Audio Sound System

[Jazzjim]

Does anyone know when Mazda will update/replace the Bose system in the CX5?

 

[Ride92]

When you buy the speakers, the fit kits and all wiring needed and do it your self or hire a shop to swap everything out. I don't see mazda going away from the bose system anythime soon. They are not all that bad for a stock system, if you want better sound you'll have to upgrade to your own liking as sound is so subjective. I don't see mazda offering a bang and olfusen or harmon kardon system in the CX-5. Maybe something a bit better in the premium trim of the new CX-9 but I wouldn't hold your breath on it.

 

[silvercoat]

Mazda has used BOSE as their factory choice for a number of years. I do not see them moving away from it anytime soon as well.

Toyota has a pretty good lock down on JBL. GM uses BOSE and some of their own crap. Infinity is fairly common but usually nothing spectacular. Anything above that HK/Fender/Optical you don't want to deal with. Be glad the system is easy the switch out with something better.

 

[Jazzjim]

It's sad, but the sound system in the smaller (and too low to the ground for me) has a much better sounding system. Maybe I'm just getting too old, but I cannot see spending 30k for a new vehicle and then having to replace speakers, amps or the unit itself. I went through that in the mid-60s with my '66 Le Mans, my wife'66 GTO, my '75 TR6, my '77 Gran Prix, even my '77 K5 Blazer (bi-amp tuner and cassette player). I just don't see any reason for doing it in a 2016 vehicle that costs 10 times what my '66 Le Man's did.

 

[heywire]

Which CX-5 do you own or are you looking at? I have the GT with Tech package, and I find the factory Bose system to be better than any factory stereo I've heard. With the bass turned up, both side mirrors and the rear view mirror are a blur. I personally don't keep the bass up like that anymore, but I was surprised to hear how well it did. Much better than my wife's Sonata with the premium sound + navigation option that includes a subwoofer.

I will say that when I received my CX-5, the bass and treble were both turned almost all the way down, and the "Centerpoint" setting was on, which left it sounding tinny and unimpressive. But a few minutes of tweaking the settings and I think it sounds great! Keep in mind, this is coming from someone who in their younger days used to participate in car audio competitions, so maybe I just can't hear anymore (lol2)

 

[jrstinkfish]

My first day with my CX-5, I thought it sounded terrible. Granted, I had just come from the amazing Infinity system in my Genesis Coupe, so maybe it wasn't fair. But after almost a week, I think it sounds pretty good. Not "premium" by any standard, but ... good. Turning Centerpoint off increased the quality greatly.

 

[Ride92]

I don't really understand why everyone hates centerpoint so much? I go back an forth between having it on and not and actually like the sound with it on better, at least for HD radio listening. With blue tooth or iPhone plugged in I could take it of leave it.

to the OP, if you want better sound but not too much hassle there are options for you. Swapping out the front dash speakers for something with an actual tweeter will brighten the system quite a bit. The Polk DB351's are a popular option for that. And if you're looking for a bit more bass you could always run one of those slim powered subwoofers under the seat. The Kenwood KSC-SW11 gets decent reviews and should provide enough oompf on the low end. The other options would be a spare wheel sub or a custom box in the back. The Pioneer TS-WX610A seems nice but I don't think it's available in the US so you'd have to source from the UK or something and get it shipped over.

 

[heywire]

I don't really understand why everyone hates centerpoint so much?

For me it just made the audio sound monaural, and maybe even a bit "echoey", as if a reverb was added. I enjoy a strong center channel speaker in my surround sound at home for watching movies, not so much for music.

 

[jrstinkfish]

For me it just made the audio sound monaural, and maybe even a bit "echoey", as if a reverb was added.

This is the problem I have with it, the echoey sound. I haven't tried it with HD radio since I listen to my iPod or bluetooth 100% of the time, but I had to turn it off, it was driving me nuts.

 

[yrwei52]

For me it just made the audio sound monaural, and maybe even a bit "echoey", as if a reverb was added. I enjoy a strong center channel speaker in my surround sound at home for watching movies, not so much for music.

Exactly! Bose "premium" surround sound system in CX-5 with mostly cheap paper-cone mid-range speakers is a home theater system good for movie watching, not good for music listening!

 

[yrwei52]

It's sad, but the sound system in the smaller (and too low to the ground for me) has a much better sounding system. Maybe I'm just getting too old, but I cannot see spending 30k for a new vehicle and then having to replace speakers, amps or the unit itself. I went through that in the mid-60s with my '66 Le Mans, my wife'66 GTO, my '75 TR6, my '77 Gran Prix, even my '77 K5 Blazer (bi-amp tuner and cassette player). I just don't see any reason for doing it in a 2016 vehicle that costs 10 times what my '66 Le Man's did.

Totally agree! Cheaper 7-speaker Bose system on Mazda CX-3 with dash tweeters and spare-tire sub-woofer has better sound quality than 9-mid-range-speaker Bose "surround sound" system on CX-5! Bose said Mazda ignored their recommendation and eliminated two dash tweeters in CX-5 to save some penneys - penny wise and pound foolish!

 

[Jazzjim]

Yep, I called Bose myself and they ragged on their own system, too. Told me it's designed to play an "original" store bought CD.They stated that the radio and Bluetooth will sound "tinny" and empty. What a shame for an otherwise great auto. It's driving me crazy.

 

[rwortman]

Yep, I called Bose myself and they ragged on their own system, too. Told me it's designed to play an "original" store bought CD.They stated that the radio and Bluetooth will sound "tinny" and empty. What a shame for an otherwise great auto. It's driving me crazy.

Garbage in , garbage out. The system sounds good with a good source. I use high bit rate AAC files or CD's much of the time. XM sounds OK. Radio, not so much. Bluetooth, about the same.

 

[yrwei52]

Garbage in , garbage out. The system sounds good with a good source. I use high bit rate AAC files or CD's much of the time. XM sounds OK. Radio, not so much. Bluetooth, about the same.

Yes, garbage in, garbage out. Good old vinyl record and CD's have the best sound quality. But speakers are the most important component in a good audio system! There's no way an audio system with poor quality speakers can produce good quality music even with high quality sound source. Mazda eliminated dash tweeters on CX-5 and sacrificed very important high notes for music. With 9 mostly mid-range, cheap paper-cone speakers simply is NOT a high fidelity audio system for music listening.

 

[CX-5um]

Its actually not the sound signature that bothers me (sound graph). Its a V-shaped sound similar to my Sennheiser headphones which have premium magnets/materials and German tuning. The problem as stated before are the paper cone materials and the smallish magnets. You literally can get improved sound by simply replacing the Bose speakers with $10 speakers (that have bigger magnets and materials) let alone those costing $50 or more so long as the ohms are in range.

Imho, simply swapping the tweeters, upgrading the rear door mids, adding a sub with mono amp would satisfy 95% of consumers out there.

 

[MikeyG]

Its actually not the sound signature that bothers me (sound graph). Its a V-shaped sound similar to my Sennheiser headphones which have premium magnets/materials and German tuning. The problem as stated before are the paper cone materials and the smallish magnets. You literally can get improved sound by simply replacing the Bose speakers with $10 speakers (that have bigger magnets and materials) let alone those costing $50 or more so long as the ohms are in range.

Imho, simply swapping the tweeters, upgrading the rear door mids, adding a sub with mono amp would satisfy 95% of consumers out there.

Funny you mention that, I just finished adding a sub with a mono amp. It's a custom made sealed box meant to take up as little space as possible. I took pictures from start to finish if anyone's interested. Here's the finished subwoofer in my car (before wiring to mono amp). The whole project (Rockford sub, kenwood mono amp, custom box materials, line out converter, etc) cost just a little over $200 and took me two days from start to installation.

 

[ColtX-5]

Exactly! Bose "premium" surround sound system in CX-5 with mostly cheap paper-cone mid-range speakers is a home theater system good for movie watching, not good for music listening!

This is SOP for Blose and always has been. OTOH, a proper HT system sounds good on both music and movies. The sound quality requirements for movies are not lesser than that for music.