Hi All,

I have had my Mondeo 2.0TDCi Titanium, since March and I love it, but have only just noticed that the subwoofer in the boot which is part of the audio upgrade package only works with the rear speakers on.  If you fade the sound towards the front of the car the sub gradually stops working.  If the sound is faded all the way to the front then the sub doesn't work at all!  I'm guessing the sub is wired into the rear speakers only, but that seems to be a very odd way to connect it, surely it should work all the time?? Has anyone else noticed this?.  Any thoughts??  I've contacted Ford on Facebook but they say they can't tell me if this is how it should be or not!  They said take it to my dealer but I don't want to waste my time if this is just how it is..

 

Sounds right to me.

2 hours ago, alexp999 said:

Sounds right to me.

Thanks for the reply Alex.  Still seems strange to not have the subwoofer working if only the front speakers are on, guess I'll have to sit in the back if I want Bass  :-)   Might visit my local car audio dealer and see what they can come up with....  Cheers!

Hi Dave,

I have combi version with upgraded audio system and feel like there is something missing. It sounds to me like the subwoofer is missing. Also the adjustments of the sound is quite poor. I expected better sound quality /better basses/ when choosing for the best audio upgrade offered. Otherwise all perfect. Cheers!

On 19/08/2016 at 11:12 AM, alexp999 said:

Sounds right to me.

Thanks for the reply Alex.  Still seems strange to not have the subwoofer working if only the front speakers are on, guess I'll have to sit in the back if I want Bass  :-)   Might visit my local car audio dealer and see what they can come up with....  Cheers!

 

On 29/08/2016 at 8:54 PM, FilipK said:

Hi Dave,

I have combi version with upgraded audio system and feel like there is something missing. It sounds to me like the subwoofer is missing. Also the adjustments of the sound is quite poor. I expected better sound quality /better basses/ when choosing for the best audio upgrade offered. Otherwise all perfect. Cheers!

Hi Filip, Thanks for the reply.   I have taken my car to the local Car Audio specialist and they have confirmed that the subwoofer only works with the rear speakers.   So if you fade the sound all the way to the front of the car the subwoofer does nothing!   Just the way it has been designed by Ford I guess but does nothing for the sound quality.   I am considering an upgrade to the sound system.   Had a demo of the Audison Bit10, Audison Voce component speakers and a JL Amp..... stunning!   Just got to find the money now!

This is absolutely normal for systems which don't have a subwoofer out from the HU (and most manufacturer systems don't; they only have the stuff that they use, rather than anything 'for expansion' however nice that might be).

Essentially, you have the subwoofer in wired to a 'sum' of two of the normal speaker outs; it could be a 'sum' of all of the speaker outs, but usually it isn't, to reduce the complexity and amount of wiring.

What you really want is a line level output from the HU, which can easily be a sum of all the channels, but you don't have that. Oh, and you don't have to sit in the back, just have to have the rear outputs turned up to a reasonable level.
 

I have an aftermarket underseat subwoofer ( Alpine) wired to rear speakers via a Rca converter & as far as i know this is how it works when using aftermarket sub & oe headunit but the sound is fantastic ( punchy under passenger seat ) now even better sound from newly fitted Fusion component speakers kit built into stock housing. This is on 2010 mk2.5 focus Titanium .

Yunii

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On 1 September 2016 at 5:01 PM, BOF said:

This is absolutely normal for systems which don't have a subwoofer out from the HU (and most manufacturer systems don't; they only have the stuff that they use, rather than anything 'for expansion' however nice that might be).

Essentially, you have the subwoofer in wired to a 'sum' of two of the normal speaker outs; it could be a 'sum' of all of the speaker outs, but usually it isn't, to reduce the complexity and amount of wiring.

What you really want is a line level output from the HU, which can easily be a sum of all the channels, but you don't have that. Oh, and you don't have to sit in the back, just have to have the rear outputs turned up to a reasonable level.
 

Ahhhh... Normal...  Obviously I was hoping for better than normal, never mind, I have decided to go the upgrade route with an Audison Bit10 processor and Audison component speakers for the front with a JL amp.   Oh.... and the bit about sitting in the back to hear the bass was just a little joke! (Obviously a Very Little (wasted) joke! )).

Sorry, wasn't sure whether you were being serous (vaguely http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Poe's_Law and all that). But the serous point is that these how these things are supposed to work. Not ideal but that is how it is. And I failed to laugh at all, at first, but I have now. 

 

Here was me thinking that the best sound should be to balance the speakers slightly to the right an rear wards. To help compensate for speakers being further from the driver. Which then negates the isolating of the rear speakers. 

There is a DSP setting for that.

Dire Sound Projection, it's horrible.

I've always used DSP occupancy set for the driver on my Fords, can't stand it set to default all, lol.

Admittedly in the Mondeo it isn't too bad. 

My Focus Titanium Nav with the upratedSony  9 speaker Audio is so bad, I had to keep trying it to see if I was having a nightmare. Maybe the later Grinning Mk3.5 sounds better.

 

Well I'm surprised at that and also not. Not surprised because of penny pinching on wire and surprised because the norm is that rear speakers are there as rear fill and in no way should a tap from them be used to provide signal for a subwoofer. If that car was mine I'd take it to a car hifi dealer to re wire it so the sub takes its signal from the front speakers.

Update!  Decided to go for a proper upgrade to the sound system courtesy of Audiofile Incar in Bishops Stortford.   

Audison K6 front component speakers

JL 700/5 Amplifier

Audison Bit 10D processor

JL Audio CP108 subwoofer

Sounds incredible!  

Good choice and great that you like it.

I rook my 2015 mondeo titanium hatch to the dealer who admitted it dodnt sound good. For a few hundred all the updates were instaloed for audio and navigation etc to no avail. Then the technician checked a similar vehicle and decided this is how it is.... certainly not premium sound. But yes definitely good enough and not worth $1k audio upgrade... still disappointing. 

On 11/30/2016 at 12:31 AM, Dave1703 said:

Update!  Decided to go for a proper upgrade to the sound system courtesy of Audiofile Incar in Bishops Stortford.   

Audison K6 front component speakers

JL 700/5 Amplifier

Audison Bit 10D processor

JL Audio CP108 subwoofer

Sounds incredible!  

Roughly how much did it cost to upgrade all these components. I am happy with the speakers, just the rear isn't getting any volume! So maybe dont need to upgrade speakers, just the amplifier???  I am a pensioner and though I appreciate great sound, I do want a stereo that works on 4 speakers at least!!!