Upgrading sound in 2016 CX-5 Bose Grand Touring

Ok I'm looking for advice without totally breaking the bank. I havent installed anything yet, but putting things together.

1) Want to upgrade the front and rear door speakers. I picked up the rockford fosgate r165x3 for both from Crutchfield. Will these work with the Bose amp tho? If not what am I looking for for replacement.

2) Want to replace the 3 dash speakers. Mazda says their 1" and 3.25", but I've read that their all 3.25". Is this true? If so I've read the Polk db351 are great but can't find them.

3) Will the bose amp run all these things without breaking things or do I need to upgrade the amp? I'm 100% cool with the upgrade if needed.

Any help would be great, thanks!
 
...I've read the Polk db351 are great but can't find them.

...

how much is your TOTAL budget? are you DIY? How do you like to listen to your music (Turn it up to 40 every time)?

That line of speaker has long ago been discontinued by Polk.. it is now the DB+ series
but there is no 3.5" speakers now.

I suggest Infinity REF-3032cfx or Hertz DCX87.3 as a good replacement.

Bose amps in general like to see a low impedance speaker; but it won't kill the amplifier immediately to run a higher impedance speaker.. the loudness may be impacted. Plenty of threads here detailing previous BOSE system upgrades.
 
Check out these threads:


What year/trim level is your -5? Mine is a 2016.5.

I continue to be satisfied with the MCM dash speakers, enough that I still haven't installed the speakers I bought for the rear door and C pillars.

The first thing should be just to unplug the center speaker. Its sound is horrific and it ruins any hope of a stereo image. I recommend you not replace it. Turning off "Centerpoint" does not turn off the speaker.

The Blose front door woofers are not that bad. Keep them until they fail. The front dash, rear door and C pillar speakers are built to be unusually bright. You should replace them.

The Blose amp has built-in crossovers and eq, but the ridiculous bass boost can be removed by turning the bass tone control to -6. The screechy treble is built into the all the other speakers, so, replacing all the 3.5" speakers will cure that and you can set the treble control to flat and you'll get flat. I have verified my system is nicely flat from 40 Hz - 15kHz except for a minor bump at 2k that is not objectionable when the bass is set to -6 and the treble is set to 0.

The MCM speakers are quite inexpensive, but remember, Newark is a wholesaler.
 
I have the 2016 grand touring.

I ordered infinity 3032 cfx 3.5" for the 2 dash and center console. Not here yet tho.

It's funny you bring up front door speakers failing. My driver door did about 2 weeks ago. That's actually what started my predicament.

What size are the pillars in the back btw? Never thought about changing them out.

My next issue is do I need to change my amp out now? I've read the Bose amp is 2ohms, the speakers I've picked up are 4ohms. I listen to rock/metal music 80% of the time with a little rap here and there.

I dont want anything to blow on me, but I want some power. I normally listen at about 35-40 on the dial with the Bose currently.
 
how much is your TOTAL budget? are you DIY? How do you like to listen to your music (Turn it up to 40 every time)?

That line of speaker has long ago been discontinued by Polk.. it is now the DB+ series
but there is no 3.5" speakers now.

I suggest Infinity REF-3032cfx or Hertz DCX87.3 as a good replacement.

Bose amps in general like to see a low impedance speaker; but it won't kill the amplifier immediately to run a higher impedance speaker.. the loudness may be impacted. Plenty of threads here detailing previous BOSE system upgrades.
Yes and no on DIY. I'm having someone else install on this one. I listen at 35-40 on the current Bose system. Rock/metal music 80% of the time with some rap here and there.
 
The C pillar speakers are 3.5"

Most 3.5" car speakers are designed to be VERY bright. You may find the sound is not better than the OEM Blose speakers outside of less distortion.

The amplifier is NOT 2 ohms. An amp might be stable or safe with 2 ohm speakers, but an amp is an amp.

There is no need to replace the amplifier unless it fails. With it's built-in filters and crossovers it is beneficial.

Speaker/driver impedance is a restriction to electron flow. It is exactly like a pinch in a water hose. At x volts (determined by the volume control) applied to a driver, the impedance ALLOWS Y current (amps) to flow. X volts times Y amps = watts. If you change the driver to one with twice the impedance, the driver's impedance restricts the amps to half as much as the previous driver. The same volts, but half the current draws half as much power out of the amp.

Less current means less heat, so, higher impedance drivers are "safe" for any amp. Lower impedance drivers *may* be safe, but you have to ask the amp maker to be sure.

*IF* the replacement driver, with twice the impedance, has the same sensitivity as the original driver, it will be a noticeable 3 dB quieter because it is drawing half as much power from the amp. So, you will need to buy more sensitive drivers, if you raise the impedance. That usually means more money. Sensitivity is sometimes erroneously called efficiency.

For one woofer, I'd look for one from a salvage yard. There are few suitable woofers for the front doors, due to depth and diameter.

Amplifier clipping (turning it up so loud and using so much bass boost that the amp chops off the tops of the music wave) is the best and fastest way to destroy drivers. Often it is tweeters, but the square topped wave and higher average power input can heat up woofers and make them fail. too.
 
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Ok nice so the pillars are same size and dash. I ordered an xtra pair of infinity ahead of time on that notion.

Yea I don't want to replace the bose amp if I don't have to. Ok tell me if this sounds right, if it doesn't lmk.

2 Dash: Infinity 3032CFX 3.5 4ohm 91db
1 Center Dash: keep the OEM Bose
2 Front Doors: keep the OEM Bose
2 Rear Doors: Rockford fosgate R165X3 6.5 4ohms 91db
2 Rear Pillars: Infinity 3032CFX 3.5 4ohm 91db

Should I just go ahead and change the center dash as well? Do I need to change any settings or wiring with the Bose amp for setup or should I be good?
 
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if you are wanting a better sound quality -- I'd agree with @ColtX-5 and simply disconnect the center speaker.

Replacement speaker choices seem fine. Though you will be replacing the door speakers down the road once you hear the other speakers :)
 
if you are wanting a better sound quality -- I'd agree with @ColtX-5 and simply disconnect the center speaker.

Replacement speaker choices seem fine. Though you will be replacing the door speakers down the road once you hear the other speakers :)
Can agree.

Also, check out Focal's Integration Series speakers. They're rated at lower watts RMS (the kind of watts that factory amps push out.)

Another thing to note, sound dampening would help out a lot without breaking the bank. A few hundred at most to do the doors would make a huge improvement to the sound quality. Just did mind in my '17 Bose, and now I don't think I'll be upgrading my speakers anymore. At least not for awhile.
 
if you are wanting a better sound quality -- I'd agree with @ColtX-5 and simply disconnect the center speaker.

Replacement speaker choices seem fine. Though you will be replacing the door speakers down the road once you hear the other speakers :)
Ok cool. Yea I figured at some point the front doors are getting changed out also 🙂. Just a process at this point.
 
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