I am about 1,000 miles in on my new 23 Turbo, and loving it so far. I was happy to see that it came with a capable Bose 10 speaker system. I am still getting used to the settings, and trying to fine tune the best possible sound from them. I know that the sound quality from Sirius XM is seriously lacking, but I do still use it for convenience, and some news and talk radio. For music I prefer Apple “Lossless” plugged in via USB. I am struggling with the Linear options and the different settings under that. For some types of music it sounds pretty good, then for others not so much. The system seems to lack the richness and fullness at lower volumes. It is only when I get about 35 that the system seems to kick in. While I am a fan of Bose products ( all of my BT speakers are Bose)this one seems to be a little lacking. I am just wondering if there is an ideal setting that will help at lower volume. Jazz, classical, & big band do not seem to sound as full as pure rock music. On the other hand rock music really makes this system sing, and the clarity is pretty darn good for a factory stereo.
2023 CX-5 Turbo Bose Settings
- Thread starter jofo67
- Start date
N7turbo
2023 CX-5 2.5T
I couldn't believe that cranking bass and treble to +7 would result in anything other than a super V sound. I tried it, and it sounds pretty bad.
Using a few of my reference tracks, the best sound was:
Bass: +2
Treble: +4
Centerpoint: 1
If you turn off Centerpoint, it sounds like everything is coming from a cardboard box in front of you. CP takes it out of the box and makes it a more engaging experience.
Bass higher than 2 led to unbalanced and almost distorted sound. Treble higher than 5 is too sharp. Taking both up together predictably loses the mid-range.
If you enjoy the bass super high, you are probably listening to very light music and are compensating. To know where the correct bounds are, you need to use more dynamic music.
Using a few of my reference tracks, the best sound was:
Bass: +2
Treble: +4
Centerpoint: 1
If you turn off Centerpoint, it sounds like everything is coming from a cardboard box in front of you. CP takes it out of the box and makes it a more engaging experience.
Bass higher than 2 led to unbalanced and almost distorted sound. Treble higher than 5 is too sharp. Taking both up together predictably loses the mid-range.
If you enjoy the bass super high, you are probably listening to very light music and are compensating. To know where the correct bounds are, you need to use more dynamic music.
Upvote
0
you need to use linear stereo mode. or yes, the eq will be insane. you may not prefer linear stereo but it's definitely more accurate than center point at any setting. i still like using centerpoint too, but the eq is very different. on centerpoint i use bass 2 treble 2. so we're close. but you can't use my eq with the bose stereo setting. that would sound like garbage.
the saddest thing about the system is that it only really uses the subwoofer adequately in centerpoint mode. so if you want deep sub bass you need to use centerpoint. but you lose proper stereo imaging. of course it sounds bigger and wider which many will prefer, but at the cost of precise imaging.
Last edited:
Upvote
0
if you did it in linear mode it shouldn't sound drastically different than the centerpoint settings we use except as i mentioned the sub is activated differently. there is also a bit of difference in the mid frequencies for each mode however the fluctuation point is different so you can't compare the EQ's identically. but the centerpoint mode definitely has more mid bass which is clearly audible if you use an external EQ to reduce the mid bass
Upvote
0
GTXT23
LightFoot
Great subject -- I have bose in my 2023 NA Premium -- It appears to be the same ? Any contrary info ? I have had a heck of a time finding a good sweet spot with this system - and feel it lacks the crisp and commanding sound of the Bose system thats in My 2010 Mazda 3 GT Hb- 14 years old !
That system literally blows the sun roof out and it sounds unbelievable -- So Im going to make some changes to based on this thread - It seems flat until you get it turned up past 50% -- yes 35ish volume then its better - but to much volume - - but it is better than the stock system I had in the 22 CE . I may not have " linear mode" gotta check that one
Upvote
0
There are a lot of variables that might matter more than most think. Your height (where your ears sit in the sound field), how loud you listen to music, etc. It's also possible they don't all sound identical due to variances in the speakers or general variances. I'm guessing the same exact model will sound pretty close though. But without official word from mazda, we don't "know" that the standard cx5 sounds the same as the carbon edition for instance. But I assume they are the same as it seems odd to tweak it per model if the cabin is the same.
Anyhow, I would play with the settings mentioned here. I outlined sort of what each mode does. Once you are familiar with them you can play with the EQ until you like what you hear. There's nothing that says we all have to like the same sound
But I'm going to try and measure it sometime soon if i can and see what settings would be the most "neutral" with built in settings only and then maybe a custom EQ on the source device.
Upvote
0
GTXT23
LightFoot
Thanks - a good subject - good info ! The CE had no Bose -- but I 86ed it for the Premium with Bose as one of the big factors ( paddle shifters as well ) - I get the feeling theres more there ...just need to find it -- look forward to your findings thereThere are a lot of variables that might matter more than most think. Your height (where your ears sit in the sound field), how loud you listen to music, etc. It's also possible they don't all sound identical due to variances in the speakers or general variances. I'm guessing the same exact model will sound pretty close though. But without official word from mazda, we don't "know" that the standard cx5 sounds the same as the carbon edition for instance. But I assume they are the same as it seems odd to tweak it per model if the cabin is the same.
Anyhow, I would play with the settings mentioned here. I outlined sort of what each mode does. Once you are familiar with them you can play with the EQ until you like what you hear. There's nothing that says we all have to like the same sound
Upvote
0
