2016 CX-5 Audio upgrade thread
- Thread starter ryan4130
- Start date
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- Plano, Texas, USA
Thanks for posting some pictures of your work.
RLCarrington said he had to get OEM speaker mount grommets for the rear door speakers, and drilled/installed those for the 3rd hole that did not line up.
These rear door Bose speakers are 5.25" midrange speakers. Now I'm confident that these 9 Bose speakers on 2016 CX-5 are very similar to those on new Mazda6 less two 1" tweeters located in the instrument panel. Boy are these Bose rear door speakers piece of crap or not? Cheap paper cone with nothing else to improve the high notes! Wish I can see pictures of those 9" Bose Nd front door woofers and 3.25" mid-range dash Twiddlers.
BTW, can you tell us what is the size of the D-pillar speakers on CX-5? I thought 3.5" dash speakers will fit but it's 2.5" Twiddlers positioned on the rear deck on Mazda6.
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- Plano, Texas, USA
I understand. I was hoping you had some pictures taken while you opened up the front door panel. Now I actually just want to see the OEM Bose 3.25" mid-range Twiddler speakers which you'd already taken out. Just some nice shots of front and back of these Bose Twiddlers that would be good. Are you going to replace the D-pillar speakers with Polk Audio DB351? I actually thought the rear D-pillar speakers has almost no sound with Bose Centerpoint surround sound turned on. So I think that pair of speakers may be has least effect on total sound quality in our 9-speaker Bose system.I haven't messed with my d-pillar speakers at all but the Polk db351 fit according to RLCarrington. I will post some pictures later of the dash speakers but I'm not going to take my front door panel off again so no pics of those sorry
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- Plano, Texas, USA
The major flaw on our 2016 Bose 9-speaker system is the lack of directional front tweeters. By replacing those front dash 3.25" mid-range Twiddler speakers from factory with 3.5" coaxial speakers will be at least adding 3 tweeters for much needed high notes. As people like RLCarrington and ryan4130 have found out that the front door speakers are now 9" Nd woofers with very low impedance on 2016 CX-5 and a replacement is no where can be found. Hence to improve the bass sound, a sub-woofer may be the only solution at this time.
As for why people are favor Polk Audio DB351 3.5" coaxial speakers for front dash speaker replacement, you can go through all 279 posts in another thread, also mentioned by OP at beginning of this thread: Radio / Speakers on CX-5 SPORT model. Most people seem to be satisfied on sound quality and improvement after the Polk Audio DB351 installation. And it's readily available at Amazon. Some people like Infinity Reference X REF-3002cfx 3.5" coaxial speakers due to its a bit lower impedance and price.
Personally Polk speakers have always been good to me so I was happy to use them. The specs are good and build quality is good. Infinity speakers are also pretty good, but I'm more of a Polk person.
Here are some comparison pictures of the stock bose left/right dash speaker (shown left), the stock bose center dash speaker (shown middle) and the polk db351 (shown right). The polk weighs the most obviously, the center channel bose speaker weighs slightly less, and the left/right speaker weighs 1/3 of the Polk. The bose speakers have a much smaller woofer cone too, so I wouldnt say they are truly 3.5" speakers.
Here are some comparison pictures of the stock bose left/right dash speaker (shown left), the stock bose center dash speaker (shown middle) and the polk db351 (shown right). The polk weighs the most obviously, the center channel bose speaker weighs slightly less, and the left/right speaker weighs 1/3 of the Polk. The bose speakers have a much smaller woofer cone too, so I wouldnt say they are truly 3.5" speakers.
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- Plano, Texas, USA
Thanks for your time taking those great comparison pictures. It's hard to see, are stock Bose speakers sealed from the back (the magnetic side)? These stock Bose dash speakers are actually smaller 3" (8cm) metric-sized speakers. Since many people had done it, Polk Audio 3" DB351 should be able to fit in without problems. Like you , I've always liked the sound quality from Polk Audio speakers and I'm going to order 2 sets of 2-way coaxial PA DB351 replacing these crappy mid-range Bose dash speakers.Personally Polk speakers have always been good to me so I was happy to use them. The specs are good and build quality is good. Infinity speakers are also pretty good, but I'm more of a Polk person.
Here are some comparison pictures of the stock bose left/right dash speaker (shown left), the stock bose center dash speaker (shown middle) and the polk db351 (shown right). The polk weighs the most obviously, the center channel bose speaker weighs slightly less, and the left/right speaker weighs 1/3 of the Polk. The bose speakers have a much smaller woofer cone too, so I wouldnt say they are truly 3.5" speakers.
As I mentioned before, 2016 CX-5 Bose System is very similar with the 3rd gen (2014 and on) Mazda6's Bose System less a pair of front tweeters. This article Re-Designed 2014 Mazda6 Features a Lightweight and Efficient Bose Surround Sound System, is from Bose Press Room describes Bose speakers on the 3rd gen Mazda6:
Customized Speaker Layout for the 2014 Mazda6
Innovative speaker design and placement complete the sound system in the new Mazda6. A pair of 9-inch (23cm) Nd woofers -- one in each front door -- delivers deep, low-frequency output from a package much slimmer than conventional speakers. This makes it possible to position the woofers unobtrusively into tight but acoustically advantageous spaces, without sacrificing performance.
A 3.25-inch (8cm) mid-range Twiddler in the middle of the instrument panel helps produce a clear and centered sound image, while two additional Twiddlers on either side provide tonal balance. High notes are delivered by 1-inch (2.5cm) tweeters located in the instrument panel, and wide-range sound is produced by 5.25-inch (13.5cm) speakers placed in each rear door. A pair of 2.5-inch (6cm) Twiddlers positioned on the rear deck completes the system layout.
These pictures of Bose speakers on 3rd gen Mazda6 are from Mazda6Club as we can see we have the same Bose speakers other than tweeters, and may be rear D-pillar speakers, on 2016 CX-5:
Corner dash speaker location w/o 3" Twiddler:
1" tweeter hidden beneath corner dash speaker grill:
9" Nd woofer in front door:
Front door speaker location w/o 9" Nd woofer:
5" full-range speaker in rear door:
I wonder if the dash speaker grills are interchangeable between Mazda6 and CX-5 and may be we can add Bose stock tweeter with grill from Mazda6 to our CX-5?
Would the speaker harness from the 6 also work on these models too? I am interested in putting in some polls, but would rather not splice wires.
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- Plano, Texas, USA
Are stock Bose dash speakers sealed from the back (the magnetic side)?
Help! I got my Polk DB351s but there's a vent pipe for the front window defroster that's in the way. The Polk speaker is interfering with the vent pipe and it's sitting 1" too high. I don't see how the Polk can be mounted without removing and discarding the vent pipe. Am I doing something wrong? I will lose the front window defroster if I discard the vent pipe. The Polk has a large and deep magnet. The stock speaker has no problem due to the small and shallow magnet.
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- Plano, Texas, USA
I'm still getting the speaker wiring adapter/CPU fan connector (I don't like cut stock wires) and haven't started Polk Audio DB351 installation yet. I've been reading many posts and comments for dash speaker replacement on CX-5 with DB351 and nobody mentioned problem on side window defroster vent pipe on the way. I imagine you'd tried to move the pipe to the side and there is no room for that either. Can you take pictures showing the problem? May have to wait ryan4130 or RLCarrington to reply.
Have you tried the sound with only two side dash speakers replaced by DB351's? How much the sound quality improved and any tonal imbalance issue (such as middle speaker is louder as Bose speaker has a little lower impedance) with middle dash speaker not replaced in your opinion? Did you cut the speaker wires? I'm debating whether I should change middle dash speaker or just two side dash speakers like you do.
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- USA
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- 2023 CX-50 PPT
FYI that I didn't have any significant trouble seating any of the 3 DB351s in the front dash locations, although one required a bit of extra effort in tightening down the screws to have it seated fully (can't remember if it was the left or right one, but definitely not the center). I helped a neighbor install the same speakers in his own CX-5, and had the same experience. Given that I only read of that similar type of minor resistance from others who installed the same speakers, I didn't actually even bother looking into the opening to see what was causing that resistance. In any event, I'm not noticing anything different about my windshield defrosting so I don't think I compromised anything.
Perhaps pdlpsher's car might have a non-standard routing of this vent pipe.....??
Perhaps pdlpsher's car might have a non-standard routing of this vent pipe.....??
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- Plano, Texas, USA
pdlpsher has 2016 CX-5 and he may unfortunately have the vent pipe routed differently from most others by the assembly worker.
BTW, RLCarrington, I'm trying to make dash speaker wiring adapter with computer fan cable as others mentioned for non-Bose OEM speakers. I hope the dash speaker connectors of non-Bose speakers on CX-5 are the same as Bose speakers. Do you have any experience on this? But the Amazon link you provided on your thread for speaker female terminal cable connector is no longer available. Do you know any other good sources for this? What is your opinion on not replacing middle front dash speakers like pdlpsher does? Does this cause centered sound image even stronger as Bose has a bit lower impedance?
You also said the Polk Audio 3" DB351 fits the rear D-pillar speakers on CX-5. So these speakers on CX-5 are 3" instead of 2" Twiddlers found on Mazda6? Rear D-pillar speakers rarely have any sound, especially if we turn Centerpoint on. I'm debating if I should replace them with DB351's.
Really appreciated all the information you've provided here!
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- USA
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- 2023 CX-50 PPT
yrwei52, unfortunately, I don't know if the non-Bose system has the same connectors as the Bose, but there are definitely still no adapters for the Bose system so that's why I had to cut the connectors off and use the extension wiring with the crimp connectors (plus of course the need for the extra length for ease of installing some of the front speakers). I think you are referencing the other thread on here where someone kindly provided photos of their non-Bose speaker upgrade, so that thread likely has the most info for you in regards to a non-Bose situation.
If you still need/want the extender wires, try searching for that brand name across Amazon or then eBay...I can't imagine that is the only vendor who might sell those wires. I'd hope, anyway!!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned)
In my opinion, installing the DB351s in the dash definitely improved the sound quality/fidelity from the OEM Bose. The highs are more crisp and overall the sound seems improved---super improved, no, but noticeably better and to me worth the cost of the Polks.
In regards to the pillar speakers, those are not true L/R stereo speakers on at least the Bose, but are instead just a single channel split into two speakers. They act more as fill-ins. The difference there is still apparent to me with the DB351s installed, although not as significant as the dash speakers. Again, I think the upgrade is worth it, but perhaps not as essential as the dash and the rear door speakers. I suspect some people might be perfectly happy with just the dash and rear door speaker upgrades.
For both the front and pillar speakers, I did not notice any appreciable difference in the sound levels from the Bose to the Polks, in spite of any impedance differences. In some ways, though, it is difficult to judge, because overall the front ones just sound better, so that kinda confuses the situation.
Of course, all of this is just my impressions, as I didn't do any type of actual testing with sound meters or other such instrumentation....and I'm still not happy with the front door Bose midbass speakers, but I still haven't run across a replacement that I think makes sense for the Bose system. I may try a powered subwoofer connected in ahead of the Bose amp, as someone on here did so more recently and had absolutely no negative effects on the rest of the sound, which others have reported as occurring. I think but would have to confirm that he tapped into the rear door lines ahead of the Bose amp......
If you still need/want the extender wires, try searching for that brand name across Amazon or then eBay...I can't imagine that is the only vendor who might sell those wires. I'd hope, anyway!!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned)
In my opinion, installing the DB351s in the dash definitely improved the sound quality/fidelity from the OEM Bose. The highs are more crisp and overall the sound seems improved---super improved, no, but noticeably better and to me worth the cost of the Polks.
In regards to the pillar speakers, those are not true L/R stereo speakers on at least the Bose, but are instead just a single channel split into two speakers. They act more as fill-ins. The difference there is still apparent to me with the DB351s installed, although not as significant as the dash speakers. Again, I think the upgrade is worth it, but perhaps not as essential as the dash and the rear door speakers. I suspect some people might be perfectly happy with just the dash and rear door speaker upgrades.
For both the front and pillar speakers, I did not notice any appreciable difference in the sound levels from the Bose to the Polks, in spite of any impedance differences. In some ways, though, it is difficult to judge, because overall the front ones just sound better, so that kinda confuses the situation.
Of course, all of this is just my impressions, as I didn't do any type of actual testing with sound meters or other such instrumentation....and I'm still not happy with the front door Bose midbass speakers, but I still haven't run across a replacement that I think makes sense for the Bose system. I may try a powered subwoofer connected in ahead of the Bose amp, as someone on here did so more recently and had absolutely no negative effects on the rest of the sound, which others have reported as occurring. I think but would have to confirm that he tapped into the rear door lines ahead of the Bose amp......
To OP...and everyone with a BOSE system for that matter. I came across an old post from a Mazda6 forum regarding someone installing this speaker into the front doors (to replace his 9 inch BOSE speaker).
He installed these speakers. http://www.daytonaudio.com/index.ph...-series/rs225-4-8-reference-woofer-4-ohm.html
https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned)
If there are any other options please enlighten the rest of us!!! That said would this fit? https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned)
He installed these speakers. http://www.daytonaudio.com/index.ph...-series/rs225-4-8-reference-woofer-4-ohm.html
https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned)
If there are any other options please enlighten the rest of us!!! That said would this fit? https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned)
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- Plano, Texas, USA
Well, your impressions are still valuable as not many people are willing to mess around Bose system on 2016 CX-5. I can tell you do have higher standard on sound quality otherwise you'd not be doing the speaker upgrades.
What is your opinion on not replacing middle front dash speaker but only side dash speakers? At this time I'm thinking getting only a pair of Polk Audio DB351 to try out instead of two which will waste one speaker not been used. The rear D-pillar speakers will be the next. I may not change rear door and front door speakers as they are more hassle and even with speaker adapter, the modification is still required. Not to mention there is nothing available replacing front 1Ω 9" Nd woofers. I saw people on Mazda6Club discussing Dayton Audio RS225-4 8" 4Ω Reference Woofer. But he seems would use extra amp to drive them. I guess the best solution right now to improve bass sound is using a subwoofer. But where should we put it? And I'm not sure why some people tapped the sub into the rear door lines either.
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- Plano, Texas, USA
Glad you resolved the vent pipe issue. Anxious to see your solution on wiring connector. And please comment on by replacing only two side dash speakers and keeping stock Bose middle dash speaker, is this causing centered sound image even stronger as Bose middle speaker has a bit lower impedance (3.24~3.96Ω) than side dash DB351s (4Ω)? And how is the high-note improvement with two side dash DB351s?
