2016.5 Bose audio inconsistent?

vessel · May 1, 2017

I've had my GT a few days now and something very odd I noticed is that the audio is not behaving consistently. Using the exact same playlist from my phone via bluetooth with the exact same audio settings was incredibly bass heavy today. I didn't change anything but it was a very noticeable difference, I was a bit disappointed with the bass response originally and never got it to slam so hard when testing. Today, using the exact same source and settings it was like someone secretly installed a sub since I last drove. I am confident it's not me perceiving things differently because it was very noticeable and produced significant vibrations beyond my previous experiences when testing settings with the same songs. The improved bass persisted through the car being off for several hours so it seems like more than just a random fluke.

Anyone have ideas about what may be going on? I'm pretty disappointed in the Bose system, but if it keeps mysteriously improving like this I might end up liking it.

RDK006 · May 2, 2017

That's odd. There's a lot of criticism around here on the weak bass of the Bose, but I'm not hearing it (though I also dislike boomy, hear-it-thumping-a-block-away bass). While I have treble boosted +4 or 6, I typically keep my bass adjustment at 0 (or maybe +2). Since you just got the car, maybe it took the speakers a few days to break in.

vessel · May 2, 2017

RDK006 said:
That's odd. There's a lot of criticism around here on the weak bass of the Bose, but I'm not hearing it (though I also dislike boomy, hear-it-thumping-a-block-away bass). While I have treble boosted +4 or 6, I typically keep my bass adjustment at 0 (or maybe +2). Since you just got the car, maybe it took the speakers a few days to break in.

I've never really bought into the "burn in" theory about speakers but something has definitely changed. I would definitely say it's not lacking in bass now, but it sure seemed that way originally. The biggest issue is that it's incredibly unbalanced. A good soundsystem should envelope you in sound, the Bose system doesn't even come close unless you use the fader to make the rears totally dominant, even then it still isn't balanced it just sounds slightly less forward heavy. It's really just completely bizarre to me that this is the "premium" sound in the CX-5. The dash speakers are totally dominant, the soundstage is weird - centerpoint is a crapshoot too, some songs it improves things a bit, other songs it sounds like a drunk DJ is ******* with the fader and l/r balance randomly. It's just the weirdest s*** ever, music I've listened to for years on a huge variety of systems are as wrong as I've ever heard. It does sound a bit better if you really crank it way up, like the weird effects are less pronounced at higher volumes maybe, but regardless it's the strangest system I've ever heard. It makes me sad, and even more sad that getting it to work better isn't really feasible - I've been digging through this forum and it looks like the only real solution is to completely replace the infotainment system, which I'm not willing to do. Possibly changing some of the speakers out can help, but that seems pretty involved and unlikely to significantly improve things.

mazdadude · May 2, 2017

volume level on phone changed? update to phone mp3 player occur? Have you tried CD or FM?

RDK006 · May 2, 2017

vessel said:
I've never really bought into the "burn in" theory about speakers but something has definitely changed. I would definitely say it's not lacking in bass now, but it sure seemed that way originally. The biggest issue is that it's incredibly unbalanced. A good soundsystem should envelope you in sound, the Bose system doesn't even come close unless you use the fader to make the rears totally dominant, even then it still isn't balanced it just sounds slightly less forward heavy. It's really just completely bizarre to me that this is the "premium" sound in the CX-5. The dash speakers are totally dominant, the soundstage is weird - centerpoint is a crapshoot too, some songs it improves things a bit, other songs it sounds like a drunk DJ is ******* with the fader and l/r balance randomly. It's just the weirdest s*** ever, music I've listened to for years on a huge variety of systems are as wrong as I've ever heard. It does sound a bit better if you really crank it way up, like the weird effects are less pronounced at higher volumes maybe, but regardless it's the strangest system I've ever heard. It makes me sad, and even more sad that getting it to work better isn't really feasible - I've been digging through this forum and it looks like the only real solution is to completely replace the infotainment system, which I'm not willing to do. Possibly changing some of the speakers out can help, but that seems pretty involved and unlikely to significantly improve things.

I've never thought much of "burn in" either, though I suppose it does make sense that new cones might be stiff to start with. And yes, you need to move the fader quite a bit back! I think I have it set about 4 notches (out of 6 iirc) to the rear, but for the kind of music I listen to it usually sounds pretty good. The sound staging really depends on the audio mix. I listen to a lot of acoustic jazz and sometimes it sounds amazingly 3-D, almost like front-rear stereo instead of left-right, with the drums coming from behind! Other times, the stage is rather flat. I mostly like the center dash channel as it helps center the vocals, but not everyone likes it that way. Wonky as it sometimes is, its still the best audio system I've ever had in one of my cars.

vessel · May 2, 2017

mazdadude said:
volume level on phone changed? update to phone mp3 player occur? Have you tried CD or FM?

Nope, definitely have the phone on max volume and I have app updates set to manual only so it's the exact same version mp3 player - also using the exact same playlist of songs I am very familiar with. I have not tried FM or CD yet, I assume bass will be extra bassified for them too but I will try ASAP to confirm, that will at least eliminate the source as the culprit.

vessel · May 2, 2017

RDK006 said:
I mostly like the center dash channel as it helps center the vocals, but not everyone likes it that way. Wonky as it sometimes is, its still the best audio system I've ever had in one of my cars.

I find the dash just way too dominant, even with the fader adjusted. Some music is worse than others, but it's always an issue so far, even listening to an audiobook sounds odd. The speakers sound pretty good, now that the bass is pumping harder it comes across less mid heavy than it did, but nothing changes the unbalanced forwardness of the sound and the weirdness imposed on the soundstage by that forwardness (and the seemingly random centerpoint funkiness). I don't want to feel like my music is coming from in front of me when I'm in a car and surrounded by speakers. I've heard stereos in econoboxes that sounded better honestly, maybe not the sound output itself but the soundstage and the balance between the speakers was definitely significantly superior.

CX-5um · May 3, 2017

People say there's no break in period....but I disagree. A woofer consists of moving parts. Parts that flex. Energy flows through it. As it become looser and more pliable it can move more freely = greater Excursion meaning more bass. That said my taste requires another woofer to supplement the existing system so I can "feel" kick drums and bass. Not so much to wake neighbors 3 blocks away though.

Guest2019C20 · May 3, 2017

The speaker cone suspension definitely loses some stiffness as it ages. Back in the day, I remember something like 20 hours was suggested.

vessel · May 3, 2017

cx-500 said:
The speaker cone suspension definitely loses some stiffness as it ages. Back in the day, I remember something like 20 hours was suggested.

I am on my way to being convinced, or maybe it's my brain adapting, but the whole system is sounding a lot better than it did the first few days. It's still dominated by the dash speakers and centerpoint does weird things but it seems improved. Especially when it's loud, things sound pretty great. I'm impressed how much the mirrors vibrate.

2016.5 Bose audio inconsistent?

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mazdadude

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