TreyP
2018 Soul Red AWD Touring CX-5
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2014 cx5 crappy stereo
- Thread starter Rob Ciniello
- Start date
Rob Ciniello
Member
Trey thank you!!! I want your exact set up!!! More or less what am looking at spending so I can budget myself? Thank you again
Upgrading the stock stereo is looking very expensive.
o $300 head unit
o $200 steering wheel controls adapter
o ????? six speakers
Alternative is spend the $1100 for Bose factory option,
but its quality is only marginally better.
My 2007 Honda Civic stock stereo blows away the CX-5 Bose factory stereo.
IMO, the poor stereo in the CX-5 is a MAJOR problem with this car. (notcool)
o $300 head unit
o $200 steering wheel controls adapter
o ????? six speakers
Alternative is spend the $1100 for Bose factory option,
but its quality is only marginally better.
My 2007 Honda Civic stock stereo blows away the CX-5 Bose factory stereo.
IMO, the poor stereo in the CX-5 is a MAJOR problem with this car. (notcool)
SayNoToPistons
Wheels, not rims...
- :
- CX-5 GT AWD w/ Tech, RX-8 GT 6spd w/ 'goodies'
That is a hilarious and ridiculous claim. We have a 2010 Civic in the family optioned out EX with the subwoofer, and it is no where near the factory Bose of the CX-5. No where near... That covers control of bass, mids, treble, extension, and warmth.
I have a Touring with the 6 speaker system and didn't replace the stock head unit. I like the stock look and replacing that unit is hugely expensive. The stock head unit is actually not bad at all. I replaced my crappy 25w paper cone stock speakers with some Polk dxi 6500 components in the front and Blaupunkt coaxial speakers in the rear doors for fill. I used an audio control line level converter to hook up an Alpine amplifier I had for a long time and put a JL-Audio CP108LG-W3v3 micro-sub with a Pioneer GM-D8601 mono amp running the sub in the back. This setup has created super clean balanced sound. The JL Audio subwoofer sounds incredible and the Polk components are very nice with the bass frequency's cut off below 80 hz on them. The whole setup cost me less than $600 including the wiring because I already had an amplifier for the speakers. My brother has the 2013 Mazda 6 with the Bose system and although its not bad this system sounds clearer and crushes it in the bass department. If anyone wants to know I listened to a lot of subs and this JL microsub sounds so good with very accurate notes that go way down low. Its just incredible that something so small can make such big clean sound.
I just want to put this out there because replacing the stock head unit without doing anything else is not going to make a huge difference in sound and it'll cost you easily $600 to match the features the stock head unit has with all the accessories needed for complete integration. Even if you replace the stock speakers with better quality speakers you'll still need an amplifier to get the full depth they are capable of and the 8-10 watts of RMS power most aftermarket head units have just isn't enough. My Polk's sounded flat before I put the amp on them.
I just want to put this out there because replacing the stock head unit without doing anything else is not going to make a huge difference in sound and it'll cost you easily $600 to match the features the stock head unit has with all the accessories needed for complete integration. Even if you replace the stock speakers with better quality speakers you'll still need an amplifier to get the full depth they are capable of and the 8-10 watts of RMS power most aftermarket head units have just isn't enough. My Polk's sounded flat before I put the amp on them.
Get the Alpine KTP-445U Power Pack ($150) and some Polk Audio DXi651 coaxial speakers ($140 for 4) and for $300 you'll have a nice sounding system. You can always add a sub later if you want more bass. The power pack is nice because you don't need to buy expensive wring kits to install it but you will have to splice and solder wires. I got these prices from Crutchfield, which is an awesome vendor to buy from. They also have great technical support.
Trey, don't forget I had the very crappy paper cone wizzer speakers from the Touring 6 speaker system and you have the much better Bose speakers so that may be why you had a very nice improvement. I would agree that replacing the stock head unit only on mine would give a slight improvement too if not just for the fact that the aftermarket head unit would have higher continuous wattage and an equalizer to straighten the frequency curve. I also had a Sport before my Touring and that head unit did have really bad sound with the same paper cone wizzer speakers and it also had muddy sounding bass.
Could be your 2010 Civic has lousier components than my 2007 Civic. Honda did a major down grade on just about everything in Civic during that time. Did a back to back comparison using CD of CX-5 Bose and my stock 2007 Civic and the civic was much clearer. The Civic FM receiver is horrible, but I never listen to that.
TreyP
2018 Soul Red AWD Touring CX-5
I see...I thought you had the Bose package as well.
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SayNoToPistons
Wheels, not rims...
- :
- CX-5 GT AWD w/ Tech, RX-8 GT 6spd w/ 'goodies'
No, there was no "downgrade". The only difference between the 2009-2011 revision of the Civic and the 06-08 Civic are the bumpers and the only change for the interior is the sedan switched from a two spoke steering wheel to the coupe's three spoke. No other changes. There are no changes in the speaker, amp, and headunit internals between the DX, LX and EX, other than the addition of the puny 8 inch paper cone of a turd that they call a "subwoofer". Hell, the head unit doesn't even have a dedicated line output.
The highs of the Civic are tinny and have significant roll off. The mids are muffled, and the lows are boomy from the 8 inch subwoofer with no enclosure. There is simply no comparison to the factory Bose of the CX-5, because at least the highs and mids are very well controlled. Granted the factory Bose of the CX-5 won't scratch the sound dynamics of the best in optional OEM equipment (Mark Lev, Lexicon, B&W, etc), it holds it own even without a dedicated sub.
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The Civic suffered cost cutting measures in its interior over the years and reviews in 2012 were severe. It was so bad they had to do a mid-year redesign. I compared my 2007 to a 2013 and mine was better. The seat quality was not as good, dash is cheaper, headroom was less, and motor is identical after 7 years.
The redesigned-for-2012 Honda Civic LX scored too low in Consumer Reports testing to be recommended. Let that sink in for a minute. It’s quite a fall.
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2011/08/2012-honda-civic-lx-scores-too-low-for-consumer-reports-to-recommend/index.htm
What bugged us about the 2012 Civic? Here are a few criticisms:
o Choppy ride made the car jumpy and nervous.
o Lackluster handling produced reluctant response in corners.
o Vague steering, especially when Hondas used to have such good feedback.
o Elevated road noise created a loud, fatiguing cabin environment.
o Low-rent interior with drab materials and cheap plastics.
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2012/11/honda-introduces-an-improved-civic-following-harsh-reviews/index.htm
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SayNoToPistons
Wheels, not rims...
- :
- CX-5 GT AWD w/ Tech, RX-8 GT 6spd w/ 'goodies'
We are specifically talking about the FD Civic which is from 2006-2011...
I'd agree with your sound assessment regarding FM receiver, but the CD sounds awesome. One mp3 CD will hold 150 songs.
FYI, there are two stereo systems for the 2006+ Civic. I have Civic EX.
1) 160W base stereo is in the DX and LX
2) 350W stereo in EX and Si.
The CX-5 Bose only puts out 225W, while 350W in Civic EX,
but that doesn't indicate sound quality.
Here is edmunds.com review on 2006 Civic 350 watt stereo quality:
Components: Any 2006 Honda Civic from the LX up to this Si coupe comes with a pretty impressive audio system. Even the LX offers a six-speaker system with the ability to play WMA files and plug handheld devices (like Apple iPods and Dell Jukeboxes) into its auxiliary input jack. Step up to the EX or Si and you get a six-speaker audio system with a subwoofer. It offers 350 watts of power.
Performance: We feel the Civic Si's stereo deserves a 10 not necessarily because of its sound quality but because of the abundance of features it offers even on models that are priced under $20,000. The ability to play WMA files and the auxiliary audio jack are exactly the kind of features Civic buyers are looking for.
That's not to say the Civic's stereo doesn't sound good — it does. While sound reproduction can sound a bit mechanical at times, there's enough punch and clarity to keep audiophiles reasonably content. The bass response is good, but at higher volumes it can sound messy and uncontrolled.
The real highlight of this stereo is how it incorporates many internal and external features without being confusing or complicated — another reason it earns a 10 in our book. High-line brands like BMW and Mercedes-Benz could learn a lot from Honda in this area.
Conclusion: This stereo is exactly right for this car. Not only does it sound good enough to please most buyers, it offers extra features and value that make other budget-priced cars seem lacking by comparison.
http://www.edmunds.com/honda/civic/2006/road-test2.html
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daveyhampton
Member
- :
- CX5 SPORT NAV - FULLY LOADED!
Which replacement head unit did you buy?
I replaced all six speakers with Polk DXI350 up front and DXI650 in the doors, the sound improved some what but I think head unit is the answer. I would replace head unit and I'm not afraid to loose settings for the car, what really I don't like is to run aftermarket rearview camera. I think that there is a lot of taking apart involved. I would really like to find out if the Alpine Power Pack KTP-445U will improve how the head unit sound? May be I will talk to Crutchfield about it. This would leave factory unit with the camera and other stuff in place.
