What started out as a minor stock audio upgrade...

[dieseldriver]

All I wanted was a little more bass. So if you are reading this, you probably have seen my mutiple Threads littered all over Mazdas247 website. After a successful subwoofer installation, felt that the mids were slightly lacking. After many discussions and thinking about it, went ahead and ordered two pairs of Focal 570CA1's from Crutchfield.com. One pair new, the other pair "scratch and dent" special. Saved a few bucks in the process but I'm sure I can count on Crutchfield to make good on their words.

After ordering the speakers, I've realized that the fronts were mid/high combo. So the mids go on the door, and the tweeter on the window. Being that I wasn't sure how it would sound, I called up Crutchfield to see if I can get an exchange for the Focal 130CA1's which has a separate mids and tweeters, along with a pair of crossovers (which BTW I will not use). But today, after successfully removing the door panels (after breakng several plastic fastners) then removing the speaker for the prep work, thought it would be a good idea to put Dynamats behind the speaker bracket which is bare sheetmetal along with side impact cross members. So back surfing again looking for a decent priced Dynamats.

Next Saturday, plan is to test out the Focal 570CA1's then then the 130CA1's and compare. But whichever direction I go, I'm looking forward to much better sound overall than with the factory paper/foam speakers.

Here are some photos for the prep work. The most difficult part of removing the door panel is not breaking any of the plastic fastners. This faster is commonly used on most cars. It's a push in type and the interior side is slid on.

You will most likely need a plastic trim remover that can grab the fasters then you can twist it as you pull on them so it won't break on you.

Getting the two bolts: one behind the door lever, and the recessed door grab.

All wire harness is removed by pushing in the center clip while you pulling on it. The twitter harness was most difficult to remove as it's not obvious that it's a push on harness. But if you remove some of the foam near the harness, you can see it.

Since now that I have the panels off, I may actually wind up running the speaker cables through the conduit and give it some slack inside near the factory head unit so I can run an amp down the road.
BTW, the factory midrange speaker has a tiny magnet behind it. I'm surprised by the fact that it actually produces sound from it!

 

[Silentnoise713]

I can relate. However, I now know myself better and wil plan out everything at first go bc I hate having to redo things. Look forward to hearing about your experience. Btw, do u know the measurements of the stock tweeter opening? Also don't see amp mentioned.? This is where planning is very important bc one 4+1 amp is better ($$) than having two amps... I am also planning to audio next, in parallel with my brakes.

 

[dieseldriver]

I'm with you on the amps. If I had to do it all over again, I would have just bought a decent 5 channel amp with at least 50W per channel -- maybe minimum 150W RMS for the sub. Still a learning experience with this car as I am finding out. I got a little ambitious and was trying to access the bare metal and I managed to somehow remove the bolts for the window track. At this point, I was a bit nervous so I put everything back, but now my 1Touch window down function is not working. I figure that the 1Touch is really an electronic function but right now the way things look, it may involve a sensor that I may have knocked loose while trying to remove the panel that holds the window motor.

EDIT: Okay, I took a step back and thought the 1Touch window issue is really electronic in nature of some sort since the window moves up/down unimpeded. So, I did a quick "Googling" and came across another person having issue with his Mercedes Benz. It turns out that it needed to be reprogrammed. You just hold it down either direction until windows goes all the way up or down, until you hear two clicking sound. That's it. That either turns on/off the 1Touch function. It wasn't any type of sensor most likely. Probably has to with the fact that once the control module (window control, side mirrors, etc) was removed then reinstalled, it had probably lost the memory for the 1Touch function.

I can relate. However, I now know myself better and wil plan out everything at first go bc I hate having to redo things. Look forward to hearing about your experience. Btw, do u know the measurements of the stock tweeter opening? Also don't see amp mentioned.? This is where planning is very important bc one 4+1 amp is better ($$) than having two amps... I am also planning to audio next, in parallel with my brakes.

 

[dieseldriver]

Yeah, I will measure out the tweeter opening once I decide to replace it with Focals because right now, having trouble removing the interlocking wire harness for the factory tweeter. Once I get it removed, I will measure the inside diameter. I am hoping that the Focal tweeter will fit the factory tweeter housing without any issue -- just not looking to tear up the factory cover for the tweeter. Worst case, I will pickup the blank covers that are on the Sport trim M5 and cut out holes for the Focal tweeter.

EDIT:
Inside diameter for the tweeter housing is 1.5". But not sure if there's a separate wire pair for each twitter as they are same colors. I will need to peel back the factory tapes to ensure that they are. If not, I would need to run separate wires; one pair connected to the twitter.

Look forward to hearing about your experience. Btw, do u know the measurements of the stock tweeter opening?

 

[dieseldriver]

Okay, I received one pair of Focal 570CA1's this evening. Waited no time putting it to the test out on the front. Temporary for now but wanted to see how they sounded (even without the amp). Spooled up the CD player and lighted them up. All I can say is ... wow!! Holy sh**!!!

It literally gave me goose bumps. James Taylor's guitar licks sounded it as if he was right next to me, no kidding, no way, no how. It sounded superb, never thought that speaker would be this good -- definitely audiophile quality.

I then turned up the volume a bit. That harshness from the factory speakers are now gone... forever! And best of all, I don't think I need the amp now because I can crank it up with no distortion. Just clean sound with a huge punch. Awesome mid bass. Highs are amazing....

Once I get the Dynamats on, I will move these to the rear. Then return the other pair (or maybe just keep them), it's just that good. Put the Focal 130A1's on the front.

Wow wow wow.... LOL

 

[svferris]

So sorry if this sounds like a stupid question, but can you put in a 4-channel amp with the stock HU? My understanding reading other posts/forums is that the HU is probably very under-powered, so putting in really nice speakers like the Focals would be (mostly) pointless without an amp to power them adequately. But I want to keep the stock HU for now, so want to make sure I could still have the amp in-line.

I'm really interested in seeing your amp install, since I've been trying to find a good place to put it. The glove compartment seems like a good idea if you can find an amp with a small-enough footprint to fit in there. Will there be any concerns of overheating in the glove compartment?

BTW, regarding the focals, I read elsewhere on this forum that the 165 a1's would be a good fit in the front, paired with the 570 CA1s in the rear. I'm glad to hear you think they made a difference. My previous car had Infinity Reference speakers, which I really enjoyed, but Focals seem to be highly regarded, so thinking of trying them this time.

 

[dieseldriver]

It's all about sensitivity. My Focals are really loud even without an amp. The factory head unit definitely has enough power to drive the Focal speakers. Weight difference between speakers? I would say the Focals are at least 2lb heavier than the factory speakers. They don't distort at all, and the frequency response is flat across without any harmonics as far as I can tell. I had to tweak down the gain on my sub because now the bass was way too much (but extremely punchy), you can tell the Focals are definitely complementing the sub. But the drums comes alive with Focals. It's a whole different ballgame.

If you get the Focal 570CA1's, it's a perfect fit right out of the box; no mod needed. If you want to get that factory +1 look on the front with Focal 130A1 kit, then you need to cut out the mesh of the tweeter cover and the Focal tweeter will fit exactly in that hole.

I will do another video of my new upgraded speakers along with the sub/amp in the next week or so...

 

[flcruising]

FYI - the 130CA1's are not components either, but 5-1/4" 2-ways. Stick with your 570CA1's.

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-Oes68IUbzge/p_091130CA1/Focal-Access-130CA1.html

 

[dieseldriver]

Correction, I have the 570CA1's in the rear, and will be installing the 130A1's (package) in the front. Already have the Focal tweeters mounted in the fatory panel in the small window cover. Looks factory. Dynamats and crossovers will go in this weekend. Right now, I have 570CA1's in the front and rear and it's already sounding awesome. But will be installing the 130A1's regardless.

Here's the link to Focal 130A1 package on Crutchfield. Scosche 5x7" bracket and speaker adaptors comes with it standard. BTW, Scosche adaptor bracket is made in USA!
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_091130A1/Focal-Access-130-A1.html?search=Focal+130A1&tp=106

FYI - the 130CA1's are not components either, but 5-1/4" 2-ways. Stick with your 570CA1's.

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-Oes68IUbzge/p_091130CA1/Focal-Access-130CA1.html

 

[dieseldriver]

Finally got done installing the Focal 130A1's in the front and 570A1's in the back. Cross over installed near the kick panels on each side, and the tweeter was installed on the same spot where the factory tweeter was but now it's better sounding. The speaker setup now works like it should with audio clarity better than the top of the line system on the CX9-GT. With Dynamat plastered all over the outside sheetmetal, car drives a lot quieter and door shuts like a bank vault. When time permits, will be applying Dynamats to the rear sliding doors as well as the trunk area. I will post up another video of my setup.

 

[dieseldriver]

Here are some photos I have taken during and after the speaker replacement. Fronts have separate midrange and tweeter via a crossovers which are located inside the kick panels on driver and passenger side. Monster XP speaker wires were used to splice the passive side of the connector just like factory; so when you remove the hot side of the harness, speakers and other door related power goes out. Right now I am waiting for Dynamats for the rear doors and quater panels where the rear speakers are located so I pre-ran new speaker wires to replace the factory wire also. I do get some vibrations from where the subwoofer is located but not much right now. But once the Dynamats have been applied, those should be eliminated altogether.

One note about the tweeter wiring. For that, I used the original factory wire runs but once it got to near the midrange speaker, I use the pigtail off the tweeter which was built it then soldered them together (heat shrinked it after). You can adjust the level of highs using LOW/MID/HIGH switch on the crossover unit; I have them set to mid right now as I found that the HIGH setting had too much treble.

I think the hardest part of this install was to run the new Monster XP speaker wire through the existing rubber loom on the door that leads into the cabin. I had to use a Dremmel to cut an opening on the white plastic tray so the new wire could pass through without it blocking anything or changing the appearance of the factory wiring harness. That in itself took like 2 hours or more (just to run new speaker cable on each door).

I now got the hang of disassembling the loom and putting it back together but I rather not to. It's pretty much done and I hope I don't ever have to remove it again, unless of course if I get another car that I want to upgrade the audio on.

 

[dieseldriver]

You can use any amps. Most nowadays have HIGH INPUTs that allows you to connect the speaker wire directly to it. But even if you have LOW INPUT amp, you can buy a HIGH INPUT adapter that uses the HIGH speaker inputs from you stock radio and convert it into a low input -- usually a RCA connection.

So sorry if this sounds like a stupid question, but can you put in a 4-channel amp with the stock HU?

 

[dieseldriver]

Okay, just finished everything before today. Installed the new baffles from Crutchfield for the 2way Focal Access 570's in the rear. After Dynamating the rear quarter panel and other bare metal surrounding it, put everything back. Putting back the rear wheel well plastic cover that's part of the speaker panel was a bit challenging. Trick is to place it as it will go down, and push the front part towards the seat when folded. Then raise the seat as you push it down. Also put the last Dynamat sheet on the back hatch panel, but ran short. I will be ordering another set today to finish the inside of the hatch lid, the hood, and the inner fender walls. This project is taking me roughly 2 weeks due to doing some work, then waiting for parts etc. But I have to say, it was well worth the effort. Car's much more pleasent to drive now with very little interior noise and sound system is far superior than when the car had factory speaker.

Re-ran rear speaker wires with color coding posted on this Site. Amp is definitely not needed for the mid and tweeters as they produce adequate dB levels with Dynamats. This car now feels faster too for some reason maybe due to the lack of noise in the cabin. Will provide update once I have Dynamats put on the hood, the fender's interior skin, and rest of hatch area.

 

[Silentnoise713]

Pics (i don't like to follow videos)! Would like to see how/where you layered the dynomat. Can you give an idea how much you've spent so far?

Also, did you consider alternatives like Rammat? I've done systems but never really looked into dynomating but given this car has an open interior, I think it will help with not only improving acoustics but with NVH also.

 

[dieseldriver]

Okay, I will snap some picts when I get my 4th Dynamat set when doing the hood and A-pillars. I have never used any other brand, at least for this install. I was thinking of FatMat but seen some reviews where some people had some issue with it sticking. Have not had any issue with Dynamat; even with temperature in the 50's. I applied Dynamats on the outer skin which I believe will give you the best result.

Pics (i don't like to follow videos)! Would like to see how/where you layered the dynomat. Can you give an idea how much you've spent so far?

Also, did you consider alternatives like Rammat? I've done systems but never really looked into dynomating but given this car has an open interior, I think it will help with not only improving acoustics but with NVH also.

 

[dieseldriver]

Not sure how much total but this will give you an idea. This is assuming that you have all the necessary tools on hand prior to doing the work:

1x Pair of Focal 570CA1's (Crutchfield) - $130 shipped
1x Focal 130A1's (Crutchfield) - $220 shipped (included 2x 5.25", 2x tweeters, 2x crosssovers)
1x Pair of 5x7 speaker baffles for rear speakers (Crutchfield) - $9 shipped
3x Dynamat 2 Door Kits (4 sheets per kit, Amazon) - $46.99 Shipped Each
1x 50' Monster XP Speaker Wire Spool (local Radio Shack) - $40 plus tax
3x Electrical Tape (Harbor Freight) - $1.09 each
2x Heat Shrink Kits (Harbor Freight) - about $5 each

Hope that gives you some ideas as to cost associated.

Pics (i don't like to follow videos)! Would like to see how/where you layered the dynomat. Can you give an idea how much you've spent so far?

Also, did you consider alternatives like Rammat? I've done systems but never really looked into dynomating but given this car has an open interior, I think it will help with not only improving acoustics but with NVH also.

 

[Silentnoise713]

Not sure how much total but this will give you an idea. This is assuming that you have all the necessary tools on hand prior to doing the work:

1x Pair of Focal 570CA1's (Crutchfield) - $130 shipped
1x Focal 130A1's (Crutchfield) - $220 shipped (included 2x 5.25", 2x tweeters, 2x crosssovers)
1x Pair of 5x7 speaker baffles for rear speakers (Crutchfield) - $9 shipped
3x Dynamat 2 Door Kits (4 sheets per kit, Amazon) - $46.99 Shipped Each
1x 50' Monster XP Speaker Wire Spool (local Radio Shack) - $40 plus tax
3x Electrical Tape (Harbor Freight) - $1.09 each
2x Heat Shrink Kits (Harbor Freight) - about $5 each

Hope that gives you some ideas as to cost associated.

Thanks for sharing but I was really looking for total cost of dynamatting when you are all done . Look forward to pics if you get to it.

 

[dieseldriver]

Sure, no problem. I will get some picts posted on the next phase of Dynamatting. It's not really that hard. If you've ever removed door panels before, it should be fairly straightforward. Just got to watch out for the sharp edges cutting your fingers when applying them so wear a glove when you do it. It sliced one of my finger like butter and it did hurt for several days. But when you start noticing how quiet your car is after you apply them, the pain goes away!

As per total Dynamat cost... so far... $141. Will most likely ordering the 9 sheet kit for $135 to do the rest of the car, whereever I missed Dynamatting except for the floor, that I am not doing. I will mostly likely be doing some section around the sunroof and near the leading edge near the top of the windshield to get rid of some of those wind noise.

Thanks for sharing but I was really looking for total cost of dynamatting when you are all done . Look forward to pics if you get to it.

 

[svferris]

Hey dieseldriver...since you've done the Focal install in the front, I'm hoping you could give me your advice. I don't want to go through the hassle of running an all speaker wire, so I'm just going to keep the stock wiring.

So what I'm thinking is using the wiring harness I got free from Crutchfield. I'll plug that into the existing harness. I'll then take the positive and negative terminals, strip them and feed them into the crossover input. For the tweeter, I'll take the wire where it meets the main harness, cut it and attach it to the tweeter out on the crossover. Then I'll just run a new speaker wire from the crossover to the midrange.

As for the crossover, I was thinking of attaching it with heavy-duty double-sided tape to the inside cavity of the door (behind the speaker). Do you think that will be fine? It's not heavy, so I'm pretty sure it will hold. I don't think I want the extra hassle of running it through the loom and attaching behind the kick panel like you did.

Also, do you know the color-coding of the tweeter wires? Which is positive/negative? I didn't look too closely when I had it open the other night since I realized the speaker mount adapter I got from Crutchfield isn't going to work (I got the Focal 165, which are 6.5"). Need to order an adapter from ebay.

 

[dieseldriver]

Here's the link to my post for color coding of the speaker wires, pretty simple.
http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/show...eaker-Sizes-Harnesses-and-Kits-for-the-Mazda5!

Hmm, I would not recommend you mount in behind the speaker, because over time, it will probably come off and force you to take the door panel off again.

If you want to mount it on the door panel, I'd recommend you make a small bracket and double back tape the crossover onto it, and screw the bracket onto the door panel. Either solution may or may not work and personally, if you asked me, I'd stay away from it. See if someone can help you to fish another wire through the stock cable loom on the front doors, that's the best way.

Drop me an PM and maybe we can chat over the phone.