2017 CX-5 Bose Centerpoint Poll

Didn't buy the cx-5 with Bose but test drove one. To me it sounded too boomy , lacked well articulated bass and didn't like the way centrepoint tries to pull the stereo image to the centre on mid to high frequencies. Basically put the sound stage all over the place on certain instruments . However , understanding that cars are quite a compromise for ideal seating position the only way around this is time alignment of the sound stage for one only seating position or exaggerating the front sound stage width for driver and front passenger.

The Bose system speaker positions tries to give all passengers a reasonable stereo treatment rather than just concentration on the driver.
However , for a factory system the sound is quite good baring the sub. If you have passengers run centrepoint and if just driver turn it off in my opinion.

When the warranty is off the wife car I'm going to replace the speakers in her 6 speaker setup and add a quality small sub and amps with DSP
 
Slightly off-topic but does the 12 speaker system sound better than the 10? That*s likely in the next set of CX-5 enhancements. The 2019 RDX is getting good reviews for its 16 speakers which include four in the roof.
 
Mine has the Bose Premium Audio with 10 speakers. I leave Centerpoint on because I perceive better stereo imaging, regardless of where you sit. Somebody got paid to implement better sound in a vehicle configuration that does not lend itself to good bass reproduction, etc. I'm sure psycho acoustics are at work here, but for a factory system it is good.
 
I drove a '19 GT for a week with Bose's latest Centerpoint 2 and found it had better detail and defined bass than my '18 GT with first gen Centerpoint.

Either way I like what Centerpoint software does for my listening experience.
 
I came across this thread by accident and decided to look into the Centerpoint feature. Our earlier 2014 CX-5 did not have Bose, but our 2019 does, and Centerpoint's apparently been on since we bought it.

So I played a few different MP3 tracks (via USB) and experimented with turning CP on and off. Wow. Night and Day much? I can honestly say the Centerpoint is now off and will never be turned back on. With Centerpoint on, the sound is muddied and diffused, the crisp highs are gone. It's 100% better audio with CP off. With it on it actually sounds like when you have you stereo system wired up wrong, with the L+R speakers out of phase. Just horrible. Oh, and this is Centerpoint 2? How bad was Centerpoint 1?

No offense intended, but I cannot see how folks in this thread have said they prefer it. Each to his/her own I guess.
 
I found that I could never manually adjust the fade/balance to my liking...the sound always sounded directional. I leave Centerpoint on to get that true stereo experience.

I don't like the bass on these systems...it's way too much. Absent getting an equalizer on the system, I'd settle for a mid range control. It's really missing in the middle.
 
I thought it was a neat effect at first, but I've turned it off. Anyone else notice how much better the speakers sound now that they're broken in?

Same. When the sales person was introducing me to the car (which I didnt want him to do) he set it to on and I thought it sounded amazing. When I got home and started fiddling, I realized just how unnatural it sounded. Still cool for certain types of music I guess, but in general I leave it off.

Ditto on the improved sound over time.
 
I came across this thread by accident and decided to look into the Centerpoint feature. Our earlier 2014 CX-5 did not have Bose, but our 2019 does, and Centerpoint's apparently been on since we bought it.

So I played a few different MP3 tracks (via USB) and experimented with turning CP on and off. Wow. Night and Day much? I can honestly say the Centerpoint is now off and will never be turned back on. With Centerpoint on, the sound is muddied and diffused, the crisp highs are gone. It's 100% better audio with CP off. With it on it actually sounds like when you have you stereo system wired up wrong, with the L+R speakers out of phase. Just horrible. Oh, and this is Centerpoint 2? How bad was Centerpoint 1?

No offense intended, but I cannot see how folks in this thread have said they prefer it. Each to his/her own I guess.

I agree. CP ruins the soundstage.
 
Have been messing around with it on my 2019 GT. Mostly leaving it on, to me it adds volume. Especially if using the Mazda NAV (spoken directions are louder) likely because voice is coming from driver speaker and the Centerpoint speaker.
 
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