How to get great sound quality from the Bose system?
- Thread starter wild west
- Start date
It is really just one person's opinion, sound engineer or not. Our Mazda3 with the subwoofer on the spare tire and tweeter pods up front sounds better than the CX5 with what appears to be all the bass going to the door speakers and mid and high going to the dash speakers. The CX5 isn't bad and I'm definitely not into hearing the music outside the car or rattling anything with the bass but the Mazda3 does have more full and cleaner sound, in my opinion. To me it is a downside to the CX5 that I can often hear what sounds of the music are coming from where.
I bounce back and forth between the cars a lot and every time I get in the 3 I wish the CX5 sounded more like it, which is a bit sad because the 5 cost roughly $9,000 more. There are plenty of worse sounding factory setups in cars out there but that doesn't mean that it couldn't be slightly better. And spending 2+ hours a day in it every little bit helps make it more enjoyable.
Everyone is an expert on the internet.
What I can say is, every car I test drove back to back with the CX-5 had a better sound system. Even the 2 other cars I have at home with the base system are better than the cx-5 bose system.
On the cx-5 most of the audio is piped to the tiny speakers underneath the windshield. Being in an awful location (reflecting off the glass) and small size (my guess is 4"), and bose brand, they predictably sound very thin. The door speakers which are plenty large enough to sound great, for some reason are tuned to just be fill sound.
Funny how the "audio engineer" didn't pick up on that.
however it is still probably good enough for 95% of the public. (but so is the base system)
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Was your test drive long enough to familiarize yourself with the stereo settings? It sounds like you may have had the Centerpoint feature activated. It is unanimous that it sounds better when it is disabled.
That's just plain false. Anyone who has experience with both offerings knows the Bose will satisfy a larger percentage of the public than the base system.
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TreyP
2018 Soul Red AWD Touring CX-5
I'm curious what it meant to you? What I read is that he is happy with some aspects of the Bose system and disappointed with several others. His conclusion was that it is not worth spending the money to upgrade despite not being 100% happy with the system. That is his opinion, others may vary.
Personally, I am satisfied with the Bose system in terms of sound, but extremely disappointed with the iPod playback issues. If it wasn't for not being able to integrate the stock back up camera into an aftermarket unit I would have upgraded a week after getting the CX-5.
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Do you know if you can turn off the AudioPilot feature?
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The Bose radio is pretty good unfortunately the quality of digital music makes a huge difference in how any system sounds. As an example chris doughty's first album sounds fantastic with base that is properly mixed into the recording. Bose has always been criticized for weak base, but I think they have done a pretty good job in factory car stereos of late.
There are two features with (sort of) similar sounding names: centerpoint and audiopilot. Both can be separately turned on or off. Centerpoint is simulated surround sound. Personally I don't like the sound quality with this enabled, and so I turned it off. Audiopilot automatically increases or decreases the volume (but does NOT change the sound properties) depending on background noise. I find this feature to be very useful and I leave it on all the time. As you get on the highway for example and the road noise gets louder, it will automatically increase the volume, and the opposite as you exit.
Audiopilot differs from other systems that just increase the volume with speed - it uses a microphone in the cabin to modulate how loud the volume increase is. I find it almost imperceptible - ie you don't really notice the volume increasing - it just stays "the same" from my perception.
How AudioPilot operates
It is my understanding that AudioPilot only increases the low level ( not low frequency) portions of the music without boosting the higher volume portions of the music as the ambient noise level increases. To me this seems to be reducing the dynamic range (the difference between the loudest and softest components of the music which is not normally what you would want to do. Is this your understanding of how it operates as well?
It is my understanding that AudioPilot only increases the low level ( not low frequency) portions of the music without boosting the higher volume portions of the music as the ambient noise level increases. To me this seems to be reducing the dynamic range (the difference between the loudest and softest components of the music which is not normally what you would want to do. Is this your understanding of how it operates as well?
Sorry, I don't follow what you mean by "low level" of the music. From personal experience I can tell you it doesn't perceptively change what the music sounds like; it just makes it sound louder or softer to compensate for background noise. If you read the Bose web site, it will tell you that it will boost certain frequencies more than others to try to "compensate" for the cabin noise rather than to just blast over it. How much of that is marketing speak and how much is reality is entirely up to you to figure out. I only know that it sounds good and it does what it was intended to do because I don't have to fiddle with the volume level like I used to on previous vehicles that did not have this feature.
from bose web site
this is their marketing page describing the feature and how it works:
http://worldwide.bose.com/axa/en_au/web/popup_automotive_audiopilot/page.html
this is their marketing page describing the feature and how it works:
http://worldwide.bose.com/axa/en_au/web/popup_automotive_audiopilot/page.html
Interesting thread. I'm a musician and I'm pretty picky about my audio, and I'm very happy with the Bose system in my 2014 GT CX-5. Sometimes the bass is far more than I need; sometimes it's fine and sometimes it's less. But I'm really happy with the responsiveness and adjustability of the speakers and high-mid-low frequencies, and balance, overall. Plenty of power for my tastes, and far more than my girlfriend needs! Anyway this is one of those "in the ears of the beholder" topics, that's for sure.
I've got the the Bose system in the CX-5. It's got a decent sound processor. The mids and highs are better than most stock systems. Imo, a light weight self powered woofer would really compliment the system well. Not talking about bass you can hear 3 blocks away. Something cheap, punchy, and takes up little space. Here are some ideas.
https://www.amazon.com (commissions earned)
That link shows the 12 inch model but I'd get the 10 inch model instead. Lighter, cheaper, yet punchy.
https://www.amazon.com (commissions earned)
The Bass link would compliment the Bose system well also. I like how it comes with brackets to mount different ways.
https://www.amazon.com (commissions earned)
That link shows the 12 inch model but I'd get the 10 inch model instead. Lighter, cheaper, yet punchy.
https://www.amazon.com (commissions earned)
The Bass link would compliment the Bose system well also. I like how it comes with brackets to mount different ways.
I think those look like great additions. I think a little more low level would be nice to have some bass when playing at lower levels. I really have to go to about 20 to get decent bass from the Bose woofers. It doesn't sound bad, but it would be nice to have some punch throughout the range. Would love to see pictures of installation. I am not sure the best place to put a speaker like that. There is a lot of room underneath the passenger seat though. I would rather do that than take away space in the trunk
mazdadude
ZOOOOOOOOOM ZOOOOOOOOOM
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- '16.5 Mazda CX-5 Touring
I am still loving the BOSE system. For me the best sound is in the 40-60 volume range. I think what throws most people off about this system is that it is tuned to play flat and natural. There are no overly rattling boomy bass notes, there is no punchy mid, and the highs are crisp but they are not excessively bright.
The other day I played an acoustical music CD that has various ethnic artists from African, Caribbean, Mexico, etc. called "Island Outpost". I have used this CD for years to test out audio systems. My father and I were amazed at how well balanced it sounded. From that special ring of the nylon stringed guitars, to the clear vocals, to the low bass notes of the drum beats, it was very natural and 'Live' sounding.
The next CD I will be testing through the BOSE is a various artist techno/electronica album. However I am not expecting it to do very well here...
Tried talking my wife into this idea but to no avail. The CX-5 is her car and its a no go
. Waiting to purchase a certified Mazda 6 in about a year and a half. Maybe I can install these bad boys in the trunk. Not a big fan of huge woofer boxes.Im not sure what system you are listening to, but the "bass" (which is really just over-boosted lower mids) on the Bose system is the most boomy and uncontrolled bass i have ever heard.
Not too bad for a factory car stereo. But yeah, big bass lovers will want a separate sub-woofer.
