Fixing your MAZDASPEED3 BOSE Sound System

Breezy

Member
:
08 MS3 GT
I've been closely following a number of posts in regards to making our Bose systems sound like they belong in these fine cars.

This post comes very close to fixing the issues ..
http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123701496

Indeed I followed the advise in this post and it helped the system but it still left something to be desired.

Others have gone thru the work of replacing the speakers ..
http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123733269
That path really didn't go well.

Many other posters came to the conclusion that they need to scrap it all because the Bose system is a 2 ohm system and nothing is really made for a 2 ohm system. That's expensive and it just might suck too .. and just begs for someone to trash your dash getting your new system out of your car.

Let's be clear here .. I'm not a sound system wonk. I just want a system that will give my F-150 a run for it's money. My F-150 has a factory JBL system in it and if gas prices weren't so high I would drive it around to hear great tunes, it's the best factory system I've ever heard, but I digress.

So like I said previously I had already done the things in the first post above which changes out the door tweeters and then adds inductors in the front door speakers to kill the excess bass. I just decided to expand on this solution and also added the same inductors to the rear speakers too.

The effect? Astounding! Now my system is clean and full. My best sound settings have the bass and the treble at zero, and I pretty much have the system at zero fade too. Sometimes I do increase the fade to the front if I want it a little brighter, or to the rear if I want to boost the mid range. It's really pretty nice, just like I was expecting when I bought the car. Plus I can now actually hear the little sub woofer working.

If you, like many others, are sorely disappointed with the Bose system I say give this a try. It's inexpensive, and I can confirm that it works well. And it's quick to do too. BTW, Here's a link to a post that nicely lays out a quick way to get to your rear door speaker wires .. http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123737624 to put the rear inductors in place.

BTW, I also tried a product from the same source as above, called Bass Blockers. They were similar but didn't sound quite a nice so I didn't use them. I guess they they cut off a bit too much bass and actually add a little distortion at the same time.
 
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Very good to hear, man! I've only just started learning about crossovers since I've started researching here, but it makes a lot of sense that they would be the key since so many of us complain about the over-taxed woofers buzzing loudly.

Did you find that tuning the lows out of the door speakers got rid of too much bass? I'm worried that the little sub isn't up for providing all the system's bass by itself. Although it doesn't sound like that's the case since your bass HU setting is at zero...


An afterthought for anyone smarter than me to address: 6262MS3 used various capacitors for his crossovers. Is that all a crossover is? How does one know how to properly size it given certain speakers and band-pass requirements? Can I go to BestBuy and purchase a "crossover" that will work for me to avoid having to size a whole slew of capacitors?

What did you use for your crossovers, Breezy? Did you install inductors like 626 did in addition to your crossovers?

Speaking of inductors, this may as well be Greek as far as I'm concerned:
I bought some 0.10 millihenry inductors for the front mids, low-passing them around 3.1khz (available inductor ratings with a 2ohm mid doesn't leave many options)
What purpose do the inductors serve compared with the capacitors?

I'd better stop typing because my question mark key is starting to wear out...
 
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Very good to hear, man! I've only just started learning about crossovers since I've started researching here, but it makes a lot of sense that they would be the key since so many of us complain about the over-taxed woofers buzzing loudly.

Did you find that tuning the lows out of the door speakers got rid of too much bass? I'm worried that the little sub isn't up for providing all the system's bass by itself. Although it doesn't sound like that's the case since your bass HU setting is at zero...


An afterthought for anyone smarter than me to address: 6262MS3 used various capacitors for his crossovers. Is that all a crossover is? How does one know how to properly size it given certain speakers and band-pass requirements? Can I go to BestBuy and purchase a "crossover" that will work for me to avoid having to size a whole slew of capacitors?

What did you use for your crossovers, Breezy? Did you install inductors like 626 did in addition to your crossovers?

Speaking of inductors, this may as well be Greek as far as I'm concerned:

What purpose do the inductors serve compared with the capacitors?

I'd better stop typing because my question mark key is starting to wear out...

Inductance is how you measure a coil, so some people call them inductors. If you put a capacitor in series with a speaker, it will block off low frequencies, so you put them on tweeters to protect them from trying to produce bass notes. Go to Google and search for "crossover theory" you`ll find plenty of information.
 
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Hi
No one speaker can cover can cover the entire frequency range so to limit the frequencies that and speaker plays you use crossovers. Seemingly the whole problem with our Bose system is that there no limiters on the door speakers, thus they get all the treble, mid range, and bass signals. So 626MS3 did the calculations as what would make a good setup.

I bought the exact same parts as 626MS3 did. He figured it all out. The capacitors limit the frequencies sent to the door speakers, which is normal.

Keep in mind that with a 2 ohm system the frequency ranges are half of what a 4ohm system would be. Therefore the parts that 626MS3 uses are pretty specific. Buy them, his posting has a weblink.

The only thing I did was to also add the capacitors/crossovers to the rear door speakers. The difference it made was huge. You'll be quite pleased the entire result.
 
this will sound demanding, but can u post a step-by-step on how u achieved this? thanks hehe.
 
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let's just say a 2003 altima with just a pioneer head unit with stock speakers has more bass and sounds 1687896743432.63x better.
 
Yes, it is THAT bad in our MS3's. While you might sit in a GT on the showroom floor and notice first, the increased power the system has, the distortions really hit home when you listen to music you know, and at some volume that you wouldn't use in a showroom.

But there is a fix and it's not expensive. It makes the system respectable. I'm sure sound buffs might still not warm up to the Bose, but after this mod it is now in line with most premium factory sound systems. My wife (not a sound buff at all) stopped listening to music in the car "because it sucks", Now she's very surprised and happy with how it sounds. It's still probably not as good as my F-150 with the JBL system but it now a close call. I'm fully satisfied.

Is the bose system really that bad? Ive been in my parents 2006 lexus ls430 and mine isn't noticably poor.
 
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Yes, it is THAT bad in our MS3's. While you might sit in a GT on the showroom floor and notice first, the increased power the system has, the distortions really hit home when you listen to music you know, and at some volume that you wouldn't use in a showroom.

But there is a fix and it's not expensive. It makes the system respectable. I'm sure sound buffs might still not warm up to the Bose, but after this mod it is now in line with most premium factory sound systems. My wife (not a sound buff at all) stopped listening to music in the car "because it sucks", Now she's very surprised and happy with how it sounds. It's still probably not as good as my F-150 with the JBL system but it now a close call. I'm fully satisfied.
That showroom comment is so true. I apparently didn't notice the stereo in the showroom or while test driving, but once I was daily driving the car, it is such a disappointment. Like your wife, I almost want to stop listening sometimes. Sometimes I'll have to change the channel from a song I really like because it's so buzzy and distorted.
 
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The only thing I did was to also add the capacitors/crossovers to the rear door speakers. The difference it made was huge. You'll be quite pleased the entire result.
Let me see if I've got this right: The capacitor serves as a HPF to the tweeter, meaning it only plays >4kHz frequencies. The inductor serves as a LPF to the woofer, meaning it only plays <3.1kHz. Preventing the woofer from playing highs allows it to play mids/lows better, and the upgraded tweeter fills in what would otherwise be a big gap. Correct?

If I'm right, what does a capacitor in the back do for you? It would be a HPF, but not at the same 4kHz frequency since the rear speaker is 2ohm unlike the 4ohm tweeter.

Or did you put another inductor in the back to low-pass those woofers at 3.1kHz?
 
The back would either get a coil (inductor) in parallel or a capacitor in series with the speaker to limit the very low bass. Obviously the values are completely different from what was used on the tweeter.
If the coil is confusing, remember that a coil passes low frequency, so a coil in parallel with a speaker would pass the low frequency signals around the speaker. Coils are normally used in low frequency applications because they can more reliably handle high current than a cap. The impedance of the circuit is usually kept in balance by putting a power resistor in series with the coil to prevent it from becoming a dead short at extremely low frequencies.
 
Sorry about that ..
It was the coil/inductor that I put in the rear, just like with the front door speakers. I will try to edit my first post accordingly.

Let me see if I've got this right: The capacitor serves as a HPF to the tweeter, meaning it only plays >4kHz frequencies. The inductor serves as a LPF to the woofer, meaning it only plays <3.1kHz. Preventing the woofer from playing highs allows it to play mids/lows better, and the upgraded tweeter fills in what would otherwise be a big gap. Correct?

If I'm right, what does a capacitor in the back do for you? It would be a HPF, but not at the same 4kHz frequency since the rear speaker is 2ohm unlike the 4ohm tweeter.

Or did you put another inductor in the back to low-pass those woofers at 3.1kHz?
 
Preventing the woofer from playing highs allows it to play mids/lows better,

A little, but mostly what blocking the highs from the mid/bass driver does is prevent the mid/bass driver from butchering those frequencies and leaving them for the tweeter, where they belong.
The very low frequency coil blocks the extreme lows from the mid/bass driver, allowing it to do a better job on mid/bass and leaving those very low frequencies for the subwoofer, where they belong.
What he did by putting cap and coil on the rear speakers was to turn them into pure mid/bass drivers, which reinforced that frequency range (very helpful with road noise to overcome) and by blocking the highs from the back, he pulled the soundstage to the front of the car, which gives much better imaging, allowing you to place instruments and vocalists where they belong instead of being mashed together in what sounds like an almost mono signal. Of course rear seat passengers won`t appreciate that change, but screw `em, as long as the driver is happy.
 
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Very good to hear, man! I've only just started learning about crossovers since I've started researching here, but it makes a lot of sense that they would be the key since so many of us complain about the over-taxed woofers buzzing loudly.

Did you find that tuning the lows out of the door speakers got rid of too much bass? I'm worried that the little sub isn't up for providing all the system's bass by itself. Although it doesn't sound like that's the case since your bass HU setting is at zero...


An afterthought for anyone smarter than me to address: 6262MS3 used various capacitors for his crossovers. Is that all a crossover is? How does one know how to properly size it given certain speakers and band-pass requirements? Can I go to BestBuy and purchase a "crossover" that will work for me to avoid having to size a whole slew of capacitors?

What did you use for your crossovers, Breezy? Did you install inductors like 626 did in addition to your crossovers?

Speaking of inductors, this may as well be Greek as far as I'm concerned:

What purpose do the inductors serve compared with the capacitors?

I'd better stop typing because my question mark key is starting to wear out...
http://ccs.exl.info/calc_cr.html
 
I just got an '09 GT, and I will be doing this mod soon. Here are my thoughts:

I sold my 2006 Mazda6 hatchback. It came with the Bose, and that was MUCH worse than the Speed3. That 5" sub? It was in the trunk, literally mounted inside the spare tire. To this day I'll never understand why they even bothered putting it in at all. I put in an amp, some Polk dB series components in the doors, a sub, and never looked back. The head units for the bose are fantastic, it's just that everything else sucks.

I traded in an RX8 with base stereo to get the Speed3. It sounded quite awful, and the Speed3 bose is quite an improvement over that. The reasons I chose the GT over the Sport were to get a 6-disc MP3 changer, and the Alcantara/leather seats. I did take a CD from car to car and listen to both stereos at volume. The base system in the GT did have better quality, but the bose wasn't so much worse.

I don't hate this vehemently like I did the system in the 6. I don't feel that obsessive rush to rip the speakers and amp out and replace them. I want to put my spare money into paying off the car early, and not into modding it. I'll post in a few weeks when I have it done. I'm looking forward to this! (blah)

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I can't order this stuff till Friday, but I want to chime in that putting two .15mH inductors in parallel

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=266-804

Will effectively give you .075mH, which is about 4200Hz low-pass. This would cover up the hole you would get with a single .10mH coil. I'll still just put a single .10 on each of the rear speakers though.
 
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So is there a cap I have to remove from the line somewhere when I put in the new tweeters with the 10 mH caps? And if so where are they, or will I just see them when I get the panels off?

Also if I decide to go with two .15mH inductors in parallel how would I go about installing them?
 
My understanding is that the bose cap is right on the tweeter, so you'd remove both at the same time. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

The coils have tinned ends, so you could use a dab of solder to connect them at each end. Use a couple tie-wraps or twist ties off bread to hold the coils together in the middle and keep from flopping around. They'd still go inline as shown in the referenced thread, using the butt connectors.

Ordered my stuff a couple days ago. Can't wait to get it done!
 
I got the rear doors done today, since I had a spare hour to screw with it. Installing the coils in-line was very easy and straightforward. Hopefully I can finish this weekend.

Something I noticed, and it makes me hate Blose even more, is that the front speakers are always active, regardless of the fader position. If you move the fader fully to Rear8 (which I did to test the mods), the fronts still output bass at full volume level! No wonder it sounds so damn muddy unless you put the bass at -2; the front door speakers are effectively always-on subwoofers. I bet with those disconnected you would be hard pressed to tell the thing under the passenger seat is even there.

I know why Mazda uses these worthless fuckers- the brand name sells itself to people who don't know better, but there are other brands out there who actually make entry-level gear that's worth the money.

Anyway...
 
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