from it. Subtle, but it's there.

Like others here I do wish that the Sync4 software had a better EQ and Fade setup. I'd love to be able to bump the front center down several clicks, and the headrests up a couple. Likewise you shouldn't have to go into MX mode to test speaker function just to make sure they all work.

 

[Granch]

The way it was explained to me is that the headrest speakers are not designed for normal left or right channel output, but are more in line with "rounding out" the sound for the cabin space. I'm not exactly sure what channel "rounding out" falls under, but whatever. The only way I can specifically hear anything from my headrests is if I change the fade to the rear about 4 or 5 clicks and press my ear to the headrest. Then I can hear music coming from it. Subtle, but it's there.

Like others here I do wish that the Sync4 software had a better EQ and Fade setup. I'd love to be able to bump the front center down several clicks, and the headrests up a couple. Likewise you shouldn't have to go into MX mode to test speaker function just to make sure they all work.

we could do a DB test to verify if there is an issue
possibly with a sound check song or YouTube with a matching device
id also check with different media inputs and song types

 

[apMechorse]

OK, so here is a link to a video I just took of my B&O Unleashed system.

I will preface this by saying that apparently my phone thinks that about 12 on the dial is loud enough, because everything over that was auto-leveled. Which is why it doesn't appear to be getting any louder after that point.

Trust me, it did.

First I verify that the EQ (such as it is), and then that Fade/Balance are both reset. Then volume demo.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/UdpdQt1JDX4ZGfHa9

All of my audio sources seem to be about the same volume and quality, except of course SiriusXM which is compressed to hell to begin with.

 

[ryken]

I couldn't believe all the people complaining about "not loud enough" so I downloaded a decibel meter on my phone and at max volume it was over 90 decibels. I only had it there for a second or two because it was so loud I didn't want to piss off the neighbors. When you are over 90 decibels, you will start to experience hearing loss after 50 minutes. IMO, that's an unsafe volume and there is simply zero need for it to be louder. I normally keep the volume at 15-16 on mine when I want it "loud" and it is plenty loud.

People here saying it's not as loud as other cars they have owned are completely missing the point. It's about the quality of the sound, not the theoretical maximum volume. I have heard better sound systems before, but the unleashed has pretty damn good sound for a $700 OEM option.

 

[Coolrain]

with the right source the sound quality is outstanding... loud does not equal quality! Adjust your settings!

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