Sound System

[Mooman]

I have a 2016 CX-5 and I really like the Bose system. I like it loud and it vibrates the frame of my rear license plate. The bass and treble are dialed up to 6+.

 

[Jazzjim]

OK, went to the dealer today, tried both the 3 & 5. Seating in the 3 is very low, the arm rest for the driver is too low for me (6' tall, 185#). Drives nice, sound system very nice. The 5 feels smooth behing the wheel, drives equally nice, 3 hugs the turns much tighter. Bumped my head getting out, I guess because I had the seat pumped high so I could see 1/2 a mile ahead of me. As I said earlier, the radio in the 5 sounds limp, tinny, and substandard for a $30k vehicle. However, I feel more comfortable driving the 5 because it sits higher. Technology speaking, I believe the 3 has what the '17 5 will have. Reliability I feel better with the 5, since the 3 is brand new. And then I have to ponder the snowy streets here in NYC during winter. Will the 6" ground clearance be sufficient to overcome this, or do I need the extra 2" offered on the 5? I am really torn between the two of them!(stooges)

 

[wlong01]

2015 BMW X5 has a worse radio system than the CX5. The BMW is a $70k vehicle. The CX5 has a better sound system.

The Bose system in the 2016 CX-5 is better than the Bose that was in my Maxima and the Maxima cost considerably more. In fact the CD player sounds pretty good.
The system is not as good as the premium system in our CR-V. I'm not sure who makes the system for Honda. I don't believe there's any branding on the faceplate.

 

[V8toilet]

I have a 460 continuous watt aftermarket sound system with a subwoofer because I am an audiophile and it still doesn't matter because the road and wind noise of the CX5 is so high it will ruin the experience during highway driving. If your commute consists of mostly highway driving and you want to be able to actually enjoy your music without turning it up way loud than I suggest you do not buy a CX5. For all other driving situations the noise levels are acceptable but the stock system has poor sound quality in my opinion.

 

[pdlpsher]

What would be a quieter car as an alternative to the CX-5? I find my CX-5 plenty quiet.

 

[jhu8]

I agree, I think the Cx5 is pretty quiet. I'm coming from a 13 Elantra which is an average car, and imo the cx5 is quieter.

As for the sound system, no complaints here. What does everyone keep their settings at? I know everyone hears things differently but I'd like to get some opinions on what everyone has their bass, treble set too. Also there is some centerpoint setting, do people have that on or not?

 

[pdlpsher]

I have the centerpoint on and bass on +1.

 

[MrPerception]

I never used centerpoint. Hated how it made the sound. Base +3 and treble +2. Traded my CX-5 for a CX-3 though, so I'm getting to know that BOSE system now

 

[ryan4130]

I have a 460 continuous watt aftermarket sound system with a subwoofer because I am an audiophile and it still doesn't matter because the road and wind noise of the CX5 is so high it will ruin the experience during highway driving. If your commute consists of mostly highway driving and you want to be able to actually enjoy your music without turning it up way loud than I suggest you do not buy a CX5. For all other driving situations the noise levels are acceptable but the stock system has poor sound quality in my opinion.

That is too general of a statement man... You should note this dude has the 2014 model. For 2016, they added to the road noise dampening. Just test drive the 2016 cx5 and decide for yourself

 

[brillo54]

I have bass and treble at +2 and Centerpoint off. I've listened to 2 channel stereo for so many years that I found the simulated surround-sound of Centerpoint to be sonically confusing. Also I have the fader control at 0. Since the woofers are in the front doors, if you fade too much to the rear you will decrease the bass coming from these speakers. IMHO since bass is omnidirectional only the dash speakers should have been tied into the fader control. Overall I'm happy with the Bose system, it's neutral sounding and accurate, but it does have its idiosyncrasies.

 

[MikeM.]

I have Centerpoint off, Fader 0, Bass and Treble generally at 0, but, depending upon the recording I might turn bass/treble to 1/1 or 2/1.

 

[yrwei52]

I think they got lucky on the sound in the cx3. It probably has the same parts but since it is a smaller car it has a smaller interior so it worked out to sound better (more power, less space helps. Also cabin acoustics are different).

I'm also disappointed to the sound quality on 9-speaker Bose system of 2016 CX-5. It has updated speakers based on 11-speaker Bose from new Mazda6, but strangely deleted the important two front directional dash tweeters for high notes. It's simply the poor choice and bad decision made for CX-5 from Mazda. Think of this: have you ever seen a home speaker box with only mid-range speakers but no tweeters in there?

This 1" tweeter next to 3" mid-range Twiddler speaker in front dash on Mazda6 is missing on CX-5:

Even the cheaper version 7-speaker Bose system on new CX-3 comes with two dash tweeters and a spare-tire fitted sub-woofer!

Putting two 9" Nd woofers in front doors is not an ideal either. Since the front door "woofer" also serves mid-range sound hence volume is controlled by fader which affects the strength of the bass! This is not the proper way as the low frequency bass is non-directional. A sub-woofer is a much better choice suitable in a car system like the new CX-3 did! I have no doubt that the Bose sound quality on new CX-3, although having less speakers and cheaper, will be much better!

 

[V8toilet]

What would be a quieter car as an alternative to the CX-5? I find my CX-5 plenty quiet.

My 2001 Tundra was quieter. My current 2014 Ford F-150 base regular cab is much much quieter. My 2012 Mazda5 has far less wind noise than my CX5 to name a few. I did use a pretty decent sound meter I borrowed from a friend at work and on the highway doing 70 mph it registered a pretty decent 71 db from 500 hrz through 10,000 hrz. With the setting set to read below 500 hrz though it shot up to 85 decibels. I believe (my guess) this is caused by the direct fuel injection, motor to body mounts with Skyactiv transmission direct clutch, and road noise being transmitted from the tires and through the body coupled with the lack of sound insulation in the name of saving weight. Based on what commentary from owners who have switched from an earlier model to the 2016 on this forum and Consumer Reports commentary on the recent retest of the 2016 model the difference isn't much.

My complaint though is only for extended periods of highway driving 65 mph or above. I think the noise levels are perfectly acceptable during city driving and at lower speeds like say 45 mph. This is why I say if you plan to use the CX5 for commuting on the highway at speeds mostly above 65 mph that you may not be happy with the CX5 and that I do not recommend it for this reason (again for longer highway commutes). Keep in mine this is subjective and like the above comments some will think the CX5 is quiet while others may not. They may also not use the CX5 for daily extended highway commuting like I did for a short while. All in all though I am happy with everything else about my CX5 and still love driving it around town on the weekends.