Anyone upgrade their 2016.5 Touring (Non-bose) Audio System?

Digbicks1234

16.5 CX-5 Touring/2023 CX-9 Touring
Hi All,

I'm planning on upgrading my 2016.5 Touring without Bose and I was wondering what are some good choices for speakers? Based on the comments I received, I would not mind getting an aftermarket amplifier. I have no idea how to install an amplifier so it would be nice to have one that can be plug and play with little to no splicing/work involved as possible. Also, did anyone expand from the (4) speakers to (6) in the rear doors?

Requirements:
  1. Everything must be less than $500
  2. Plug and play with no splicing required
  3. Must fit OEM speaker size
  4. All around good at every genre
  5. <1-2 hours of usage
 
Last edited:
I think this thread:

and this

will be helpful.

Your budget will also be a helpful data point.
In the car audio world there are two "camps".

SQ - sound quality ; how close can you get to reproducing the original media via the system
DB - sound loudness; how loud can you get the system to go

as you can imagine there is no magical speaker that does it all well. you either get very good SQ or very good DB; but both.. is a tough nut to crack. Plus you are just saying you want to replace the speakers and not add an amplifier.. available power == better sound. So you will hamper any speaker if you simply run/drive them off the factory amplifier/head unit. There are brands sure that can push the limits of SQ + DB and those costs can go from 400 PER speaker upwards (they MUST have an amplifier).

Speaker selections are like shoes.. HIGHLY subjective to comfort (to the ear). Factors - what type of music do you like; how long do you listen to music in the car (ear fatigue) will contribute to your selection.

In the end no one here is gonna tell you the perfect speaker, sure they can share their experience.. but like so many "what is the best summer tire in 19 inch?" threads .. until YOU experience it you wont actually know.

COVID puts a damper on things but you need to go to a local car stereo shop and LISTEN. Bring source audio you are familiar with (CD / high quality FLAC or 256KB MP3) and then turn your back and listen. Don't look at the price or the brand.. LISTEN. Do that at 3 or 4 shops / with 3 or 4 different brands and then report back.
 
I think this thread:

and this

will be helpful.

Your budget will also be a helpful data point.
In the car audio world there are two "camps".

SQ - sound quality ; how close can you get to reproducing the original media via the system
DB - sound loudness; how loud can you get the system to go

as you can imagine there is no magical speaker that does it all well. you either get very good SQ or very good DB; but both.. is a tough nut to crack. Plus you are just saying you want to replace the speakers and not add an amplifier.. available power == better sound. So you will hamper any speaker if you simply run/drive them off the factory amplifier/head unit. There are brands sure that can push the limits of SQ + DB and those costs can go from 400 PER speaker upwards (they MUST have an amplifier).

Speaker selections are like shoes.. HIGHLY subjective to comfort (to the ear). Factors - what type of music do you like; how long do you listen to music in the car (ear fatigue) will contribute to your selection.

In the end no one here is gonna tell you the perfect speaker, sure they can share their experience.. but like so many "what is the best summer tire in 19 inch?" threads .. until YOU experience it you wont actually know.

C-19 puts a damper on things but you need to go to a local car stereo shop and LISTEN. Bring source audio you are familiar with (CD / high quality FLAC or 256KB MP3) and then turn your back and listen. Don't look at the price or the brand.. LISTEN. Do that at 3 or 4 shops / with 3 or 4 different brands and then report back.

Appreciate the information! I wouldn't mind getting an amplifier and I would value SQ more than loudness that is good at everything. My budget would be $350-400 for everything but less would be better. I don't think I would be getting a sub since I would probably need to delete the spare tire.
 
Start with the dash speakers. They are right 'in your face' and make a big influence on the sound.

I agree about the subwoofer. They always take some space. I guess underseat types are less intrusive but I think the door speakers do a decent job and don't take any space.
 
... I would value SQ more than loudness that is good at everything. My budget would be $350-400 for everything but less would be better. I don't think I would be getting a sub since I would probably need to delete the spare tire.

$400 might be cutting it close.. but perhaps doable if you are doing all the work yourself.

Once you have listened to several brands and know what YOUR ear likes.. I would expect you to spend:
Dash speakers: ~ $100
Door speakers: ~ $150

test that out, then once you decide if you need more power/loudness you can go down the rabbit hole of amplification (class D mini amp should be fine).
Check the knowledge sharing document for suggestions on underseat subwoofers.

some more threads that are related to the conversation, yes they talk BOSE, but the component choices and whys are relevant:

Big old threads:

not the CX-5 discussion.. but still more info:

honestly -- READ; consume information. develop a plan; then go spend your nickles on that plan.

oh last minute edits:

Oh i see you edited the original post with:
  1. Everything must be less than $500 -- do able for sure
  2. Plug and play with no splicing required - mmm this is a strong maybe; the Metra #72-7902 will help you in the dash; not sure about the doors; definitely NOT going to be no splicing if adding an amplifier.
  3. Must fit OEM speaker size-- this has been discussed; it is well established what fit
    1. dash is 4"
    2. front door is 6.5" (might need a bit of finess to fit in)
    3. read door is 6.5" (but honestly the driver doesn't sit back there and it wont help the front sound stage, spend your money up front)
  4. All around good at every genre - wow sure... some brands that will get you close (JL, Hertz, Digital Design, Infinity, Focal, Diamond Audio, the list goes on from here)
 
Appreciate all of the support. I actually purchased the https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned) last night and also the https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned) adapter which should be arriving tomorrow. An hour ago, I took apart the dash speaker out of the enclosure and I think even if I purchased the 7901 or the 7902, it would not be compatible with the Mazda dash connectors because the bottom portion of the female connector is flat with no line going through the middle of it. So I'm thinking that the only way to make this work would be to trim off both connectors (OEM + Metra 7901) and snip off 0.2 - 0.4 inches of wire and exposing the copper on both cables (OEM + Metra 7901), then use butt slice wrap and crimp it.

I'm not sure if this would be the best way to approach it but it seems to be a good solution. Also, after disconnecting the dash speaker, I noticed that there are two cables (brown and green) and this makes it very hard to determine which one is positive or negative. Not sure if you would be able to help but if you can, that would be greatly appreciated. Please see the pictures below:

I did look through some electrical wiring diagrams included in your post and some online but there was no mention of the dash speakers. However, for the front door speaker/tweeter wiring, it indicates that brown is positive and green is negative. I could be wrong but here's what I'm looking at:
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Driver dash speaker:
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Dash speaker connector
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OEM speaker Input:
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Side view:
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Top View:
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I was watching this video on YouTube and the process seems very straight forward/similar:
DIY Toyota Highlander Dash Speaker Replacement
 
Here are some pictures of the Metra Connectors. The top portion of the 7902 looks pretty much identical to the Mazda speaker connector except for the ridge on the bottom. I'm thinking maybe I could order the 7902 and sand off the ridge, should work I suppose?

Metra 72-7901
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72-7902
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Update: I installed the Infinity Reference REF-3032CFX dash speakers today. Overall, it wasn't that hard except the fact that the OEM wiring is extremely tight and there's little to no room for error. I made a few mistakes and chopped off more wiring than I should have but it ended up working still. Another mistake that I made was with the butt connectors which was most likely from being lazy or careless but I had to redo 1-2 wires on the passenger side. For the Metra wiring harness that I received, 1/2 of the pairs of adapters I received had a crappy crimp for the speaker side connector and it made it slightly difficult to install.

Also, for the driver side, the dash speaker was slightly tight and I had to pretty much push it in and hold it while using one hand to start the screw.

Overall, I think that these new speakers sound a lot more clear than the OEM ones but it still seems to be missing something and I think that would be bass.

Note (Polarity):
Driver (Dash):
Green wire is negative (-) and the brown wire is positive (+).
Passenger (Dash): Green wire is negative (-) and the yellow/black wire is positive (+).
 
Here are some pictures of the tool I used to pry the dash cover open and also the speaker itself. I dun goofed a bit, used the heat gun and actually melted the plastic a little bit. I wish I bought the adapter for the heat gun that would focus the heat on one section at a time but I didn't and it made things a lot harder since the speaker corner is very tight and there's little space to do anything. Also, for the butt connectors, get them from Home Depot and not Harbor Freight like I did, they're very poor quality.

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I finished upgrading all (6) speakers a while ago, here are the items that I've purchased and installed. I realize that I did not need an amplifier at all. Also, using the AUX cord made everything way better than bluetooth but it's impractical :)
  1. Dash: Infinity Reference REF-3032CFX
  2. Front/Rear: Infinity REF6532EX
  3. Front/Rear Speaker Harness Adapters: Metra Electronics 72-5602
  4. Front Speaker Mounting Bracket: Metra 82-7501
  5. Rear Speaker Mounting Bracket: American International NSB710
For the rear speakers, there is no hole/cutout in the center portion of the adapter housing so you'll most likely need to fold the Metra harness into the slit of the adapter. Everything ended up working perfectly and the sound is way better (bass and vocals).

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